Heartless

At a royal ball where the King intends to propose, Cath meets Jest, the new court joker, a charming young man with mysterious powers and secrets of his own. Their attraction is immediate, and Cath begins a secret courtship that puts her reputation and her family's plans at risk. Meanwhile a monstrous Jabberwock is terrorizing the kingdom, and strange events hint at a darker purpose behind Jest's arrival.

Familiar figures from Lewis Carroll's books appear in new roles, among them the Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit and the Mock Turtle, and Marissa Meyer weaves in nursery rhymes and wordplay. The early chapters are light and full of cakes, tea parties and courtly comedy. The story darkens steadily, and readers should know from the title that this is not a tale with a simple happy ending.

Whimsical at first and heartbreaking by the end, a standalone novel that will appeal to fans of the Lunar Chronicles and of any retelling that asks how a villain is made. The ending is sad but feels earned, and many readers find it unforgettable. About 480 pages in the Square Fish paperback.