Cruel Beauty in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

Jan 28, 2014 Mandy Sickle rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorite-series, paranormal, love-it, love-the-cover, ya-romance, favorites, read2review, fiction, fantasy, first-in-series

Nyx has known since she was born that she’s the one who will avenge her mother’s death and save her kingdom from the evil demon ruler. Of course she’s trained her whole life on how to kill him she just has to marry him first. Growing up hasn’t been easy for Nyx after all her twin is her father’s favorite and he doesn’t show Nyx he same affection. When the time comes Nyx is married arriving at the castle she finds the ruler like the castle isn’t exactly what she expected.

Nyx is torn between the Nyx has known since she was born that she’s the one who will avenge her mother’s death and save her kingdom from the evil demon ruler. Of course she’s trained her whole life on how to kill him she just has to marry him first. Growing up hasn’t been easy for Nyx after all her twin is her father’s favorite and he doesn’t show Nyx he same affection. When the time comes Nyx is married arriving at the castle she finds the ruler like the castle isn’t exactly what she expected.

Nyx is torn between the Ignifex her husband and Shade who is his servant who she’s formed a connection with. The more time she spends with each she finds herself falling deeper in love with Shade who is determined that she needs to follow the plan and kill Ignifex. Nyx is torn between both men knowing she needs to save her kingdom even though she finds herself falling for him. When she uncovers the secrets and finds herself betrayed will it change everything she had planned?

I like Nyx she’s kind of whinny but it works, after all growing up in your twins shadow knowing you have to risk your life to save your kingdom I would be resentful also. I like that she let herself fall for the lord even if her destiny is to kill him and free her home. I like the chemistry between Nyx and Ignifex it just works they may not have the purest hearts but they feel something special for each other.

I’ve been on the fence for a while wanting to start Cruel Beauty but always talking myself out of it. I admit I was a little nervous to see a darker side to one of my favorite fairy tales but decided it was time. This is my first Beauty and the Beast retelling so I had some high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed it was better than I expected. I found the concept captivating it’s a unique spin on the traditional idea of Beauty and the Beast. I really liked that the story is dark and tragic it pulls on your heart strings and takes you for an emotional ride. I really enjoyed Cruel Beauty I actually finished it in one day it was hard to put down I had to see what would happen with Nyx. I really liked all the characters and found them all easy to connect with on some level. I really liked the way it played out in the end, I didn’t see it come so it was great loved all the twists and turns. If you are a fan of Beauty and the Beast I highly recommend you check this retelling out it very well could be better than the original.
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Jan 27, 2014 Angele | adominiquereads rated it it was amazing

Beautiful. Just beautiful!

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Jan 21, 2014 Ellie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook

In a word, Cruel Beauty can be described as beautiful. It was a wonderful read. I have enjoyed every word in this book. Beautifully crafted and imagined, Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge is one of my favourite debuts.

It follows the story of Nyx Triskelion and her mission to save her world of Arcadia from a Gentle Lord that has managed to put it in a state of darkness. What I expected to be straightforward fighting and thrill in her quest turned out to be an inward look in not only Nyx' but pretty ...more

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Mar 11, 2014 Yassie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, teardrops-falling, owned-ebooks, slice-of-life, 2014-reads, non-comedy-but-quite-funny, epubs

Greek Mythology meets Grimm Brothers~~~?
Fascinating, twisted, heart breaking! Although it was slightly annoying at the start...

Umm, so let's start with the family. Stupid dad, foolish Aunt, unreadable sister. Yep that's about it. The first scene that made me cry was because of this family, worsened by the fact that the words were only in her thoughts...but I felt it~~ T.T

Then we get to follow the main Beauty&Beast story line and then you have this background story based on Greek Mythology, the Greek Mythology meets Grimm Brothers~~~?
Fascinating, twisted, heart breaking! Although it was slightly annoying at the start...

Umm, so let's start with the family. Stupid dad, foolish Aunt, unreadable sister. Yep that's about it. The first scene that made me cry was because of this family, worsened by the fact that the words were only in her thoughts...but I felt it~~ T.T

Then we get to follow the main Beauty&Beast story line and then you have this background story based on Greek Mythology, then add in this 'fantasy' ancient studies of elements.... Hmm, I wasn't liking it... Don't get me wrong, I love greek myth but I don't like how the author throws stories upon stories of greek lore in between... like for one, I can't image B&B being related to anything greco/roman... I loved some of them, like the sundered lovers and pandora, because these are major parts of the story but I don't need a summary of greek myth or the list of gods or how many men were compared to Zeus.... *sigh* It probably annoyed me because I know my Greek but others who aren't so familiar might enjoy it~~~ I was reading this past midnight so that might be another factor for my irritation...

Now for the good parts. Ingifex vs Nyx~! They are hilarious! I like how realistic their actions and personalities are~ And how they gradually trusted each other and fell in love is one major reason why I liked the story... I could never imagine Beauty falling for Beast. Nah-uh, if it was me, I'll pass big time! But this? You can actually feel it~ And the best part would probably be the 'last bargain' that made me cry! T^T And her relationship with her sister, I shed some tears during those scenes too...I like how complex their personalities are and they're twins!

The ending was realistic, which is good. Again, more tears...
My only problem though was that it was open...too open...
I want to know what happened after...
Like seriously, something major like that needs a whole lot of PR!
I really hope there's a novella in the works, I need closure! ...more

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Jan 26, 2014 Jessica rated it liked it

Shelves: bronze, story-retelling, standalones, books-2014, 2014-debut-authors

I don't see how they can compare this book to Graceling?!? I think that is poor marketing on the publisher part, but overall I enjoyed the book (even though I was confused about what the heck was going on thru most of it). ...more

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