Book Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Title: Heartless
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genre: YA Fantasy, Retellings, Romance

There seem to be some misconceptions floating around Goodreads, and other places, about Heartless. It is not written in the same style as The Lunar Chronicles. It is not a spin-off or side story of that world. It is set in the Victorian past, Lewis Carroll’s era, not the future. It is fantastic.

What Heartless is: a wonderful prequel story about the Queen of Hearts. Marissa Meyer does an amazing job recreating Wonderland; I felt that I was right back in Lewis Carroll’s zany, twisty-turny crazy world. I highly recommend that any reader of Heartless start out by first reading both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, if you haven’t done so already. And then revel in the creative, true to the original, back stories that Marissa Meyer created for so many beloved Wonderland characters: the Mad Hatter, the household of the Duke and Duchess, the Red and White Queen of Chess. The Mock Turtle, the silly King of Hearts, the Knave, Mr. Caterpillar…Cheshire. Cheshire! And of course…the future Queen of Hearts.

I like retellings of fairy tales and classic stories, but I am very, very picky when modern-day authors take a classic story and add on a prequel or sequel. I have barely tolerated almost every single Pride & Prejudice sequel ever written (I’m looking at you, Death Comes to Pemberley). So I went into Heartless quite cautiously.

Marissa Meyer did not disappoint.

“But hoping,” he said, “is how the impossible can be possible after all.”

Catherine, daughter of a Marquis and Marchioness, is a young woman whose only desire is to open a bakery with her close friend, house maid Mary Ann. Her parents have other plans, as she also happens to be a favorite of the King, who attempts to propose to her at the beginning of the novel. At the same Royal Ball where she runs from a possible proposal, Catherine meets Jest, the mysterious and new court Joker. Cath is determined to make her own pathway through life, with the person she chooses to love, in a world that has other plans for her.

Of course, I had to have my own tea party while immersed in the world of Wonderland and Hatta’s Tea Party (before he goes mad)! I visited Dobra Tea Shop in Asheville on Tuesday and had a lovely green tea with a ginger and sesame cake. The only thing missing was a lemon tart or macaroon! A reader must definitely be well-stocked in delicious pastries before sitting down to read this one!

“Mind my words, Cheshire, I will have you banished from this kingdom if you tempt me.”

“An empty threat from an empty girl.”

She rounded on him, teeth flashing. “I am not empty. I am full to the brim with murder and revenge. I am overflowing and I do not think you wish for me to overflow on to you.”

“There was a time” – Cheshire yawned – “when you overflowed with whimsy and icing sugar. I liked that Catherine better.”

Heartless is heart-breaking. You know where it is going, it’s like a train wreck that you can’t derail. No matter how many times you scream NO!! DON’T DO THAT!!, there is nothing that you can do to stop Catherine from becoming the Queen of Hearts we all know and love to hate.

The journey is definitely worthy of a Lewis Carroll character.

Not only is Heartless a fantastic stand-alone novel, I also seem to notice a progression in the writing. I have read and enjoyed all of the Lunar Chronicles books, and this one seems a step above. Bravo, Marissa Meyer! She strikes just the right balance without becoming too nonsensical. I hope she continues to write more stand-alone novels!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

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