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A review by enchantedfiction
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
4.0
Heartless is a Red Queen origin story that packs a lot of fun Wonderland references all throughout the story. Cath Pinkerton, the daughter of the Duke of Rock Turtle Cove, just wants to open a bakery. She doesn't want to be a fancy lady and go to the parties like her parents expect her to. And when the King of Hearts turns his romantic attentions to her, Cath finds it that much harder to follow her dreams. And when an unexpected love interest pushes forward, and the Jabberwocky is back on the prowle, the whole of Hearts is turned upside down. Cath will be faced with choices that could hurt or help her future, but how does she know what is right?
I listened to this one on audiobook, and it swept me right up. I enjoyed hearing the earlier descriptions of how the Wonderland world is broken up between kingdoms. I really enjoyed all of the references of known Wonderland throughout the story as well, and the somewhat backwards logic was included as well. I also really enjoy origin stories, since villains are just anti-heroes a lot of the time. It makes you feel more for the villain that you already know.
The pacing of the story was a little off for me, sometimes I wanted to spend more time in moments that only got a little attention, where we spent more time in moments that could have been shorter. I also wasn't entirely invested in most of the characters, though I think that's kind of how the story was written, since Cath didn't want to be a part of that world in the way she was. But I also didn't really feel strongly for Cath herself, because she wasn't very strong willed throughout the story. I wanted her to have that stubborn personality that we got a taste of by the end to also be portrayed in her need to get away from the "proper" world and to just be a baker.
Though I was able to piece together what was happening for the mystery part of the story before it was revealed, it didn't bother me like it does in actual mystery stories since it was such a small part to the overall story. I thought that the mystery element did help the story along, but I also liked that it wasn't a main focus.
I would recommend for anyone who likes Wonderland stories and enjoys a good origin story. I think that it definitely gives you a new outlook on the Red Queen we all know, and tied everything together very nicely by the end.
I listened to this one on audiobook, and it swept me right up. I enjoyed hearing the earlier descriptions of how the Wonderland world is broken up between kingdoms. I really enjoyed all of the references of known Wonderland throughout the story as well, and the somewhat backwards logic was included as well. I also really enjoy origin stories, since villains are just anti-heroes a lot of the time. It makes you feel more for the villain that you already know.
The pacing of the story was a little off for me, sometimes I wanted to spend more time in moments that only got a little attention, where we spent more time in moments that could have been shorter. I also wasn't entirely invested in most of the characters, though I think that's kind of how the story was written, since Cath didn't want to be a part of that world in the way she was. But I also didn't really feel strongly for Cath herself, because she wasn't very strong willed throughout the story. I wanted her to have that stubborn personality that we got a taste of by the end to also be portrayed in her need to get away from the "proper" world and to just be a baker.
Though I was able to piece together what was happening for the mystery part of the story before it was revealed, it didn't bother me like it does in actual mystery stories since it was such a small part to the overall story. I thought that the mystery element did help the story along, but I also liked that it wasn't a main focus.
I would recommend for anyone who likes Wonderland stories and enjoys a good origin story. I think that it definitely gives you a new outlook on the Red Queen we all know, and tied everything together very nicely by the end.