"Three luscious lemon tarts glistened up at Catherine[...]

Setting the towels aside, she picked through the curled, sugared lemon peels laid out on parchment and arranged them like rose blossoms on the tarts, settling each strip into the still-warm centre. The aromas of sweet citrus and buttery, flaky crust curled beneath her nose."

This excerpt is definitely one to die for.

[b:Heartless|18584855|Heartless|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477740245s/18584855.jpg|26322524] is a decadent treat w/ an oddly bitter yet satisfying punch in the end. This is a unique take on the origins of The Queen of Hearts (not the Red Queen, they are two entirely diff. antagonistic queens in Wonderland). In order to get some sense in the references of the book, I've watched the animated Disney version and the live action before delving into this one. Which was a wise move mind you! But I hope this would not dissuade other readers from this, one would greatly appreciate [b:Heartless|18584855|Heartless|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477740245s/18584855.jpg|26322524] more after watching the films.

[a:Marissa Meyer|4684322|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1357318852p2/4684322.jpg] had conjured a more complex yet coherent Wonderland and had stitched her own stories without a snag. I have to keep telling myself that this wasn't Lewis Carroll's tie-in of the original Alice in Wonderland but daaaannng it was written so well and had even provided a distinct character depth for every character we've known. (Which is why I strongly recommend watching the films before reading this!) Every detail is meticulously included in this book like easter eggs ranging from the "three tarts" to even White Rabbit's pocket watch and maid! This isn't just The Queen of Hearts' tale, this was also a tale of the different facets of Wonderland we all had loved as a child.

This may be a love story but this is also a lot of things. This book skirts its way to different issues namely: the pressure of toxic manipulation from one's parents and family reputation,

" ‘We want you to be happy. That’s all we’ve ever wanted. Is this what’s going to make you happy?’

‘How different everything could have been,’ she said, ‘if you had thought to ask me that before.’ "

the willful blindness people don so casually through their luxuries, the masks we all wear to hide our true selves, and the bitter sucker punch of love and the anguish entailing it.

This is one of those books you'd actually want to read despite knowing that it could utterly destroy your heart. (Yes, I kinda shed some tears here and there) I felt oddly numb and satisfied by the end of this book and I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT TO EVERY ONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO READ NEXT. Truly a masterpiece of [a:Marissa Meyer|4684322|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1357318852p2/4684322.jpg] and I'd go as far as telling that this is so much better than [b:Cinder|36381037|Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507557775s/36381037.jpg|15545385]. (Well to be fair I did not really love Cinder as much as everyone seems to, so there's that. HAH.)

I would love to finish this review w/ the Queen's iconic line:

"Off with his head!"

This is officially the last book I've read for my summer! *half-laughs and half-cries-in-agony* School starts tomorrow and yes I'm doomed. I just hope I can still read books at least once a week *wails* Anyway [b:Heartless|18584855|Heartless|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477740245s/18584855.jpg|26322524] is indeed a whimsical yet unsurprisingly a bitter origin tale. I love how Meyer stitched up her own version of Wonderland w/ the original. All the references are just too enthralling and familiar! Full RTC soon.