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moonlitreading_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“Was she so afraid to disappoint her parents and the King, that she was willing to put their happiness before her own?”
This is my first Marissa Meyer book and I must say her writing is lovely. Her words kept me hooked from start to finish. I haven’t read Alice in Wonderland so all I know of it is from the 1951 Disney movie. It’s interesting how she played with existing characters and gave them their own history in her story.
Before picking up this book knew that things were not going to go well for Cath because of who the Queen of Hearts is in Alice in Wonderland. That said, it still broke my heart how things came to be. It makes me sad how much of a contrast there is between the Cath from the beginning to the Cath at the end.
The romance between Jest and Cath was so good, I love forbidden lovers. The way Jest really cares about her and puts her well-being first makes me want to bawl my eyes out. Jest can do no wrong in my eyes, he’s perfect.
It’s gonna take a while for me to forget about this book because it made me really sad. Please go read it<3333
This is my first Marissa Meyer book and I must say her writing is lovely. Her words kept me hooked from start to finish. I haven’t read Alice in Wonderland so all I know of it is from the 1951 Disney movie. It’s interesting how she played with existing characters and gave them their own history in her story.
Before picking up this book knew that things were not going to go well for Cath because of who the Queen of Hearts is in Alice in Wonderland. That said, it still broke my heart how things came to be. It makes me sad how much of a contrast there is between the Cath from the beginning to the Cath at the end.
The romance between Jest and Cath was so good, I love forbidden lovers. The way Jest really cares about her and puts her well-being first makes me want to bawl my eyes out. Jest can do no wrong in my eyes, he’s perfect.
It’s gonna take a while for me to forget about this book because it made me really sad. Please go read it<3333
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Animal death
kim_lommaert's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death, and Grief
Minor: Blood and Kidnapping
good_names_dont_exist's review
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicide and War
holiday7's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Most of this book made me either really shocked or really sad. Fuck Margaret, Peter, the King, and Catherine's parents. Also, justice for the Duke, Jest, and Mary Ann. I loved them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming
Minor: Suicide and War
ishanibose's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Death, and Misogyny
Minor: Body shaming
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
I wanted to read this book because I really enjoyed the Cinder Series and I enjoy how Marissa does her re-tellings. I struggled with the Gilded Series and the Renegades Series. But I enjoyed this standalone.
This book is based on the Queen of Hearts. Before she got the Queen of Hearts title, she was Catherine Pinkerton, and she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. She was one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favourite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. She is a talented baker and all she wants to do is open a bakery with her best friend. But according to her mother, having a goal like that is unthinkable for a young woman who could be the next queen. Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter an intense and secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness and monsters, it looks like fate has other plans.
This is one of the times where all I wanted to do throughout this whole book is hug Cath and smack the shit out of her parents, like multiple times. All she wanted to do was to have her own life and open her own bakery. Yet her parents wanted her to marry off the power and status in the country. I just love how badass she got and how he learned to stand up for herself during this book. I love that she wanted to fight for everyone but also learned that she can’t save anyone. The storyline was strong and that you lose the fact that she’s not the villain until towards the end, but at the beginning she’s just this doe-eyed girl who had dreams and wishes. Jest was adorable and wanted more of him and his ending made me bawl my eyes out.
I would have loved for this book to be a dual POV, I would have loved to have seen how the Jest felt. I would have loved some more romance as well; it was a very quick and painful relationship, and I would have loved to be a bit slower and more romance.
This book made me root for the villain for the first time and I would love more books where the villain is the face of it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Blood
Minor: War and Suicide
kyra_johnson_'s review
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
It took me a little bit to get into the book, but once we really got to see Jest and Cath’s relationship develop, I was invested. It was hard to read (emotionally) because the ending is in a way already known, but that didn’t stop me from reading it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Classism
beklovesbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Similar to Cruella or Maleficent, it’s the unexpected backstory of a character. True to the book and Alice in Wonderland movie, there are many overlapping characters. Powerful love story. Twists, turns, whimsy, fun, tension, creepy. Well done, though I might prefer to rewrite some sections and outcomes myself.
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Infidelity, and Murder
liorae's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming
kibberbl's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming