Rosamund Hodge

Betrothed to the demon who rules her country and trained all her life to kill him, seventeen-year-old Nyx Triskelion must now fulfill her destiny and move to the castle to be his wife.

Cruel beauty

Allyssa Fritz

"Water is born from the death of air, earth from the death of water, fire from the death of earth, air from the death of fire."

ploral

3.5 (0.5 just for the end)

Very rarely, do I find a book with an end that overshadows the whole book, this book is one of them, in a good day, which is rarer.

Monicap

Finished. In, like, four hours. What does that tell you?

I need more of Nyx and Ignifex!!! Please?

This book had great dialogue. Like, the dialogue was SO THE BEST. Also, the rest of the writing wasn't shabby either.

The characters! Like I said, I loved Nyx and Ignifex... and they were sorta the only two characters that we spent a considerable amount of time with. (Shade doesn't count... well, he does. (view spoiler)[he counts as Ignifex (hide spoiler)])

I just have one eensy little problem... if you have no idea what your name is, why do you tell people to call you Ignifex? That's just... why? It's names like Ignifex that keep most people from reading fantasy and scifi, and, moreover, the name has absolutely significance. If it had some sort of significance... if it was even in one of the books in the library I'd be mollified. But no. Nothing.

The world!!! I LIVE for world like this one... intricately thought out, with relevant history... and most of all, RULES. 
I Love worlds wherein the magic has rules that it MUST abide by, and then it does. So I was all for this. 

What else is Rosamund Hodge writing? I need it now.

This book really f*cks with your head but in a good way. I was so confused about what was going to happen that I couldn’t put it down. I found it very interesting, complex and with great world building. Right when you think you get what is happening, you realize you don’t really. If you love fantasy, romance and fairytales this is for you. I didn’t mind that it is a standalone because in the end it just all snaps into place and there is no need for another one. 

Danae

Madelen Ehlis

Miranda Danielson

** spoiler alert **
           I could not finish this book. I made it about 250 pages in and I have never not finished a book before. The characters actions were so random and made no sense, the strong female lead going form independent to desperate and back again. One moment Nyx is hating Ignifex and the next she loves him when NOTHING happened. The only applause I can give this book is the plot wasn’t terrible, but that’s because it is based off a beauty and the beast retelling. This book idea was fine but the execution was terrible.

Courtney

I enjoyed this as a retelling of Beauty and the Best and it was an interesting concept incorporating mythology, which I don't know how to really feel about, hence my 3 stars.

Colleen

I picked up this book because I loved the cover. It's a gorgeous cover; dumb title though. 

The book is described as being based on Beauty and the Beast. But it is much closer to Greek mythology than the classic fairytale. Even nearly all of the characters names are straight out of Greek mythology. I love mythology, so I was perfectly fine with this switch. I wish there were more creative retellings of mythology rather than so many regurgitation of the same fairytales. But I can see how a reader might be miffed or confused if they picked up this book expecting something more Disney. It's a creative blend of a couple different myths, so if you are a hard core Greek enthusiast you may be annoyed by that as well. It was a fun read though.

I'm still on the fence between 3.5 and 4 stars. There were some rough spots in the book, and the ending felt rushed. Still, I did read it entirely in one day. And for a debut novel, it was quite good. I'm definitely interested in reading other things by Hodge in the future. I'll also give it a bump for being a YA novel without a cheesy love triangle!

This review fulfills the "book based entirely on its cover" category of the Popsugar reading challenge. http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-...

Cristina Iglesias

I have absolutely no idea how this book managed to get such good reviews because I truly hated this book. I was close to marking it as DNF but I thought okay, just for the fun of it I'm going to finish it, maybe closer to the ending it gets better, and if not I'll be able to dislike it even more. 

Well the second one is exactly what happened. First I didn't connect at all to the characters, second, I did not understand half of the time the plot, third, what was this book??? The ghost?? The "monster"?? The love triangle?? The jump in time with lost memory??? Like??????? No, simply not. I'm not even gonna write a whole essay about this book because I don't wanna recall all the things I didn't get or disliked.

Not so perfectly written, but I was thoroughly entertained.

Arianna M

This book was recommended to me a couple days ago on twitter by Natalie, who told me right away this book wasn't the ~best book ever written!~ So I was prepared for a light read last night when I started this.
Honestly, this wasn't even an enjoyable light read. I've read better written fanfiction. The writing is utterly weak. Two pages into the book, a day has passed. Time jumps are inconsistent. The characters are paper-thin, the worldbuilding tries to be something but nothing is ever really explained, especially at the end, which seems to have been written in a rush.
(view spoiler)[Everything makes sense because of some things that Nyx saw, understood, then fainted and forgot, or she saw, understood, and did not explain to the audience. Which is probably a good thing because everything is an info dump in this book. But honestly, how is a reader supposed to accept that what happens happens for reasons that we're not even given? Or we're given in chunks and bits? (hide spoiler)]
E.G., this book is an info dump after another, with Nyx telling the audience how she feels in between. I never felt emotionally connected to her. For one, she never makes you feel how she feels, because she'd rather tell you. It's "I did this, I felt this" the whole way through, which is obviously bad writing and annoying as hell.
Another important reason I couldn't emotionally connect with the story is because the main character makes no sense at all. One moment she says she hates her family, she has poison in her heart!, the very next she feels so bad about hurting her sister. Nothing is ever seen in-depth; the narrator always stays very clear of introspection, in favour of exposition and info dumps.
The plot and the worldbuilding are frankly laughable — we're supposed to believe that Ignifex is so evil! He's so bad! [Really, really obvious spoiler under the cut] (view spoiler)[Then a single thing happens, obviously she feels attracted to him, and bam! He's actually just a victim. He's so mistaken. (hide spoiler)] But he's still so wicked. And she's so wicked. It's all just words, words, words. Nothing is seen in action, not truly.

Another thing: why the Greco-Roman pantheon (Not that the Roman pantheon makes an appearance)? Just like that? Why the liberal use of the word "Arcadia", which used to mean something? Why mix it up with "Anglia" and why are the anglican gods pagan?

Oh, and the title. Cruel Beauty. The book states clearly that she's not really a beauty, that's her sister! And cruel? She's not cruel. There's even a sentence in the book that says she actively doesn't want to be cruel. So what's the point of the title, except that it sounds cool?

Janice Hopper

This was a very annoying book to me. The author manages to mash up a bunch of different things:
- Beauty & the Beast
- Greek mythology
- Sidhe-like characters
- Tam Lin
- Rumplestiltskin or something like it

and I don't know what all else. This mishmash actually would work pretty well, if the protagonist wasn't so damned annoying, forever swooning into the arms of a character or two who is borderline abusive. DO NOT WANT. 

The world-building is pretty decent, but at its heart this is a Kissing Book (romance) & Kissing Books almost never work for me. 

I listened on audio & really wish I'd put the last third on fast-forward. So annoying.

Inês

Then I let go and forced a smile. “I wasn’t born to be saved.”


This book is amazing. I just couldn't stop reading. I finished the book so fast, that hurts.

Dee B. 

That ending was beautiful. In fact, the last few chapters redeemed this story for me. (view spoiler)[Seeing him saved, and both of them trying to heal, was worth all of the nothingness that happened in earlier chapters (hide spoiler)]

Varshh

Lost of confusion and logic hole in the end. A good pastime.Nothing more, nothing less.

Allison Garrett

A little trippy and kinda confusing but overall I liked it. I liked the way the author mixed the elements, the beauty and the beast aspect, and the Greek mythology as well. All of this was enjoyable but was a lot to follow and remember if you don't already know some Greek mythology and if you aren't paying close attention.

Cruel Beauty

Bunnhi

Cruel/Wicked/Beautiful

Didn’t care for the family. Did a good job at making you side with one man over the other only to pull the rug out from under you. The ending had me spiraling to the finish just as they had fallen.

wildemononoke

Scarlett A.

3/⭐️
0,5/🌶

“Where you go, I shall go; where you die, I shall die, and there will I be buried.” 

◾️ Blend of Beauty and the Beast retelling and Greek mythology
◾️ Arranged marriage
◾️ Enemies to lovers
◾️ The romance was entertaining but at times it felt underwhelming and unconvincing. There is not much detail given about this world. 
◾️This book can be read as a stand alone. There are more books in the series, but these revolve around different characters. 
◾️ Heat level: there was definitely some tension between the characters, but no spice at all.

Shannon Arputharaj

Cruel Beauty took the bet parts of Entwined and the best parts of The Night Circus and created a world akin to Beauty and the Beast. The characters are relatable and realistic, while the whole book is so deep in fantasy. This book quickly became one of my favorites as it had me flipping pages in anticipation. Not only was the concept and plot intriguing, but the descriptions and pace were perfect, as well. If you want to enter into a world of dark magic and complicated love, read it.

Isabelle Reads

OK WHAT WAS THAT. WHAT THE HECK EVEN WAS THAT ENDING.

*CUE RANT BECAUSE ISABELLE NEEDS TO VENT*

let's kick off this discussion with a synopsis of that absolute dumpster fire of a plot 🥰

about two decades before the story, a magistrate and his wife lived in a tiny village within a kingdom ruled by the infamously cursed Dark Lord.
The couple was content to serve the Dark Lord, but they lacked the one thing they wanted more than anything in the world: a child. Desperate, the magistrate traveled to the Dark Lord and asked for a bargain. 
The Dark Lord agreed. The magistrate and his wife would have their daughter, but on one condition: when that daughter turned seventeen, she would become the Dark Lord’s wife. Nine months later, twins Nyx and Astraia were born. 
And Nyx, being born first, was chosen to be the Dark Lord’s bride.

at the beginning of the story, Nyx, now seventeen, is being prepared to take her wedding vows. Bitter and resentful towards her family and her fate, Nyx hates that she was the unlucky one. She hates her father for giving her a fate worse than death. She hates that her future was traded in a bargain she had no choice in. 
However, Nyx has a plan. 
Seduce the Dark Lord.
Kill him. 
Free her people.
Return home, free. 

But when she meets the Dark Lord, things don’t go as planned. 


lol ofc they don't what were you expecting


now, I love Beauty and the Beast retellings. I have a loooooong shelf for Beauty and the Beast retellings. Some of my favorite books are Beauty and the Beast retellings. 
point is, the retelling aspect of this book wasn't the problem. That was fine. Even the Dark Lord, aka Ignifex, was fine (but I can’t talk about him without spoiling nearly all of the plot twists, so just suffice to say he was a fine dark brooding hero type).

but the rest of this book was just so BAD. 

let’s take Nyx for example.
NOTHING EXCUSES YOUR TIMIDITY AND A LACK OF PERSONALITY.
it is a personal annoyance of mine when heroines SAY they’re gonna be all kick-butt and get into knife fights, and then they really just DON’T.
like DO NOT CHICKEN OUT AND BE CHEAP. GIVE ME THE FIGHT SCENE. I WANT BLOOD AND I WANT A BATTLE.

also, is your entire life being mad at the Dark Lord?
cAuSE gURl wHErE is yOuR PeRsonALitY
the entire book, she’s just like, “I’m attracted to him” and then she’s mad at herself for being attracted to him and immediately tries to kill him with the most pathetic dagger I have ever seen to cure her attraction.

*gags aggressively*

Inej Ghafa would never.

The Dark Lord, aka Ignifex, was fine, but I can’t talk about him without spoiling nearly all of the plot twists, so i’ll shut up. Suffice to say he was a fine dark brooding hero type. A little stupid, but fine.

the romance between Nyx and Ignifex had too many twists to be that enjoyable.
and cardboard Nyx didn’t help.

HOWEVER. 
THAT WASN’T THE WORST PART. OH NO.
IT WAS THAT PLOT.
the plot. OOOO that plot. IT WAS SO CONFUSING. The world building was sparse and the history the ENTIRE conflict was based off of was BARELY explained. 
people, I need it spelled out for me. I don’t have brain cells. I don’t understand anything unless you tell me in BLOODY ENGLISH WHAT WENT DOWN THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 

and that’s not even talking about that PATHETIC EXCUSE OF AN ENDING. THE MOST COMPLETELY CONFUSING AND GENERALLY UNNECESSARY ending i have read in the ENTIRETY of my existence. 

*spluttering to try to find words that rant and stay spoiler-free* 

PUT IT THIS WAY.
it was one of those endings that basically makes the ENTIRE BOOK IRRELEVANT. 
IRRELEVANT.
I WASTED MY TIME WITH THAT BOOK FOR IT TO ALL NOT TO MATTER ANYWAY.

UGH UGH UGH I HATED THIS BOOK SM

send help lol



Ratings: 
Star Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
If This Book Was a Movie Rating: PG-13

Recommendations That Are A Million Times Better Than This Book:
Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Beauty and the Beast by KM Shea

Nicki

I wasn't as impressed as I wanted to be and in truth it kinda dragged in some parts and with that out of the way I will say that the world the author created was a magnificent one. I just wished I enjoyed it a bit more.

Hannah Williams

Really enjoyed this book it was a nice quick read! It is branded as a beauty and the beat retelling but certain aspects reminded me more of Rumplestiltskin. Loved it!

Marissa Killian

I really really really wanted to fall in love with this book. I kept going back and forth with 3 or 4 stars because part of me did love a lot of things about it but another part felt like some areas fell flat. I ended up going with 4 stars because even though it didn't live up to the love I wanted to have for it, I still really enjoyed reading it. I didn't put it down once and finished it shortly after starting it. *spoiler alert - don't read any farther if you do want it to be ruined!* I was just really upset she decided to listen to her obnoxious sister and betray him. I know, I know.... It ended up saving him and giving them their happily ever after BUT STILL! It annoyed me but that's just my personal opinion.

Shafia Ghassani

very unique, ill be honest i don’t really understand this book that much, and i feel like the romance in this book feels so forced and theres so chemistry but it was pretty funny id give it that

Cruel beauty

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