4. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Title: Cruel Beauty
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Publication Info: Published January 28th 2014 by Balzer + Bray
ISBN: 0062224735
Series: Cruel Beauty Universe
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal

Yet another retelling that was so original that I could not believe it was a retelling when I found out. This dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Rosamund Hodge was intriguing 'til the very end.

Our heroine and speaker, Nyx, has been raised to be a sacrifice and weapon. Her father had made a bargain with the demon that ruled their country of Arcadia, trapped away from the rest of the world, and in exchange, the demon demanded one of his twin daughters for his wife.

Thus, the plan to use Nyx as a means of ending this fiend, the Gentle Lord, comes to fruition. Nyx has always resented the fact that that was all she had been deemed important for. She had resented the fact that she had to pay for her father's mistake, avenge their mother or die trying, while her more beloved younger twin sister, Astraia, continued on with life being treasured and safe. She herself, declared that she had poison in her heart and thus deserved to die.

Nyx is married off to the Gentle Lord as per her father's agreement, dropped off at his house, and proceeds, unknowing what she will find, to begin her mission. The Gentle Lord, who tells her to call him Ignifex until she can guess his real name, is at times cruel and strangely kind. He turns out to not be what she expects, and eventually, the girl who meet her husband for the first time with a knife strapped against her thigh and a heart of malice learned from the very monster she was destined to destroy how to be kind and love without bitterness.

Ironic, is it not?

Cruel Beauty was definitely dark, and had twists that surprised even me. Nyx seemed to be doomed to a life filled with self-sacrifice and tragic choices. Her nothing-to-lose attitude and inner acceptance of her flawed personality only made me more inclined to favor her success, and when, in the end, things turned out pretty okay for everyone all around, I, too was pleased.

Hodge's storytelling was smooth, her characters well-developed and plot beautifully dark - a debut novel that landed her a spot on my authors-to-look-out-for list. Cruel Beauty scores a rating of 7.5/10.

Favorite Quote: "But it seems to me that if you break something, you can't complain when it's in pieces."

You can get a copy of Cruel Beauty wherever you usually get books, such as sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

3. Nameless (Tales of Beauty and Madness #1) by Lili St. Crow

Title: Nameless
Author: Lili St. Crow
Publication Info: Published April 4th 2013 by Razorbill
Series: Tales of Beauty and Madness Trilogy #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal

Euphoric about the end of finals, I went hunting through my eBook library for a story worthy of being the first I read to launch my summer of binge-reading, and found Nameless by Lili St. Crow. Having previously read all of The Strange Angels series by this author and thoroughly enjoying it, I decided to give this a try.

Though at first I was confused because of the unfamiliar terminologies of the fantasy world Lili St. Crow presents, eventually my confusion vanished as everything was eventually explained, both directly and indirectly, and I fell into the rhythm of St. Crow's storytelling.

The story begins with a scene of a snow covered landscape, onto which a limousine is travelling carrying Enrico Vultisino, a high-ranking vampire. The vehicle nearly runs over a cowering lump in the road that turns out to be a pale-skinned, blue-eyed, 6 year old girl with ink-black hair and numerous scars and signs of abuse all over her body. The Family head takes her in, gives her the name of his dead wife, Camille, and raises her alongside his son, Nico, in the lap of luxury.

Ten years later, Cami is about to turn sixteen. She doesn't speak too much because of her stutter and so a large portion of the tale incorporates her thoughts more than dialogue.Like many adoptive children, Cami starts to wonder where she really belongs, and about her parents - what her real name was. She is highly conscious of the fact that she is not Family; not even a vampire, just a mere-human. Because of this, Camille goes searching for answers and eventually finds some in the form of Torin Beale, a garden boy with scars like hers who offers her "the right kind of trouble".

I am usually not one to condone a brother-sister relationship, even if the siblings in question aren't biologically related, but I couldn't help but support the relationship that developed frustratingly subtly between Nico Vultisino and Camille. The two were just so right together because of the deep connection they had, and the devotion Nico showed for Camille in his own ways. Besides, who am I to fight the inevitable anyway?

The characters were well-developed, all of them staying true to their initially portrayed personalities. Besides Camille, Nico, Tor and Enrico, there's also Camille's closest friends: Ruby, the fiery red-head with an equally fiery temperament and Ellen, the practical, sensible type who was enduring the abuse her stepmother doled out. Even the supporting characters such as Marya, the housebound fey, were uniquely different in their own ways.

The biggest issue I had with this tale was that the romance between Nico and Camille wasn't satisfying to me, possibly because I was focusing on it as a main plot component and waiting for the fireworks (Seriously, not even a real kiss between them. :( ). Other than that, I was hooked by the mystery shrouding our main character and those around her, and was tempted to skip to the end of the book to see what happened. (I didn't though.)

The themes in this tale were mostly dark themes, almost-twisted in some ways, and much darker than her Strange Angels series. Camille as a lead heroine was also something to get used to, as she spent quite a significant portion of the book being passive and thoughtful. It was a change from the usual kick-ass, guns blazing, strong female lead characters usually found in modern young adult fiction novels. Not that Cami wasn't strong - she was. Hers was just a quiet, easily overlooked kind of strength.

I was quite surprised to find that it was a retake on the popular tale of Snow White. Though the recognizable components were there (the evil queen, mirrors, apples, and a main female character with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, etc), St. Crow made the story so much of her own it was barely recognizable as a retelling of the fairy tale.

My rating for this tale is a 7/10.

Favorite Quote: It was, she reminded herself, a Personal Choice to speak, or not.

If you wish to purchase this novel, check Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Penguin Books or anywhere else books are sold.