Nyx’s father has been training her since birth to kill the Gentle Lord and bring down his nine hundred year old kingdom which has kept their kingdom of Arcadia trapped in an isolated world. Nyx has been destined to marry the Gentle Lord since her birth, the Gentle Lord is basically a Prince of demons and shadows and is greatly feared by all. It ended up being a decent book, there were some things I really loved about it but also some things that could have been done better.Nyx’s father made a deal with the Gentle Lord and as a result Nys will pay for his bargain. I love fairy tale retellings and this retelling of Beauty and the Beast was described as a mix of Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast.

I got an advanced reading copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. Despite the familiarity of Beauty and the Beast, I couldn't predict how this story would unfold.The Gentle Lord is an ambiguous figure, contrary - Nyx knows about his evil rule over Arcadia and yet she's unprepared for his personality.Banter is exactly what I want from Beauty and the Beast retellings.There were a couple of things that, halfway through the book, I really wasn't sure about, but once I saw how they played out, I appreciated them better (and suspect I might appreciate them better upon rereading this.)This isn't going to win the award for being my favourite Beauty and the Beast retelling, but I liked it, more than I expected to. This brings a richness to the worldbuilding and to mysteries Nyx has to solve.

Her anger and her complicated relationship with her sister, who Nyx loves yet resents, made Nyx a compelling character I immediately cared about.I enjoyed the way Cruel Beauty draws upon more than just the Beauty and the Beast story - there are references to, and echoes of, other familiar stories, too. She's angry that she is sacrificed because of a bargain her father made while her twin sister is spared. She's been trained to destroy the Gentle Lord, but that training has been Hermetic techniques (which is to say, magic) rather than in weapons she doesn't identify as an assassin.And Nyx is incredibly angry about her fate. I'd made assumptions about Nyx's skillset and mindset that turned out to be quite wrong. As I read this, I was struck by how many assumptions I had apparently made when I first heard about it.

Cruel beauty review