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 unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.
Then Cath 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.
Published: 8th November
Genre:Retelling
Pages: 464
Rating: Try It
Format: Ebook
Read from 10th to 12th November
So I don’t know how I feel about this. I’m a really big fan of Alice in Wonderland and Marissa Meyer but for some reason this didn’t quite work for me. It was just really odd and it was a different take on the Red Queen but the flip and the journey to the evil queen that we got just wasn’t right to me.
I enjoyed the story enough throughout but it was just a kind of cliché and boring love story. I liked the glimpse of the world and magic but it took such a backseat in the overall story that that was a huge disappointment to me. I did read this quite quickly and it’s because I would relate to it as more of a contemporary read which I tend to get through much quicker.
So I wasn’t a big fan of the characters or the relationships and I think that’s what ruined it most for me. It is a really good writing style but it did drag on and then the culmination was over in just a few chapters. It brings together the Alice in Wonderland atmosphere pretty well and there’s clearly a lot of depth and thought brought into it but with this I think we should have gotten more of it for all the work that had gone into it.
There was not a single character I liked and I think that significantly impacted my enjoyment of the book. The names were also really weird and strange and that sort of drew me out of the story as well. I can understand why other people might enjoy it but it was just not up my alley. I loved the Lunar Chronicles and I think my hopes were too high for this book.
I’m afraid that there isn’t much more I can say.
Keep reading folks! 
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Also check out my reviews of:
Scarlet , Cress , Fairest, and Winter
Rine Reads 
Ouh, someone who didn’t really enjoy this book! This is definitely a first, but I totally understand your concerns. It sucks that you couldn’t connect with the characters and that the relationships weren’t original for you. Is this book getting a sequel though? Do you plan on checking it out if it does? :O Great review!
– Lashaan
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I believe that it was just a stand alone. If there’s a sequel I can’t see myself picking it up. I can see the appeal of it to some people but I think it’s just me. I’ve been struggling with ya fantasy so that might be creating a more negative mood towards it.
It was more the disappointment of my love for both elements of Alice in wonderland and Marissa Meyer that it just didn’t meld well together for me.
I am glad that other people enjoy it though 😊
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