R14: Team #19 ~ WinterFell on the 19th

[Victoria]

went ahead and read a book for:

Shelf 20: SERIES TO START


Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Pages: 352
Qual: page 4 of shelf
Read: 07 June
Rating: 3.5
Review:

3.5 stars

A wonderful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It's set in a land that's inhabited by demons and separated from the rest of the world. The land is ruled by the Gentle Lord who is said to be the cause of this lands downfall and binds his time making bargains, including a bargain with our heroines father.

I really liked Nyx's character. Her father pretty much sells her as a bride to Ignifex, the Gentle Lord, and expects her to die whilst attempting to kill him, and it pisses her off. I loved that she didn't view the situation through rose-colored glasses. She had to pay for her father's bargain and she hated it. She also resented her sister for not being the one who has marry a demon. This reaction made her character feel very real. She's ultimately a kind, good person and can be so whilst being angry about her situation.

Ignifex was another great character who also had a lot of depth to him. Between the two MCs and the writing and world building, I'm not sure why I'm not giving this a 4 or 5 star rating. It's really great, but something held me back from loving it. However, in the end it was a wonderful book.

[Victoria]

It's a pity we didn't win, but I ended up loving this challenge. I really like the format of choosing a book from a random/chosen shelf. Some challenges are a little too specific with their tasks, so this was fun because it forced me to find a certain type of book, while still giving me a lot of flexibility with my choice. I'm also surprised how much I enjoyed the review portion. Even when I struggled to write something I loved how this encouraged me to do so regardless, and I also loved reading everyone's reviews!

In short, thanks for the great challenge! And I need to go back through the reviews to add all these books to me tbr =)

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Thanks Victoria, always welcome when someone gives feedback, and when its positive, its even better :)