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allyreadsromance's review against another edition
5.0
Each time I read this book I love it all over again! It's a fun retelling of beauty and the beast but with danger and more magic and intrigue.
stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition
1.0
1 1/2 stars
One of my most anticipated releases of the year, and it fell completely flat.
Cruel Beauty is a book destined for greatness. It’s a fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast with Greek mythology, for crying out loud!
So how do you take an amazing concept and turn it into a bad book?
* The plot fell into an extremely repetitive and boring pattern, which made it tiresome to read the book. The MC spends 75% of the book exploring a goddamn castle.
Nyx would wake up, eat something, explore the castle, banter with the Gentle lord and then go to bed. It was an evil circle for 200 pages. Time stood still.
* The Greek mythology started out good, and then spun into a confusing spiral. It’s strange how small of a part it played in this book, since there was an excessive amount of information about it.
There’s an info dump at the beginning of the book, as if the author just wanted to get the world-building over with. Parts of the Greek mythology was sprinkled here and there, just to make sure the info-dump wasn't for nothing.
Here’s the world, deal with it!
* The insta-love. Oh no. Man, it was just strange. unrealistic and bad. The romance was flat, although we have a love interest who was intriguing at first, with his similarities to The Darkling from [b:Shadow and Bone|10194157|Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1339533695l/10194157._SX50_.jpg|15093325]. Later he turned out to be of the same quality as the other character; dull as dishwater.
* MAJOR ANTICLIMAX. The whole book you're sensing a buildup, and then it's just over, although the ending was my favorite part. With that said, the conclusion was only okay and left a few unanswered questions.
I waited for a 'wow' to escape my mouth, for my opinion to change; because maybe, maybe there was some hope left.
There wasn't.
I didn’t look at this as a tragic love story nor an intricate fantasy novel. There was a boring and unnecessary love triangle, too many disappointments and wasted potential.
I saw many things coming from a mile away, and felt nothing but let down when I finished Cruel Beauty.
Oh, and sad. Sad because I spent money on a hardback, no matter how gorgeous that cover is. Sad because I did my research, read the glowing reviews and immediately added it to my cart. I should've listened to the two negative ones, since I'm often a minority when it comes to popular books.
I guess there are some pros, even though it’s hard to find some in a book I really disliked (you may think I hated it because of the single star rating, but I didn't. I've actually read worse novels this year). The writing is quite nice and poetic sometimes, and draws you in.
Rosamund Hodge has created a very imaginative story, and set up one great foundation for a spectacular book. Sadly, it all crumbled to pieces.
One of my most anticipated releases of the year, and it fell completely flat.
Cruel Beauty is a book destined for greatness. It’s a fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast with Greek mythology, for crying out loud!
So how do you take an amazing concept and turn it into a bad book?
* The plot fell into an extremely repetitive and boring pattern, which made it tiresome to read the book. The MC spends 75% of the book exploring a goddamn castle.
Nyx would wake up, eat something, explore the castle, banter with the Gentle lord and then go to bed. It was an evil circle for 200 pages. Time stood still.
* The Greek mythology started out good, and then spun into a confusing spiral. It’s strange how small of a part it played in this book, since there was an excessive amount of information about it.
There’s an info dump at the beginning of the book, as if the author just wanted to get the world-building over with. Parts of the Greek mythology was sprinkled here and there, just to make sure the info-dump wasn't for nothing.
Here’s the world, deal with it!
* The insta-love. Oh no. Man, it was just strange. unrealistic and bad. The romance was flat, although we have a love interest who was intriguing at first, with his similarities to The Darkling from [b:Shadow and Bone|10194157|Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1339533695l/10194157._SX50_.jpg|15093325]. Later he turned out to be of the same quality as the other character; dull as dishwater.
* MAJOR ANTICLIMAX. The whole book you're sensing a buildup, and then it's just over, although the ending was my favorite part. With that said, the conclusion was only okay and left a few unanswered questions.
I waited for a 'wow' to escape my mouth, for my opinion to change; because maybe, maybe there was some hope left.
There wasn't.
I didn’t look at this as a tragic love story nor an intricate fantasy novel. There was a boring and unnecessary love triangle, too many disappointments and wasted potential.
I saw many things coming from a mile away, and felt nothing but let down when I finished Cruel Beauty.
Oh, and sad. Sad because I spent money on a hardback, no matter how gorgeous that cover is. Sad because I did my research, read the glowing reviews and immediately added it to my cart. I should've listened to the two negative ones, since I'm often a minority when it comes to popular books.
I guess there are some pros, even though it’s hard to find some in a book I really disliked (you may think I hated it because of the single star rating, but I didn't. I've actually read worse novels this year). The writing is quite nice and poetic sometimes, and draws you in.
Rosamund Hodge has created a very imaginative story, and set up one great foundation for a spectacular book. Sadly, it all crumbled to pieces.
cutenanya's review against another edition
3.0
I am at a loss as to how to rate this book. It is typical gothic romance loosely based on Beauty and the Beast. Hodge attempted in world building, but quickly gave up the effort and focused entirely on the romantic plot, which is really a shame. This book has all the potential but Hodge obviously lacked the skills to turn it into a piece of art. As such, this book remains a cheap version of a gothic romance book. I really love Igifex and those crimson catlike eyes and I miss them very much. The conclusion is satisfactory but I find the ending too rushed and I don't understand the concept of "time" here.
Spoilers below:
Still, the whole story is a little too romantic for my taste. A fitting read on Valentine's Day I guess but overall a mediocre read for a girl who enjoys action more than pure love.
Spoilers below:
Spoiler
I don't understand if time has been reset to the point when the price opened the box, why then would Lux retain the memory of his time as Ignifex and shade? And why would Nyx remember too? That doesn't make sense.Still, the whole story is a little too romantic for my taste. A fitting read on Valentine's Day I guess but overall a mediocre read for a girl who enjoys action more than pure love.
katie_l21's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I have ever read. Truly amazing! ❤️❤️❤️
mothercrow's review against another edition
4.0
This stand alone novel, had a rocky start for me, but it picked up and became quite interesting. It was a bit trippy and dreamscape-y, but I pushed through, because the story was interesting.
I got a lot of howl’s moving castle vibes, and could easily picture this as an animated film.
The world they lived in was very hard to imagine, I kept wanting to give it a time stamp, but this world was unique to itself, so clothing or technology was sort of all over the place.
I loved the characters, and I loved how she finished the novel. So I give this a 4/5 but be warned if you just start the book you may be tempted to quit early.. but... overall I enjoyed it a lot.
I got a lot of howl’s moving castle vibes, and could easily picture this as an animated film.
The world they lived in was very hard to imagine, I kept wanting to give it a time stamp, but this world was unique to itself, so clothing or technology was sort of all over the place.
I loved the characters, and I loved how she finished the novel. So I give this a 4/5 but be warned if you just start the book you may be tempted to quit early.. but... overall I enjoyed it a lot.
harleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 3.5/5 For me usually when it come to fairy tale retelling I either love it or hate it. That beginning said this book doesn't fit into either of those categories, I am indifferent on it. I did enjoy this book it just wan't my favorite. The writing style was beautiful. The world was so nicely created. Hodge spent a lot of time on the setting so it really felt as if you were in the book.
I'm still not sure how i felt about having mythological influence's be such a big part. While I love Greek Mythology I just felt it was kinda an odd combination. It seemed to almost feel a little forced at time, or even like it wasn't needed but Hodge wanted to put it in anyway.
I was very confused at the beginning and end of the book. I felt like for the first 50 paged I was just sleeping while reading it, I was so confused and just couldn't comprehend it at all. Once I got 50 pages in things started to make a bit more sense and I wasn't lost anymore...that is until I got to the end. Once again in the last 50 pages I was lost. After the big twist, I was out of it. I did not expect it to happen at all. And until the last 5 pages I was just grasping at strings trying to catch up with what had happened. It just seemed like to much.
I enjoyed all the characters. I felt they were all well formed and had a lot of depth. I was able to figure out the big secret between Shade and Ignifx pretty quickly though. I wasn't a huge fan of the romance. Which is kinda sad since it is such a big part of it. I just felt like their love came on so suddenly with no build up to it.
All in all it was an OK book. Not sure if I would recommend it to someone. I probably would if this is exactly what they were looking for. I hope to see more from this author soon.
I'm still not sure how i felt about having mythological influence's be such a big part. While I love Greek Mythology I just felt it was kinda an odd combination. It seemed to almost feel a little forced at time, or even like it wasn't needed but Hodge wanted to put it in anyway.
I was very confused at the beginning and end of the book. I felt like for the first 50 paged I was just sleeping while reading it, I was so confused and just couldn't comprehend it at all. Once I got 50 pages in things started to make a bit more sense and I wasn't lost anymore...that is until I got to the end. Once again in the last 50 pages I was lost. After the big twist, I was out of it. I did not expect it to happen at all. And until the last 5 pages I was just grasping at strings trying to catch up with what had happened. It just seemed like to much.
I enjoyed all the characters. I felt they were all well formed and had a lot of depth. I was able to figure out the big secret between Shade and Ignifx pretty quickly though. I wasn't a huge fan of the romance. Which is kinda sad since it is such a big part of it. I just felt like their love came on so suddenly with no build up to it.
All in all it was an OK book. Not sure if I would recommend it to someone. I probably would if this is exactly what they were looking for. I hope to see more from this author soon.
hailiethetorturedpoet's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
emmad24's review against another edition
3.0
The last 70 pages or so really confused me like I had no comprehension about what was happening....other than that it was really good :)
joanna1905's review against another edition
1.0
Started off decently but lost the plot around 70% in.