CRUEL BEAUTY REREAD | WILL IT REMAIN ONE OF MY FAVORITES?

Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe #1)

by Rosamund Hodge

Balzar & Bray | January 28, 2014

     Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
     With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
     But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her.
     As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

I may have learned nothing about Latin grammar and vocabulary (got a 2 on my AP test), but I am proud to boast my basic knowledge of Roman History and Greek Mythology, enough to fancy myself as a pseudo-Classics Major. I forgot this novel was filled with Greek Mythology! I relished in reading this because it appealed to my pride. Pride aside, I, unfortunately, was lost in the writing and development in the first half of the novel. I was perplexed, is this the novel I loved two years ago? It's not as good as I remembered...

In my first review of this novel, I said I fell in love with Nyx's character at first read, I didn't feel the same this time around. In the first half of the novel, I disliked her because I felt as though she was a whiny, petulant child begging to be loved because she's misunderstood. Other readers also loved her upon their first read because she's flawed and morally gray, so maybe this time was a fluke? I enjoyed her character much more after she comes to term with herself. Once she sheds that woe-is-me-schtick, I saw her wit, compassion, and willingness to sacrifice. She is a complex character. She transforms from someone who feels obligated to do something because it's their duty, to someone who takes charge of their own fate. And like other heroines framed to save the world, she falls in love and indulges in girly fancies.

The romance is interesting, to say the least. There's Shade, who is non-corporeal until night time, and then there's her betrothed, Ignifex, a playful and wicked demon. There are insta-love and a love triangle in this novel, which I chalk up to their cohabitation and Nyx's loveless home situation. While I was reading, I wasn't rooting for her to end up with anybody because I wasn't invested enough in their "relationship." I was invested in the world because I was confounded. What? That's crazy! Ugh, her [the author's] mind! 

Nyx's world is unlike ours, there is no sun or stars, and they live under a parchment sky. To solve the problems of life without the sun, they developed this system of magic, of sorts, Hermetic workings. Unfortunately, we don't read much more about this system. (highlight for spoiler) It won't lift the curse. The palace the two live in is a beautiful and terrifying enigma. While I longed to see the rooms in real life, I also want to live peacefully in my home. As I mentioned above, the world is heavily centered around Greek Mythology, but it has another polytheistic system, which added yet another layer of complexity.