Book Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Young Adult > Fantasy

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.

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I think I’m wicked enough to love a demon.

Vicious but oh-so-romantic . My kind of fairy tale. 😀

I want my fairy tales to sweep me off my feet, and Cruel Beauty did just that… marvelously. And if the heroine is not a damsel a distress, but a bold, feisty, and suspicious bride to the demon, then by all means, count me in!

Nyx is not afraid to be hurt (and yeah, hurt in return) and admit her hate. Here is a girl who grew up longing for a father’s approval and love, while dreading the day she got offered as tithe to the demon who is the master of her town.

The story was just incredible, full of love and hate, and the thin line between them was indiscernible. This was not the fairy tale I expected. It was so much more!

The love triangle is easy to neglect, knowing that each chapter, Rosamund Hodge excites me with new bickering brimming with hatred coming from Nyx, towards Ignifex. The demon rises up to Nyx’s spite, and I love it! And when she warms to the idea of Ignifex (and his nature), things starts to get swoony and sweet, and just plain fairy tale-ish. 😀

The kiss-on-the-first-meeting was a tick, but I let that slide. This is supposed to be a fairy tale after all. Other than that, I just glided through the pages.

Nyx and Ignifex’s tale will leave you marvelling with their truly one-of-a-kind love story. The almost-impossible romance between them was darkly funny yet warmly romantic, too. IMO, Cruel Beauty was the perfect valentine read. 🙂

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins / Balzer + Bray for granting my galley request.

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CRUEL BEAUTY by Rosamund Hodge

Kindle edition, 336 pages

Published January 28th 2014 by Balzer + Bray

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5/5 stars