review: heartless

Heartless is pretty much a prequel to Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland, where Marissa Meyer writes about the Queen of Hearts before she became the queen. It took me a few weeks to read this book because i was really busy, but i enjoyed it overall and i'm rating it 4 out of 5 stars.
Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

"Before she was the Queen of Hearts, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love."

 Firstly, I haven't actually read Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland so I'm not too familiar with the world. I watched the movie(2010) many years ago so i can imagine what some of the characters like the Cheshire cat and Hatta look like. After finishing Heartless, i immediately felt like reading the book and rewatching the movie. I did remember that the Queen of Hearts was somewhat evil, so it was super interesting to find out how the sweet innocent girl we were introduced to in Heartless could become the opposite. 

 The first chapter was quite wonderful it made me drool and my stomach grumble. Meyer's description of lemon tarts was absolutely mouth-watering, despite the fact that I don't think i would actually like real lemon tarts. There was a lot of description for delicious desserts and colourful and fancy gowns and hats, it gave the book a sweet, jolly vibe to it.

 The pace of the story was quite slow and a draggy though, so it was a little difficult to get into. The best part had been the final third of the book, where everything started to make a lot of sense. I like Catherine Pinkerton and i LOVE Jest. I love the whole dilemma about needing to please your family and the society, and wanting to follow your dreams. I feel like it's something a lot of us face in our own lives, and it was nice to hear Cath's relatable thoughts about the matter. Although she was quite naive and stubborn, she was also raised in a very close-minded society who were in constant denial about the harsh reality of life.

This book had friendship, love, betrayal and destiny. I felt a little anxious throughout the entire book, bracing myself for what I assumed to be a tragic ending based on what i know from Alice in Wonderland. I always held on the the small bit of miraculous hope that it was going to end happily. It was pretty much like a fairy tale, after all.

Overall, the book was very slow-paced but if you're not craving for constant action and plot twists in a book then it's perfect. I liked the Alice in Wonderland vibe that Marissa Meyer managed to pull off, and I liked how she had tried to create this prequel to be consistent with Alice in Wonderland. I'm quite determined to read Lewis Caroll's original one soon.