Review: Heartless

Title Heartless
By Marissa Meyer
Genre Fantasy/Retelling
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Before Alice visited Wonderland, Before the Queen of Hearts uttered "off with his head" there was just Catherine. A girl with a dream to start a bakery. But Wonderland has other plans.


First Sentence
Three luscious lemon tarts glistened up at Catherine.






Ever since reading The Lunar Chronicles I've been eager to see what else Marissa Meyer would come up with. When I heard about Heartless, Meyer's take on the Queen of Hearts before she became the vicious villain from Alice in Wonderland, I was very excited!

Now let's think this through. This is a retelling of the Queen of Hearts. We all know how wicked and cruel she is, right? So I knew going into it that we weren't in for a happy ending. Having that acceptance was important for me to enjoy the story. If I'd thought I was getting a happy ending I might have been very upset.

While I found this one a little...OK a LOT slower moving than Meyer's other books, I was still very much enjoying myself while I read. Meyer's does the best job of taking a well known story and twisting it around to meet her needs and yet still keeping true to the original.

I loved this take on Wonderland. Everything was described in a very casual way. Animals talk? Why yes, they do, Why do you ask? I loved that she didn't stop the story to explain the inner workings of Wonderland. Who can really do that anyway? Not even Carroll, I dare say.

My biggest issue with the book was Catherine. She was such a simpering little wimp! It drove me nuts. I'm kind of surprised she becomes someone as strong willed and stubborn as the Queen of Hearts. But maybe that was the point??? Who knows. It just bugged me. I like my heroine's a little more self reliant.

Should you read it
Oh yes. Please do. Just be ready for that ending.

Review: Fairest

Title Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles 3.5)
By Marissa Meyer
Genre YA fantasy/scifi
Pages 222



Synopsis
This bridge book between Cress and Winter tells the story of Queen Levana and how she became the unassuming sister to the heir of Luna to its cold-hearted queen.




First Sentence
She was lying on a burning pyre, hot coals beneath her back.


What it has going for it
To be honest with you, even though I adore this series, I didn't have high hopes for this one. I didn't think it would be awful or hard to read but I just wasn't looking forward to it. Well, I sat down to read a few chapters and ended up reading the whole book. Of course I loved it! Don't get me wrong, it's hard to watch poor Levana become the cold-hearted beotch she is at the beginning of Cinder, but it was still entertaining. And interesting. I liked seeing how everything is fitting together. I loved seeing the start of the plague and the wolf soldiers. I loved getting a small glimpse of Winter and seeing where she falls into things. I can't wait to read her story. Meyer is an expert at weaving all the little details together into a beautiful piece of art and this book was no exception.

What's lacking
You can't really root for anyone is this story. It's Levana, for heavens sake! Seeing where she's coming from makes you a little sympathetic but she's still pretty awful. It's hard to read a book where you're not rooting for the MC.

Yea or Nay?
Is this one necessary to enjoy the series as a whole? I haven't read Winter yet, so I can't say for sure but I definitely would recommend it. It's very interesting to have all the little details that are only hinted at in the other books explained in full.

Review: Stitching Snow

Title Stitching Snow
By R.C. Lewis
Genre YA Fantasy Retelling
Pages 338


Synopsis
When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.  (From Goodreads)

First Sentence It took me seventeen seconds to decide Jarom Thacker's reputation as the sharpest fighter on Thanda had been exaggerated.

What it has going for it
I first heard of Stitching Snow from a blogging and IRL friend Jenni. She raved about this book. I knew it was a retelling but I didn't realize it was a retelling set in a scifi world much like The Lunar Chronicles. That being said, make no mistake this is not a ripoff of Meyer's work. This story is unique. The wold is unique and the retelling is done so subtly it feels fresh! A gigantic accomplishment, if you ask me. I loved Essie, our main character, she was braver than she believed her self to be. She was always determined to do what was right even if she was scared spitless. The adventure was awesome as well. The best part, really. Joining Essie in her journey from world to world to the final show down with the evil queen was just plain fun! I'll definitely be picking up any other book Lewis writes, starting with her sequel/companion novel Spinning Stars a retelling of The Wild Swans.

What's lacking
Stitching Snow was great, guys, but it wasn't perfect. The only things that really bugged be were 1) I just couldn't get on board with the love interest Dane. He bothered me, I won't say more because it's really not a reflection on the book. It was just a presonal preference thing. 2) The story was great but there was a choppiness to it that was a little jarring. I don't know how to describe it, really, it just didn't flow from scene to scene very well. Still, I believe, that this minute detail was due more to this being Lewis' first novel than anything else and I believe and hope that choppy feel will be absent in her next book.

Yea or Nay?
If you love retellings with awesome kickass heroines than look no further.  

Review When You Were Mine

Title When You Were Mine
By Rebecca Serle
Genre YA Contemporary Romance
Pages 334

First Sentence "This is so not how it was supposed to go."


Synopsis
Rosaline knows that she and Rob are destined to be together. Rose has been waiting for years for Rob to kiss her—and when he finally does, it’s perfect. But then Juliet moves back to town. Juliet, who used to be Rose’s best friend. Juliet, who now inexplicably hates her. Juliet, who is gorgeous, vindictive, and a little bit crazy...and who has set her sights on Rob. He doesn’t even stand a chance. (From Goodreads)



What is has going for it
Alright, you should probably know, and could probably guess that I really hate Rome and Juliet! Seriously, I think it's the stupidest, overrated "love" story of all time. But when I saw this book and saw that, yes, it was a retelling but that it was from Rosaline's  perspective, I was very interested. However, I only recently picked it up. And, guys, it wasn't too bad. Now don't get me wrong. I didn't love it it. I did however enjoy reading it. The writing was fair and I liked Rosaline (Rose), she was far too nice and forgiving but it made her likeable. I liked Rose's friends and thought they were realistic and supportive. Mostly I just liked the silly drama with the (moral of the story) ending.

What's lacking
Rob's inexplicable attraction and instant relationship with Juliet was completely unbelievable. Yeah, yeah, it's a retelling of Dumb and Dumber's...er Romeo and Juliet's relationship but I was hoping for a more modern realistic reason Rob would just instantly be madly in love with Juliet. Or, better yet, a longer drawn out attraction that resulted in their ending up together. I also thought, while the ending wasn't pretty, it was still a little too neat.  

Yea or Nay?
Whether you're a fan of Romeo and Juliet, or not, I think this one is worth a read. It's not amazing or anything but I enjoyed it. 

Review: Scarlet

Title Scarlet (Scarlet 1)
By A.C. Gaughen
Genre YA Retelling
Pages 287

First Sentence No one really knows 'bout me.

Synopsis
In this retelling of Robin Hood we get to see things from Will Scarlet's perspective. But Will isn't a boy, she's a young woman with mysterious past. With Gisbourne arriving to put a stop to Robin's band things are about to get even more dangerous than usual. Especially since Scarlet has her own reasons to avoid Gisbourne.



What it has going for it
I'm going to now list things this book has going for it from the perspective of someone who did like it. This one has it all. A steamy love triangle, adventure, danger, thieving and a bossy "Edward" like Robin Hood. What's not to like you ask???

What's lacking
Everything! I'm sorry, I knew going into this one I wasn't going to like it. First of all, I guessed the big secret long before I actually read the book. So that was annoying. Second of all the whole accent thing drove me nuts! Besides the fact that it took forever to train my brain to not correct Scarlet's English, I kept wondering why a book taking place in Robin Hood's England outside of London had a protagonist speaking like she was from the 1800's wild west?! What the hell, guys?! So annoying! Oh, and the whole Edward like love interest! Seriously?! I'm sorry, but I'm so sick of reading about these control freak, angst ridden boys and this one was bad, guys, really bad! The adventurous plot wasn't that bad but even it got to be too much for me to handle at the end. Sigh! Oh well. It was a fast read and now I can say I read it.

Yea or Nay?
I seriously think I'm the only person who didn't like this one, so don't take my word for it, but don't say I didn't warn you. ;)