Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty)

by Rosamund Hodge

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom—all because of a reckless bargain her father struck. And since birth, she has been training to kill him.

Betrayed by her family yet bound to obey, Nyx rails against her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, she abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, disarm him, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not 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. But even if she can bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him?

Reviewed by Brittany on

4 of 5 stars

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I’m giving this 4 stars because I couldn’t put it down, though it’s far off from being one of my favorite reads of the year. The story itself is addicting but overall it seemed weirdly rushed. The complexity of some of the inner workings of the story is intriguing but for the most part it’s pretty predictable, without messing around with prolonging the inevitable. Right off the bat you are thrown into the center of the problem and very quickly after (literally a day later in the books time and not far at all into the book) shocker~ love interest that shouldn’t be your love interest. I’m completely fine with this type of story line but in this book it seemed a little unnatural and rushed. Granted though as I said before I couldn’t put it down. Overall it’s a good read for sure, it just could have went a little deeper and relationships could have taken a little longer to develop in a more natural way.

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  • Started reading
  • 14 December, 2019: Finished reading
  • 14 December, 2019: Reviewed