Heartless Spoiler Free Book Review | Blog Tour
Hey lovelies!
Today I am sharing with you MY VERY FIRST BLOG TOUR! I know, it's crazy! I have never been on a blog tour but Pan Macmillan asked me if I was interested and of course, I said yes, because a) how exciting and b) the book was super exciting!
Heartless is by Marissa Meyer who is the New York Times Bestselling Author of The Lunar Chronicles which is such a popular series here in the book community! And although I am yet to read it, I promise it is very high on my TBR and I am very excited to read it because I have heard nothing but good things!
So this was my very first blog tour and let's just get on with it, shall we?
About the book.
Book: Heartless
Author: Marissa Meyer
Author: Marissa Meyer
Pages: 499
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Australian RRP: $18.99
Australian RRP: $18.99
Synopsis: 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 (source)
Genre: Young Adult, Retelling, Romance
Recommended for: Anyone 12+.
This book was sent to me by Pan Macmillan Australia as part of the Heartless blog tour (thank you to them for that!) however all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and this is an honest review!
This book was sent to me by Pan Macmillan Australia as part of the Heartless blog tour (thank you to them for that!) however all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and this is an honest review!
Make sure to also check out the other super awesome blogs part of the blog tour to see their reviews and thoughts on the book too!
{ WRITING }
I found the writing of this book to flow quite well had a
very descriptive quality to it. I could imagine the characteristics of people,
the details of the food the main character was baking and society that was
created. However, the writing was not outstanding.
There was also a light, airy vibe to the book until three
quarters of the way through but then got quite dark suddenly in the last
quarter, which I felt was very unexpected and quite jarring. I felt the writing
could have worked to make a smoother transition for this.
{ IDEA }
In case you didn’t know, this book is a prequel to Alice In
Wonderland and tells the story of the Queen Of Hearts and how she came to be.
I do really remember enjoying Alice In Wonderland as a child
and I thought telling the story of the Queen Of Hearts was a fantastic idea because
everyone loves a good origin story! It remained quite similar to Alice In
Wonderland, which I am glad for on one hand because it makes the story more
authentic but am also a bit disappointed in because it makes it quite
predictable.
I thought the take on the Queen Of Hearts was a very unique
one because I couldn’t ever imagine the Queen Of Hearts being just a normal
girl who has passions and dreams and wants because in Alice In Wonderland, she
is quite formidable.
I felt the aspect of (as it says on the blurb) ‘a girl who
has a talent for cooking magical confections that can alter a person’s
emotions’ didn’t really show up in the book. I’m not sure if that is
changed in the final copy as I have the uncorrected proof but I found that
aspect didn’t really show up and I would have really liked it to.
The idea of this book was also poorly explained. I have read
Alice In Wonderland as a child and watched the movie adaptations by Tim Burton
but I am not overly familiar with the world, especially when it comes to the
second story, Alice Through The Looking Glass. I didn’t understand a lot of the
events happening towards the end.
I did quite enjoy the idea of this book because it was
highly enjoyable and I was really hanging onto every word but it kind of went
downhill after a certain point for me, which is what the next section is for!
{ PLOT }
The plot was quite intriguing and I was really into this book…but
then I hit three quarters of the way through. From there, it got pretty dark
suddenly and I didn’t really know what was happening. There was too much
happening, too fast. The character change was so sudden and it went from a fun,
airy novel to a book where people were dying, blood was being shed and anger
was brewing.
I felt the ending should have been staggered and slower
instead of rushed in the last 40 or so pages and it left me feeling quite
stunned and confused…? It was also quite badly explained, as I had mentioned
before, and I felt myself disconnecting from the story and the characters, whom
I had previously loved so much!
On the other hand, I liked how simple the plot elements were
as I didn’t want something overcomplicated, especially for something based on a
children’s book.
{ CHARACTERS }
I know there are quite a lot of mixed reviews about the
characters but I personally quite liked them, although there were a few minor
issues.
But, I also thought that she could be quite petty at times. The
way she treated Jest often annoyed me. I didn’t like how she didn’t stand up
for herself and I found her to not be the greatest role model that I had
originally hoped for.
Jest! Aha, Jest! He’s easily my favourite character because
he’s so sweet and funny and adorable! However, I felt we didn’t really get to
see more of him beyond the cheesy romance. I would have liked to really see
more of him and his personality and likes and dislikes rather than what he is
like with Catherine.
Lastly, the Hatter! I felt he was so unconvincing. Not only
was he really mean, downright cruel, he wasn’t as crazy as I had expected him
to be. I also would have liked to see more of him in the book because he is a
huge part of Wonderland.
{ FINALLY… }
Overall, I really enjoyed Heartless! I was ready to give it
a 4.5 or 5 star rating but unfortunately, due to the ending, I wasn’t able to! Nonetheless,
it’s a pretty great read and I recommend it if you enjoy fantasy reads or are a
big fan of Alice In Wonderland!
OVERALL RATING:
★★★★
2 happy thoughts
I just ordered this one!! *flails happily* I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO ARRIVE IT LOOKS SO SO GOOD EEEP. I'd hoped for lots of emphasis on magical baking though? So eek a bit disappointed if it's not the case. And I LOVED your photos so much. Cake. 😍😍
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!
YES OMG! Did you order the hardback bc that is so GORG! There isn't as much baking as I would like but still not bad! And AWWW THANK YOU SO MUCH CAIT!
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