Book Review: Cruel Beauty – Rosamund Hodge

“Don’t look at the shadows too long, or a demon might look back.” (p.54)

Wow. What a book! I have loved every bit of this book so much that I had to finish it in a day! Yet, it was also very different to the usual romantic fantasy with the nice and good-hearted heroine and the evil hero who only needs love to open up his hard shell and expose the soft core. In Rosamund Hodge’s Cruel Beauty, both the hero as well as the heroine are evil, but you’ll still like them. Let me tell you why.

But first, I have to say that this was not a light and fluffy romance with only bits of darker fantasy in it, it is actually quite dark altogether. There are demonic powers, hatred, fear, and a creepy house, but surprisingly, it is the evil lord who lightens the mood with his sarcastic wit and, at times, also his gentleness. He must deserve his name ‘The Gentle Lord’ after all.

Nyx has been trained all her life to kill the Gentle Lord, to whom she was betrothed because of her father’s bargain with him. The Gentle Lord is the ruler of Nyx’s kingdom – and on her seventeenth birthday, he also becomes her husband. Nyx moves to his castle with all the anger and fury she has collected in her seventeen years bundled up inside her, ready to kill her husband – after all, this is what she has been trained to do, right? But what happens when the monster you expect turns out to be much different from all the stories you have learned?

Nyx is not your average heroine. There is no real depiction of how she looks (only that she looks like her father, whereas her twin sister looks like their dead mother), which I loved. (I would like to say this book is Beauty and the Beast remodeled, but the Beast is actually kind of good-looking, and the Beauty is much different from the original story, as well, so I’m not going to say it)

Nyx kind of hates her family – but has more than enough reason to, if you ask me. The relationship with her sister is more difficult, but it is understandable, too, why she hates and loves her at the same time. After all, Astraia has been loved, cherished, and protected for all her life, whereas Nyx was chosen by their father to be the one who has to marry and then defeat the Gentle Lord in order to avenge her mother’s death and free their kingdom Arcadia – knowing that she will most likely die in the attempt. What’s not to hate?

The Gentle Lord, Lord of Bargains, Ignifex – he has many names – , with his crimson eyes, is not what Nyx has expected, after all, and it turns out that their marriage will be different, too. What happens when the one you hated all your life turns out to be maybe even worth loving?

Ohh, and then there is another one in the castle, as well. A captive that looks like her husband, but only at night, when the monster has to stay hidden from the darkness. When you love your husband’s looks, but hate who you think he is, would you choose his very nice and gentle shadow instead?

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

I kind of expected from the beginning that Shade and Ignifex will be one and the same, but I guessed that Ignifex sent Shade to find out more about Nyx, or to make her reveal her secret mission so that he can stop her or something. So I’m glad I was wrong after all 😀

What else did I love:

+ The mythological bits!

+ The fact that the demonic Lord is vulnerable in the darkness

+ The demonic Lord of Bargains is really funny, witty, and sarcastic!!

+ How he loves Nyx despite or because of the evilness and fury. After all, he does “like a wife a little malice in her heart” (p. 66)

+ All the riddles

+ How much of a heroine Nyx was, after all.

What I did not like that much:

– The romance was a bit in the background in this one. I do understand it as it does fit the storyline and we *know* that they love each other in the end (and at times in the middle, too), but I did expect a little bit more. After all, the cover promises: “Her destiny was to love him.”

– All this changing of the house was a bit much at times and sometimes made me dizzy, but then again, it did fit the mood and made me sympathize with Nyx and the difficult situation she was in.

– I couldn’t really imagine how the shadows and the darkness worked, and how it must look when the shadows came creeping closer; the same with the “Children of Typhon”.

All in all I can say that these are only minor points and they did not really let me enjoy the book any less, so my appraisal is still veeeery positive!

Here are some quotes I really liked that I think will give away a bit of the mood of the book:

“’Definitely different.’ He didn’t sound out of breath at all, while I was gasping. ‘You might even deserve to be my wife.’” (p. 65)

“If you start wondering how this house works, you’ll likely go mad. That could be amusing, I suppose. Especially if it’s the kind of madness that causes you to run naked through the hallways. Do feel free to indulge in that anytime.” (p. 67)

“He was my enemy. He was evil. He wasn’t even human. I should have been disgusted, but just like the last time, I couldn’t help myself any more than water could stop itself running downhill. I managed t slide a hand up his chest, get two keys off their strap, and clench my hand around them; then I dissolved into the feeling, and kissed him back just as eagerly.” (p.130-1)

“‘[…] It made me happy to see you suffer. I would do it all over again if I could.’ I realized I was shaking as the words rumbled out of me. ‘I would do it again and again. Every night I would torment you and laugh. Do you understand? You are never safe with me.’ I drew in a shuddering breath, trying to will away the sting of tears.
He opened his eyes and stared up at me as if I were the door out of Arcadia and back to the true sky, ‘That’s what makes you my favorite.’ He reached up and wiped a tear off my cheek with his thumb. ‘Every wicked bit of you.’” (p.186)

SO tell me – which parts did you like the most? Were you also a bit confused by the ending? Did you still love the book altogether? I’m looking forward to finding out!