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Showing posts with label rosamund hodge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rosamund hodge. Show all posts

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Wishlist Thursday[176]: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire (Untitled, #1) by Rosamund Hodge



Bright Smoke, Cold Fire (Untitled, #1) by Rosamund Hodge

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Retelling

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: September 27, 2016




Goodreads Synopsis:



When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.

The heirs of the city’s most powerful—and warring—families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan—and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.

Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong—killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy . . . and perhaps turn against his own clan.

Mahyanai Runajo just wants to protect her city—but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara.

Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting. . .



Why?:


I was really impressed with her first book, and I need to pick up her second one. I love retellings, though I’m not really a fan of Romeo and Juliet. I will probably give it a try, though, because I think that with the paranormal twist, and I think that Hodge might actually make it more fun than the others I’ve read.

What’s on your list?

Friday, July 31, 2015

Novel Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge



Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy Romance, Fairy Tale Retelling
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Release Date: January 2014
Spoilers?: No.

Goodreads Synopsis:


The romance of Beauty and the Beast meets the adventure of Graceling in a dazzling fantasy novel about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny. For fans of bestselling authors Kristin Cashore and Alex Flinn, this gorgeously written debut infuses the classic fairy tale with glittering magic, a feisty heroine, and a romance sure to take your breath away.

Betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom, Nyx has always known that her fate was to marry him, kill him, and free her people from his tyranny. But on her seventeenth birthday when she moves into his castle high on the kingdom's mountaintop, nothing is what she expected--particularly her charming and beguiling new husband. Nyx knows she must save her homeland at all costs, yet she can't resist the pull of her sworn enemy--who's gotten in her way by stealing her heart.


The Cover:

I absolutely love this cover. The interwoven rose petals and staircase is gorgeous, and very fitting. It shows the story very well--with it being a Beauty and the Beast retelling, as well as the place that Ignifex lives, with all the exploring Nyx does. It fits the book so well, but it's beautiful on it's own. It caught my eye before I even knew what the book was about.

Review:


"If you desired someone, if he comforted you, if you thought he might leech the poison out of your heart, was that love? Or only desperation?” (Paperback, pg. 127)


I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book. I should have picked it up forever ago—I know I heard enough good things about it.
Nyx was chosen before birth to marry the ruler of her kingdom, the man who everyone hates and fears, who is the reason they are all stuck inside this bubble of a world. And she’s been trained to kill him, even if no one truly believes it’s possible.
There’s a lot of darkness in this book. Nyx has been harboring hard feelings for her twin sister, for her father and aunt, and for the dark king she is to marry. The dark king, likely, also harbors some hard feelings for his people, the people who command him, himself. They understand that in each other.
Nyx sneaks around a lot, trying to figure out the house, to figure out how to do what her sister wanted of her. There’s the shadow for her companionship, and sometimes during the day, the king, Ignifex. It’s interesting, the house he lives in, and the world outside it. The whole world that Hodge has created is beautiful and enchanting, and I’m so intrigued. There’s a lot of mythology interwoven in the story, some magic, and I loved it. I’m sure a lot of it flew over my head, but it made me intrigued, and I liked what I understood. Even though it was a little slow, it was never boring, and it was even a little surprising near the end.
There’s also a lot of swoon. I tried not to like Ignifex from the beginning, but he surprised me at the start. He’s fun, smart, very steamy. I really liked those scenes, but there was also a lot of chemistry. I’m pretty happy with the ending, even if I don’t quite think it made sense? Either way, I’m happy with how the story ended.
The writing was gorgeous, and the characters were so complex and believable. I loved this book, and am really looking forward to reading her others.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Teaser Tuesday[152]: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Genre: YA Sci-fi Fairy-Tale Retelling

Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)

Release Date: January 2014




Goodreads Synopsis:



The romance of Beauty and the Beast meets the adventure of Graceling in a dazzling fantasy novel about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny. For fans of bestselling authors Kristin Cashore and Alex Flinn, this gorgeously written debut infuses the classic fairy tale with glittering magic, a feisty heroine, and a romance sure to take your breath away.

Betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom, Nyx has always known that her fate was to marry him, kill him, and free her people from his tyranny. But on her seventeenth birthday when she moves into his castle high on the kingdom's mountaintop, nothing is what she expected--particularly her charming and beguiling new husband. Nyx knows she must save her homeland at all costs, yet she can't resist the pull of her sworn enemy--who's gotten in her way by stealing her heart.



Excerpt:

“I glared up at him, trying to rub away the phantom sensation of the kiss. ‘I think you know what, my lord.’” (Paperback, pg. 98)

What are you reading right now?