laraveliants's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“Was she so afraid to disappoint her parents and the King, that she was willing to put their happiness before her own?”
This is my first Marissa Meyer book and I must say her writing is lovely. Her words kept me hooked from start to finish. I haven’t read Alice in Wonderland so all I know of it is from the 1951 Disney movie. It’s interesting how she played with existing characters and gave them their own history in her story.
Before picking up this book knew that things were not going to go well for Cath because of who the Queen of Hearts is in Alice in Wonderland. That said, it still broke my heart how things came to be. It makes me sad how much of a contrast there is between the Cath from the beginning to the Cath at the end.
The romance between Jest and Cath was so good, I love forbidden lovers. The way Jest really cares about her and puts her well-being first makes me want to bawl my eyes out. Jest can do no wrong in my eyes, he’s perfect.
It’s gonna take a while for me to forget about this book because it made me really sad. Please go read it<3333
This is my first Marissa Meyer book and I must say her writing is lovely. Her words kept me hooked from start to finish. I haven’t read Alice in Wonderland so all I know of it is from the 1951 Disney movie. It’s interesting how she played with existing characters and gave them their own history in her story.
Before picking up this book knew that things were not going to go well for Cath because of who the Queen of Hearts is in Alice in Wonderland. That said, it still broke my heart how things came to be. It makes me sad how much of a contrast there is between the Cath from the beginning to the Cath at the end.
The romance between Jest and Cath was so good, I love forbidden lovers. The way Jest really cares about her and puts her well-being first makes me want to bawl my eyes out. Jest can do no wrong in my eyes, he’s perfect.
It’s gonna take a while for me to forget about this book because it made me really sad. Please go read it<3333
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Animal death
areen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
the pain...
so the entire execution as a backstory of the queen of hearts was brilliant! I felt I was in wonderland and actually learning the past of the queen of hearts. I loved being in the world despite feeling so suffocated by the people always saying the same things to Catherine, but that's also a sign of how well executed it was, down to each character. now if this was a different story set in wonderland I would've found a new comfort favorite. that just made this book all the more heartbreaking (heh) to me.
Spoiler
although I felt the scene where Jest died was a little anticlimactic, edit: I can't stop thinking about this book, and now I think it being anticlimactic was the better choice (apart from realizing that Jest was definitely injured enough to not move in that scene and despite that he jumped in immediately to save Cath TT TT) bc if that scene was as sad as I was imagining, then I wouldn't be able to pay attention to the climax of the book, aka her becoming the queen of hearts we are familiar with. this is a story about the queen of hearts and not Cath and Jest's lovestory, afterall.so the entire execution as a backstory of the queen of hearts was brilliant! I felt I was in wonderland and actually learning the past of the queen of hearts. I loved being in the world despite feeling so suffocated by the people always saying the same things to Catherine, but that's also a sign of how well executed it was, down to each character. now if this was a different story set in wonderland
Spoiler
with a happy ending between the mcs,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
good_names_dont_exist's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicide and War
holiday7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Most of this book made me either really shocked or really sad. Fuck Margaret, Peter, the King, and Catherine's parents. Also, justice for the Duke, Jest, and Mary Ann. I loved them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming
Minor: Suicide and War
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wanted to read this book because I really enjoyed the Cinder Series and I enjoy how Marissa does her re-tellings. I struggled with the Gilded Series and the Renegades Series. But I enjoyed this standalone.
This book is based on the Queen of Hearts. Before she got the Queen of Hearts title, she was Catherine Pinkerton, and she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. She was one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favourite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. She is a talented baker and all she wants to do is open a bakery with her best friend. But according to her mother, having a goal like that is unthinkable for a young woman who could be the next queen. Then Cath 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 an intense and 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, it looks like fate has other plans.
This is one of the times where all I wanted to do throughout this whole book is hug Cath and smack the shit out of her parents, like multiple times. All she wanted to do was to have her own life and open her own bakery. Yet her parents wanted her to marry off the power and status in the country. I just love how badass she got and how he learned to stand up for herself during this book. I love that she wanted to fight for everyone but also learned that she can’t save anyone. The storyline was strong and that you lose the fact that she’s not the villain until towards the end, but at the beginning she’s just this doe-eyed girl who had dreams and wishes. Jest was adorable and wanted more of him and his ending made me bawl my eyes out.
I would have loved for this book to be a dual POV, I would have loved to have seen how the Jest felt. I would have loved some more romance as well; it was a very quick and painful relationship, and I would have loved to be a bit slower and more romance.
This book made me root for the villain for the first time and I would love more books where the villain is the face of it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Blood
Minor: War and Suicide
beklovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Similar to Cruella or Maleficent, it’s the unexpected backstory of a character. True to the book and Alice in Wonderland movie, there are many overlapping characters. Powerful love story. Twists, turns, whimsy, fun, tension, creepy. Well done, though I might prefer to rewrite some sections and outcomes myself.
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Infidelity, and Murder
mysteryharvey's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I love this book and it was so beautifully heartbreaking. The twists and turns were lovely and I almost cried twice. The characters make you defend their wrongdoings with how lovable they are.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Fatphobia, Classism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Blood
arieslofi's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
well! i want to say that the premise is something that i really enjoyed, and it's only its execution that i wasn't an absolute fan of, including some of the writing, though not all. the writing itself felt very "try-hard" with its weird britishifcations that reminded me of 2013 when everyone was obsessed with the uk and everything british (as i mentioned in a previous update), with repetition that happened far too often, not the kind that serves as some sort of writing device (this does happen and i do enjoy it), but the kind that makes you wonder if there was any kind of editing involved in the publication of the book. besides that, the writing isn't too bad and didn't get on my nerves too much, and i actively enjoyed some parts of it.
i really liked the character of mary ann especially, though i'll say cath was neither here nor there and jest completely failed to be compelling to me, kind of pointless to me. speaking of pointless: the romance.
this book could have been really good, personally, if we hadn't had any type of romance involved, only a girl losing her dreams and having to deal with being stuck in a loveless marriage with the king until she snaps. i would even have enjoyed it if there had been romance involved, though differently. if, for example, it would have worked perfectly, and it was how i was expecting the book to end.
the ending itself felt unsatisfactory to me,
generally, not a bad book, per se, but it left me wanting a lot more, so i can't say i'm exactly happy with it. the premise is much better than the execution itself, though it only goes south around 70% of the book for me.
i really liked the character of mary ann especially, though i'll say cath was neither here nor there and jest completely failed to be compelling to me,
Spoiler
which made his deaththis book could have been really good, personally, if we hadn't had any type of romance involved, only a girl losing her dreams and having to deal with being stuck in a loveless marriage with the king until she snaps. i would even have enjoyed it if there had been romance involved, though differently. if, for example,
Spoiler
instead of jest taking her away and the last 30% happening the way they did, she had, just like before, stuck with the king, a fool (which could have served as a callback in dialogue!) only for jest to come back and her, tired and betrayed, called for his head. he was, after all, a wanted criminal,the ending itself felt unsatisfactory to me,
Spoiler
there was no real build-up to this sudden change in her behavior (though we are given a reason) and we only get a glimpse of it some chapters before. i feel like showing her ability to be genuinely evil and ruthless throughout the book would have worked better—even if we kind of get those moments in very small doses, like her stealing from the pumpkin patch and her intensity at playing croquet, although this latter felt more like a "this happens in the original story!" bit.generally, not a bad book, per se, but it left me wanting a lot more, so i can't say i'm exactly happy with it. the premise is much better than the execution itself, though it only goes south around 70% of the book for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, Misogyny, and Body shaming
Minor: Gore, War, and Eating disorder
henleymadelyn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming and Emotional abuse
annasneddon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming