Heartless | 
Finally, FINALLY starting the most popular stand-alone by one of my favorite authors ever! I can't believe it took me this long to start it, but I am now! This is going hand-in-hand with my New Year's resolution to stop following my lists to the letter and let out my inner mood reader.
#Heartless was such a beautifully tragic villain origin story of the Red Queen 👸🏼♥️ from Alice in Wonderland. I really loved it! Also if you take the sleeve off 📕 the book underneath is gorgeous. 🥰👑
bailedDnf at 20%. I don't like dnfing books, but this book just isn't for me. I think it's a little too YA. However, I'm still excited to try other books from this author.
Read for ##oneweekoneshelf
The prophecy didn't matter. The pros and cons didn't matter. In the end, the only real culprit was her heart. A heart that would reject a king's hand. A heart that would choose to leave everything for love. A heart that would risk everything in a moment to save a single person for which it had lingering compassion.
I think she knew it from the start that it was a choice. With the prophecy haunting her every thought and with Hatta's declaration that she would always have a reason to stay in Hearts, she knew she was supposed to choose between them and Mary Anne. But when she didn't have it in her heart to choose, she went with her gut and her impulses and ran to save the screaming Mary Anne.
The fact that the last thing she had said to Mary Anne before all this was basically “I hate you“ makes her decision to go through that door even more understandable emotionally. But imagine the others who had essentially no attachment to Mary Anne, watching as their fates were possibly decided as Catherine did the one thing the prophecy required.
If we're being honest, throughout the whole book she had been relying on or has had to rely on Jest to defend or protect her. What made her think he wouldn't come through? What made her think she could save MAry ANne by herself and make it back safely just in time for tea and crumpets?
She dove right back into the kingdom she had already decided to abandon for now in the hopes of maybe saving her one friend's life. You could say that she hoped to bypass the prophecy with loopholes by ensuring that no one else went through the door but there are a few too many what-ifs to consider: what if she failed? what if she got killed by the Jabberwock or even Peter Peter? She didn't have the vorpal sword because it was in Jest's hat
If we insert back in the fact that it was a prophecy by which the only way to fulfill it was by going through a door, then we have the possibly worst decision/action made in the entire book or at least by one of our major characters. All it takes was one action, and all it would have taken to avoid the horrifying fate that they were all made aware of was avoiding that one simple action. And Catherine dove right into the action for the one life
If we overlook the fact that she ignored how prophecies work, she still took the risk and did not weigh the pros and cons at all. It was either: a) POSSIBLY save Mary Anne and risk the prophecies happening which would kill Jest, turn Hatta mad, and make Raven a murderer or b) Forget Mary Anne who had already kind of betrayed her. She basically had their fate in her hands and she chose to possibly doom 3 lives to possibly save one.
Now if we compare it to Catherine's involvement and consequences, put together they actually seem much worse. One of her actions/decisions that had direct effect was her decision to go through that door. It is completely understandable because her best friend was screaming in imminent danger and she couldn't just leave her. But it is also stupid because she made the choice to doom them all by going through that door.
Despite Hatta's decision to throw the pumpkin seeds having one of, if not the worst consequences of the book because it ended up being what started everything, the decision or action itself was quite innocent. The karma of his consequences seems quite unbalanced with the actions of his that ended up having an influence.
What are the odds that the pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin that he meant to turn into a hat would be cursed? All the other materials he turned into hats did fine. Knowing Hatta's personality, throwing the pumpkin seeds into Peter Peter's farm was not an act of malicious intent. He was haphazardly disposing them on Peter Peter's property because of the attitude he received from Peter Peter when he was like “We don't take charity“.
I can only imagine how the guilt of being the start to all of this weighed on Hatta. It was such a simple, honest mistake that anyone could have made and it just happened to be him. It might not seem that way but if you think about it, Hatta never considered his hats or materials dangerous because as far as evidence showed they weren't. He must have been a traveling hatter for years and his business seemingly always thrived.
Hatta knew Jest likely years more than Catherine did. After Jest died, with the prospect of him going mad growing ever so close, I can imagine this being the biggest catalyst for him succumbing to it. I can't say who loved him more but I can undoubtedly say Hatta not only had more memories of Jest and fought more battles with him, but he was also more loyal to him than anyone else. At least Catherine sold her heart so she felt no more pain
Maybe because the book is mainly in her perspective or because Catherine was Jest's love interest, we tend to focus on her fate and pain more than others' in the book. We think “She must have suffered the worst right?“ Not only did she end up becoming what she had been trying to escape throughout the entire book, but she also lost the love of her life and even deemed her heart useless. But wait, who else also lost one they deeply loved?
I always wondered what it would look like if the story of Heartless was told from Hatta's or Jest's perspective. I'm particularly curious about Hatta's journey as he sought to escape his generational madness, and also his unrequited love for Jest that was hinted at and basically confirmed by the end of the story. The genius of his character writing was lost on me through my first read, but the second time blew my mind with the subtle nuances
#SpringSkies Day 12 #VillainPOV
I read this book in May 2017, not the best story, slow pace but it had something that I liked. It was a sad romance story between these two characters 💔
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
“A heart, once stolen, can never be taken back.”
― Marissa Meyer, Heartless
#luckyinlove #hearts #marissameyer #heartless
bailedThis has been on my TBR forever and my reading tastes have changed since I added it. Not for me so DNF.
However a #Roll100 checked off and #bookspinbingo #bookspin done!
pickHighly recommend!! I love a good fairy tell retelling and was awesome to get a new backstory that I hadn‘t read before.
pick🎧I don‘t think I‘ll ever get bored of a villain origin story. Though the ending was predictable, the mains were enjoyable enough that I didn‘t really care. Cath and Jest were so engaging.
pickThis book left me numb and cold in the best possible way. I couldn‘t get enough as I turned page after page on the edge of my seat. Although developing the MC felt a bit slow, it was necessary to build up that way. An excellent telling of a story we all may have THOUGHT we knew already. A refreshing take on an old classic. I thoroughly enjoyed a different perspective and Meyer‘s ability to covey absolutely nail down the human range of REAL emotion
pick⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I am not okay. I literally knew the ending and I am still not okay. I feel heartless now. Poor Catherine. What an engaging read!
"I am not empty. I am full to the brim with murder and revenge. I am overflowing and I do not think you wish for me to overflow onto you."
A delightful surprise and unique storyline for the Queen of Hearts. I LOVED this book!
so-soRead it while at the beach and enjoyed it a lot. The character was and also wasn‘t your typical protagonist. Gooood ending
I haven‘t read this yet (It‘s on my endless TBR 😬) but the main character is a baker and I‘ve heard there are recipes 🤪
#IncludesRecipes 🧁 🍰 👩🍳 #BookMoods 😊📚
#BookNerd 🤓💙📚
My next read 📖🤨
pickWhile yes, I did enjoy reading this book, it also let me down. I mean, the second I added to my TBR I knew it would be sad and I knew it was almost 500 pages, so I thought I would fall in love with the characters and then sob. But when characters died, I wasn‘t that sad. In the end it just felt wasted, especially with people I know who have amped me up for crying with this. And though I know it defeats the purpose of this book, I wonder if it ⬇️
Also not alone with this 🤣🤣🤣 will start with the tagged book lol
pickNot as strong as the Lunar Chronicles, but it doesn't has to be. I love how Meyer turns the traditional way of character development upside down. It might has had a bit too much romance in it for my taste, but in the end it's needed for the story. Because Marissa Meyer knows what she's doing and she for sure knows how to do retellings, that are more than just rip-offs of the originals.
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
pickAs part of my Alice in Wonderland retelling challenge I picked this one up as a Kindle Freebie read and I ended up really enjoying it. Fun addition to my challenge. This author really has an engaging way to tell a story. ❤️🐇
so-soI‘m kinda torn on this one. I‘m not a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland and thought this origin story needed better pacing and action. The 180 turn of several characters and their decisions left me frustrated and I thought the romance was a little boring. The last fifty pages were gripping and dark and it was unputdownable in several spots. Wouldn‘t pick it up again, but an entertaining- if frustrating- read.
"She is a rose, Jest. Lovely on the eyes, yes, but such thorns are not to be ignored."
Heartless
-Marissa Meyer
pickLate review. My third #AliceInWonderland pick for the #FairytaleReadingChallenge. This was the first book I read by Marissa Meyer. I really enjoyed this. Loved the writing. Great origin story for the Queen of Hearts.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
1. Yes, absolutely! I judge books by their titles and their covers all the time. 🙃
2. I chose Heartless by Marissa Meyer - though I originally pick this one for the audio reader!
#judgy #two4tuesdsy
Hey Littens For thoes of you in #LitsyLove I just added 6 New books to the Book Trading Form ( https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pjbkboxcb0tt3y-sJZLg7ZJvtqOET2RimFkQuJvL... Please take a look and hit me up if you want any of them. Most of them are in Like new condition. There are a few hardcovers! #LitsyLove #Trade #Books #BookTade
"I'm late I'm late for a very important date"
?❤??? I've got a fascination with pocket watches. I love keeping this ticking. Thank you @TheWolfbehindTheEyes #pocketwatch #time #responsibility #whiterabbit #gift #litsylove
This is a little bit late, but here is my reading wrap up for March. I also read an arc of Cheer Up digitally.
Books read: 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖
Average rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thanks for the tag @MoonWitch94 🙂
🐣 Great origin story for the Queen of Hearts.
🐣 Indoors. There‘re too many people outside in the spring.
🐣 I usually do the monthly reading challenges hosted by @Andrew65
so-soI really struggled with this book! It felt slow and often very frustrating to me. I found it hard to connect with Cath, especially knowing how doomed her dreams were. It‘s a Wonderland very much like the books except for some creative additions of Meyer‘s own (I loved the three sisters of the well). I‘m surprised I didn‘t love it based on that and how much I liked the Lunar Chronicles. 🤷🏻♀️ #newyearwhodis @AbigailJaneBlog @monalyisha
pickHeartless is a YA book that imagines the life of the woman who would become the Red Queen in the Alice in Wonderland book and the events that would shape her into it.
Cath just wanted to open a bakery with her friend but when the king starts courting her the future she imagined for herself is put on hold. Being queen isn‘t her desire but she can‘t find a way to escape it until she befriends Jest a mysterious man who opens new possibilities to her.
I loved the characters in Heartless. I thought I will crochet the main characters. Here is the silly king. Wil post the rest soon.
“That would imply we give our hearts away willingly, and I am not sure that‘s the case. Perhaps we should ask Jest when he returns” I read the Authors questions and answers in the back of the book & turns out Marissa Meyers was inspired by “Cath..” by death cab for cutie when writing her character. my broke even more than i thought it could
