Pages

Monday, August 3, 2015

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge.

Rating : 5 / 5
Released Date : 28 January 2014 
Pages :342
Genre :High Fantasy, Beauty-and-the-Beast, Romance, YA
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: I own a Copy

“A virgin knife in a virgin’s hand
Can kill the beast that rules the land.”

This book nearly brought me to tears several times. (I swear it was kind of bad and frustrating.) It’s a classic retelling of the Beauty and the Beast in a Greek Mythology kind of way. (Two of my favorite things!)

The Writing Style. (5 / 5)

The story is told in FP there are no POV’s and it was a breeze to read. What more can you ask for? Oh, and the Humor of course.

The World. (5 / 5)

I loved this world especially the castle with its many doors, constantly changing. Arcadia is a city captured in a dome by one prince’s mistake regarding the box of Pandora. (I will not say what, it’s part of the twist, sorryL) The sunlight is artificial. Ships can’t go far or the fall into oblivion. (Well you get the point. It reminds of Under the Dome by Stephan King.) It’s said that demons live in the shadows and if you look to long into the shadows you’ll go mad. I loved this small bubble of theirs.

The Plot. (5 / 5)

Nyx has to pay for her father’s mistake and marry the Gentle Lord, a Beast, but she soon learns under his care that not all is as it seems. The faith of Arcadia lies in her hands and she doesn’t even know it. 

The Characters. (5 / 5)

Nyx.

“I was raised to marry a Monster.”

Nyx resents her father who happens to be the famous (but weird addition.) Leonidas. He and his wife desperately wanted to have children so he made a deal with the Gentle Lord at a dearly cost. Nyx has a chance and that is to kill the Gentle Lord because it so happens to be she is still a virgin and if she can find the seals (Elemental stuff.) she can break the spell to which Arcadia is bound to. She falls in love with the Gentle Lord’s right-hand man, Shade. (Almost a Ghostly Figure) and it nearly cost her her life.

There is a love triangle. (This provoked mixed emotions.)

Ignifex.

“I’m the evil demon lord. I know it’s not a compliment, but I do like a wife with a little malice in her heart.”

Ignifex has a unique story and it’s a sad one. He had eight wives before Nyx but he’s not really evil just lonely. He is the demon all the puny men go to and make deals but at what cost? He tricks and deceives them. (It’s his job.) But even the Demon like man is afraid of the dark.Ignifex makes a bargain with Nyx, that if she could guess his real name, she will be free if not, he will kill her.
In the end she becomes his salvation.

The smaller things.

The twist was amazing and it had me on the edge of my seat and tears threatened to spill over the brinks of my eyelids. This book had me screaming at the blank walls of my bedroom because Nyx nearly destroyed everything.

I do recommend this read to anyone and everyone who likes a beauty meets the beast kind of story and who also likes Greek Mythology. This book was its money’s worth.

Miss Rosamund Hodge is scheduled to release another compelling retelling of Romeo and Juliet named Bright Smoke, Cold Fire. I truly hope this will be as amazing as Cruel Beauty.

The Blurb.

“I was seduced into a world where the Greeks had a Beauty and a Beast. Truly a captivating read that will have you hooked until the very last page.”

Get the Book Here ↓


Visit the Author Here ↓