Dark and Entrancing: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty
by Rosamund Hodge

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Mythology, Retelling
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Balzer+Bray

Source: Own Copy/Bought
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Author's Blog

SYNOPSIS

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

Set in a high-fantasy world, Cruel Beauty is beautifully written, dark and thrilling retelling of the well-known classic Beauty and the Best with a dash of mythology.

“If one of us had to die, it ought to be the one with poison in her heart.”

Our protagonist—Nyx—has been betrothed to The Gentle Lord who is also the prince of demons ever since she was. Since she was 9 years old, she has been training to kill her betrothed in hopes of avenging her mother and saving Arcadia.

On her 17^th birthday, she marries the Gentle Lord and leaves her home behind to fulfill her duty, but The Gentle Lord is not what she expected. Instead of meeting an unpleasant husband, she meets an amiable and humorous Lord, and soon, she finds herself questioning her duty…

““Nyx Triskelion, do you want to guess my name?”I started at him.“What’s there to guess? I already know you’re a monster””

I really enjoyed reading Cruel Beauty, and I can’t believe that I almost marked it as DNF, though I did have a good reason to. The first part was really rough to read. Too many information were dropped at the same time, so obviously I got confused, and also, I got irritated with the instalove between Shade and Nyx, but after that, things went smoothly, and I found myself liking the book.

One of the things that I really liked about this book is that even though it is a retelling, the story is very unpredictable. Throughout the story, I was constantly guessing on what’s going to happen next. Once I even questioned if this book is really a retelling because the only thing it had in common with Beauty and the Beast is the premise. Only when I was done reading the book did I fully realize how really similar it is to B&B.

“”This house has many dangers. I cannot save you from most of them.”

I clenched my hand until I felt the bones of his fingers. Then I let go and forced a smile.

“I wasn’t born to be saved.””

The characters are very interesting. We have Nyx, Ignifex, and Shade. They’re nothing like the usual characters in YA novels. We have our heroine—Nyx. She’s brave, stubborn, determined and witty, but at the same time, she’s also angry and bitter for what her fate is. Most would be annoyed with her, but surprisingly I’m not. I usually hate ferocious and stubborn characters, but with Nyx, it works. There’s also Ignifex, also known as The Gentle Lord, and his shadow, Shade.  While Shade is still and kind, Ignifex is outward and wicked. What I liked about them is that both of them have an underlying mystery within. It made the story even more interesting.

“Study the sky but never love it.  It is our prison and the symbol of our captor.”

Furthermore, I liked the world Hodge created. Scratch that. I loved it. I loved that there are so many things to explore in it, and I’m so glad that there’ll be a novella which will happen in the same world. (Seriously, it’s imperative to use this world to its fullest.) I loved that it comes with a history. I loved that she incorporated mythology to its history. It’s a very creative world and thanks to her descriptive writing, I was able to see a clear picture of it.

 “”I still might kill you.” I told him, much later.He traced a finger along my skin “Who wouldn’t?””

Overall, I definitely recommend Cruel Beauty. The story is full of twists and turns. The characters are very unique. The writing is lyrical. And the world-building? Amazing. I’m definitely looking forward to reading another of Hodge’s work.

RATING