Heartless Blog Tour

Heartless
Standalone
Written by Marissa Meyer
Fantasy, Retelling, Romance
Expected Publication November 8th 2016
464 Pages
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia
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★★★★☆
Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, the infamous Queen of Hearts, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king's marriage proposal, she 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 into an intense, 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, fate has other plans.
In the kingdom of Hearts, Lady Catherine Pinkerton aspires to become a renowned pastry chef, her sugary creations having caught the attention of the King himself. The daughter of the Marchioness and heiress to the Rock Turtle Cove, Lady Pinkerton lives beneath her mother's judgemental glare and expectations to marry, which soon becomes apparent when the King himself is looking for his life companion. Catherine's mother aspires for her only child to become the Queen of Hearts but Lady Pinkerton has other plans.

The King's new Court Joker is mesmerising and Catherine finds herself captivated in his presence. While the King announces his intention to marry lady Pinkerton, Jest convinces the playful and childlike Royal to unconventionally court Catherine as Jest himself falls in love with the young future Queen.

My Thoughts

In the Kingdom of Hearts, Lady Catherine Pinkerton is acclaimed for her delicious delicacies, with the King himself her greatest connoisseur. Catherine is a lovely young woman, she's passionate and considerate, appeasing her mother the Marchioness who is determined to ensure her daughter becomes the Queen of Hearts while being forced to cast her aspirations aside.

The Kingdom of Hearts is imaginative and lavish landscape, wonderfully portrayed with enchantment and whimsy. Set within the confines of Wonderland, Heartless is a reimagined narrative of the Queen of Hearts from Catherine's origins, to her portrayal as a ruthless Queen. Her relationship with her parents consists of Catherine placating her mother, an often mean spirited woman living vicariously through her only child. Catherine's only friend and confidante is the kindhearted and intelligent Mary Ann, who is employed as a servant within the family's estate. Their warm and compassionate friendship was lovely despite her mother's disapproval, but it was Catherine's rivalry with Margaret where readers may foreshadow an indication of a ruthless Queen.

Although the King of Hearts is frivolous and whimsical, Catherine is apathetic and yearns for a passionate courtship, not anticipating Jest, the King of Hearts' enchanting Court Joker and the two engage in a tentative love affair. I absolutely cherished Jest, his character was so incredibly precious. But behind his jovial and dashing persona lies a boy on a covert mission.
The easiest way to steal something, is for it to be given willingly.
Although I enjoyed the attraction between Catherine and Jest, Jest was an enigma and the romance was seemingly that Catherine had fallen in love with the adventure and freedom Jest provided rather than the character himself.
Sometimes your heart is the only thing worth listening to.
The secondary characters were lovingly crafted, a reimagining of the original characters from Alice's Adventure's In Wonderland. The Jabberwock terrorising the residents of Hearts, extraordinary tea parties, Cheshire and the White Rabbit. Although the storyline was wonderful, the characters themselves felt superficial, leaving me unable to invest in Catherine and Jest as a romantic partnership. Regardless, it was incredibly entertaining.

My first foray into a world recreated and reimagined by Marissa Meyer was captivating and delightfully charming. The prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is delicate, enchanting and deliciously spectacular with a fusion of fantastically vivid imagining and childlike wonder.

22 comments

  1. I'm so conflicted about this one. I have adored Marissa Meyer's books, but I just don't know if I want to invest in this one. For one, I dislike anything to do with Wonderland. And secondly, I know how this will end and you know how I feel about those kinds of endings. I do really love the sound of the secondary characters though, Kelly. Maybe, I'll just end up borrowing this one ...
    Great review!

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    1. I'll read anything Wonderland related and this was my first Marissa Meyer book and I actually really enjoyed it despite the issues I had. It's entertaining, but very short on details. I couldn't connect to any of the characters unfortunately and the ending (even though we know what happens) was too abrupt. But having been in a bit of a slump, it was just what I needed. Something fun a bit silly and a storyline I didn't need to think too much about. Perfect lazy weekend read.

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  2. I was totally not interested in reading this one (honestly I don't know why? I guess I don't particularly love Alice spin-offs), but I'm 90% sure it's going to be in my next OwlCrate so I guess I'll be reading it! I'm glad you hear you enjoyed it!!

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    1. If read for purely entertainment purposes, it's actually such a brilliant read. The pacing, character development and romance is where I struggled. I'd love to see what you think of it!

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  3. I was wondering why practically everyone I know of that have read this book find themselves having an inkling to bake! Like Nick, I was a little wary and excited about this one. I know the kind of writer Marissa is, but I'm just not in the mood for anymore retellings, to be honest. Sigh.

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    1. It made me so bloody hungry! I've struggled with so many retellings too Joy, even loose interpretations aren't able yo hold my interest lately but I found Heartless quite entertaining. As long as you're looking for a fun and somewhat fluffy read and nothing too complex, I'd definitely recommend giving it a whirl.

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  4. I love the sound of this! I've seen it pop up on a couple of blogs, but hadn't had the time to stop and read the reviews.
    Your judgements never let me down before :-) so another one for my TBR list it is :-).

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    1. I think you'll enjoy this one Sarah, it's one of those lazy weekend reads that you can pick up and just read for the pure enjoyment. I'd love to see what you think of it.

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  5. Thanks for sharing! I really do want to read this one - it will be nice to read something a bit new and different from Marissa. :)

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    1. I've still yet to read Cinder. Thanks for reminding me Lauren, might crack it open over the Christmas break.

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  6. I am on this tour too! It's quite good isn't it? And I agree wrt Jest, he is an enigma. I sometimes wonder though if back stories take away the power of the original -- Star Wars I'm look at you! Lol

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    1. Unfortunately I've never seen Star Wars, despite the husband trying to get me to watch it, but I know what you mean. I thought she did a decent job. Wonderland is such a hard one to tackle, I'm an Alice in Wonderland enthusiast and I find I'm a bit too critical when it comes to retellings. I really enjoyed this one though despite its issues. Looking forward to your tour stop!

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  7. Waiting for my Audible credit to kick in so that I can buy this one on audio because the narrator is amazing!

    Nereyda│ Nick & Nereyda’s Infinite Booklist

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    1. Ooh, who's the narrator? I'll have to check out a sample. Looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

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  8. aww this sounds lovely, I have not read her first series. I've been on a wait list in the library for it for what seems like forever. I've debated picking this one up from a friend while I wait >.< we shall see

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    1. I haven't read her Cinder series yet either Lily, but this seemed like a great one to start with. Looking forward to reading Cinder soon and seeing what all the hype is about.

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  9. Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the romance either and it kind of felt a bit draggy in that sense. Catherine kind of annoyed me with how she lead the King along. I'm glad you enjoyed the Wonderland setting and the book though Kelly! Lovely review!

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    1. Thanks Jeann. I did, as far as the entertainment aspect. It was very short on details and development though I found and I struggled so much with the romance. It's perfect for the younger teen audience though, I can imagine readers falling in love with Jest.

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  10. I’m still on the fence about this book. I haven’t read anything by this author, and I’ll probably start with Cinder. I have problems with books where I know from the beginning how it would end. Also the romance is important aspect for me and I don’t like the sound of this one. Beautiful review, Kelly!

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  11. I started this one yesterday, and I like it so far! Granted, I'm only about fifty pages in, but I second everything you liked about it and more. I would say that the plot behind Marissa's Lunar Chronicles is more engaging, but I like her writing more here. It's great to see her grow as a writer, and I would highly recommend her other books!

    - Eli @ The Silver Words
    #commenting365

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  12. With the same way she retold the story of Snow White's evil stepmother, Marissa Meyer really makes you look at fairytale villains in the same way...never again.

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  13. So glad you enjoyed this :) I'm dying to read it, it looks so amazing! <3

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