Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but with a twist: it’s set in a world that believes in Greek mythology as well as the Greek and Roman empires. This adds the first of many twists to this rich debut novel. Nyx has been raised knowing that she will marry the evil lord that has entrapped her kingdom, but she was also trained to destroy him for the kingdom’s freedom. But when she finally marries him and is shipped off to his castle, she doesn’t expect to find an enemy that’s so charming. Against her will, Nyx finds herself being pulled in by her husband’s charm, but there’s more to him and what he’s done with her kingdom than she could have begun to comprehend.

cruelbeautyThis novel had gorgeous writing and world-building: the addition of Greek mythology and the way it tied into the culture was wonderfully done. The world was equally beautiful, with great descriptions to match. It was hard not to picture anything that was described or explained, as Hodge’s writing is clean and precise, not to mention melodic.

The premise is intriguing as well. Cruel Beauty is so much more than a story of a maiden sacrificing herself to free her kingdom and coming to love the man she grows to know, since Hodge added a couple of more twists that will keep the reader guessing. The shadows that haunt the kingdom of Arcadia and how they came to be, the reason why Nyx’s husband, Ignifex, has trapped Arcadia and separated it from the rest of the world… This novel has many engrossing elements playing in the background that made me devour it. Expect more than a Beauty and the Beast retelling in this one.

The romance was also interesting. I liked watching how Nyx peeled away Ignifex’s layers and saw the man that lay beneath everything he was supposed to be. This novel is a story about love and redemption, and it was hard not to root for these two through the novel.

There were a couple of misses in Cruel Beauty, though. The first one was Nyx’s character. She was infuriating, particularly through the first half of the book. She couldn’t comprehend that she had been chosen and trained to kill her future husband, but it dawned on her shortly after she married, after having been trained and told of this for years. She complained about her family not loving her, with good reason, but after the reader sees how awful they actually are, she tries to excuse them and make their decisions seem like the wiser ones. For someone trained for duty, she was indecisive and whiny.

Another thing of note was that the narration was full of telling and there were no transitions from one situation to the next. The reader spends a lot of time in Nyx’s head with her inner turmoil and very little outside, so it feels like she’s telling the story. But once Nyx starts focusing on the action, the story moves along, the inner conflict fades a little and the reading is much smoother.

Despite a less-than-convincing protagonist and a partially lagging narration, the story that Cruel Beauty presents is entertaining. I would recommend it for readers looking for an entertaining read who don’t mind those two things.

3.5 out of 5 stars