Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty

Author: Rosamund Hodge
Series: Standalone (though there may be future companion novels)
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: YA Fantasy/Fairytale Retellings
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 4 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

My Review:

I have been anticipating this book for a while now. I have even had my ARC for a while, but alas, other review books had to come first. So when it was finally time to read this book, I hunkered down and hung a do not disturb sign on my forehead. I’ve never been much into fairytale retellings, but ever since Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series, I’ve been giving more and more a try.

The first hour of this book was amazing. It was tension filled. There was a lot of info given to the reader and some people may not like that, but for me, it worked. And the reason it worked was because while we were given all the information, our main character was getting ready to be married off to a monster. I’ve talked about how I love arranged marriages before and was pretty excited to see how this one was going to end. So the whole time we are learning all this info, I’m on the edge of my seat, heart pounding, waiting to meet Nyx’s husband, the Gentle Lord.

We finally meet this Gentle Lord (Ignifex), the prince of demons and then the book started to slow down for me. It felt very repetitive with Nyx just exploring the house trying to figure out how to kill her new husband and save the people of her world. I did enjoy seeing the house and the way it shifted and changed though. The imagery in this book was vivid and gorgeously written. As a reader, I could easily picture the house and the rooms that Nyx was walking through and let me tell you, they were gorgeous and creepy at the same time.

The last 40% of the book was awesome again. It was fast-paced with lots of action, lots of discoveries, and a lot more of Ignifex. This romance was intense and Nyx and Ignifex were truly perfect for each other. Both wicked in their own ways, they were like Bonnie and Clyde. Nyx isn’t a nice girl. She harbors a lot of anger and a lot of hate over this marriage and her task to save everybody. Understandable, but still, she can be cruel. But it was because she was so flawed that I liked her. She is relatable, strong, resilient, and doesn’t take shit from Ignifex. And of course, Ignifex is cruel as well. He makes horrible bargains with the people that always end badly for the humans and he controls demons. So you know there’s some evil in there. He is sarcastic, confident, cocky, and has definitely got swag. He’s pretty swoony.  

“I love you more than any other creature, because you are cruel, and kind, and alive.” –Ignifex

 

For the most part, this story was really good. The pacing felt a little off to me and I wasn’t a huge fan of the “love triangle”. It just didn’t really work for me. I also felt like the explanations at the end were a bit confusing. I tried to follow them, but at times I found myself having to reread to fully understand what was going on. I did enjoy the Greek mythology that was woven into this book. I didn’t expect it and I really liked it. I wanted this book to blow me away, but it didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it. A lot. But it lacked the wow factor that makes me fall head over heels with a book. Still, it’s a great addition to the fantasy and retelling genres and you should definitely check it out! Happy reading all! 

Have you read this? What did you think of the love triangle? Did you swoon over Ignifex too?