Heartless by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 "Once I was a lonely Rook upon a distant shore, and I would murder for my queen so we might win a war. Now mine eyes see the heart that once we did search for, and I fear this heart shall be mended nevermore."

 Honestly, this was so good I don't even have words to express how much I love this book. I've always loved Alice in Wonderland, I read it when I was a child and then again as an adult, there is something so wonderful about that world that is pure nonsense and unleashed creativity, even the aesthetic of it is just that, wonder. On the other hand I also love Meyer's fairy tale retellings and the way she manages to keep the concept and infuse it with autenticity. Heartless is just that, the book has all the magic from the original Wonderland stories mixed up with the thrill of a villain's origin tale.

 "In fact," she continued, scanning the gardens below, "I want all the white roses to be removed before springtime. From now on, the gardeners are to plant only red roses, if they must grow roses at all."

 It combines the whimsical, poetic language of Lewis Carroll and detailed descriptions with Meyer's own style as it follows Catherine, a young noble girl on her path to become the next Queen of Hearts. As we all know, the original character is a villain so you can already guess something terrible must have happened to her; however it is exactly that which makes the book so compelling, Meyer manages to make the transition between heroin and evil queen so subtle you don't even realize when her mind starts to change.

 The ending is dark, yet satisfying and completely perfect. I'll recommend it until the end of my days.

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 Honestamente, esto fue tan bueno que no tengo palabras para expresar cuanto amo este libro. Siempre me ha gustado Alicia en el País de las Maravillas, lo leí cuando era pequeña y de nuevo ahora que soy adulta, hay algo fantástico sobre un mundo que es una mezcla de sin sentido y creatividad pura, incluso la estética de éste es eso, una maravilla. Por otro lado también me encantan la manera en que Meyer logra mantener el concepto de una historia conocida e infundirle autenticidad. Heartless es justo eso, el libro tiene toda la magia de la historia original mezclada con la emoción de la historia de orígenes de un villano.

 El libro combina el lenguaje poético de Lewis Carroll y las descripciones detalladas del estilo de Meyer mientras sigue a Catherine, una chica de origen noble en su camino a convertirse en la nueva Reina de Corazones. Como todos sabemos, el personaje original es una villana así que es fácil adivinar que algo terrible debe haberle ocurrido; sin embargo es eso exactamente lo que hace que el libro sea tan irresistible, Meyer logra hacer la transición de heroína a villana tan sutil que ni siquiera te das cuenta como la protagonista comienza a cambiar.

 El final es oscuro, aunque satisfactorio y completamente perfecto. Voy a recomendar este libro hasta el fin de mis días.


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