5.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars

S.J.C. · March 24, 2021

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } 4.5 StarsI've never been a big fan of the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland and I'll be honest, I've never read the books by Lewis Carol. But I love the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer so I knew I was gonna read this book one day. And one day just happened!Even though I've never been a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland, I quite enjoy retellings of fairytales and other popular classic stories.I really liked Catharine, our heroine. Even though she was a lady of the court, she had no interest in wealth or fame or title. She loves to bake. She's become best friends with her ladies maid. Catherine doesn't care about the fact that Mary Ann is a maid. Cath can see her for who she is and values her friendship. And she wants to go into business with her, since Catharine loves to bake and Mary Ann loves the business side.Catherine also loves her parents and wants to please them, despite not wanting the life they want for her. She is a good friend to many other characters in her world, even ones who don't deserve it (including her parents). She's also not a pushover. She stands her ground, while trying to be polite.The king takes an interest in her and she has absolutely zero interest in him except that he loves her baking. But then Catherine is introduced to Jest, the new court joker and he is all she can see after that.There's also a huge monster, a jabberwock, wreaking havoc and eating people. We also get to meet Ms. Meyer's versions of the mad hatter and the hare, learn why she hates white roses and how she becomes obsessed with removing people's heads.Unfortunately, this is a tragic tale, but since we all know that the Queen of Hearts is a heartless tyrant married to a spineless king, how else could it turn out?I usually don't enjoy tragic stories, but since it's a prequel and I already knew how she was going to turn out, I expected it. Though what happens in the story, still tugged at my heartstrings! I don't blame her one bit for turning out how she did.As always, Marissa Meyers's writing is impeccable. Everything flows and I was enthralled with with story. I highly recommend it.

5.0 out of 5 stars A gorgeous, heartbreaking and epic adventure

F. · November 15, 2016

Wow, what a gorgeous and heartbreaking and epic adventure this has been. And such a wonderful and wild ride. HEARTLESS is one of those stories that will be remembered and loved long after the final page has been turned. It is delightful and magical and fun and sweet and silly. And it is oh so very clever. And captivating. And devastating. And surprising.One would not expect the Queen of Hearts to be a sympathetic character, let alone a likable one. Yet Marissa Meyer made her into someone very likable. She gave her character hopes and dreams, even if they might have been unrealistic. She put her character into challenging and often no-win situations, forced her to make difficult decisions, and limited her possibilities. And she made her character's transformation from who she was to who she became very believable.Catherine was hopeful and foolish and emotional and passionate about the things she loved. She wasn't particularly strong or defiant or independent. And she definitely wasn't the hot-tempered and blood-thirsty Queen she would become. She wanted the impossible - a simple life, love, happiness. But her title, her family's expectations and the interest of the King all but ensured a very different future for her than the one she imagined.But when she meets the literal man of her dreams, she'll finally have decide whether to risk everything and go after a life she wants or accept the one she's expected to live.Choice and destiny play a big role in HEARTLESS. As do actions and consequences, strength and determination, bravery and heroism. Add in fantastical, whimsical, odd and quirky and adorable creatures and beings, an enchanting setting, and an ending that you know from the outset will shatter your heart and you have a story that merits a re-read or two or three.Marissa Meyer has written a "before story" that fits so well into Lewis Carroll's world. She added a dash of Poe, a touch of Greek mythology, a few creations all her very own and created something marvelous and imaginative that readers are sure to fall madly in love with and that will make them want to pick up Carroll's Alice books to continue on with the tale.

Marissa Meyers Wunderland ist brilliant!

P. · February 9, 2020

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } „It is a dangerous thing to unbelive something only because it frightens you.“ […] „But hoping," he said, „is how the impossible can be possible after all.“Zum Cover: Absolut passend zur Geschichte und zur Atmosphäre in diesem Buch, gerade gegen Ende sind die Farben und Kontraste von Rot und Schwarz super gut gewählt. Generell harmonieren sie aber auch sehr gut zusammen. Auch die Krone über dem Titel „Heartless“, wobei das „t“ als Schwert getarnt ist, finde ich äußerst toll arrangiert. Insgesamt: Große Coverliebe!Zum Inhalt: Catherine mag eines der begehrtesten Mädchen im Wunderland und eine Favoritin des unverheirateten Herzkönigs sein, aber ihre Interessen liegen woanders. Als talentierte Bäckerin will sie nur eines, mit ihrer besten Freundin ein Geschäft eröffnen. Ihrer Mutter zufolge ist ein solches Ziel für eine junge Frau, die die nächste Königin sein könnte, undenkbar.Dann trifft Cath auf Jest, den gutaussehenden und mysteriösen Joker am Hof des Herzkönigs. Zum ersten Mal spürt sie die Anziehungskraft. Sie und Jest laufen Gefahr, den König zu beleidigen und ihre Eltern wütend zu machen, und gehen eine intensive, geheime Beziehung ein. Cath ist entschlossen, ihr eigenes Schicksal zu definieren und sich zu ihren Bedingungen zu verlieben. Aber in einem Land voller Magie, Wahnsinn und Monster hat das Schicksal andere Pläne.„Es ist gefährlich, etwas nicht zu glauben, nur weil es dich erschreckt.“ […] „Aber Hoffnung“, sagte er, „ist, wie das Unmögliche doch möglich sein kann.“Meine Meinung: Marissa Meyer weiß, wie man Geschichten besonders macht. Mit einer außergewöhnlichen Protagonistin, die ein außergewöhnlich alttägliches, fast schon „normales“ Talent besitzt. Cath ist in diesem Fall die Tochter aus gutem Hause mit einem Traum, der, so findet ihre Mutter, unter ihrer Würde liegt. Sie will Bäckerin bzw. Konditorin werden, weil sie das backen von Kuchen und Desserts liebt. Und was habe ich in diesem Buch nicht manchmal Hunger auf Süßes bekommen! Nebenbei bemerkt, ist Jest, der Gegenpart zu Cath, ein ebenso toller Charakter, mit dem man sehr gerne seine Zeit verbringt. Da kann man wirklich verstehen, weshalb Cath sich so schwer tut, ihr Herz an einen anderen zu verschenken, wenn es da doch Jest gibt.Auch die Anspielungen an die Originalgeschichte von Alice im Wunderland, mit der weißen und roten Königin, der Grinsekatze, die absolut genial auch in diesem Buch ist, dem verrückten Hutmacher und seiner Teeparty mit seinem Nicht-Geburtstagsfeiertag und dem Jabberworky. Allesamt geben dieser Geschichte Sinn, aber dennoch gewinnt Caths Geschichte mit Eigenständigkeit, vor allem auch durch den super atmosphärischen wie flüssig lesbaren Schreibstil. Ich habe das Buch zwar auf Englisch genossen, weil es bisher noch nicht übersetzt wurde, doch finde ich, dass die Sprache, die Marissa Meyer für ihre Bücher wählt, nicht anstrengend ist. Sie ist zwar auch nicht unanspruchsvoll und ich würde empfehlen, dass man „Heartless“ nicht als sein erstes, englisches Buch liest, sondern erst einmal Erfahrung sammelt. Wenn man dies hat, ist „Heartless“ aber ein voller Genuss und ein Buch, das die Geschichte einer Anti-Heldin erzählt, die anders ausgeht als man es erwartet.Fazit: Ich liebe Marissa Meyer, ich liebe ihren Schreibstil und ich bin verrückt nach ihren Büchern. Vielleicht sehen das manche anders, aber für mich ist sie meine „Queen of Reader-Hearts“ . Sie schafft es einen mit vollkommen simplen, jedoch außergewöhnlichen Ideen zu überzeugen und dafür bewundere ich diese Frau. So haben mich ihre Welt und ihre Charaktere in „Heartless“ zu Hundertprozent oder auch zu 5 Sternen überzeugt.

perfetto

C.A. · May 21, 2025

Ottimo prodotto, molto valido.Ottimo venditore.

Magnificent wordplay

J. · July 8, 2019

This book took everything I loved about Alice and gave me more to love. The characters are so vivid and the story had me captivated from the beginning. For a slow and reluctant reader, Heartless is a great gateway back into finding ones passion for reading. It's easy to read, digest and love.

Book Review: Heartless

R.S. · January 14, 2018

Heartless is the story of a princess with very simple needs and a head full of simpler dreams.Heartless is the story of an ordinary girl who possesses an extraordinary power to bring back things from her dreams.Heartless is the story of a girl who only wanted to bake and to fall in love with her prince charming.Catherine is a young girl, who loves to bake and is very good at it. Her sweets are loved by all who have had the privilege to try them and the demand for her hand baked delights only seems to rise like a sweet dough left aside. All she wants is to open a bakery and live her dream. She has the full support of her maid and best friend, Mary Ann in this little venture and they both have decided to be business partners. All has been decided; Cath would do all the baking and Mary Ann would handle the accounts.But there’s a slight problem here.Cath’s mother would never approve of her only daughter going into the men’s world of business, especially with a humble servant like Mary Ann as her partner. And that’s not all. There is a bigger part of the story where she falls in love but her lover is not approved by her family as he is an ordinary court joker, Jest.Oh Jest!He isn’t as ordinary as he pretends to be. His entry into the king’s court brings a dark entity to the court. And all this happens on the same day when the king decides to propose Catherine to be his wife;on the same day when Cath’s prospect of opening a bakery in town was crushed by her parents;on the same day when Cath and Jest fall in love.I can rave about this book for as long as the person I am raving to doesn’t hit me with the same book and make me unconscious. Heartless was my second best read of 2017; the first place is undoubtedly taken by The Harry Potter series♥.Merissa Meyer managed to hold me right from the first sentence of the book and didn’t let me escape, till the last words were read. Her writing flows and you wouldn’t notice the pages go by so effortlessly. I didn’t know how I was reading so fast and yet grasping each and every emotion the book had to offer me. It made me smile, and at times, I even howled with laughter( my mother had to hit me to make it stop); it made me cry and I could feel my soul being crushed by what I was reading(but I tell you even that couldn’t make me stop reading this mind boggling book); it made me hopeful that magic was possible and it could be found anywhere, in anything.P_20171220_103939 P_20171220_104227The plot is well written and well woven too i’d say as it takes some reference from the original Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carol. I loved the characters and actually they were the best part of the book for me. The author worked very well with the character development of each of them, irrespective of how often they were to appear in the story. I had most fun reading the banters between Cath and Cheshire, the disappearing cat. Cheshire was one of the best characters for me, portraying all the traits we can imagine a magical cat could handle. She often made remarks like,” It is a dangerous thing to UNBELIEVE something, only because it frightens you.”” I would offer you one, but i don’t want to.”” Fascinating isn’t it, how often heroic and foolish turn out to be one and the same.”These remarks are not even a justifying proof of Cheshire’s wit and sarcastic tongue.The relationships shown in this book have been nurtured like babies and treated delicately so that the reader feels like home when he reads about them. There is no instant love crap and the reason for why people are attached to each other are mentioned everywhere. Friendships in this book are to die for and very ideal i would say. Merissa Meyer builds relations like a pro and I don’t think anyone can replace or dominate over my feelings for her writing after this book; this absolutely amazing, delightfully gorgeous book.There’s so much more to it when you read it in the passage with all the other characters dancing around in your head, waiting for their part to be played. This book is going to be the one of my favourite books of all times. And I highly recommend you read it as soon as possible (what i mean is read it right NOW).This book had been on my shelf for months before I started reading it and I regret it so much that why hadn’t I read it before.It’s a flawless masterpiece.Here, I’ll leave you with some magical lines from the book.Enjoy guys.“Her eyes snapped open. A blush climbing up her neck. She’d been dreaming about the joker.AGAIN.”“I see nothing all the time”“To be alright implies an impossible phase. We hope for mostly right on the best of our days.”“To be alright implies an impossible phase. We hope for mostly right on the best of our days.”“Jest walked like falling snowflakes.”“Attraction is a subjective thing, but charisma is universal.”“Are you a doctor?No, I am a joker and that’s even better.”“She couldn’t stand the idea of crushing her friend’s dreams, not when she was still so new to dreaming.”“We’re desperate enough.”P_20171220_104419_HDRHope you liked this review.Thanks for reading.

Delivered on time and packed well

S. · December 3, 2024