I have recently finished Heartless by Marissa Meyer, and let me just say it was full of unexpected twists, turns and heartbreak. It is based around the impossible love between Catherine, (the future Queen of Hearts,) and Jest, (the court joker.) Jest shows Catherine a whole new world filled with parties, monsters, and hatters running from time itself. Unfortunately, Catherine was practically forced to accept courtship with the King of Hearts by her parents, and she must see Jest in secret, leaving it impossible for them to be together. But, as Jest said, impossible is his specialty.
This story is generally based around how the “evil” Queen of Hearts came to be, and how she became so, hence the title, heartless. This book definitely tore me apart at the end, due to a series of saddening events in order for the Queen of Hearts to become who she is now.
I found myself obsessed with this book, and even after reading it I just can’t get it out of my head. All of my electronic’s wallpapers have been changed to Catherine and Jest because I just can’t stand to let them go. It made me have a whole new respect for the Queen of Hearts now that I understand her more, despite her being only a fictional character.
Marissa Meyer has done a very good job at adding detail to make every aspect of this story pop out. Even the little things mattered, and she managed to make me very, very attached to her characters.
Of course, this story takes place in Wonderland, where magical things are happening everywhere, and it is very entertaining to see what is going on around there before Alice ever showed up.
I like to think how the “Off with their head!” Queen of Hearts was once just a young girl who wanted to open a bakery and was very much in love with someone who was not royalty. I do wish things would have gone better in the end, but this is the Queen of Hearts, and Marissa was writing a prequel, not entirely rewriting the story line.
Overall, this book, in my opinion, was magical, beautiful, and very well written. I am absolutely in love with the well-laid-out story line and I wish I could forget it all and read it over and over again. I rate it 10/10.
