Cruel Beauty Review

Cruel Beauty
by Rosamund Hodge


Published January 28th 2014 by Balzer + Bray
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Pages: 342
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 Stars
 

 

Description:

 

 

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

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.

 

 

My Thoughts:

 

My first thought: This is not a contemporary, and it's a standalone! Don't get me wrong I love series as much as the next book worm however, this was a very refreshing read for me. I decided to continue my fantasy obsession by picking this book up and was not disappointed. Now this is not your typical Disney Beauty and the Beast retelling, this story is much darker and morbid. I found it a bit hard to get into it but once I did I finished the rest of it in one sitting! This book was very entertaining and unpredictable, a very well written book!

 

Quotes:

 

"Where you go, I shall go; where you die, I shall die, and there will I be buried."

 

"'Why is he scared of the dark?"

I meant the words for a joke, but Shade nodded seriously. "Like all monsters. Because it reminds him of what he truly is."



About the Author:

When my older brother was thirteen, he started a writing club with his friends and wouldn’t let me join because I was only eight. I promptly swore that I would become a writer and make him sorry.
He still isn’t sorry. (I checked.) But in 2014 I will publish my first novel with Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins, so I guess everything worked out okay.
Some other facts about me:

• I practice Shorinji Kempo, a Japanese martial art based on Shaolin Kung Fu.

• Cruel Beauty is my debut novel, but it is somewhere between the third and sixth that I ever completed, depending on how you count things. (There was the 40,000-word mess I called a novel when I was sixteen, and the 220,000-word mess I briefly pretended was a single novel in 2009.)

• NaNoWriMo changed my life and got me finishing novels again after a long hiatus. But Cruel Beauty is not a NaNoWriMo novel. (The NaNoWriMo project that changed everything was the 220,000-word mess. Someday I may even revise it.)

• I grew up as a homeschooler in Los Angeles, and I spent my childhood marinating in Greek mythology, which is where all the Greek elements in Cruel Beauty come from.

• Then I got a B.A. in English at the University of Dallas, and an M.St. in Medieval English at Oxford. Naturally, I moved to Seattle and got a job with computers.

• I have studied five languages (Spanish, French, Latin, Old Norse, and Japanese), though sadly I am still not able to speak any of them.

• I love some things more than T. S. Eliot’s poetry. But not many things.

• I am represented by Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates.

http://www.rosamundhodge.net/

Obsidian Review

Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published May 8th 2012 by Entangled Teen
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance
Pages: 335
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5




Description:

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

My Thoughts:

My friend has been urging my to read this series and once I picked this book up I couldn't put it down. The main character Katy was very relatable seeing as she has her own book blog. I loved the teasing between Katy and Daemon. I am already currently reading the second book, Onyx. The first book was really fast-paced and entertaining. I don't want to give much away, but I highly recommend this series so far!

Quotes:

"I've always found that the most beautiful people, truly beautiful inside and out, are the ones who quietly unaware of their effect."

"Kat, say something insulting. Come on."

About the Author:

Hey Guys! Please note: I don't send out ARCs for review. If you're interested in reviewing a book of mine before release date, please contact the appropriate publisher. I also do NOT check my Goodreads email.

To email me, please use the below addy.
jenniferlarmentrout@live.com

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/

Cress Review

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)
by Marissa Meyer

Published: February 4th by Feiwel & Friends
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 550
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5
 
Description:

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

My Thoughts:

This book! This series is just such a clever idea. I love how all of the characters end up together and meet each other. Once I got my hands on this book I finished within two days, even if it's a pretty large book. I read Cinder first when it came out and really enjoyed it. Then once Scarlet came out, and I loved it even more then Cinder. Marissa Meyer continues to keep her readers on the edge of their seats. Even though I was heartbroken that Wolf and Scarlet where separated for the majority of the book, this series remains one of my favorite. Now we must all wait till winter of 2015 till Winter the last book comes out!!!!

Quotes:

"Maybe there isn't such a thing as fate. Maybe it's just the opportunities we're given, and what we do with them. I'm beginning to think that maybe great, epic romances don't just happen. We have to make them ourselves."

About the Author:

I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my fiancé and our two cats. In addition to my slight obsession with books and writing, I'm big on road-tripping, wine-tasting, and hunting for antiques. I'm represented by Jill Grinberg.

http://www.marissameyer.com/

The Darkest Minds Review

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Series:The Darkest Minds #1
Published:December 18th 2012 by Disney Hyperion
Genres:Dystopia, Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages:488
Format:Hardcover
Rating:5/5 stars

Description:

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that's killed most of America's children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she's on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her-East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can't risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

My thoughts:

Wow. This book is definitely now one of my favorites! Going into this book I had no idea what it was about. For me the beginning was a little hard to get into, but once it got going I flew through it. Alexandra Bracken writes a new and exciting dystopia novel which was engrossing and action packed. A MUST READ!

Quotes:

"The Darkest Minds tend to hide behind the most unlikely faces."

"We'll just have to try to make better mistakes tomorrow."

About the Author:

Alexandra Bracken wrote Brightly Woven as a birthday present for a friend, and the story grew and flourished during a year of unpredictable, wild weather. A native of Arizona, she is a recent graduate of the College of William and Mary, where she majored in History and English. She now lives in New York City.