I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, 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.

Short and Sweet Review

Before Catherine became the Queen of Hearts she was just a girl who wanted to love and bake. Catherine has grand ideas of opening up a bakery in Hearts with her best friend who is also her maid Mary Ann, unfortunately Catherine’s parents won’t allow this they want bigger things for her. Catherine has also caught the eye of the King of Hearts and she knows she’ll have to accept his proposal to make those around her happy. But then Catherine meets Jest the King’s Joker and she starts to fall for him even though she knows that she shouldn’t.

Catherine was a good character, she was ambitious and she cared for those around her, she knew what she did and didn’t want. The King of Hearts though nice wasn’t what she wanted. When she meets Jest, Catherine is genuinely happy and ready to risk it all. In the land of Hearts we see characters for Alice in Wonderland like Hatta and the Cheshire Cat. The story progressed at a decent pace, there were balls, a beast attacking the people of Hearts, and we see Catherine struggle with her love life and trying to follow her dreams of baking. In the end we obviously see how Catherine becomes the terror of Wonderland, and even though I knew it was going to happen I hated it. The girl that I followed for 90% of the book who dreamed big and was sweet and loved her friends did a 180 degree change. I think that’s why my rating of the book went down. Overall its a good book it was just hard to see how all the pressure and expectations of Catherine eventually changed her and not for the better.