Title: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Format: E-book. 336 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retellings
Synopsis:
Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl’s journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.
Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.
Review:I had some mixed reviews on this book, I was excited to read this because I adore Beauty and the Beast retellings and I read another one not to long ago (Hunted by Megan Spooner) and I enjoyed that one. This one I can tell it’s very close to the version that’s most well known but with it’s spin on it. The take on the retelling was very interesting and very different from others that I’ve seen.
I really enjoyed the demon lord “or gentle lord” aspect and how the female main character Nyx is meant to kill him. For me this book had some strong points and some weak points, and a few missed opportunities. The concept of this story is something I really enjoyed and how different it is, also I like Ignefix which I was surprised by. Sadly I wasn’t a fan Nyx, she bothered me and I feel like her conflicted feelings and indecision could be annoying at times, especially where her family was concerned. I feel she would hate them and then feel guilty and make excuses for how they treat her.
I’m not sure I liked Shade and I’m still not completely clear on the roll he played in this story. The love triangle I feel was a little unnecessary, I feel that the author could have accomplished the same thing with Shade as a friend and not through a romantic connection, it just felt a little out of place in a Beauty and the Beast retelling.
I was surprised somewhat by the ending, but to be honest, I’m not quite sure how it ended, it left me really confused. I’m still hoping to read more of Rosamund Hodge in the future and I hope I like them more.
