Was it, to put it simply, worth it? If I’m honest, every time I open a book, I more or less expect a happy ending. It strikes me after reading Heartless how difficult it is to offer an opinion of a book without its ending, when that is what decides our satisfaction with our reading experience. It managed to jump an ending on me that I didn’t anticipate, but which was not undeserved.

Arguably, it’s one of its strongest traits. I was far too caught up in walking through the labyrinth of their story to see the shape of the entire thing, and I must insist that this is not the fault of the story. You already know the ending, but you don’t see how the trick is done, because you’re too caught up in the flourishes. Watching Catherine’s transformation into the Queen of Hearts is a bit like watching one of Jest’s magic tricks: the clues are all there. Ultimately, though, it remains the story of the creation of a villainess, which sooner or later involves trauma. There is so much right about Heartless, from its love story to its whimsical images to the feeling that the entire novel is one breathless night out. This being Wonderland, there are twists and turns aplenty, and delightful references to the source material from Lewis Carroll.

It’s the story of Catherine in the land of Hearts, and her official courtship with the King of Hearts, as well as her love story with Jest, the dark and dashing court joker. Heartless is the origin story of the Queen of Hearts. I asked her what she thought of it as she was reading it, and she called it a “roller-coaster.” Indeed. I recently recommended Marissa Meyer’s new book, Heartless, to one of my students, who became as riveted to it as I had been.

Heartless marissa meyer series