Sunday 9 February 2014

Cruel Beauty

Title:        Cruel Beauty
Author:    Rosamund Hodge

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



Isn't the cover just beautiful. A staircase going round and round into a rose. Who makes these pretty covers? They sure do know how to make people keep looking at them.

I really enjoyed this read. This is my second fairy tale retelling, and I wish to keep them coming, if you know more then send me some recommendations.

This story is beautifully written, everything just flowed together, the words, the story, I could easily keep reading if the story was longer. And I wish it was longer, there were a lot of jumps in the book in time where I would have liked more story, instead we have Nyx going from hating where she is to almost instantly being in love.

I liked the infusion of ancient myths within the story, they were nicely placed into the story so that it wasn't just an info dump. 

I really liked Nyx's character, her warring thoughts and personality, even with knowing that she is being sacrificed over her sister she still stays strong.

"If one of us had to die, it ought to be the one with poison in her heart"
Overall a good read, that I will pass on to friends to read. often.

4 out of 5 stars


I eagerly await Rosamund Hodge next release: Gilded Ashes out in April!





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1 comment:

  1. The cover is gorgeous! It's what pulled me in, and the story inside was even better. If you're looking for more retelling recommendations, my blog is literally overflowing with them (:

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