Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge Book Review

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge Book Review

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Credits to Katherine for the calligraphy

I think it's already pretty obvious by my blog design that Belle is my favorite, and I am not that well-read on re-tellings of classic fairy tales so I gave Cruel Beauty a try and I absolutely loved most parts of it. *wink*

Title: Cruel Beauty
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Website: http://www.rosamundhodge.net/cruel-beauty
Published by: Balzer + Bray on 7th April 2015
Genre: Fantasy Retelling (fairy tales & mythologies)
Format: Paperback, 368 pages
Copy Source: Bought (Fullybooked)
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Amazon | B&N
Rating: 3.4 Roses

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.

This book is an intricate story of interwoven mythologies, fairy tales and other enchanting stories. It is good and well thought of. It is dark and twisted but confusing. For me it is a new and refreshing take on Beauty and the Beast and that's what I like most about it, although it's a really, really different story.

In this novel, Belle is named Nyx, and she has a twin sister named Astria (I think, please do correct me if I'm wrong. I tend to forget names easily). Beast is called Ignifex, which is not his real name. There is some hint of Rumpelstiltskin's story blended in this book so Nyx has a choice of guessing Ignifex's name, and when she does, she can have her freedom back. Bearing in mind that this is a retelling, some things are better when it's twisted, so true love's kiss may or may not work. What do you think? I think you need to find out yourself. :D

It's a mind-blowing novel, really effin' twisted to its core. Genius craft, but the ending was a bit too confusing and I did not like it (I don't know if it's not well-thought of or what). It was going great right until the curse was broken, and I think this might be the first time that I loved a book that has a not so great ending and not so great rating for me.

Nyx is not a very strong character in terms of kick-ass-ness. You know, you'd really think that she is since she trained her whole life for the purpose of killing Ignifex, but the training was not physical, damn. But to be fair, she's definitely not your typical damsel in distress. She knows what she have to do but is torn between love and duty; she knows what she's supposed to feel but she's torn between hatred and bond of family. It was kind'a irritating, her fickle mind and indecisiveness,but I guess it's her character. I can't say I love it, but I can't say I hate it either.
Ignifex is supposedly the villain, but mind you, he isn't. It's easy to fall for Ignifex because he is kind and not at all evil; he is vulnerable and and charming and really, really beautiful. I love him I love him I'm in love with him *heartsssss*
I was really doubtful of Shade even from the beginning, I can't trust him. I find it hard to trust a lot of characters in books, because authors are so damn good in making you love a character you will hate in the end *HAHA, ehem to those authors*. But I guess I was both right and wrong to doubt him, and it would do you good to find that out for yourself.

The world was great, but it's kind of confusing and I had a hard time wrapping my mind around it but I guess it was okay. I feel like the world is trapped inside a book (like Read Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer)  because of the description of the sky: the world is trapped under a dome of a parchment sky. Again, to be fair, it's not all about the world, because what's fascinating was Ignifex's shifting castle itself. The castle held secrets and doors that should never be opened and things that should never be touched.

I loved how some things unfolded itself, especially when the truth about Nyx's world was revealed, I was sooo mind-blown, I'd have to read it again to wrap my head around it well because I was so shocked at that genius plot-twist. Like OMG!

This was made by my sister, Katherine. She's so great with this, and as a practice, she agreed to write the calligraphies for this blog. So sweet.

The ending was good. but the events that happened before that was *uhhhhh what just happened??*. It's confusing and crazy and I don't know where I was standing at that moment because I was totally lost and I did not like it at all.

It's a great book for me, but with some faults and flaws. Even with those, it was a great debut novel, so congratulations Rosamund Hodge, you did great!  *smiles brightly*

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes SPOILER REVIEW

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes SPOILER REVIEW

Monday, February 15, 2016

A fitting quote for the book. Credits to Katherine Codico for the beautiful handwriting.

Right after finishing the book, I immediately typed down my thoughts on my phone so as not to drown out all the other feelings that I might have an hour or a day later. I don't want to feel nothing as I jot down my emotions, I still feel sad, yes, but it's not as intense as when I was originally typing my review. This is a retype, by the way.

Title: Me Before You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Website: http://www.jojomoyes.com/books/me-before-you/
Published by: Viking Adult on 31st December 2012
Genre: Contemporary Adult Fiction
Format: Ebook
Purchase: NBS [PH] | FullyBooked [PH] | Amazon | B&N
Rating: 4 Roses

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

"The thing about being catapulted into a whole new life---or at least, shoved up so hard against someone else's life that you might as well have your face pressed against their window---is that it forces you to rethink your idea of who you are."

I felt as if the world crumbled down on me after finishing this depressing book. It's a mix of right and wrong choice during this month, but it's definitely a wrong idea to read on days surrounding February 14. I still can't believe these books are allowed to exist, though. It shouldn't be legal for authors to crush their readers' hearts just like that and get away with it. I believe I do love books that gives me a good cry (sometimes ugly cry too, which is ALWAYS!), but this book was not just an ugly cry kind of book but a freaking depressing cry kind of book.

Let me start by saying do not read beyond this point, because this is definitely a SPOILER review.

I'll start with the basics, so that your eyes won't dart to a word that would finish off the entire book. Honestly, on a very different circumstance, I would've already put down the book few chapters later. It is a very descriptive book and if it weren't for the movie that would star two of my faves, I wouldn't have finished it. Obviously I did. The reviews are freaking flying high with a five on the book community, and I would've given it a five too, if it were not comprised of 75% story telling/descriptions and 25% dialogues. I just felt as if I was deprived of Lou-Will moments. Their dialogues, as less as they are, are very enjoyable. The banters and everything are just perf, and even though the book was not keen on the romance side, the little moments that there was was just rewarding. Some made me cry too.

It is a slow paced love story. Something that most books are not. Insta-love, as we would've called it, but this is different. Will and Lou's love blossomed to the point where none of them knew at which point everything changed. Maybe Will found it out first, we just don't know, because he has no POV, but Lou stayed in denial for too long, or she kept her eyes closed because she's taken, but she definitely fell hard and it was painful. SO.FREAKING.PAINFUL. SO.FREAKING.HEART-BREAKING.

Will's death gave birth to a new Louisa, but I know that it's not for long because something in her would definitely die with Will. I was selfish because I believed that this would be a happy-ending kind of book. Up until the last few chapters, I held on to a tiny string of hope that there would be a miracle, that Will might be well or that there might be a possibility of getting better, but there was never hope from the start. It is All the Bright Places all over again. I know that it is a really hard position for Will but the moment that there are words in the book that implied that people are never enough to make you want to fight, is just painful. I just can never stop myself from thinking of all the "might have been"s even when there is nothing I can really do to stop an inevitable ending.

The death was sudden, as was the ending. Like WTH?! The last night of their vacation and the moment Lou walked away,was, I thought, the last time that I would cry, but I was, again, wrong. The death was not at all cry-worthy but my hands were shaking as I read the last chapters and I realized I was already sobbing, not because of the words, but because my heart was shattering, like the impact of the sudden death was creeping into me in slow motion. The fact that the words were not the reason behind my tears just made me cry even more, because I know that deep down, I was really affected by the tragic ending. To the last pages of the book, I thought Will would write the saddest goodbye letter to Louisa, but he did not (and I was expecting).Typical Will.

Lastly, I don't think I would be reading the sequel because I still can't accept that Will is gone and that Louisa would eventually find someone new, which is so selfish of me, but I guess I'm still mourning and I can't think of anybody else for Lou at the moment.

I was really emotional about this review and I could have told you more but this is already really long as it is. So buh-bye!

NOVEMBER 9 by Colleen Hoover Book Review [Non-Spoiler]

NOVEMBER 9 by Colleen Hoover Book Review [Non-Spoiler]

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Title: November 9
Author: Colleen Hoover
Website: http://november9book.com/
Published by: Atria Books on 10th of November 2015
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Setting: Los Angeles, California
Format: Trade Paperback, 320 pages
Copy Source: Borrowed from Daniela :)
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Amazon | B&N
Rating: 5 Roses

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

I freaking cried a handful of tears finishing this book until 12:30 in the morning of February 3. Sorry, I just have to say the date even though it's far from November 9. HAHA

I knew deep down in my heart that Colleen Hoover will never make an easy character. She will not craft one that has no less than a dramatic past that may be connected to a series of downfall in that character's present happiness. I mean, I think it's her best formula and I never did like the way she wove it in her past novels that I have read, but I can certainly say that I loved how she made November 9 made me feel otherwise. This is my third CoHo novel, and I can finally say that finally, after three long novels, I finally found that one CoHo I can finally swoon about.

The moment that I finally got to the first glimpse of the connection between Fallon and Ben, my eyes went wide with disappointment, and in my head I was saying, "not again!", but I did not waver. I kept my mind open for the possibility that I still might like it, because all my friends loved it. I made the right choice because despite the first wave of disappointment, I found myself in tears and then I knew right then that whatever the ending might be, I already knew that this novel has captured my heart even with my initial distaste with the plot twist.

I felt both heartache and happiness and I was satisfied with both feelings. The fourth, fifth and last November 9 was definitely the ones that would broke your heart into fragments and it can only be mended by the truth found on the last remaining pages.

This book was not quite original, but unique in its own way. There's this one scene where Ben said that he would be insulted if their story is compared to One Day or Sleepless in Seattle since it is an entirely different concept to what they were doing. Which is true, somehow. Before Trilogy (movie) is the closest that I can think of. Maybe I'll do a separate movie review for that, so I'll talk a lot about it there.

All in all, this book was great. The dialogues are witty and the characters are lovable and memorable, plus the fact that Ben was a writer and Fallon was a reader and everything just falls into place for me and this book. Another book to place on my favorites' shelf. *wink*