book review : heartless

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Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Reading age: 16+

Rating: 7/10

You’ll like this if you liked The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes or Wicked The Musical.

I love a prequel and I love seeing the human side to a villain, so when I found out that this book was a prequel to Alice in Wonderland, and the Queen of Hearts was the main character, I knew it would be right up my street.

That being said if you’ve watched or read Alice in Wonderland, you know that the story sort of makes you feel like you’re going mad - Or that you’re reading a 10 year old ‘but it was all a dream’ school essay. Well, the prequel is no different. It's extremely creative and the world building is very patiently curated but it's also by no means an easy read. I kind of felt like Marissa Meyers wanted me to be confused. And although she did capture the magic of the story really well, it sometimes felt so far fetched that it was difficult to properly immerse myself into the plot. That being said once you reach the half way point, it does become really difficult to put down.

The story follows Catherine Pinkerton who comes from an aristocrat family and is stuck between wanting to be happy and wanting to please her family, but through several trials and tribulations learns that ultimately the choice was never hers to make. For those who have read Alice in Wonderland, you sort of know how the story has to end. But Meyers has a way of making you want to believe the impossible.

The story is definitely a story of love but it’s also story of self discovery, friendship and sacrifice. The story has no real hero or villain, but rather shows that someone’s villain can be another persons hero and vice versa. The ending did pull on my heart strings a little but it is nothing that hasn’t been done before. A typical tale of patriarchy and social class standing in the way of true love… but with a fantasy twist.

I love a fantasy book and understand how difficult world building can be, but I do think the pacing of this book was slightly off. The first half felt too slow and the second half felt too quick. That could’ve been intentional to align with the plot itself and the spiralling nature of time but I have a feeling a lot of people might give up on this book prematurely.

Nonetheless, I think the book is worth the ride and by the end, I was really attached to the characters. And now I really want to go and watch Alice in Wonderland again, from a new perspective.

Buy it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heartless-Marissa-Meyer/dp/1250044650

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