Reviews with content warning for Gore - Heartless

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

16 reviews

eli_sa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

It was definitely a most intresting read about how the Queen Of Hearts (from Ailce in wonderland) became who she is, I feel like so much more if the movies make sense now. The heartache and feelings were described really well. I probably wouldn't re-read this, ot was a good book but nothing super gripping.

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pich's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

My only complaint

is I think I would’ve liked the book a tinge better had it been written with a more ‘mature’ style, really getting into the madness of Alice in Wonderland.

But with that said, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.

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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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christygsp's review

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3.5

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but honestly with the exception of the inclusion of the three “sisters” (I genuinely have no clue why people like writing about those hags…. Yes offence to the hags intended) there wasn’t a whole ton of creepy magic so that was nice. (Some of my dislike of that is personal taste for reading, but I was happy to see minimal)

The love story was fun and the banter was great. I know we are reading the origin story of a villain (another phenomenon that I don’t understand why people like so much, but here I am reading one so… yup) but it still felt like it wasn’t until the end.

I was rooting for characters, liking the story, then BAM they hit me with creepy and I was annoyed.

Ultimately, these fairytale retellings always feel the need to lean more into the creepy/evil but I was impressed that majority of this story didn’t so that.

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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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abby_can_read's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

📱
This was a book that I enjoyed reading. I think Meyer's writing style is more fairytale inspired than fairytale retelling. I would say this book was a combination of prophecy, romance, Victorian-era gender roles, and the weirdness that can only be found in Wonderland.

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carrotsxcks's review

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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kaziaroo's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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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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zoepagereader's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

While yes, I did enjoy reading this book, it also let me down. I mean, the second I added to my TBR I knew it would be sad and I knew it was almost 500 pages, so I thought I would fall in love with the characters and then sob. But when characters died, I wasn’t that sad. In the end it just felt wasted, especially with people I know who have amped me up for crying with this. And though I know it defeats the purpose of this book, I wonder if it would have been better as an original story set in Wonderland instead of a Queen of Hearts origin story. 3.75⭐️

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