HEARTLESS BOOK BIRTHDAY WEEK: My Review, Cover Showcase & Giveaway!!

This is it, my final post for HEARTLESS BOOK BIRTHDAY WEEK! :D I hope you've enjoyed the posts so far!  Today I'm sharing my thoughts on the book, showcasing the amazing different covers of Heartless and giving away a copy to someone, anywhere in the world! :D So let's get to it!

Heartless 

by Marissa Meyer

♦publisher: Feiwel & Friends

♦release date: November 8th, 2016

♦hardcover, 464 pages

♦intended audience: Young adult

♦stand-alone

♦source: trade show

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.

Review:  This book...will tear your ever-loving heart out. But you knew that. You know who the Queen of Hearts is. She's cruel. She's mad. She's...well, she's heartless. This is the story of how she got that way, so you know going in that it's not going to be pretty. But OH was it magical, whimsical, kooky, twisted, very creepy at times---much like Alice in Wonderland. In fact, I adored the wonderful nods to the original stories and characters. It was like seeing new sides to characters I've known my whole life. I'm sure I've said a dozen or so times on this blog, but I was very literally raised on Alice in Wonderland. :) My mother collects all things Alice, read me the stories, and I grew up watching several different movie and tv show versions. So having one of my favorite authors take on this story and give me a whole new perspective on a character I've always known just to be unwaveringly villainous was absolutely amazing. And while I loved this so much and I guarantee that my personal connection to the original stories made this a whole different experience than, say, someone who doesn't love Alice in Wonderland, I still proclaim that the storytelling was fantastic, full of whimsy, romance, madness, hope, and heartbreak. 

I loved Cath's character. She was so determined and hopeful to see her dream come true and so willing to work hard for it, despite having to go against her parent's expectations, and everyone's really. She sees them slipping farther and farther away as the realization hits that the king truly has plans to court her and everyone pressures her to accept. The romance was just right---not a case of her throwing everything away for a guy, but more figuring out how he might fit into the dream she's already striving for.  It breaks my heart as the story goes along and the people she hopes most might believe her and back her up let her down. Especially her father---their last conversation before the end had me absolutely sobbing. 

Meyer successfully pulls in so many of the original characters from Wonderland and gives them a place in this Queen of Hearts origin story. I loved how it gave the whole story a feeling of familiarity and you see how each one might have scattered across Wonderland after she became queen to later become part of Alice's story. There are some genuinely creepy moments, especially with the Treacle sisters and their horrific prophecies. The story twists and turns and twists again and I thought the chaotic downward spiral and the iconic last line were absolutely perfect---as well as completely devastating.  Beautifully done. 

While I know this stands boldly on it's own, I would love to get another origin story about Jest and Hatta in the land of Chess. Just sayin' ;)

~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~

Marissa Meyer is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles. She lives in Tacoma, Washington. She’s a fan of most things geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, any occasion that requires a costume), and has been in love with fairy tales since she was a child. She may or may not be a cyborg. 

WEBSITE   •   TWITTER  •   PINTEREST
Purchase Winter:  Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon

*International Cover Showcase*

GUYS, check out all the gorgeous covers for Heartless!!

US Hardcover                               Dutch Paperback

                  UK Paperback                            UK Paperback (Feb 2017)

Can you pick a favorite? I love them all, and while I adore our US hardcover, I think my favorite is the upcoming UK paperback! Not sure why they are reissuing it recovered in February 2017, but I love it and I  know I'll be preordering it!!

So here's YOUR chance to nab one!! Enter below to win a copy of Heartless. Winner can choose any cover they want*! :D
•Open internationally
•Ends 11/25/16

a Rafflecopter giveaway *chosen edition must be available through either BookDepository.com or Fishpond.com. Please note that the illustrated UK paperback does not release until 2/2017 so prize will be for a pre-order. Winner will be contacted if chosen edition is not available through either site within 3 months of winning.

HEARTLESS BOOK BIRTHDAY WEEK: Cath's Rose Macarons

In Marissa Meyer's Heartless, young Cath dreams of someday opening a bakery and becoming famous throughout the land, not for being the Marquess' daughter but for her delicious sweet creations. By her mother's order, she bakes a decadent batch of Rose Macarons to give to the King, but she ends up bringing them instead to the wild tea party where she first meets the hatter.
Today I want to share a small excerpt from that scene---it not only gives you a good idea of the recipe that follows below, but encompasses everything I love about baking. ♥

"The macaron was sweet and decadent and smooth, with just a tiny crunch from the meringue, and a subtle floral moment from the distilled rose water, all melting together into one perfect bite. 

She listened to the gasps, the moans, the crinkle of parchment paper as someone scooped up the buttercream that had gotten missed.

This was why she enjoyed baking. A good dessert could make her feel like she'd created joy at the tips of her fingers. Suddenly, the people around the table were no longer strangers. They were friends and confidantes, and she was sharing with them her magic."

---page 168 from the Heartless ARC edition 

After reading that,  I knew I had to make these. Plus it's been so long since I've made anything with rosewater :). I did add in my own little touch and filled them also with raspberry preserves--because rose and raspberry compliment each other so perfectly. :)  So here they are:

Cath's Rose Macarons

So this recipe is a little different from the one I featured a few weeks ago with Glitter. This is actually the Italian method for making macarons, as opposed to the French. I love this one so much better, to be honest. They are a little more complicated to make, but much more stable---plus the resulting texture is perfectly crisp on the outside, a little flatter but definitely much more gooey and rich.  YUM.   A kitchen scale comes in hand if you want to measure everything out in grams (I've include the cup measurements as well), but you will need a candy thermometer. 

For the Macaron shells:

original recipe from Bouchon 

1¾ cups + 2½ tablespoons (212 grams) almond flour
1¾ cups + 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons (212 grams) powdered sugar
3 (82 grams) egg whites
3 (90 grams) egg whites
1 cup + 3 tablespoons (236 grams) granulated sugar, plus a pinch for the egg whites
⅔ cup (158 grams) water

Preheat over to 350○

Into a large bowl, sift the almond flour and powdered sugar, making sure to leave out any larger chunks of almond. Make a small well in the dry ingredients and add the 3 egg whites. Mix these together until it forms a thick almond paste. Set aside. 

In a small saucepan with a candy thermometer clipped to the side, combine the granulated sugar and water. Bring slowly to boil over medium heat, slowly increasing if needed. Meanwhile, place your next three egg whites in a stand mixer. Beat until soft peaks form. Add in a pinch of sugar.  When the sugar/water syrup reaches 248 degrees, immediately remove from heat.  With the mixer running, pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl of egg whites. Beat on high until stiff peaks form.  

Gently fold egg whites into almond mixture. Mix this just until it reaches a lava-like consistency. Do not overmix!! To test, spoon out a small amount onto a plate. If the ridges disappear in about 30 seconds, its ready. 

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. You can mark the underside of the paper with circles to get the cookies as uniform as possible. Since they are shell cookies, they have to all be similar in size. Pipe circles of batter onto parchment, about an inch apart. These cookies will spread a little when cooking! Rap the pan firmly on your countertop to release as many air bubbles as possible. 

Into the oven they go (no need to let them sit out with this method! Yay!). Turn the heat down to 325○  and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let them cool on the pan for 5-10 mintues. Between each batch, let the oven reheat to 350○, turning it back down to 325○ as each batch goes in. 

When cooled, pair up the shells two by two on a parchment sheet to prepare them to be filled. 

Rose Buttercream:

•1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temp
•3-4 tablespoons milk
•1 tsp vanilla
•3 cups confectioners sugar
•1 tsp rosewater

In a medium bowl, mix butter, milk, and vanilla until smooth.  Add in confectioners sugar a cup at a time until creamy. Mix in rosewater 1/2 tsp at a time, testing for your taste preference after each. 

Spoon buttercream and raspberry preserves (I use Smuckers) into separate pastry bags fitted with round 1/2 tips. Pipe buttercream around the edge of each macaron half shell, then fill in with the raspberry preserves. Place the second half of each macaron on top and gently press down (very gently! You don't want to crack the pretty smooth shell!)

To decorate these with hearts, I just made a heart template cut out of a clean sheet of cardstock. I took a little sugar water and brushed inside each heart to give the sprinkles something to stick to, then shook the red sprinkles on. All done! 

I hope you enjoy these! 

Until next time...

HEARTLESS BOOK BIRTHDAY WEEK: Makeup for the Tea Party!!

GUYS! This week (yesterday, to be exact) a book was released into the world that I know many of us out there have been counting down the days to!! A big fat
Happy Book Birthday to

HEARTLESS!!

Today, I'm featuring something cool that my daughter did, inspired by her love of the book. A little backstory---as with many of the books that come to me for review, my dear daughter steals away with them and reads them first. :) And as a proud mama of an avid reader, I absolutely love and encourage this LOL. After she read Heartless and fell completely in love (and heartbreak!) with this book. I heard nothing all day long but:
 "Mom, have you read Heartless yet?"
"Mom, you need to stop what you'r reading and read Heartless."
"MOM...Heartless!!"
And once I did start it, I was constantly stalked by her watching my reactions, asking what part I was at, and dying to talk about parts that she loved. :D 

My daughter has her sights set on becoming a makeup artist so she's been playing with different fun makeup looks.  She was inspired to do an ode to Cath and Jest in her favorite art form:

Cards and hearts for the future Queen of Hearts on one side, a  motley hat and stripe on the other for the man who steels her heart.  What do you think?  ♥♥

Please stop back in all this week as we celebrate the Heartless Book Birthday! There'll be a recipe tomorrow (because if you've read the book, you know food played a big part in this story!), my review and a giveaway on Friday!!

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Heartless by Anne Elizabeth Stengl

release date: July 1st, 2010

description from goodreads:
Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon be married. She dreams of a handsome and charming prince, but when the first suitor arrives, she finds him stodgy and boring. Prince Aethelbald from the mysterious land of Farthestshore has traveled far to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be approaching Parumvir.

Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer--and ignores his warnings. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir, and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in grave danger. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.

This one has been on my wishlist for a while now. Gorgeous cover, princesses, and dragons---yup, I want it.

The Mieradome by Kate Hegarty

published by Kate Hegarty Publishing

release date: July 16th, 2010

description from goodreads:
Mieradome, revolves around a young girl named Amavia, who believes she is a human girl, but slowly comes to find she is a faery in the world of Mieradome. Amavia's mother, Anastasica, had taken her out of the faery realm and hidden her away here in our human realm, so that she may be protected from her parents' past mistakes. But that was not enough, the forces that be found Amavia, and brought her back into the cosmos of the Grandmother Tree. There she meets other faeries, goblins, Telkar dragons, and Utopisols. Slowly who Amavia really was began to unravel to show the truth. The truth, that she just may be the evil they need to destroy. This is where the story begins.

This one sounds like an amazing debut, and I do love a good fairy story!! :) Check out the website for this book---its so pretty! http://www.mieradome.com/