Book Review: Heartless

Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: November 8, 2016
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. 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 a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

 
Sometimes your heart is the only thing worth listening to.

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

It is a dangerous thing to unbelieve something only because it frightens you.

A heart, once stolen, can never be taken back.

I was really looking forward to this book and I hate to report that I was left unsatisfied and disappointed. Let me start off by saying that I did not, by any means, hate the story or the way the book turned out. I finished the book and wouldn’t say that I didn’t enjoy some parts of Catherine’s story. However, I will also say that I feel like a lot of this had to do with the start of the story. It took me forever to get past the first one hundred pages or so. I tried to keep my judgement separate from the Lunar Chronicles, but ultimately I found myself going back and comparing the two. I wanted the story to take more of a creative twist on things, like her other novels have done. I liked the familiar characters making appearances like the Cheshire Cat, the Jabberwock, and others, but I was still left feeling a little empty by the time I had finished reading.

I loved Catherine’s character, but I like there was so much more room for fleshing her out. I felt like something was missing from her. I wanted to see more of her flaws, imperfections, dark little desires, and awkward habits from the start of the book and I don’t feel like I ever got that. Another thing, that relates to what I was saying earlier about creativity, is that retellings are a dime a dozen. We get ten plus every year; this one was just like the rest. Where is the surprise? Where is the tiny, little tidbit that sets this apart from all the rest? It just wasn’t there. Like I said, there was plenty to like and enjoy, but I just feel like with fairytale retellings, we really have to be amazed!