Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (Spoiler Free)

Title: Cruel Beauty

Author: Rosamund Hodge

Genre: YA Fantasy (Retelling)

Number of Pages: 342

My Rating: 5 stars

“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 loved it, but it wasn’t what I was expecting at all.

With that said, I don’t know what I was expecting. I went into this one blind, without even reading the synopsis in it’s entirety. Basically, I saw the cover and decided I needed it. Yes, I’m that much of a compulsive buyer.

I feel like this is truly one of those books that I’m glad I went into blind. I’m going to be honest, I have a weird quirk that probably would had prevented me from picking up this book had I read the synopsis… When books have characters with really off the wall names, I often feel a little apprehensive. Why? I have no idea. What I’m trying to say is that this review is going to be quite vague, simply because every time I try and form a thought on this book, it’s a spoiler.

Anyways, enough about my weird quirks. I really loved this retelling. I liked the fantasy elements that were added in. The characters were solid. I can’t think of anything glaringly bad about the various characters. I really actually loved Ignifex, more than I thought I would. I’m a sucker for bad boys, but rarely do I go for characters who are portrayed as all out villains.

I’d recommend this title to anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings, particularly those who enjoy retellings that have a bit of a paranormal/fantasy feel. I give it five out of five stars.