From the Bookshelf of Reading Addicts…

Cruel Beauty

Rosamund Hodge

Start date: December 1, 2014

Finish date: December 31, 2014

Discussion leader: Rida Sajid

Why we're reading this: It is Best of 2014. December 2014-Young Adult#1
[close] It is Best of 2014. December 2014-Young Adult#1

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Mar 06, 2015 Ginger rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviews

Well before her birth Nix has been betrothed to Ignifex, after all that was the deal that her father made with the ruler of their Kingdom.

It was never even a choice between Nix and her twin sister. Her father would never give up Astraia.

But Nix won't be a dutiful bride, she won't put on a fake smile and do as she is told. No. She has a plan. She will kill the evil ruler of Arcadia, she will kill Ignifex and free her land. She will prove to her sister and her father that she deserves to live ju ...more

Like · see review

Jul 18, 2015 Nila rated it it was ok

Shelves: ooh-pretty-words, pretty-cover, went-up-then-down

Hmm, I honestly don't know what to think of this book. I loved how it began, and the first parts of the book drew me in but as I read along things came out of control and I don't know if the author knew what she was doing anymore because to me, it all felt rather cheap and pasted on. There were spots of plot holes here and there, and I just couldn't get a grip on the characters. Like I said, pasted on.

The main character never grew throughout the story, and while I suppose that may have been the ...more

Like · see review

Feb 12, 2016 Manz rated it liked it

This book was actually an interesting twist to the Beauty and the Beast. I saw elements of it and it kept me wondering how the author was going to write certain parts. Since I loved Beauty and the Beast as a child, I could notice certain aspects being included in this book that was essential to the turning point in the story (like when beast got hurt saving Belle or when the beast gave Belle something of his to take home - plus many more aspects which was great). Once again, the book was set in ...more

Like · see review

Jan 26, 2017 Alyssa Campbell rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017

Full Review at: Bright Copy Book Review

I really wanted to love this, but I figured out most of it about halfway through and that just kind of ruined it for me. I love the idea behind it, it was just too obvious for me.

This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with some Greek Mythology in the mix.

Our Beauty, Nyx, was told when she was very young that she would save their city because of her father's selfish bargain with 'The Gentle Lord' who is known to grant peoples' wishes with a price. After fi Full Review at: Bright Copy Book Review

I really wanted to love this, but I figured out most of it about halfway through and that just kind of ruined it for me. I love the idea behind it, it was just too obvious for me.

This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with some Greek Mythology in the mix.

Our Beauty, Nyx, was told when she was very young that she would save their city because of her father's selfish bargain with 'The Gentle Lord' who is known to grant peoples' wishes with a price. After finding out that his wife could not conceive and hated herself for not being able to bear his children, Nyx's father asked the dark man to give his wife the gift of bearing children. The man told the father that his wife would bear two girls, but once they turn seventeen, one of them would have to marry the man and stay in his castle forever. What he didn't say is that his wife would not survive the births of her children. Nyx's father kept that promise, and taught Nyx secrets to defeat the Gentle Lord and save their city from the demon shadows he rules.

So, Nyx has known this her entire life and kept her mouth shut against every evil though she's had about her father, her beloved sister, and her Aunt. What I don't get is that as soon as she moves into the castle, she unleashes all of her fury on the gentle lord, even after everything she was taught. I liked the Greek aspect to the book, mixing one of my favorite stories with mythology was a nice twist. There was a bit of paradoxical nature in the book that I just couldn't get into. I don't usually like parallel worlds and such so that didn't work for me.

In the beginning, the gentle lord tells Nyx that if she guesses his name, she will be set free but if she guesses wrong she will die. I didn't guess his name, but rather who he was about halfway through the book. I loved the answer, but hated the fact that I was able to figure it out so early because it just made the rest of the book a bit boring and predictable to me. I did like the premise of the book, I didn't particularly like Nyx though. I liked that she had a dark and snarky side, but she seemed very immature even for a seventeen year old.

If only I hadn't figured out the main part of the story, I would've liked this a lot more. And then there's the whole falling in love with your captor thing but I won't get into that.
...more

Like · see review