Heartless by Marissa Meyer Book Review

Today I will be reviewing Heartless by Marissa Meyer, a book that I finished a couple weeks back but just can't stop thinking about. Heartless was the first Marissa Meyer book I have ever read but it most definitely will not be the last.

Heartless is a villain's origins story, more specifically the Queen of Hearts origins story.
All Cath truly wants to do in life is open a bakery with her best friend and fall in love but her mother doesn't approve especially since the King of Hearts has taken a certain interest in her. Soon though Cath meets Jest, the new court Joker and starts to develop feelings for him. Knowing no one would approve Cath and Jest enter into a secret courtship. Cath is determined to choose her own future and fall in love on her own terms but fate has other plans in store for her.

Heartless exceeded all expectations I had for it, in nearly all ways possible. I knew it was going to be sad, and not have a happy ending but throughout the book I was continually rooting for the characters, hoping that they would have their happily ever afters and that there was going to be a massive plot twist. Part of the reason for this was because of the way it was written - Marissa Meyer wrote this book in such a whimsical way, there were riddles sprinkled throughout that the characters had to solve but also us as readers had to solve, as well as always giving us as readers and the characters false hope that it was all going to turn out okay. At no point did I expect this book to be as heartbreaking as it was.

There was nothing in Heartless that I strongly disliked, sure there were times that I got annoyed at the characters but that was because of their choices and how if they had made a different choice it could have turned out differently.

I haven't yet read Alice in Wonderland (though I did request it from the library as soon as I finished Heartless) but I do know the story and I found it really cool to see all the different character's origins and how they came to be how they are in Alice in Wonderland.

This book is what I want to see in YA fantasy and I would 100% recommend it. This book is great for all ages, for there are little if any swear words and no inappropriate content that would class a book as unsuitable for younger readers. I would happily give this book to a 10 or 11 year old looking for something new, perhaps a little bit older or mature, in a heartbeat, something I wouldn't feel comfortable doing with most of my YA fantasy books.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars but it could have been a 5 star book easily.

Comments

The Match book review

Back in April I was recommended my first Sarah Adams book and really enjoyed it however it wasn’t my favourite type of romance book so when I saw this one had been rereleased and was 99p on Kindle I knew that I needed to read it. The Match follows Evie who works for a company that trains service dogs to help people with all sorts of disabilities after her life was changed when she got a service dog to help with her epilepsy and when she meets Jacob when trying to convince him how much a service dog would help his daughter she begins to fall for him and his small family. This was such a light brilliant romance that I just wanted to read and continue to be immersed in the story for as long as I could. I loved all of our major characters particularly Evie, Jacob and Sam (Jacob's daughter). Sam just added the best things to the story and the romance going on between Evie and Jacob. She was also a brilliant character on her own that you really felt for and you just underst...

It Only Happens in the Movies book review

I have previously loved Holly Bourne books but found that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the one I read in 2024 so was a bit anxious going into It Only Happens in the Movies however I had no need for that anxiety because this book was exactly what I wanted and more. It Only Happens in the Movies follows Audrey who is over romance after her parents divorce that has left her stuck in the middle, a tough break up and teenage friendship struggles. When she starts a new job and meets Harry, Audrey tries to stay away however she can’t help falling for him even if she knows she shouldn’t. When I first started I was unsure about the book with the elements of romance however I was pleasantly surprised. Holly Bourne built up a character who I understood and felt relatable. The book had the expected message present in almost all Holly Bourne books which made the story more impactful and me wanting to keep reading to see how things worked out. All the characters were well-deve...

The Off-Limits Rule book review

I discovered Sarah Adams in early 2024 after it was recommended to me on Bookstagram and while she wasn’t originally an author I was sure about, however as I read more from her I fell in love with her books and she definitely became a favourite auto-buy author. My last traditionally published backlist series I had to read going into 2025 was It Happens in Nashville duology, the first book being The Off-Limits Rule. The Off-Limits Rule follows Lucy who has moved her and her son back in with her brother who has made it clear that his best friend, Cooper, is off-limits to her however Lucy has gotten a different impression of Cooper to what Drew has told her about him and maybe it’s okay to break the rule sometimes, right? As soon as I started this book I was reminded of exactly why I love Sarah Adams books so much. I was invested in Lucy’s character and hooked by the story. I enjoyed all of the characters and found it to be a book that I could not put down. The romance w...

Eilidh Reads

Search This Blog