Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Heartless by Marissa Meyer is a book that follows Catherine Pinkerton, an aspiring baker, and the predicaments she finds herself in. Catherine, who goes by Cath, is the daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness of Rock Turtle Cove, a distinguished family. After attending a party, she meets the King of Hearts, a rather dim man looking for a wife. His new court jester, Jest, is a clever boy who impresses the crowd at the King of Heart’s party (especially Cath). The King of Hearts takes a liking to Cath immediately and decides he wants to propose on the spot at his party. However, the last thing Cath wants to do it get married, all she wants to do is open a bakery with her best friend. So, she pleads her talking cat, Cheshire, to somehow stop him from announcing it. At the last minute, Cheshire causes a distraction, stopping the King and allowing Cath to escape. Later that night, a beast called the Jabberwock attacks the party, causing Cath’s parents to return home early, relieved to see that she got home safely.
Soon after, the King begins attempting to court Cath (after Jest suggested that he do so rather than just marrying her immediately). Jest often helps the King with his gifts and notes, leaving his own along with them. In this way, Cath and Jest get to know each other better and better. However, the longer the King courts her, the more he wants to get married faster. All the while, the Jabberwock is still terrorizing citizens while the King does just about nothing. So, Cath must figure out how to get rid of the Jabberwock, avoid marrying a king who is insistent on marrying her, open a bakery with her best friend, and just maybe find a way to make Jest a part of her future.
One thing that I liked about this book was the characters. Meyer clearly spent a lot of time thinking about how she wanted the characters to be portrayed. I really enjoyed reading as the characters slowly developed over the course of the story and how their goals changed.
While Cath and Jest’s ‘forbidden love’ is kind of cliche, I think it was brought about very well. The author managed to create scenarios that make them come together in a slightly more natural way and made them slowly begin to like each other as the story went on.
This paragraph has a big spoiler and will most likely ruin the book. I’d recommend you read it after reading Heartless. One thing that I have mixed feelings about is how Jest died. On one hand, Meyer spent a lot of time building up Jest’s character, making the reader slowly grow to like him so his death was shocking. Although it did say Jest would die beforehand in the book and how he would die, it still surprised me. On the other hand, I felt like it made sense for Jest to die because of the effect that it has on Cath. If Jest didn’t die, Cath wouldn’t have married the King or become somewhat obsessed with justice.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and think it provides a great backstory for the Queen of Hearts. I didn’t think it dragged out at all and would definitely recommend it.
Soon after, the King begins attempting to court Cath (after Jest suggested that he do so rather than just marrying her immediately). Jest often helps the King with his gifts and notes, leaving his own along with them. In this way, Cath and Jest get to know each other better and better. However, the longer the King courts her, the more he wants to get married faster. All the while, the Jabberwock is still terrorizing citizens while the King does just about nothing. So, Cath must figure out how to get rid of the Jabberwock, avoid marrying a king who is insistent on marrying her, open a bakery with her best friend, and just maybe find a way to make Jest a part of her future.
One thing that I liked about this book was the characters. Meyer clearly spent a lot of time thinking about how she wanted the characters to be portrayed. I really enjoyed reading as the characters slowly developed over the course of the story and how their goals changed.
While Cath and Jest’s ‘forbidden love’ is kind of cliche, I think it was brought about very well. The author managed to create scenarios that make them come together in a slightly more natural way and made them slowly begin to like each other as the story went on.
This paragraph has a big spoiler and will most likely ruin the book. I’d recommend you read it after reading Heartless. One thing that I have mixed feelings about is how Jest died. On one hand, Meyer spent a lot of time building up Jest’s character, making the reader slowly grow to like him so his death was shocking. Although it did say Jest would die beforehand in the book and how he would die, it still surprised me. On the other hand, I felt like it made sense for Jest to die because of the effect that it has on Cath. If Jest didn’t die, Cath wouldn’t have married the King or become somewhat obsessed with justice.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and think it provides a great backstory for the Queen of Hearts. I didn’t think it dragged out at all and would definitely recommend it.
Great review! Your summary was really clear. I was disappointed with Heartless when I read it, but maybe thanks to this review I'll give it another chance. (spoilers ahead) I especially disliked Jest's death, because it didn't affect me emotionally like I felt it could've. I didn't even realize he had died until a couple pages after the occurrence (which probably was my fault, but it was very fast).The events after Jest's death also felt very rushed to me, but maybe with closer reading it'll make a bit more sense. Great job!
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