Rosamund Hodge's debut novel, Cruel Beauty, exceeded my expectations! It was phenomenal! I can most certainly state that Cruel Beauty is with my top 3 favorites. Thus, it's not surprising that I am giving it 5 out of 5 amazing stars!
In this enchanting retelling of Beauty and the Beast, where Greek mythology is still ever present, Nyx has been raised with the sole purpose of being a tribute and wife to the Gentle Lord. Determined to defeat her future husband, she trains in the magical arts and take up a plan to do so. However, Nyx didn't plan for the Gentle Lord to be so charming. Will she be able to kill him?
Firstly, I just absolutely loved the general idea and the plot. I was hooked at the beginning and it kept my attention till the conclusion of the novel. I'll admit that Greek mythology in the young adult genre is becoming a bit overused, but don't let that prevent you from reading this masterpiece. It is used in a refreshing way. All of the twists and surprises in this book were amazing; it's another key piece that made this book standout. I'm fairly used to not being surprised, so that should really say something.
The relationships between Nyx and her 2ish, really one, romantic interest(s) were utterly unique. Their banter is perhaps my favorite part between them! Their dynamics were mysterious at first, and this just ties into my above point as to how it took surprising turns that truly made sense in the end. The love that they have for each other seems realistic, despite it having magical elements, and envious.
The only issue I had with Cruel Beauty is that it was a little fuzzy when explaining the reasons behind how the final issue is resolved. Perhaps I'm just not intelligent enough, though I was able to kind make sense of it, but still remained pretty uncertain if I assumed correctly or not.
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