Heartless

For fans of Wicked: Don't miss this #1 New York Times–bestselling romantasy of Wonderland's most notorious villain: the Queen of Hearts.

"Full of heart and its own idiosyncratic character.”―Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked

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.

In Heartless, her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author of the Lunar Chronicles dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.


Praise for Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series:

#1 New York Times Bestselling Series, USA Today Bestseller, Publishers Weekly Bestseller, National Indie Bestseller

“Marissa Meyer rocks the fractured fairy tale genre.” —The Seattle Times

“Prince Charming among the cyborgs.” —The Wall Street Journal

Don't miss more from Marissa Meyer:

The Lunar Chronicles:
Cinder
Scarlet
Cress
Winter
Stars Above

Fairest

The Wires and Nerve series:
Wires and Nerve: Volume 1
Wires and Nerve: Volume 2

Renegades

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Published May 1, 2018

480 pages

Average rating: 8.11

160 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Heartless* by Marissa Meyer is a deeply emotional and immersive retelling of the Queen of Hearts’ origin, praised for its vivid world-bui...

Cyn's Workshop
Aug 20, 2025
10/10 stars
Beautifully, Wondrously, Heartbreaking | Review of ‘Heartless’

A powerful and emotional tale that captures who the wonder of wonderland and the beginnings of the Queen of Hearts[...]

Read more of this post @ Cyn's Workshop
postcoffeepoop
Oct 21, 2025
6/10 stars
I love love love Marissa Meyer and I loved the Lunar Chronicles and I was so excited to see another fairytale retelling but this one was SO boring. I loved the characters but there wasn’t a lot of happening. It was a lot of nothing UNTIL the last few chapters. So frustrating! It wasn’t even like the boringness was character building in the beginning of the story, it was just a dull plot line. :(

It‘s worth a read, but just don’t expect too much.
Sadie Lopez
Oct 13, 2025
6/10 stars
Lovely backstory on how the queen of hearts came to be! Such a sad one though :(
Daydreamer
Sep 08, 2025
10/10 stars
My fav romance book!
S_pancake
Sep 03, 2025
10/10 stars
Even when I knew how this was going to end I bawled my eyes out

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