Friday, December 26, 2014

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge ♥

Friday, December 26, 2014


Cruel Beauty (Book #1)
Rosamund Hodge
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  • Publisher: Balzer + Bray (January 28, 2014)
  • ISBN-13: 978-0062224736
  • Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult
  • Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles
  • Source: Personal Purchase
  • Synopsis: Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart. 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.


Meet Beauty - Nyx

Meet The Beast - Ignifex,

& together they create Cruel Beauty.

  •  This is easily my most favorite debut of 2014 and the latest addition to my all time favorite shelves. The first thing I noticed about Cruel Beauty was the amazing cover, I didn't even realize it had a staircase, I mainly noticed the rose and the girl running. Cruel Beauty is an amazing fairytale retelling of Beauty & The Beast. I find that concept beautiful, and it has always been one of my favorite fairy tales. Although, in this novel the protagonist Nyx is not kidnapped by the Beast, she is betrothed to him, his name is Ignifex. I honestly loved this book, it was just that fantastic.

  • The beast, Ignifex actually does not look like a beast, he's a demon. He looks mostly like a gorgeous human, except his eyes are scary. I could not put this book down, I haven't read that much fantasy lately, but I'm going to start reading a lot more now after this.  Nyx is an exceptional heroine, she's strong, brave, and witty. I liked that she had her flaws as well; she's also fierce and angry. Her father had made a bargain with the Gentle Lord because his wife could not conceive, in return, her father made the bargain of marrying one of his daughter to "The Gentle Lord," who is Ignifex. Nyx is the ultimate sacrifice, the weapon her people want to use against The Gentle Lord. He's considered evil, because he has apparently done wrong to them, and he associates himself with the "shadows." I loved Nyx's personality, she was courageous and never backed down from Ignifex, even though he could kill her right away. I liked his character the most, he had a fantastic sense of humor - I loved reading about the character development of these two characters. Their chemistry was great!
  •  Mythology also is an element of Cruel Beauty that plays a role in it, I'm not sure if I understood it correctly though, but that's besides the point. The love triangle wasn't necessary but it was not that bad at all though. Although, I was rooting for Ignifex the whole way! Cruel Beauty is a beautiful fairytale retelling with a hint of mythology as well. It did the original fairytale justice, I cannot wait for the sequel to come out soon! Cruel Beauty has a beautiful cover, amazing premise, great characters, beautiful story with a raw and honest tone to itThe characters are flawed, yet believable. Nyx and Ignifex both have a darkness to them, will their love survive? Let's see in the sequel! I would recommend checking out this novel, it's confusing at times, but I still find it to be perfect. I would not rate it any less than 5 butterflies, it is just that amazing.

Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & follow :) Happy Holidays everyone & may you all have an safe and healthy New Years! Stay in tuned pretty creatures..

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” —J.K. Rowling 
femmmefatalee@gmail.com

31 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to read this because I love retellings too. Plus, that cover is beautiful!

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    1. It's an amazing book. I hope you do enjoy reading it !

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  2. Sounds interesting. The last retelling I've read was Cinder by Marissa Meyer and I liked it (even though I don't really like the Sci-fi, dystopian touch to it)
    @Vanilla Reads

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    1. I haven't read Cinder yet, but I've been planning on to read it soon, I hope it lives up to the hype.

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  3. Sounds awesome! Merry Christmas :)

    Ivana @ Bookish Teens

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  4. I've heard such amazing things about this!! I love fairytale retellings and apparently this one is wonderful. Nyx sounds like a strong character and I can't wait for this romance! Awesome review :)

    Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books

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    1. I know, this was such an amazing book. I honestly LOVED it, although some parts were hard to understand - it's still a great fairytale retelling. Thank you!

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  5. First, of wow, I love your blog! Thank you for visiting mine, it helped me discover your beautiful one!! Second, LOVED THIS BOOK TOO :D And the Demon! And the flawed yet strong and amazing heroine. But...what I didn't like was the turn of events...linked to the romance, you know. The writing was great, so pretty! Great review :D

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    1. Thank you so much Lola, it means a lot coming from you<3 & I agree, some of the events were hard to understand, I still liked the book though :D Happy Holidays!

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  6. AWESOME review! happy you liked it ,, i have this book on my shelf for awhile i will read it sometime next year :D

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    1. Hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have :)

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  7. I read this book this past year, and I'm not one for fairy tale books, but I loved this one!!

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    1. I haven't read too many fairytale books - This was a great book though!

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  8. Oh my gosh, this book looks awesome! I really, really need to buy it soon. Nyx sounds like an awesome character, and the romance sounds adorable. I'm so glad you liked it, and thanks for the great review!

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    1. This was a fantastic book - I do hope you like reading it! ♥ It's clearly one of my favorite fantasy books.

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  9. Umm.. I've wanted this book for so long now. You know that feeling whenever you walk out of a bookstore and remember that you forgot to buy a book.. yeah this is the book I always forget to buy after purchasing. It sounds great and a little bit like Cinder, the fairytale retelling of Cinderella. I didn't quite do my research on The Lunar Chronicles, but I promised myself I would read it in the Summer. Great review and I loved the Pros and Cons lol! It was a great summary of the book with its accomplishments and faults,

    Alex @ The Book's Buzz

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    1. LOL I understand what you mean, that's how it was with The Winter's Tale on my side. I hope you enjoy reading this book, thank you :) ♥ I haven't read the The Lunar Chronicles yet but I should, it's been on my TBR for so long!

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  10. I really enjoyed this one too, though I didn't love the first half as much as the second. Still, a fantastic twist on a retelling!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I agree, it's a fantastic retelling. I liked the first half much more, the second half was a bit confusing ♥

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  11. I have seen quite a few reviews around for the second book in this series, which makes me intrigued to know your thoughts! I hope you enjoy the second one as much as you loved this one! I have a thing for retellings lately, which is why this sounds so perfect for me. I have it added to my TBR!

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    1. I haven't read the second book yet, but I do hope it's as great as the first one - maybe even better. Hope you love this one as much as I did♥

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  12. I like these photos :)
    Would you like to follow each other on GFC and Bloglovin ?
    www.blog017.blogspot.com

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  13. This sounds very interesting!
    Follow each other? :)
    xxx
    S
    http://s-fashion-avenue.blogspot.it/

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  14. *flails wildly* AHHH I'M SO GLAD YOU LOVED THIS!!! Wasn't it just the most beautiful debut??!! I just loved how Hodge entwined mythology into a such a beautiful fairytale and then made it into something completely different but AMAZING!! ^_^ *hugs book tightly* And Nyx was GLORIOUS! I loved her temper ;) AND OH THE COVER. I am seriously in love with that cover *drools* Basically I loved everything about this book, haha ;P

    Beautiful review! :D

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    1. Haha aww you clearly loved this book! YAY :) Thank you for stopping by today! I agree, this was an amazing story. I loved the mythology mix with the fairytale retelling - I cannot wait for the sequel to come out soon, I'm sure the author will do justice to the novel since she writes beautifully!

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  15. HAPPY NEW YEAR, BENISH!!! I meant to come over before to comment on your blog, but have been so busy..... I apologize....

    How wonderful that you've read and reviewed "Cruel Beauty"! I've been wanting to read this one myself, as the fairy tale of "Beauty and the Beast" is also one of my favorites! And the thing is, I do own this book. But you know how it is.....so many books to read....

    I LOVE the cover of this book!!! That staircase is AMAZING!! I love the plot as well! And I really like how you've analyzed the characters. I must DEFINITELY make this book a priority this year!! Thanks for the great review!! : )

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    1. Thank you Maria for stopping by with your lovely comment! :) I do hope you enjoy reading Cruel Beauty, it's seriously a beautiful and well written book. It is a bit confusing, but I just loved the love story. fairytales in general are amazing, I do hope to find more gems soon. It's just that good. Happy New Year to you as well :) Thank you so much x

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