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Title: Cruel Beauty
Publisher: Balzer + Bray an imprint of HarperCollins
Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Fantasy, Mythology, Fairy Tales
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Source: OverDrive Audio, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.
Nyx has been promised to the Gentle Lord, Ignifex, thanks to her dad who made a bargain before her birth. Now it's the day before her 17th birthday and wedding day. She's been trained for this day since she was born. Trained to avenge her mother's death and free the people of Arcadia. The only way this can be done is by killing Ignifex. Once she's in his castle she meets a servant, Shade, who shows her the castle at night so she can find the answer to her husband's death. This is a beautiful story intertwining the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast with Greek mythology to create a unimaginable love story filled with history, trust, betrayal, deals and loopholes.
Becoming moments...
The world of Arcadia and the castle are described with such detail. As Nyx discovered new room after new room in the castle I could visualize the interior decor along with the atmosphere creating a shared experience between the reader and protagonist.
Nyx's self-awareness is refreshing. The story is told in first person as she leads us through, quite frankly, this crazy fantasy tale. Nyx is not perfect but she is perfectly flawed in being the teenage bride of a demon. She's whiney, sharp tongued, clever, slightly vain and faithful, to a fault.
Unbecoming...
The large plot premise is fantastic, however double timing in the retelling arena can be a bit much at time. Particularly when it comes down to the climax/solution of the story and there's a "catch" much like the storyline indicates... only fools make bargains. However, this late plot twist did not work for me, it felt like a taxing double ending. At this point I'm exhausted with all of the information and rules that (call me a sucker) I just want a happy ending.
Fav Quote
“I couldn't be kind to him after what he'd done, couldn't be cruel after what I had done”
3.5 Stars – I was entranced in the beauty of the words but that late plot twist was just cruel.
On second thought, I'm a glutton for punishment, so is there more?
On second thought, I'm a glutton for punishment, so is there more?
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