Age Range: 12 and up
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (January 28, 2014)
Language: English
Series: None
Genre: Fanasy/Fairy Tale
Source: Edelweiss
My Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
About the Book:
The romance of Beauty and the Beast meets the adventure of Graceling in a dazzling fantasy novel about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.Amazon
Betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom, Nyx has always known her fate was to marry him, kill him, and free her people from his tyranny.
But on her seventeenth birthday, when she moves into his castle high on the kingdom's mountaintop, nothing is as she expected—particularly her charming and beguiling new husband.
Nyx knows she must save her homeland at all costs, yet she can't resist the pull of her sworn enemy—who's gotten in her way by stealing her heart.
For fans of bestselling authors Kristin Cashore and Alex Flinn, this gorgeously written debut infuses the classic fairy tale with glittering magic, a feisty heroine, and a romance sure to take your breath away.
| Goodreads | Barnes & Noble
Praise:
“A completely engrossing tale.” (Alex Flinn, New York Times bestselling author of BEASTLY and TOWERING)
“A dazzling and clever retelling, CRUEL BEAUTY is delightfully dark, lushly romantic, and utterly spellbinding. I adored it, and can’t wait to read Hodge’s next novel!” (Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series)
“What a stunning debut. This is a book you will want to read as fast as you can for the intricate plot and as slowly as you can to savor the gorgeous world-building and the ravishing love story.” (Sherry Thomas, author of THE BURNING SKY)
“An intricate and arresting tale well worth readers’ time ... Hodge succeeds in creating a refreshingly human and real protagonist and love interest. They are both strong and flawed, and they—even more strikingly—embrace those qualities in themselves and each other. Engrossing.” (Kirkus Reviews)
About the Author:
I love mythology, Hello Kitty, and T. S. Eliot. My debut novel, CRUEL BEAUTY (a YA fairytale fantasy, where Greek mythology meets Beauty and the Beast), is due out from Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins in Winter 2014.
Website | Goodreads
My Thoughts:
If you are looking for your next addictive YA fantasy, this could be it. Cruel Beauty has an intricate plot with complicated, twisted characters. Nobody is who they appear to be. There is so much going on in the story that it is easy to get swept away into this world of bargains and deceit, where answers lay hidden and just out of reach.
The writing is gorgeous. The author manages to describe events and feelings in a way that I've never seen before. The relationships between all the characters is a fascinating web of hatred, love, lies, and truth.
While the book isn't entirely perfect, it is pretty darn close. It's the timeless romance story that every girl loves.
Content: Clean
4.5 STARS
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Oh I really want to read this one. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteIt was really good! I hope you like it as much as I did!
DeleteSo, I skipped your review. I just noticed the rating and content info since I'm hoping to read this one this week and like to get my reviews up before I read others' reviews. I'm so glad that you loved it! This is one I pre-ordered, so I'm glad that this should be keeper. :)
ReplyDeleteI left out all spoilers! But I understand. I don't like reading other people's reviews before I read the book either. You'll have to let me know if you like it!
Delete