Cruel Beauty is a YA retelling of Beauty and the Beast by
Rosamund Hodge.
Nyx’s birth was the result of a bargain between her
father and the evil ruler of their kingdom, the Gentle Lord Ignifex. In order
to provide Nyx’s mother with children, the Gentle Lord secured the promise that
one of the daughter’s would become his bride.
Her father never thought to confirm that his wife would
be able to survive the birthing. No one ever does think through their bargain
entirely…
Since her childhood, Nyx has been being prepared to marry
the Gentle Lord – this demon king who caused the death of her own mother. Her
family preps her to kill him, to enact the ultimate revenge and save their
people from his ongoing bargains and tyranny of curses.
So it is that on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx weds the
immortal Gentle Lord via a stone proxy in the town church and proceeds to the
mysterious castle that no one but the desperate – looking for a deal – ever comes
near.
Yet Ignifex is not what she expects. His red, catlike
eyes are frightening, yes, but he is strangely charming. Her own resentment and
bitterness that has bubbled beneath the surface her entire life seem to find a
kindred spirit – and the castle’s ever-changing labyrinth of supernatural rooms
is intoxicating.
Nyx finds the mission she was groomed for since birth – to
kill the Gentle Lord – to be a far more difficult prospect than she expected…
Cruel Beauty was a creepy, dark, angst-ridden retelling
in the very best way.
This is a truly captivating novel with a heroine that
struggles with her inner motivations, hostility and choices. She is no Belle
from Disney – and that is okay.
Here we have a young woman who has never felt love from
her father – as he has refused to provide love to someone he has to give up.
Here we have a young woman that has known for years that she must marry her
mother’s murderer – and in fulfilling her mission to kill him, ultimately will
have to sacrifice herself for her people, as well.
So when she is suddenly in a position where this demon
king actually seems to understand her and accept her for who she is – how is
she supposed to kill him? And Ignifex is definitely appealing, while also being
enigmatic and maddening with a little bit of scariness.
Cruel Beauty is really about two deeply flawed
individuals in a world of curses, dark magic and evil that has haunted their
world for ages. It’s about love!
I wouldn’t say I am AS enthusiastically over the moon on
Cruel Beauty as I have seen some other readers be, but I am definitely a big
fan and found it to be a page-turner on both an emotional and plot-wise level.
Definitely one to read and add to the ever growing list
of fairy-tale retellings!
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