Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes

"The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,

      All on a summer’s day;

The knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts,

      And took them clean away..." 
--The Queen of Hearts, a traditional child's poem

Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes is book #1 of the Queen of Hearts saga, an epic young adult (YA) retelling of the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland.

Prone to fits of fury, stubborn, and having few friends and many adversaries, Princess Dinah is next in line for the Heart throne in Wonderland Palace. Her only joys in life include visiting her "mad" brother Charles and eating tarts with Wardley, the future Knave of Hearts and, hopefully, her future husband. 

Above all that, Dinah wants little more than for her father, a brutally ruthless king, to acknowledge her without anger or insult. He suddenly does so--much to Dinah's humiliation--by introducing her to Vittore, her illegitimate half-sister, in front of the whole court. 

From then on, a series of strange and violent events take place as Dinah's coronation draws closer. She soon realizes she must figure out what is happening within and beyond the palace before she loses not only her future crown but her own head as well. 

Queen of Hearts was pretty much everything I would want in a YA fantasy retelling: An intriguing plot, beautiful details, clever references to the original story, and suspenseful with a bit of darkness without being too scary. My only real problem was with the character Vittore. It's obvious she is meant to be the polar opposite of Dinah in looks and personality. But upon reading her description, I muttered to myself, "Oh. No." After meeting a plethora of fascinating characters, the last thing I wanted was a blonde-haired-blue-eyed stereotype. Thankfully, after finishing the book, I'm not so sure that Vittore is as innocent as she appears. Dinah certainly doesn't seem to think so. In conclusion, I can't wait to continue the series.

You can find the book here: Queen of Hearts

...what tarts?