GENRE: YA Fantasy/ Romance
RATING: 3/5 stars
I'm not going to lie, throughout most of this book, I was confused. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with elements of greek mythology blended in. I found this book through the website Goodreads, which recommended I read it. I wouldn't say that I was disappointed in the book but I've definitely read better. It's about Nyx, a recently turned seventeen-year-old girl, who was born to marry and defeat the Gentle Lord (a demon who rules over the land of Arcadia). She must live in a castle that is more of a labyrinth than a home, fight demons, and kill the Gentle Lord before he kills her.
Nyx was an interesting heroine. She was strong and clever but also hateful, bitter, and angry. She wasn't a terrible main character, but she didn't wow me in any sort of way. She was very much defined by her love for Ignifex and it certainly changed her personality throughout the book.
Ignifex (the demon king they called the Gentle Lord) was my favourite character by far! Other than being exceptionally attractive, he was also witty, sarcastic, funny, and loveable... all while still being a demon lord. He was one of those characters that you hate at the beginning of the book and then fall in love with as soon as you get to know them.
Shade, who was known as Ignifex's shadow, I have mixed feelings about. The same goes for Nyx's twin sister, Astraia, who started as a nice character and then... wasn't? I'm still not sure. In my opinion, they were both poorly written, with no clear vision of what either of the characters actually wanted.
The book itself was very intriguing, generally well-written, and I did like the romance between Nyx and Ignifex. The only thing that stopped me from LOVING this book was how confusing it was, especially the ending *no spoilers though*. It's impossible to appreciate the end because I have absolutely no idea what happened or how it happened (and I really need someone to explain it to me). I'm still confused about who the Kindly Ones were and how they had anything to do with the story (or even where they came from). There was also a bird that was mentioned throughout the book that saved Nyx's life repeatedly but was never explained.
So, all things considered, this book started out great (I loved reading the first hundred pages or so) but after that, it got a little weird. I would probably only recommend this to people who like Beauty and the Beast, or if you just wanted a young, easy romance book to read (and you don't mind getting a little confused). Otherwise, the only reason why I would read this book again is to try to make a little more sense of it (and maybe to read a little more about Ignifex because I love him).
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