3.5 stars

I’m not sure how to rate this book. I don’t quite know what to think of this book.

I really liked the setting. Wonderland was wonderfully absurd, and I liked the references to the original story. It was fun to read about, though sometimes the descriptions were unclear. It took me more than half the book to realize the Duke was an actual pig, and often I found myself picturing the king as a young boy, around Cath’s age or younger, instead of a grown man.

I found Cath to be a rather flimsy protagonist for the majority of the story. I loved that she was a baker, and the treats she made sounded delicious. Other than that, she was fairly plain.

I loved Jest. He took a bit of time to warm up to, but he ended up stealing my heart. He was an enigmatic, charismatic fool, and definitely my favorite character.

I didn’t like Cath’s parents whatsoever. Her dad tended to be really passive, and her mom was aggressive and obsessed with reputation. She expected Cath to look and act like the perfect lady, and held her to ridiculously high expectations. She also made some comments about Cath’s weight, and told her to be more conscious of her dessert intake. It’s a minor thing, but it rubbed me the wrong way. Be wary, if comments like that bother you.

I didn’t like the king, either. He was a giggling, blubbering, incompetent man, and he threw parties instead of dealing with the issues in his kingdom. I’m not sure why he had his heart set on marrying Cath, other than a love for her baking. It was obvious that he had no idea what he was doing at any point in their relationship, and he also failed to realize how forced her hand was.

Also, I’m not sure why he thought she was an appropriate person to pursue? It’s not mentioned exactly how old Cath is, I assume around eighteen, but it’s said early on that the king is about fifteen years older. That puts him somewhere in his early thirties. So why does he want to marry a girl so much younger?? It’s not *really* that bad, but if you think about it, he was over twenty when she was less than ten. That’s a bit weird, in my opinion.

As for the plot, it was really slow. I liked it, I was intrigued, but nothing exciting/significant happened until the last ~150 pages. It was mainly Cath denying her love for Jest, accepting it, dreaming of the bakery she wanted to open, and being ordered around by her parents. There was a lot of minor details. I did like the croquet scene, the hatter’s tea party performance, and the ball where Jest was introduced, though. They were fun to read.

I’d heard that the end was heartbreaking, but I can’t say I agree. Cath thought she could outsmart a prophecy and she couldn’t. If she’d listened to those around her, it probably could’ve been avoided. It was sad, don’t get me wrong, but it was honestly all her fault. The aftermath, when she turned into the Queen of Hearts we know, was really just alright. I did like the ending, but it was nothing spectacular.

And I think that’s a good way to describe this book as a whole. It was good and fun to read, but I wasn’t very emotionally invested and it wasn’t amazing.