Reviews with content warning for Death - Heartless

I've always wanted to read Meyer's books, especially The Lunar Chronicles. But because I have no money to buy the boxed set yet (yes, I tend to buy all books in the series even if I haven't read the first book), I bought Heartless first since it's a standalone. I love villain origin stories, so I didn't hesitate.

Meyer's way of describing things was perfect. The world building, characterization, and embodiment of emotions were wonderfully translated to paper. You can vividly imagine Hearts and all its whimsical elements. I knew what was coming, but I still felt everything because she has a way of making you understand what was happening. She was that good in describing and showing you what happened.

You'll learn what made the mad Hatter mad.

You'll discover why the Queen of Hearts despised white roses.

You'll find out when she first said "off with the head".

You'll know how she became heartless.

This book made me see the Queen of Hearts in a different light.

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olivia_goode's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Amazing origin story! I have heard this compared to Wicked before but I think this one has a lot more sense and the writing is worlds above. I love all the turns and twists the story took. The imagery was really done nicely and I feel like every little detail made me think of wonderland.

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hopelessplatonic's review

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adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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torrents's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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sleepymich's review

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emotional funny relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

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hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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booksanna's review

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adventurous challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It did not expect this book to instill in me the emotions I felt. I must say the journey of reading this books was one of a painful and rewarding. The magic this book provides is astonishingly horrific. The characters and the wonder of the book creates the most detailed and lively environment. The wording has been beautifully chosen to instigate the impossible of this world. I truly felt mesmerized by this story and it’s majestic world of Hearts. I must say that the first half of the book dragged on, but I felt that the other half well overcompensated for it. It is true that the first half of this story didn’t arise many feelings in me besides boredom. But the build-up to the ending, the conflict, the reveal, was one of the utmost rewarding of all. I feel the upmost gratefulness for myself, for I have read a magical world and with a cruel reality. I am hesitant to recommend this book, as I want to keep it a secret for myself. I must say the less you know of this the more impactful it will be.

Jest was a martyr and one that left such powerful impact on me. His death…. Perhaps it was meant to be. Great book, horrifying to read

Edit, i knocked off 0.25 stars because the beginning was very slow.
Edit 2: it’s been a year and this has become my 5 star book. Worth it

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andromeda_1998's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Before I review this book I have to be honest, I’ve always been a fan of Alice in wonderland and I’ve always hated Marissa Mayer.

This is one of the best books that Marissa Meyer ever wrote and I did enjoy this book, eventhough I expected to hate it with everything that is me. What makes this book better then all her other books?

Characters
The characters of Marissa Meyers heartless are done well I guess. In the beginning of the book I took offense to the mad hatter. By the end of the book he became a bit better but he’s different from what he’s supposed to be. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing but she took away from his character. Which is a shame since he’s one of the most important characters in Alice in the wonderland. Jest was more like the mad hatter is supposed to be than the mad hatter himself.

Storytelling
The book starts fun and ends good but the middle….. Jesus, that shit was LONG AND BORING. The middle part of the story was a merrygoaround of the same plot and that wasn’t wat I was looking for.

Writing
The writing is done fine, Marissa Meyer is able to write a fairytale but she’s just not clever enough to make the plot.

Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding was a spin on the original book with her own magic touches. I didn’t mind the changes.

I would like to recommend to check the triggerwarnings. There is a lot of fatphobia in this book.

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