First off, let's just start by me admitting that I am a sucker for Alice retellings. I adore anything Alice. Well...mostly...there have been bad apples. Thankfully, this was not one.

This villain story tells the tale of Catherine Pinkerton, destined to become the Queen of Hearts. It is a whimsical, yet slightly dark retelling focusing on the Land of Hearts before there was Alice. And a whimsical, dark story is always my favorite kind. I particularly adored the weaving in of other pieces of Wonderland throughout the story.

This was my first Marissa Meyer, so I can't speak for how this compares to her other works, but it does make me intrigued. However, the writing and construction of this tale reminded me a lot of the style of Charlie N. Holmberg (particularly from Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet) and that was a BIG plus for me.

Cath's character was frustrating and I wanted her to be even more defiant, but I could totally understand why she was the way she was. I loved Jest. Simply adored him. He may be one of my favorite characters this year. I saw such delicious conflicts in him that he truly became the focus for me when it came to this story. And poor, poor Hatta. The Mad Hatter has never been a particular favorite of mine, but this story, the reveals along the way, and the way everything comes together for him in the end...ach...just broke my heart. I found him a bit more endearing than I have in the past.

I loved this book. It will become a part of my permanent collection. In fact, I could vry much do with a prequel to this story...or even a companion novel telling the story of Chess. I'm just such a fool for Alice and this was fabulous. It totally won MY heart.