Title: Cruel
Beauty
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 357
My Thoughts
Cruel Beauty is a dark, intricately detailed fantasy
novel that makes allusions to a reinterpretation of the fairy tale Beauty and
the Beast. The story is set in a fantasy world, and follows the tale of Nyx – a
girl who has been raised to be a sacrifice. Nyx has known since she was a child
that her life’s work is to be the wife of a monster, and to find a means to
destroy him in order to save her world.
This book was a very conflicting and complicated read
for me, and it has left me feeling truly torn and unsettled. The book was one
that I have been highly anticipating – as it was marketed as a retelling of Beauty
and the Beast and in the same fantasy vein as Graceling. The story was
intricately detailed, the descriptions were lush, and the writing was style
itself was beautiful. I thought the premise was wonderful, and the books
opening line was a great hook. The story itself was complex, with the
unexpected and unusual, but not unwelcome, surprise of the Greek/Roman
Mythology woven in.
Now, to be perfectly honest I am a huge fairy tale
retelling fan – and Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales. I
also really enjoyed Graceling, needless to say – I went into this one with
pretty high expectations. Perhaps that is part of why I found myself a bit let
down by the book. To start, I didn’t get a Beauty and the Beast feel from this
story, it might have alluded to pieces but it was too far off the mark from the
original fairy tale for me to accept it as a retelling. So, I’m sure this
influenced some of my experience.
In terms of recommended audience, I would say fans of
darker romance, fantasy and Greek/Roman Mythology themes would be most pleased
with this read.
Highlights:
This story is one of the few where I feel I have a
lot of likes and dislikes, but first to start with the highlights…The first
thing that really should out to me as a highlight in this book would be the
fact that all the characters were flawed – they were messy and complex,
no one was quite what they seemed, they had different sides and there were no
stock “good” and “evil” characters. For me, this is always a pretty good selling
point, I like to see different sides to characters, I want to feel that they
are real and complex and decide based on the whole how I feel about them. I
enjoyed the layers and surprises to each character, it made them more relatable
and sympathetic for me.
Another piece I enjoyed, was Ignifex – as a character
he was probably my favorite. I enjoyed watching his development and learning
more about him, seeing the multiple sides to him beyond the initial impressions
provided by Nyx and her family. In this same vein, I really enjoyed the
conversations and interactions between Ignifex and Nyx – their sarcasm and
verbal battles were a big plus and something I looked forward to as I read.
The castle was definitely a highlight and point of
interest to me. It reminded me a bit of Hogwarts in Harry Potter (which I
love), with the changing staircases, halls and rooms. It made me want to go
exploring. Finally, the Mythology twist was surprising but pleasant as well.
Wishes
While the characters had layers and were shown to all
have flaws and a good and darker side I did have a few wishes in this area as
well. First, let’s talk about Nyx – oh, Nyx, how you drove me a bit mad
throughout the book. Nyx was a very bitter, angry, resentful and conflicted
character – which given her situation was not surprising and I could definitely
understand. However, Nyx was very repetitive to me with her griping– all right
already we get it you hate everyone, you are dark and twisty! She was also kind
of wishy-washy, and inconsistent, constantly changing her mind – it was hard to
really “get into” her mind set or head and appreciate where she was coming
from. Then there was Ignifex – easily my favorite character, however I would
have liked to have seen a bit more to his development, it wasn’t quite there
for me.
While I enjoyed the Mythology piece, it was also a
bit complex and confusing. I am a fan of Greek/Roman Mythology, but not all the
deities mentioned were “mainstream” ones and I felt as though to get some of
the references I had to stop and look up the story – which kind of breaks you
out of the book world. I want to be sucked in, not pulled back into reality
while reading. This and the world the author sought to create itself, were very
complex – which while they were interesting points, it also made the story hard
to follow.
Another wish I had was over the romance; it just
didn’t completely work for me. First, their were some definite insta-love vibes which always rub me the wrong way, I can’t elaborate without giving to much away
but this was a definite issue for me. Then there was a sort of love triangle?
It just felt a bit forced to me and honestly fell kind of flat. I guess it
could be seen as interesting, but for me it just felt really odd and off.
Finally, I’ll end with the resolution – obviously I
can’t say too much because I don’t want to give anything away. Personally
though, I was not in love with the ending and how it was handled. I really did
not like how things went for Ignifex, and it felt rather anti-climatic - a
little too wrap it all up in a bow convenient, it really was not what I was
expecting at all.
Overall, it was definitely an interesting reading
experience, and though I have mixed feelings on the book it is one I would
recommend. For me, it did not quite hit the mark, but it really is a very well
written story with an amazing premise and I do love the cover. At times I found
the book a bit tedious in the complexities, and it felt a bit long winded – but
I did keep coming back to finish it. Ignifex and the castle alone were worth
reading about, and I did truly enjoy the layers Ms. Hodge carefully crafted to
each of her characters. Besides, I had a pretty strong reaction to this one, if
nothing else it really makes you think.
If you are looking for a slightly dark, fantasy and
enjoy Greek/Roman Mythology and don’t mind a hint of the fairy tale-esque, this
book is definitely one you should pick up.
Recommendations:
If you enjoyed this book and
are looking for more similar dark, fantasy and/or Mythology type reads try:
Sweet Venom (Medusa Girls #1) – Tera Lynn Childs
Abandon (Abandon Trilogy #1) – Meg Cabot
Hex Hall – Rachel Hawkins
Stork – Wendi DelSol
Princess of the Midnight Ball – Jessica
Day George
Rating:
3 out of
5 Doxies – Really enjoyed it, read it now!
Jenn
Tale
of Two Doxies
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