Heartless By: Marissa Meyer

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• Title: Heartless
• Author: Marissa Meyer
• Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
• Publication Date:  November 28, 2016
• Pages: 453
• Genre: Fantasy
• Recommended Age(s): 13+
• First Read: 2017
• Source: Library 
• Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 stars

Catherine has stolen the heart- and the stomach- of the King of Hearts, but would love nothing more than to forget him and open her own bakery. Until she meets Jest, the mysterious, witty, and wonderfully refreshing court Jester. The two enter a whirling romance at the risk of her parents, and the king's, wrath. However, as it is in Wonderland, not everything is as it seems- and it seems that fate has other plans for her. 

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This book. Wow. I greatly enjoyed Marissa Meyer's writing in The Lunar Chronicles, so I picked up her new book excited for the ride I was about to take. And man, was I right!

This book follows the origin story, per say, of The Queen of Hearts, and it starts out nice and soft-frothy even, and I fell in love with many of the characters right away, enjoying the whimsy of it all. This book was also filled with descriptions of scrumptious sounding food, so that maaaaay have helped a bit. The fantasy also reminded me of the whimsy I loved so much in The Night Circus, though both novels end up having their own brand of magic. However, as the story progresses, it becomes very dark, very fast, and I absolutely adored this book for that. This book is a tragedy- a beautiful, emotionally writhing mess of feelings- and I wouldn't have it any other way.

What I think I loved most about this book was the balance it had between familiarity and unfamiliarity. I have never read the original Alice in Wonderland books, and have had lukewarm feelings towards the Disney versions, but this world was still highly recognizable, while still bringing in a new twist. Even if you have read the Alice books, you wouldn't necessarily know what is going on because Meyer still brings in fresh characters that seem wonderfully at home in this setting. (ha- see what I did there?) There is a very Victorian setting amid all of this, with the lovely overtones of female oppression, and Catherine is not having any of it by the end.

I loved the characters in this book because, while they seemed a motley bunch at first, they all contain complexities and grow within the course of the novel. I loved the Jester and Raven in particular, with their wit, and Chesire with his trademark sass. They balance out the encroaching darkness of this book and the madness that pervades the edges of the novel- until even they cannot do anything about it.

So whether you're looking for madness, or you're already mad, this book will not disappoint. You'll find yourself in good company because we're all mad in here.