Heartless by Marissa Meyer | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

"Fascinating, isn't it, how often heroic and foolish turn out to be one and the same."

Oh, where to start, where to start? I do so love dipping into various spins on Wonderland and am constantly looking into retellings and re-imaginings. Marissa Meyer, of course, is one of the most prolific authors in the fantasy young adult world and is known most highly for her fairytale retellings in the beloved The Lunar Chronicles series. Heartless is a standalone novel not related to the above series but surely will strike a chord amongst her biggest fans and then some.

Highly imaginative and entertaining, Heartless serves as an intriguing origin story to The Queen of Hearts. Full of action, romance and one heartfelt characters way to being heartless, it is impossible to put down in all its glory.

While, at times, it felt as though the story was underdeveloped and was unable to keep up with its delicious premise and prose, Heartless was captivating and easy to read in one sitting. It is very much so a story that you will devour almost instantly (not unlike, ahem, Lady Peter and her pumpkins) and find yourself craving to continue even when you must take a break. The characters are fascinating and it's always a good tale when it comes to getting into the heads of someone who is on their path to becoming one of literature's biggest villains.