“The easiest way to steal something, is for it to be given willingly.” – 4.75/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: pumpkins, magical hats, loyal maids, dreams, tight corsets, bakeries, riddles, black velvet gloves, red dresses, hedgehogs and flamingos, too much pepper, a three-pointed hat, jabberwocks, madness, disappearing cats, white roses, three little girls in a well, lemon tarts, tricks, rose macarons, golden eyes, black curls, jolly kings, black ravens, cut out heads and a heartless queen.

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 her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

I think my heart is officially shattered. Or maybe it’s just gone now. Which is kind of appropriate given the title.

I knew this book would be in some way tragic since it is the story of how the Queen of Hearts became the way she is. I thought I was mentally prepared for it, but I was wrong, I wasn’t. So many emotions, but most of all, I feel really bad for Catherine (that character development though… yikes!).

I’m so glad I picked the audiobook for this one (even if it was almost 15 hours!). The characters’ accent contributed very positively to the story and all the magical atmosphere was set perfectly. With that said, the book is SO slow-paced! But that didn’t bother me that much to be honest. The story made up for it.

This is an amazing retelling of the Queen of Hearts story, I highly recommend this for Alice in Wonderland lovers!