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A review by bookph1le
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
5.0
LOVED this book. A fresh take on beauty and the beast filled with shimmering imagery, an imaginative and engrossing setting, and flawed, complex characters. This author needs to write another book now! More complete review to come.
Full review:
Cruel Beauty was the type of book that sucked me down into its pages and never let me go. I devoured it, eager to know what would happen next, yet I was sad when it was over and there was nothing left to read. It was one of those rare reading experiences where I was totally engrossed and totally satisfied.
The setting of this book is one of its strongest points. I had such a solid sense of place that whenever I opened the book's pages, I felt like I was transported to a different world. The book is an interesting mixture of Greek mythology incorporated into a fantasy universe, and it really worked. Each element of the setting seemed to make sense within the context of the story, and I especially loved the Gentle Lord's mansion, the descriptions of which leap off the page due to their lushness. The sense of atmosphere was so strong that I could not only picture the world, I felt like I could hear it and smell it as well. I love it when a book makes me feel this way, and I always make note of it because it's something that doesn't happen all that often.
If I have one caveat about the book, it's that some of the elements of Nyx's relationship with Ignifex (aka the Gentle Lord) are problematic. If this book weren't set in a fantasy world, they might have rubbed me the wrong way, but given the supernatural elements and the fantastical setting, I thought it made sense within the book's context for Nyx to react as she does. Neither of them cause harm to the other, but they don't initially have what I would think of as a healthy relationship.
This is partially due to the volatility of the two main characters, an aspect of the novel I also liked. Nyx is filled with terrible thoughts and violent emotions, which I found very realistic. I liked that Hodge didn't try to smooth away the rough edges, something that happens far too often in YA fiction. Given how Nyx is raised, it makes sense that she would be filled with bitterness, and that she would sometimes manifest that bitterness in counterproductive ways. Nyx is messy and complicated, just like actual human beings.
Ignifex is also fascinating, as is his counterpart, Shade. They appear like two sides of the coin: Ignifex the merciless, heartless Gentle Lord who tricks humans into making terrible bargains, and Shade the gentle servant who tries to shield Nyx. Yet Ignifex has a softer side and Shade has a much sharper side. The mixture of the good with the bad makes the characters interesting, and the fact that they're victims of their circumstances gives good insight into their characters, their actions speaking volumes about the person they are on the inside. I also found Ignifex's arguments about the humans who strike their unholy bargains with him to be interesting. There's quite a lot of commentary in the book about human frailty and the terrible things people do, and I thought Hodge presented a fascinating exploration of the darker side of human nature.
Yet, despite its dark tone, there is hope here. None of the characters are purely good, but none of them are purely bad either, and I liked the nuanced shades of each of them. In many ways, the problems of all of these characters can be boiled down to one simple fact: they're all viewing the world from a skewed perspective, and it colors how they see things and how they react to them. It's an interesting theme to consider, especially because it's prone to happen to the best of us in real life. Even so, there's an undercurrent of hope here, and there are moments of simple humanity that underscore the fact that, doomed as it seems, Nyx's world isn't an entirely bad place. I thought this was deftly done, because in life it's often the small acts of grace that have the most impact.
The writing in this book is lovely too. It's not pretentious, but I found the style lyrical, and there's a sort of dreamlike quality to the book. The way Hodge uses language creates such a sense of place and gives the characters such emotional depths without coming across as melodramatic or overly done.
This is the kind of book where, when I'm finished, I immediately want to run and get the next book by the author. Sadly, this is her only book so far, so I suppose I'll have to be patient and wait for her next. She's a promising voice in YA fantasy fiction, and I'm very eager to read more works by her.
Full review:
Cruel Beauty was the type of book that sucked me down into its pages and never let me go. I devoured it, eager to know what would happen next, yet I was sad when it was over and there was nothing left to read. It was one of those rare reading experiences where I was totally engrossed and totally satisfied.
The setting of this book is one of its strongest points. I had such a solid sense of place that whenever I opened the book's pages, I felt like I was transported to a different world. The book is an interesting mixture of Greek mythology incorporated into a fantasy universe, and it really worked. Each element of the setting seemed to make sense within the context of the story, and I especially loved the Gentle Lord's mansion, the descriptions of which leap off the page due to their lushness. The sense of atmosphere was so strong that I could not only picture the world, I felt like I could hear it and smell it as well. I love it when a book makes me feel this way, and I always make note of it because it's something that doesn't happen all that often.
If I have one caveat about the book, it's that some of the elements of Nyx's relationship with Ignifex (aka the Gentle Lord) are problematic. If this book weren't set in a fantasy world, they might have rubbed me the wrong way, but given the supernatural elements and the fantastical setting, I thought it made sense within the book's context for Nyx to react as she does. Neither of them cause harm to the other, but they don't initially have what I would think of as a healthy relationship.
This is partially due to the volatility of the two main characters, an aspect of the novel I also liked. Nyx is filled with terrible thoughts and violent emotions, which I found very realistic. I liked that Hodge didn't try to smooth away the rough edges, something that happens far too often in YA fiction. Given how Nyx is raised, it makes sense that she would be filled with bitterness, and that she would sometimes manifest that bitterness in counterproductive ways. Nyx is messy and complicated, just like actual human beings.
Ignifex is also fascinating, as is his counterpart, Shade. They appear like two sides of the coin: Ignifex the merciless, heartless Gentle Lord who tricks humans into making terrible bargains, and Shade the gentle servant who tries to shield Nyx. Yet Ignifex has a softer side and Shade has a much sharper side. The mixture of the good with the bad makes the characters interesting, and the fact that they're victims of their circumstances gives good insight into their characters, their actions speaking volumes about the person they are on the inside. I also found Ignifex's arguments about the humans who strike their unholy bargains with him to be interesting. There's quite a lot of commentary in the book about human frailty and the terrible things people do, and I thought Hodge presented a fascinating exploration of the darker side of human nature.
Yet, despite its dark tone, there is hope here. None of the characters are purely good, but none of them are purely bad either, and I liked the nuanced shades of each of them. In many ways, the problems of all of these characters can be boiled down to one simple fact: they're all viewing the world from a skewed perspective, and it colors how they see things and how they react to them. It's an interesting theme to consider, especially because it's prone to happen to the best of us in real life. Even so, there's an undercurrent of hope here, and there are moments of simple humanity that underscore the fact that, doomed as it seems, Nyx's world isn't an entirely bad place. I thought this was deftly done, because in life it's often the small acts of grace that have the most impact.
The writing in this book is lovely too. It's not pretentious, but I found the style lyrical, and there's a sort of dreamlike quality to the book. The way Hodge uses language creates such a sense of place and gives the characters such emotional depths without coming across as melodramatic or overly done.
This is the kind of book where, when I'm finished, I immediately want to run and get the next book by the author. Sadly, this is her only book so far, so I suppose I'll have to be patient and wait for her next. She's a promising voice in YA fantasy fiction, and I'm very eager to read more works by her.