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A review by lawbooks600
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
adventurous
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
3.0
Representation: N/A?
Score: Six points out of ten.
A friend in real life recommended this to me which came from a familiar author since I've read many of her books like Cinder, Scarlet, Renegades, Archenemies, Gilded, Cursed so I picked it up and finally read it. When I finished it, I thought it was only okay and not at the same level as Scarlet but I've seen worse. It starts with the main character Catherine whose last name I don't know living in Wonderland (that sounds familiar but it is an Alice in Wonderland retelling after all.) The first few pages start the narrative slowly and that pace continues throughout most of it. Here's where the flaws surface, the worldbuilding isn't one of the strongest as it felt more like a world set in the 19th century with the Wonderland label slapped on than an actual setting. I couldn't fully connect to the characters either and unfortunately it's a common issue among Marissa Meyer's works but there are some that I could connect to (not in this novel though.) What frustrated me the most is that the author decided to name the villain the Jabberwocky but it isn't real. It's a poem. Not a creature. So why is it in here? She could've come up with any another name and instead she chose this one.
Catherine is forced to marry the king so she becomes queen but she secretly starts a relationship with another significant protagonist, Jest (as I said earlier, I couldn't relate to any of them.) In the midst of that Catherine must go to a realm called Chess but I thought chess was a board game and not another kingdom interconnected with Wonderland. The ending was terrifying as Catherine thought she killed the Jabberwocky but instead she killed Jest due to an illusion from a person added in the for the sake of the story to move forward. Then after some bereavement Catherine turns into the well known Queen of Hearts concluding the book where Alice in Wonderland would pick up afterwards (there is also an afterword where the author gives an answer to the question of why is a raven like a writing desk.)
Score: Six points out of ten.
A friend in real life recommended this to me which came from a familiar author since I've read many of her books like Cinder, Scarlet, Renegades, Archenemies, Gilded, Cursed so I picked it up and finally read it. When I finished it, I thought it was only okay and not at the same level as Scarlet but I've seen worse. It starts with the main character Catherine whose last name I don't know living in Wonderland (that sounds familiar but it is an Alice in Wonderland retelling after all.) The first few pages start the narrative slowly and that pace continues throughout most of it. Here's where the flaws surface, the worldbuilding isn't one of the strongest as it felt more like a world set in the 19th century with the Wonderland label slapped on than an actual setting. I couldn't fully connect to the characters either and unfortunately it's a common issue among Marissa Meyer's works but there are some that I could connect to (not in this novel though.) What frustrated me the most is that the author decided to name the villain the Jabberwocky but it isn't real. It's a poem. Not a creature. So why is it in here? She could've come up with any another name and instead she chose this one.
Catherine is forced to marry the king so she becomes queen but she secretly starts a relationship with another significant protagonist, Jest (as I said earlier, I couldn't relate to any of them.) In the midst of that Catherine must go to a realm called Chess but I thought chess was a board game and not another kingdom interconnected with Wonderland. The ending was terrifying as Catherine thought she killed the Jabberwocky but instead she killed Jest due to an illusion from a person added in the for the sake of the story to move forward. Then after some bereavement Catherine turns into the well known Queen of Hearts concluding the book where Alice in Wonderland would pick up afterwards (there is also an afterword where the author gives an answer to the question of why is a raven like a writing desk.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and War
Full trigger warnings: Blood, grief and loss depiction, sword violence, death of a boyfriend, forced marriage, war themes, animal attack