Reviews tagging 'Death'

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

99 reviews

michelleub's review

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adventurous emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

I don’t even remember why I bought this book, but I think it was because of @maditales. First up I want to say that I normally don’t read fantasy or like fantasy set in another world, but vampires, witches and werewolfs don’t count for me. This book was just disappointing. Cathrine the main character was just plain annoying and I understand that Meyer tried to do this “she’s just a normal girl” thing, but it kind of got repetitive. Her only personality trait is that she loves to bake, her maid is her best friend and that she likes Jest.
Her doing something she is not supposed to was like the whole premise of the book. Her being in love with Jest instead of the King and wanting to open a bakery even though she essentially does not know anything about having to work for a living and not a hobby, which honestly seems delusional. So I don’t think she even would have made it even if he would have died. OH, and his death and the entire ending was so abrupt. Suddenly she slayed the jabberwock, Jest was dead and she a bitch. But wait, she actually already was one but then a bigger one.
Now onto Jest, his character was flat. I wanted to like him but I got nearly nothing, CRUMBLES. Was I, just like Cath, supposed to like a man without knowing anything about him? No.
But I have to say, her writing style seemed pretty. Like it totally reminded me of the original Disney Alice in wonderland. But I think it was lost on me. 
All in all, Meyer had a great writing style which sadly was not able to cover the lack of spark the book needed, even though it was way too long.
Rated it 2.0 but changed to 1.75
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ollie_wannabe's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

OH MY GOSH RIPPED MY HEART OUT AND STOMPED IT ON THE FLOOR MULTIPLE TIMES
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mysteryharvey's review

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love this book and it was so beautifully heartbreaking. The twists and turns were lovely and I almost cried twice. The characters make you defend their wrongdoings with how lovable they are.
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kenna13's review

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adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I loved the characters and how Meyer wrote Cath’s character arch! It was magical
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arieslofi's review

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dark lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

well! i want to say that the premise is something that i really enjoyed, and it's only its execution that i wasn't an absolute fan of, including some of the writing, though not all. the writing itself felt very "try-hard" with its weird britishifcations that reminded me of 2013 when everyone was obsessed with the uk and everything british (as i mentioned in a previous update), with repetition that happened far too often, not the kind that serves as some sort of writing device (this does happen and i do enjoy it), but the kind that makes you wonder if there was any kind of editing involved in the publication of the book. besides that, the writing isn't too bad and didn't get on my nerves too much, and i actively enjoyed some parts of it.
i really liked the character of mary ann especially, though i'll say cath was neither here nor there and jest completely failed to be compelling to me,
which made his death
kind of pointless to me. speaking of pointless: the romance.
this book could have been really good, personally, if we hadn't had any type of romance involved, only a girl losing her dreams and having to deal with being stuck in a loveless marriage with the king until she snaps. i would even have enjoyed it if there had been romance involved, though differently. if, for example,
instead of jest taking her away and the last 30% happening the way they did, she had, just like before, stuck with the king, a fool (which could have served as a callback in dialogue!) only for jest to come back and her, tired and betrayed, called for his head. he was, after all, a wanted criminal,
it would have worked perfectly, and it was how i was expecting the book to end.
the ending itself felt unsatisfactory to me,
there was no real build-up to this sudden change in her behavior (though we are given a reason) and we only get a glimpse of it some chapters before. i feel like showing her ability to be genuinely evil and ruthless throughout the book would have worked better—even if we kind of get those moments in very small doses, like her stealing from the pumpkin patch and her intensity at playing croquet, although this latter felt more like a "this happens in the original story!" bit.

generally, not a bad book, per se, but it left me wanting a lot more, so i can't say i'm exactly happy with it. the premise is much better than the execution itself, though it only goes south around 70% of the book for me. 
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henleymadelyn's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lqvekanej's review

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adventurous sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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eya_caloca's review

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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rainerasnic's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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ash_ton's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

it took me so long to read this book 1) because i had to stop to read books that were due at the library soon and a book club book, and 2) because i skimmed through the ending TWICE and it made me depressed and anxious lol. 
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