Author: Rosamund Hodge
Date of Publication: April 1, 2014
Pages: 111
Source: Library

Orphan Maia doesn't see the point of love when it only brings pain: Her dying mother made a bargain with the evil, all-powerful ruler of their world that anyone who hurt her beloved daughter would be punished; her new stepmother went mad with grief when Maia's father died; and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother's approval, yet she always spurns them. And though her family has turned her into a despised servant, Maia must always pretend to be happy, or else they'll all be struck dead by the curse.

Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn't believe in love either—not since he discovered that his childhood sweetheart was only using him for his noble title. What's the point of pretending to fall in love with a girl just so she'll pretend to fall in love with him back? But when his father invites all the suitable girls in the kingdom to a masked ball, Anax must finally give in and select a wife.

As fate would have it, the preparations for the masquerade bring him Maia, who was asked by her eldest stepsister to deliver letters to Anax. Despite a prickly first encounter, he is charmed and intrigued by this mysterious girl who doesn't believe in love. Anax can't help wishing to see her again—and when he does, he can't help falling in love with her. Against her will, Maia starts to fall in love with him too. But how can she be with him when every moment his life is in danger from her mother's deadly bargain?

GOODREADS

Review:

I've heard about the grim adaptations of the original Cinderella tale but I've never read one. In Gilded Ashes, Hodge presents us with just that. A dark Cinderella tale set in her darkly rich world of shadows, demons and Greek gods. 

My favourite thing about this story and Hodge's work in general is that she always gives her readers a glorious backstory. If you've ever wondered exactly why Cinderella's stepmother and sisters were so mean, then why not read Hodge's take. Every character had their spotlight moments in which they got to tell us how they became the people they were and garner our sympathy. Evil or innocent I came to love and appreciate all of them. 

Ignifix has a little cameo in this one but was mentioned many times. I'm glad to see that he retained his dark lord character in this novel but still had those moments of light. The deal making process was also very nice to read about, as many deals were struck and many punishments received. 

The shining couple Cinderella or in this case Maia and Lord Anax were awesome, as 111 pages could make them. I liked the way their romance built up to the special ball night. Nothing instalovey, a lot of conversation, which led to understanding, a tentative friendship and finally romance.

My favourite relationship though, was between Maia and Koré and their respective mothers. Both girls were brave and intelligent but had chosen completely different paths for themselves. I loved their cold companionship, to me it was closer then the one Maia could ever have with her super affection younger stepsister. 

Overall, I greatly recommend this series. If you are unsure about trying Cruel Beauty and want a taster of the writing style and world then give this one a go. For me it was a great continuation story. It was fun, quick and enjoyable. 

-MARI

Whenever I go for a vacation, books are a travelling necessity. Often I take both physical and electronic copies to keep me company. How would I be a complete book nerd if I didn't? Kidding.

This year I'm going to the United States for my vacation. Visiting New York, Connecticut and Atlantic City. Basically city to small town to beach resort so it's really hard to do a theme read which I'm not a fan of either way. Instead I'm going to compile a list of books that I'm dying to read and will probably dig into on the ride there.

Gilded Ashes - Rosamund Hodge

I got this one from the library so I have to read it soon or the ebook will expire. I think this is a good starter read as it will be light and quick. Also, I adored Cruel Beauty! Update: I actually read and loved this one, review to come.

Crash Into You - Katie McGarry

Another follow up for a book I loved. I actually read Pushing the Limits, Dare You To, skipped this one and read Take Me On. Now I want to give this one a go.

Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

I've been slowly reading this one for year. I'm almost done the latest season but have yet to build up the courage and make up my mind to finish this.

Looking For Alaska - John Green

(MID-VACATION ADDITION)

I actually bought this one a few days ago and am dying to have a John Green book under my reading belt!

I have my Kobo Ereader with me for the vacation so I might find something else to read if my mood asks for it. Generally, I don't read a lot on vacation because I like to be doing a lot of stuff but I'll try to read through some of these.

What's on or was on your vacation tbr?

While you tell me about your vacation lists, why don't you also help me out. All four look amazing but which to you guys recommend I read first? Leave a comment and vote on the poll. Thanks you!

Which do you recommend?

Gilded Ashes

Game of Thrones

Crash Into You

Looking For Alaska

pollcode.com free polls

-MARI

Author: Rosamund Hodge
Date of Publication: January 28, 2014
Pages: 342
Source: Library

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

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.

GOODREADS

Review:

I'm not much of a fairytale reader. I read them when I was young and I enjoyed them but the one thing I've always known about fairytales is that they are light on the surface and lack details. Rosamund Hodge managed to fix this for me in this fantastic reimagination of Beauty and the Beast.

Although I've never read the original story or any other retellings, I have watched several adaptions including Beastly and the CW show Beauty and the Beast. None of these have managed to engross me enough for me to go seeking for more knowledge about the plot. Cruel Beauty had me googling all over the place for what I had missed as a child.

Hodge's faithfulness to the original story was even more fruitful for a reader who is relatively new to the story. I felt a pang of excitement each time I sensed something intriguing and dread when I felt my favourite characters would be hurt. I was so emotionally involved and engrossed in the story that with every chapter I slowed down trying to savour it for just a little longer.

One of my favourite things about this book was the characters. The book focused on the imperfection of humans. We like to label some as wicked and others as kind and noble but there is a little of both in all of us. Conversations between Nix and Ignifix explored this idea. People who come to bargain were selfish and thought themselves smart but that didn't make them incapable of kindness and hence unworthy of happiness. I'm thinking too much.

The world Hodge created was seriously fascinating and different. There was history, mythology, fairytales all spun into one. I wish I could remember all the little anecdotes that were told in between. There were tales of the Greek gods that were sometimes out of place when mixed in with the Kindly Ones and the Children of Typhone. But then there were tales that also worked like the story of Persephone and Hades. They were all hints building up to a big revelation.

Thinking about it now, I don't think I actually got to know Ignifix or Shade to well at all. Nix spent more time searching hidden chambers than actually exploring their personalities. From what I did get though, I was drawn to Ignifix.

I can see a lot of potential in the world Hodge has built with a lot of room for many more stories featuring different characters. It's what I want; I want more. For lovers of a good, dark tale of love and mystery, this is the one. This may not be the perfect read but heck it was darn close and I was in love and engaged through and through.

'"You will honor my mother or I will break this bottle over you head"'

-Nyx

-MARI

Author: Rosamund Hodge
Date of Publication: January 28 2014
Pages: 346
Source: Borrowed ARC (thanks!)

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

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.

Review:

Cruel Beauty is a gorgeous story. It is a rose among dandelions. It is a scoop of swirling, luxurious dark chocolate ice cream in a world of plain vanilla. Cruel Beauty carries well deserved hype with it, yet I was still shocked at how well put together this story was.

Nyx was a brilliant character. I admired her and sympathized with her. She was fierce and so honest with herself. Nyx has lived her whole life preparing to be sacrificed to the Gentle Lord because of a bargain her father made long ago. Her land, Arcadia, has been sundered from the Earth and she is her people's only hope to free themselves from a land of demons. Nyx's predicament was so dire that I connected to her from the start. It doesn't hurt that she acted completely humanely. She was angry and bitter, even when she logically knew it was wrong. See, her father had two daughters and chose to give away Nyx. Nyx loved her family but she was angry at her family, especially her sister. That dynamic, the love/hate with Astraia, was perfectly played out. Nyx struggled to reconcile loving her sister and hating her sister because she was going to die so her sister could live. I don't want to imagine ever being in such a position, but I feel like I would react very similarly to Nyx. So, from the beginning I absolutely adored her.

Some people have said they thought the beginning was slow, but I adored it. Cruel Beauty set its plot up luxuriously by taking its time to develop the intrigue, the characters, and the world. The writing was pretty and interesting enough that I was never bored. I also believe that's a part of Cruel Beauty's style; it starts out slow, but then picks up until the climax and the perfect resolution.

I have to comment on Ignifex now. I don't know how to explain him. He was lighthearted and cruel. He had some evil in him and he genuinely had a different set of morals than Nyx. He was a fascinating character to read about, but unlike many of my favourite romances, he never stole the show. I adored him because Nyx adored him and their relationship was phenomenal. They started out slow, and they gradually fell in love. Their rapport was quick and I think they were a perfect match.

As the story progressed, the mythology slowly weaved itself in, tighter and tighter. Like most fairy tales there was an air of destiny all throughout the story. We first learned about Hermetics and the four elements that were its foundation. From there, it was a combination of Roman and Greek mythology and more "local" mythology. I'm not sure if the villages' stories were based on some real cultures' stories, but either way, they were a nice little add on. And then there were the demons, who were terrifying. I know that Cruel Beauty is based on Beauty and the Beast, and the similarities were very clever. Rosamund Hodge took parts from the fairy tale and remade them into her own so while Cruel Beauty may be based on a fairy tale, it stands strongly on its own.

Obviously, I enjoyed Cruel Beauty. It is a story that I savoured, and I'm impressed and pleased with it. I feel like for this type of story, Cruel Beauty is really as good as it gets so I'm giving it 5 stars.

-P.E.

Cover Wars is a weekly showdown of two of YA's most beautiful covers. The winner, as voted by you, goes on to face a new cover, and wins bragging rights. This is basically a fun way to discuss what we like in YA covers.

Last week, Cruel Beauty pulled out another convincing win. This week, it's Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge up against a new cover: Asylum by Madeleine Roux.

Cruel Beauty has been steamrolling the competition. Will that trend continue against Asylum? Asylum is creepy and dark, with some beautiful gothic elements. Cruel Beauty is a seductive: from the colour red, to the rose, it's a cover meant to draw people in. 

Which cover do you find more beautiful? It's your turn to vote now!

Cover Wars is a weekly feature of two different covers in a sort of battle. Whichever cover wins the more votes in the week will win the battle and move on to next week where it will face a new cover. It's a fun feature with the point being to highlight some great covers for upcoming or recent titles, and also to discuss what is liked in a cover.

Last week, Ashes and Ice lost to Cruel Beauty in a very lopsided battle. I said it was a classic battle of blue and red, and it seemed that red won. This week, Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge is up against Imogen Howsen's newly released book, Linked.

 

Both covers have this sort of warped feel to them. Cruel Beauty is of a staircase rose, and Linked features a picture of a girl that's been distorted and changed which gives it a very fascinating effect. I think the font is fascinating because it contrasts very well with the covers. Cruel Beauty has a sort of modern feel, what with the gray and high contrast, yet the font is curly and decorative. Linked's colour scheme feels more vintage, but the font is simplistic and modern.

They're both obviously very pretty covers. Only one will win and move on to next week. Vote now for your favourite!

Which cover should win Cover Wars?

Let the cover wars begin!

-P.E.

Cover Wars is a weekly feature of two different covers in a sort of battle. Whichever cover wins the more votes in the week will win the battle and move on to next week where it will face a new cover. It's a fun feature with the point being to highlight some great covers for upcoming or recent titles, and also to discuss what is liked in a cover.

Last week, Ashes and Ice won over Let the Sky Fall. The poll was extremely close with just one vote separating the two. This week, Ashes and Ice by Rochelle Maya Callen is up against a new cover; Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge.

Here its is, the classic battle between red and blue. Deep variations of both colours are found on these covers, as well as some exceptionally pretty font. Both covers are so distinctive. I love the rose and staircase design of Cruel Beauty, I think that is very clever. Ashes and Ice does a fantastic job of bringing the 'ice' to the reader with the frost which I think was very well done. 

Both covers are great. It's up to you to vote for your favourite. You can vote either in this post, or on the sidebar to the right! Either way, have fun! And let the Cover Wars... Begin!

Which cover should win Cover Wars?

-P.E.