Book written by Rosamund Hodge, published 2014.
From the moment she was born, Nyx’s destiny was to marry the Gentle Lord—marry, and kill him. All of Arcadia is imprisoned under the Gentle Lord’s control. The people fall victim to his demons or his bargains, and they can’t even see the true sky, his influence is so thorough. Nyx is Arcadia’s last hope for freedom, and even she struggles to find a way out. It just doesn’t seem possible. But what seemed more impossible was the idea of actually falling for her captor husband. But as she and her husband form a sort of truce, Nyx’s loyalties become blurry, and suddenly the question isn’t how she’ll save Arcadia, but will she.
What I liked about this particular interpretation of "Beauty and the Beast" is that this Beauty isn’t really one in any sense of the word. What happens when the Beast isn't the only beast in question? Nyx isn’t considered the prettiest girl in Arcadia, and, on top of that, she is bitter, jealous, and hateful. She has to make a conscious effort to convince herself that she loves her family, yet wants nothing more than to lash out at them and let them feel her poison. That makes Nyx so much more compelling and more relatable as a protagonist, and it’s a pleasantly fresh twist in a story I love so well.
I also loved the mythology and the magic in the world-building. It’s based on Ancient Greek mythology, but the magic element doesn’t rely on relics or anything that I was familiar with. Hodge ties both of these elements into the earth itself, and they are elegantly woven together in a believable way. So, if you Percy Jackson fans out there are looking for something new and a little more mature, you should give this one a read. I myself might put it on my shopping list, but I’m in no hurry to actually buy it.
No language or actual violence in this one; people mostly die off-screen of disease. Any romantic stuff is also off-screen, but there is minor nudity.
If you understand the language of the Kindly Ones, you may proceed.
"There's no wisdom in the world that will stop humans from trying to snatch what they want."
I ended up reading the ending twice because I couldn’t decide how I felt about it, and to be quite honest, I still don’t know. I’m not sure if I like the ending, but I can’t decide if it’s because I think it’s a bit convoluted or if it just makes me mad. Nyx and Ignifex come so close to figuring out his true name, but Nyx gives up, betrays him, and resets time before they get there. Then, Nyx remembers in the new timeline everything about her marriage, and she has to agree to suffer in darkness with her husband because she still can’t save him, even though she remembers his name. And then the two of them survive the darkness together, and can finally have their happily ever after. I guess when I put it like that, the ending does sound a little inefficient. I do have to keep reminding myself that this is “Beauty and the Beast” not “Rumpelstiltskin”. The name isn’t the point of the book; love is. But when I think about it like that, the ending just makes me mad because if Nyx had just trusted in her love in the first place, she and Ignifex wouldn’t have gone through all of the other stuff, and maybe they could have been together that much sooner. So that’s my struggle. I can respect the struggle that Hodge puts her characters through because it says more about their relationship, but I don’t actually want it to be there because I’m invested in their happiness.
I really do like the focus of Nyx’s and Ignifex’s love though. I love that they’re both spiteful and hateful, but that they find they love each other all the more for it. It’s just as Ignifex says, “You know what you are, and what you deserve. You lie to me but not to yourself. That’s why I love you.” Knowing who you are and owning it can be a rather attractive trait, even if it’s a darkness that’s being accepted. And Nyx and Ignifex never promise to be something other than themselves. They promise to figure out how to be better together but neither would ask the other to change what they are. So even though their love is based on a mutual attraction for the other’s poison, their romance is actually really wholesome because it encompasses their whole selves. And that connection is what keeps them together through different timelines and memory loss. It's a trope I will never get tired of.
I appreciated the simplicity of this story. It wasn’t overly detailed or extravagant, and Hodge didn’t try to push it out into another book. It’s a story that had one powerful message to share, and Hodge’s interpretation and presentation of true love were truly beautiful to read. Simple, but well-written. A solid win.
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