Heartless by Marissa Meyer

4.5/5 rating

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Trigger Warnings: Forced marriage, decapitation, murder, suicide references, fat shaming

"'As it so happens, Mr. Jest, I've sometimes come to believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast" (Meyer 59).

I love this adaptation of the Red Queen. She already has a strong female presence, but with Meyer's take, she stands out more. It is quite hard to not compare this to the novel by Lewis Carroll. Despite the struggle, I will do my best to refrain from that.

Cath only wishes to own the best bakery in Hearts and find true love. With the elegant description of these pastries, readers can't help but have their mouths water and a longing to try them. It was an excellent incorporation of the famous Wonderland tarts that the Red Queen was fond of. I also loved how Meyer's wrote a relationship between a young skinny man and a plus-sized woman. 

Apart from the fatphobic relationship Cath has with her parents, this was incredible representation for many plus-size women. Especially since Cath was not corporative with her parents decision in her size. Instead, she found relaxation in breaking her corset and in comfy clothes. Cath is a great representation for plus-size women and women who enjoy relaxation in general. Through this representation is the representation of a strong woman. Heartless is a beautifully written tale of a woman who wishes to pursue herself to higher things. As mentioned, Cath wishes to open her own bakery. Being as it may, this is a struggle in Hearts. However, Cath let's nothing stand in her way. She improves herself so much that when a man shows up in her life, he is astonished with her determination. So much so, he begins to fall in love with her. 

"'I can't stop thinking about you, Lady Catherine Pinkerton of Rock Turtle Cove. I've been trying, but it's useless'" (Meyer 239). 

Meyer added a new character to her tale named Jest. This beautiful original character is someone readers can't help to become smitten with while reading. He truly was the missing piece in Cath's life. From beginning to end, I found myself captivated by the way his tale was conveyed. In all honesty, I fell for Jest. Then again, with his elegant and eloquently spoken words, how could I not. All the twists and turns made my heart swell with happiness, and be thrown away like trash. It is true when they say, men written by woman are to die for. 

From a technical perspective, I loved how Meyer takes chapters to explain the setting before going into depth on the dialogue. This allows the readers to become Cath. Standing in her shoes and seeing the world through her eyes. It blurrs the line between fiction and reality. Many can argue that this was a waste and that it took too many chapters to do, however this writing decision stood out to me in a positive way. Description is only perfect when executed in a pristine way. Meyer wasn't pristine, however, she still was able to execute this technique in a way that it didn't make the reader skip through the pages. Unfortunately, there were times I did find my eyes skipping down to the dialogue points, but I always found a way to go back and re-read what I had missed. It always proved to be important by the end. 

If there could be a second book, I would open my arms to the idea. However the ending was fitting for the story. In a way, readers can bridge it perfectly with Carroll's original design for the Red Queen.

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