Audiobook Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Author: Rosamund Hodge

Narrator: Elizabeth Knowelden

Title: Cruel Beauty

Series: Cruel Beauty Universe

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Paranormal Romance, Retelling, & Mythology

Format: Audiobook

Published: January 28, 2014

Where I got It: My shelf (Audible) 

Summary: 

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:

Final book of the TBR reading challenge I am a part of! Been meaning to dust this off for a while. 

Here we follow Nyx. Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom since she was born. Why? Because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. All her life she has been trained to kill her future husband...save her family...and the kingdom. When she arrives she finds herself drawn to the evil lord named Ignifex. She is also beguiled by his magical castle which is a shifting maze. Nyx will have to decide what is more important...her family and kingdom or the man she was never supposed to love. 

I was immediately sucked into the story. The summary doesn't do the book justice. There is a lot of complexity here between the characters and the plot itself. Things get muddy and there is no right answer. A world of grey. 

Nyx was cruel but her father made her that way. I felt so bad for her. I can't imagine knowing and being trained to be a weapon that will 95% likely not survive. Even if she kills the dark lord she may not survive when the castle crumbles. I can see why she was so cold-hearted and had a lot of resentment for her family....especially her twin who was spared. 

I had zero ideas how everything was going to be resolved at the end. Even in the end, I feel like the gods won't leave well enough alone. 

Speaking of which...I LOVED the mix of Greek mythology with Beauty and Beast! It was a wonderful blend and it worked great even with this being YA. Don't let it being YA scare you (not my fave genre either) because this was fun. 

Any issues? Maybe the end. I think we needed more. Maybe an epilogue or a promise of a book 2? I feel like we deserve to see the next steps for Nyx. There seems to be a lot more story to tell. Like I said earlier....I doubt the gods will leave things be. 

The narrator was pretty good. I felt her voice was a little too old for this 17-year-old. Maybe a younger-sounding voice would've fit a smidge better. Besides that...she did a good job.

In the end, I really enjoyed this. I loved the characters and the plot was so complex but enjoyable. You won't want to stop reading (or listening if you did the audio). The ending needed more but it is still worth the read. I'll give this 4 stars. 

 

Challenge(s):
- #62 for Audiobook challenge

- TBR Reading Challenge (#12)

Book Review: Ink Witch by Lindsey Sparks

Author: Lindsey Sparks

Title: Ink Witch

(Kat Dubois Chronicles #1)

Genre: UF, Paranormal, Romance, Mythology

Format: ebook

Published: September 20th 2016

Where I Got It: My shelf - Amazon

Summary: 

A whole new series from the world of the Echo Trilogy.

Three years ago, the gods abandoned us. We've been alone ever since.

Kat Dubois is immortal, and she’s retired. She’s long since hung up her sword and left assassinating immortals to someone else... anyone else. She’s now a hard drinking, sass-flinging Seattle tattoo artist with the innate ability to read people’s fortunes using her charmed deck of tarot cards. Her days of bloodshed are over, and she has nothing but time — an eternity, in fact — to hide from her past.

Until someone from her past shows up on her doorstep with news that her beloved older brother and mentor, Dominic, has gone missing. Kat may be the only person with the right skills — and access to the right magic — to track him down. She must confront her past if she’s to have any chance of finding and saving her brother. She must fight her demons. She must embrace the power within her.

Review:

I've seen this book around for a while so I was glad this was picked for my book club I'm in so I can finally be forced to check it out. 

Three years ago the gods abandoned humanity. Kat Dubois is an immortal and has hung up sword and left the assassinating for more peaceful tattoo artist career who also reads people's fortunes. With her days of bloodshed in the past she has nothing left but time to hide from the past...until someone from her past shows up with bad news that her beloved older brother has gone missing. Kat is the only person with the skills and magic needed to track him down. With this journey she will be confronted with her past and fight her own demons. 

This was fun. I liked Kat a lot esp at the end. One scary chick who I wouldn't want to cross! What she did to that one guy. DAMN girl!!!!!! He deserved it (not gonna spoil it). 

Ugh Nik. He doesn't impress me a lick. 

Now...I do find I was missing some major history here. We had some summary and Kat's perspective, but I really feel like I wasn't getting the whole backstory. Come to realize this is essentially a spin-off in this world. Which all makes sense! Now I am want to back up and read the other series before moving forward. 

I loved the mix of the Egyptian mythology. It was nice. I feel like Egyptian myths and lores are not utilized enough not like the Roman or Greek or Christian ones. So it was a fresh breath of air for the UF genre. 

Curious to check out the original series and then one day continue with Kat's tale. I hope to see some more badassness from her in the previous books. I like her a lot. Nik can go find a cliff. BOOO. 

In the end, this was good. Lots of references I did not fully get so I'll need to backtrack to the original series. This shall get 4. Kat was awesome and I LOVEDDDDDDDDDD the Egyptian aspects. So fun!!! 

Book/Play Review: The Odyssey by Homer

Author: Homer
Title: The Odyssey
Genre: Classic, Play, Adventure, and Fantasy
Pages: ebook
First Published: 800 BC
Where I Got It: On my shelf (Free ebook)

"The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage."





This is my second time reading this play/book. The first time was in High School and I had been blessed to be able to read this with the teacher and other students (it was a joint effort). It was a fun time and I loved the book! This time, though, I was left on my own to read it for my Lit class in college. 

It's a much different experience reading it on your own compared to reading it together with a whole bunch of people. It was still good, but it was harder to get through. Yes, I struggled to get through it the second time, especially because I decided to read ALL of it (my teacher did just give us selected parts to read, but I wanted to be a cool kid). Sighs. Lesson to me...just listen to my teacher. haha. 

Again...I still hate Odysseus. >___> I get being gone for 10 years during the Trojan War, but it taking 10 years to find your way home? PAH-lease. Maybe if you stayed a loyal and stayed on course then you wouldn't have had issues getting the homes. I'm glad the Gods gave you a hell of time (especially Poseidon), because you are an ass and Penelope should have married someone else. Meh. If I was Penelope and found out that I waited 20 years for a man who had cheated on me while I stayed loyal and pure for him, I would be sooooooo angry. She probably never finds out, because it is no biggy for a man to cheat on his wife. Meh.

ANYWAYS!

Sorry for my rant up there. haha

It is a little slow in some parts, but it was definitely an adventure that adheres to all readers. I'm glad that they showed Penelope's story as well as Odysseus'. It showed that the battle is not only fought on the battlefield, but also at home. It's hard being the one left behind especially with men pounding at your door wanting your hand in marriage and your husbands throne. It's tough. 

In the end, I still enjoyed this story even though it was harder not skipping some of the boring parts that teachers usually have students skip. I'm glad I did it, though, because I feel I have a deeper connection to the book and the characters. This would be super awesome to see performed live! I recommend this to those that love classics and adventures! Out of five stars, I shall keep this stamped at 5 stars. It is more like 4.5, but since I don't give decimals, I rounded. 

Favorite Character(s): Penelope, Achilles (just because I always envision Brad Pitt), and Telemachus.
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Helen of Troy, Odysseus, and the Cyclops.