This review was originally posted on my blog, Sav Scribbles. 
 I am yet to encounter a Marissa Meyer book that doesn't make me want to giddily dance, scream out of frustration, and cry out of both happiness and sadness simultaneously. 
 HEARTLESS was no exception to this expectation. 
 From the characters to the setting to the writing to the.... well, we better get on with it. This novel has inspired me to write my first full review in a long time (a truly astonishing feat). 
 C H A R A C T E R S 
 It's always a toss-up between the characters and the setting of any Marissa Meyer's books to be my favorite part, but as per usual, the characters won. 
 Cath. I was seriously wondering the whole book as to how she could end up being the Queen of Hearts (...not a spoiler, btw). By the end, I could see her character arc in full and WOW, guys. It's so well developed and I didn't doubt any part of it. She also seemed to control her emotions well for the most part; that's something I admire. Also, WHY CAN'T SHE JUST OPEN HER BAKERY?! ALL I WANTED WAS FOR HER AND JEST TO BE HAPPY. AGH. 
 Jest. Oh God. [Enchanted by Taylor Swift starts playing] I immediately fell in love. Whoops? He's the best. WHY COULDN'T CATH AND JEST JUST BE TOGETHER?! Even if they deserved that ending, I sure didn't. I didn't feel as much for him than I thought I would've at the end, but I sure did for the first three-fourths of the book. Oh well. 
 Raven. All I have to say is that he is SUCH an icon. And in the author's note, Marissa Meyer says that she wrote Raven as if he was the actual raven from Edgar Allen Poe's poem. AWESOME. 
 Mary Ann. Oh boy. I have mixed emotions. I feel like I would do the same in her position but I still don't like the decisions she made, yknow? I'm frustrated and confused but again, WHY COULDN'T SHE JUST OPEN HER BAKERY WITH CATH?! 
 Hatta. I feel so bad but, at the same time, I couldn't care less. The way he slowly became mad at the end though, with the watch... absolute genius. 
 The King. Okay, I know my feelings about him: I STRONGLY DISLIKE. I know he means well and blah blah blah, but if you're king, you should be good at SOMETHING useful. The only thing he was good at was distracting his people from horrible things with parties; that's not necessarily a good thing. 
 Cath's mother and father. IF ONLY THEY HAD ASKED CATH EARLIER. That little dialogue at the end B R E A K S MY HEART. I was just as angry at them the whole book as Cath was. UGH. 
 P L O T & S E T T I N G 
 Let me start off this section by saying that Marissa Meyer is an absolute genius. ABSOLUTE. The way she combines Lewis Carroll's world with her own imagination... wow. I'm awestruck. Marissa Meyer is truly the queen of retellings. 
 Anyways. The setting was WONDERFUL. There is never ANY info-dumping while the perfect amount of detail is still there. I do have one comment though: time. Time was a big element, especially when Hatta was around, and the way it was explained was confusing to me. That being said, the story wasn't really affected by my confusion. Again, the setting was amazing. 
 The plot. OH BOY. I don't want to get too in-depth because spoilers, but WOWZERS. Meyer intertwines everything so perfectly and I'm awestruck. The details that come back later to haunt the characters... I was, in a word, shook. Although I had figured out a few things (like what was up with Peter's wife), I hadn't figured out a big part of the elements to be revealed. And when we found out why Jest was there, the plot kicked up to full speed and I was internally screaming for the rest of the book. And, obviously, I can't talk about this review without "Murderer. Martyr. Monarch. Mad." Absolutely amazing, even though I don't really understand how the Martyr is a martyr. 
 C O N C L U S I O N 
 Although I could continue to talk about this book for ages and ages, I really couldn't express my full love for this book. I was kind of disconnected from the characters at the end, especially Cath, but I don't suppose that's a bad thing. 
 I recommend HEARTLESS for anyone looking for a wonderful retelling that arcs beautifully and leaves you simultaneously wanting more of the story and being fully satisfied.