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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
3.75 stars, rounded up. Spoilers ahead, read if you dare.
Before reading the last 100 pages, I was rooting for Catherine and actually hoping for her not to become the Queen of Hearts, even though I knew full well that this was a Queen of Hearts origin story. After reading the last 100 pages, I fully supported her becoming the Queen. I thought it was cool of Meyer to play with the reader's hopes like that. I also liked the atmospheres given to each of the locations, such as Hatta's shop and Peter Peter's pumpkin patch, as well as the inclusion of minor characters from the original Alice books like the Three Sisters from the Dormouse's story. Hearts/Wonderland was not illustrated as being too chaotic like in the books, but I liked that there were tiny moments (i.e. animals as servants, flower pots competing in competitions) to reinforce the fact that this is a different world. I smiled at these moments.
What lost points for me was the pacing of the story, especially during the Jest and Catherine romance parts. A lot of it was his encouraging her to marry the King and her wondering why and just basically them talking and bantering with each other, and I wish they had a bit more drive throughout. I was also curious about what the land of Chess would look like, but maybe that will be a different book. I'll read it if so. But this was a good origin story, and I definitely recommend it for fans of Wonderland!
Before reading the last 100 pages, I was rooting for Catherine and actually hoping for her not to become the Queen of Hearts, even though I knew full well that this was a Queen of Hearts origin story. After reading the last 100 pages, I fully supported her becoming the Queen. I thought it was cool of Meyer to play with the reader's hopes like that. I also liked the atmospheres given to each of the locations, such as Hatta's shop and Peter Peter's pumpkin patch, as well as the inclusion of minor characters from the original Alice books like the Three Sisters from the Dormouse's story. Hearts/Wonderland was not illustrated as being too chaotic like in the books, but I liked that there were tiny moments (i.e. animals as servants, flower pots competing in competitions) to reinforce the fact that this is a different world. I smiled at these moments.
What lost points for me was the pacing of the story, especially during the Jest and Catherine romance parts. A lot of it was his encouraging her to marry the King and her wondering why and just basically them talking and bantering with each other, and I wish they had a bit more drive throughout. I was also curious about what the land of Chess would look like, but maybe that will be a different book. I'll read it if so. But this was a good origin story, and I definitely recommend it for fans of Wonderland!
This book murdered me. Not the ending I wanted but it's the ending it needed.
emotional
sad
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:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book made me dread what I knew was coming and when it happened, I was in denial for days. It's a deeply emotional book
Ahh I love Alice in Wonderland so much! I love all retellings and this one was so fun! Cath and Jest were so cute😭 I love all the references, I wish Meyer would write an Alice retelling that was like a sequel to this 💔
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
The book is amazing. There were times of hope and sorrow and I felt it in my own chest every time Catherine felt love. It was beautifully written, though a bit confusing and slow at the beginning, I still believe it was an amazing book. Just be prepared to cry and be heartbroken by the end.
I always love the way Marissa Meyer weaves a classic fairytale through a web of choices made by the beloved characters to explain how they got to the place that made them beloved--or in this case, hated. She is so creative with her storytelling. It makes every well-known fairytale exponentially better. And in my opinion, she is the only one who is successfully able to do this.
That being said, this particular story of the Queen of Hearts was mediocre. Don't get me wrong, she spun a great tale to explain why the Queen is the way she is. She worked her Marissa Meyer magic and made all the familiar elements come together in a satisfying revelation. But all of that happened towards the end. I just found all of the lead-up to that point very slow. I thought Cath, our future Queen, to be a little bland and somewhat juvenile. Her decision-making skills made me want to strangle her. Her love interest, Jest, was...there. I didn't really get to know and love him like I did the men in her Lunar Chronicles series. In all, it was a decent book; but Cinder, Scarlett, Cress, and Winter have my heart.
That being said, this particular story of the Queen of Hearts was mediocre. Don't get me wrong, she spun a great tale to explain why the Queen is the way she is. She worked her Marissa Meyer magic and made all the familiar elements come together in a satisfying revelation. But all of that happened towards the end. I just found all of the lead-up to that point very slow. I thought Cath, our future Queen, to be a little bland and somewhat juvenile. Her decision-making skills made me want to strangle her. Her love interest, Jest, was...there. I didn't really get to know and love him like I did the men in her Lunar Chronicles series. In all, it was a decent book; but Cinder, Scarlett, Cress, and Winter have my heart.
eu deixei essa historia marinando por um tempo na minha cabeça pra escrever essa avaliacao.
assim que eu terminei de ler, eu com certeza pensei nesse livro como digno de 4 estrelas, mas conforme eu refleti mais e mais sobre, acabei abaixando uma.
eh uma proposta interessante, de fato. ver a rainha de copas como uma garota que faz mas escolhas e peca em tomar as redeas da propria vida, e que acaba em ruinas por conta disso.
o que me incomoda mesmo eh o desenrolar. as coisas vao acontecendo de uma forma que nao impacta o leitor de forma significativa e quando o apice acontece tudo oq eu pude pensar foi "nossa! entao ta."
nao me senti comovida quando ela vira a rainha de copas, mas talvez isso seja por conta de uma birra pessoal minha. tipo, ela cavou a propria cova, nao consigo sentir pena ://.
outra coisa q me incomodou muito foi a ambientacao. tudo me soou muito normal e europeu, sem a essencia maluca do pais das maravilhas. nao sei se eh porque eu to acostumada com ambientacao de o lado mais sombrio, onde a autora cria o melhor cenario possivel baseado na obra original.
enfim, otimo romance e personagem bem construida, apesar de tudo.
assim que eu terminei de ler, eu com certeza pensei nesse livro como digno de 4 estrelas, mas conforme eu refleti mais e mais sobre, acabei abaixando uma.
eh uma proposta interessante, de fato. ver a rainha de copas como uma garota que faz mas escolhas e peca em tomar as redeas da propria vida, e que acaba em ruinas por conta disso.
o que me incomoda mesmo eh o desenrolar. as coisas vao acontecendo de uma forma que nao impacta o leitor de forma significativa e quando o apice acontece tudo oq eu pude pensar foi "nossa! entao ta."
nao me senti comovida quando ela vira a rainha de copas, mas talvez isso seja por conta de uma birra pessoal minha. tipo, ela cavou a propria cova, nao consigo sentir pena ://.
outra coisa q me incomodou muito foi a ambientacao. tudo me soou muito normal e europeu, sem a essencia maluca do pais das maravilhas. nao sei se eh porque eu to acostumada com ambientacao de o lado mais sombrio, onde a autora cria o melhor cenario possivel baseado na obra original.
enfim, otimo romance e personagem bem construida, apesar de tudo.
