#QuickTip: “Cruel Beauty”

Von Franziska @bloodystrangerx

Because I'm currently sick and can't really do anything without coughing and grabbing more tissues because of my runny nose, I'm doing this really enjoyable book in a #QuickTip.

"This house has many dangers. I cannot save you from most of them."
I let go and forced a smile. "I wasn't born to be saved."


Title: Cruel Beauty
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Pages: 342
Rating: 5/5 ★

Summary

"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."

by Goodreads.

Opinion

I just wanted something light and sweet for my train ride to University and I was totally surprised what whas hidden behind this beautiful Cover.
While "Beauty and the Beast" was my favourite Disneymovie when I was younger, I'm still excited to read anything in that direction. Fairytale-Remakes are annoying half the world but I'm still in love with them (If they are as enchanted and twisted and beautifu as the originals, of course).
This one didn't disappoint me - I was absorbed by the story (I just wanted to read few pages and put it aside for later but NO WAY.) and I was delighted that I couldn't put all the pieces together after 100 pages (what is typical if you read a fairytale-remake because you already know the story)
Many readers won't approve of what I'm saying right now - but I loved the female protagonist, Nyx. She was bitter, she was cruel and she was already a little bit cracked. She wasn't the perfect heroine but she was the best she could be. Nyx showed me that there are always the two sides to every person - dark and light (I don't like the terms "evil" and "good").
... and yes, I'll admit it. The male character was intriguing as well *sigh*