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Book Summary
Long before she was the terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king's marriage proposal, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship.

Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

Countdown to Heartless
13 DAYS TILL HEARTLESS!
I am super excited to be part of the Countdown to Heartless blog tour! Check out our Twitter and Instagram page for today's fun challenge!

Flo's Review
Wow. I was late to get on board the Cinder series train, but I was definitely glad when I finally hopped on. Like many others, I was so incredibly impressed by Marissa's way to take elements of stories familiar to us and add them to a larger narrative all her own. So when I first heard about Heartless, I knew that I would love seeing Marissa's conception of Wonderland.

I was not wrong. This book pulled me in right away and did not let me go. It hurt so good, you know? It hurt to read because I ultimately knew how things were going to end up for Catherine, and that the ending was not going to be wanted. I grew to really enjoy the bubbly, creative, fun Catherine of this story and it was so hard knowing what she would turn into.  And Marissa did the turn really well. I was afraid at one point in the story that it would be a light switch -- she's nice and lovable and suddenly she's awful. But it's not at all. I was able to see how and why her heart was hardening, and with a very clever final twist, how she became truly heartless.

The characters that we know and love from Lewis Carroll's story are given such depth. I was especially impressed with the Mad Hatter. Wow. His character is so, so well done. His story is clever and emotional, and the last scene where we see him was so emotional. I enjoyed seeing Cheshire popping up to gossip and the awkward, bubbling King. I laughed to myself every time I read about the Hare, because his name is Haigha, pronounced "hare" and I think that's awesome.

Jest is going to get his own paragraph, because Jest. He's the king's joker, but he is actually very clever, whilst the King is a fool. He's dark and mysterious and totally hot. His relationship with Catherine was realistic, and did I mention he's hot?! I'll take this joker any day!!

Heartless comes out November 8th, and I really think you will enjoy it! Imaginative, clever, emotional, fun -- it is all of this and more.

I didn't even notice that the actual cover under the dust jacket was super awesome, too, until today! I got this book back in May!

Book Summary
As Princess of Wonderland Palace and the future Queen of Hearts, Dinah’s days are an endless monotony of tea, tarts, and a stream of vicious humiliations at the hands of her father, the King of Hearts. The only highlight of her days is visiting Wardley, her childhood best friend, the future Knave of Hearts — and the love of her life.

When an enchanting stranger arrives at the Palace, Dinah watches as everything she’s ever wanted threatens to crumble. As her coronation date approaches, a series of suspicious and bloody events suggests that something sinister stirs in the whimsical halls of Wonderland. It’s up to Dinah to unravel the mysteries that lurk both inside and under the Palace before she loses her own head to a clever and faceless foe.

Part epic fantasy, part twisted fairy tale, this dazzling saga will have readers shivering as Dinahs furious nature sweeps Wonderland up in the maelstrom of her wrath. 

Familiar characters such as Cheshire, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter make their appearance, enchanting readers with this new, dark take on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Flo's Review
Having just finished Heartless by Marissa Meyer and wanting to stay in Wonderland, I finally reached for Queen of Hearts. This book has been on my TBR since I met the author Colleen Oakes at BookCon in May. It is the story of the Queen of Hearts before she became the brutal "Off with his head!!" lady that we know from Alice in Wonderland. 

Me with author Colleen Oakes at BookCon in May 2016

This was an interesting story. My favorite part was definitely the world building. It was really cool to see how Colleen translated some of the characters we are familiar with, like Cheshire, Harris (the White Rabbit), and the Mad Hatter. The different Cards held different positions in the government, so the Diamond Cards has specific roles, the Spades had a role, and so forth. And it was fascinating to read about Wonderland: the physical geography of it and the different areas. 

I didn't really like Dinah, and my reading style is usually that I have to like the main character (or somebody significant) to be invested in the story. But Dinah made sense. Knowing what she is going to become, it makes sense that she is already unlikable, and I do see how she grew up made her the way she is. I was also a little thrown with the passage of time in this story. I'd finish a chapter and then start a new one and it would like, (I'm paraphrasing) "So everything that just happened took place 6 months ago and now Dinah is..." Every time, I was like, "Wait. What?" Maybe because there were several time leaps like that and they were so understated? I'm not sure. It's not a negative or a positive, just an observation. 

Look at the chapter headers! The Q with the blood drip is on point. This is one the prettiest books I've seen in awhile.

I am curious to see how things go down in Book 2. Without giving anything away from this one, I'm curious about Cheshire -- there is some shade going on with him. Same with the Duchess. What's her story?