Author: Rosamund Hodge.
Summary:
"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 Thoughts So Far:
When I heard Cruel Beauty was a retelling of The Beauty and the Beast, I couldn't get in my mail fast enough. When it did finally come, there were a few other reading obligations I had to take care of before I could finally dive in! After starting it just last night, I'm already fifty or so pages into and loving it! I don't know how the main character spent all the years holding in the pain and anger she felt towards her entire family, her dad who is marrying her off to a demon, her dead mom who bargained with the demon, her sister who wasn't chosen to die, and her aunt who is now living her house and getting intimate with her father.
There is already so much going on in Cruel Beauty, and if I didn't have to go to class, I could spend the rest of the day reading it!
I'm so glad you're enjoying it. I didn't love it but I did enjoy that author's twist to the tale.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that you didn't enjoy this one so much! I just started getting into it this morning, and so far I'm enjoying it. I love retellings and there seem to be so many good ones out right now (:
DeleteLisa
So jealous!! XD lol I want to read this one quite badly...can't wait till I get a copy. I've heard the really difficult names were a bit confusing though...are they okay?? If someone says "retelling" I'm honestly there in a flash.
ReplyDeleteThe names aren't too bad, but I can see where people might get a little frustrated. But I think the story is so good that it makes up for the hard to pronounce names! (:
DeleteLisa
Ohhh, I really loved Cruel Beauty. <3 I hope you do too :D Happy reading sweetie. <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for commenting on my blog. <3
Love, Carina @ Carina's Books
I'm glad you enjoyed this one! I've been so busy all week, with school and just normal life stuff, but Cruel Beauty is so good, that I can't help put to squish it in between everything else that I have to do! (:
DeleteLisa