Heartless by Marissa Meyers
Before she was the Queen of Hearts she was just a girl in love…
Synopsis:
In Heartless, Catherine just wants to open a bakery with her best friend. But the King of Hearts wants her as his wife. How can she keep hold of her dream when her parents are convinced that this marriage is best for her and the kingdom?
When she meets Jest, the very irreverant and handsome court jester, she is drawn to him like a magnet. She falls in love and realizes that she would sacrifice everything to be with him.
However, in a land of magic of madness fate might have other ideas.
Pros:
- Meyers writes in very rich details with great world building.
- Great believable characters
- Heartless has a unique plot line that has many twists and turns despite the fact we all know the ending
Cons:
- The land of Heartless is the Wonderland that Alice visited and it contains absurd magic just like the original which some people might not enjoy.
- Initially I found Catherine very distant but I think that is intentional. As I read further I warmed to her and saw the tragedy of the story.
Conclusion:
I loved Heartless!!! The rich details really drew me into this story. I have to admit that Alice in Wonderland is not one of my favourite stories but Meyers gives it new life. There are many twists and turns in this story where we all know the ending. It’s also fun to find the “origins” of many of the things that are in the original Lewis Carroll classic.
She was a finalist in The Word Guild’s (Canada) “God Uses Ink”, ACFW’s “First Impressions”, and The Reading Rooms “Aspiring Writers” contests. The short story Talking Drum can be found in “The Story – 2014 Anthology”. Her day job is Awards Director for The Word Guild, a group that supports Christian writers across Canada.
She dreams of travelling through space and time, being sorted into a Hogwart’s house and finding her way to Neverland. When she’s not writing or cooking for her hubby and four kids she enjoys teaching teens about life and words. Check out more about Karen, the current novel she is working on and her blog at http://karendeblieck.com/.