Cruel Beauty really caught my interested because it was described as being a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I collect and devour retellings of BatB, my all-time favourite fairy tale, and read all the retellings I can get my hands on. If I'm honest, I come away from a lot of the retellings feeling they're fairly mediocre but enjoyable nonetheless. That was not the case here. Cruel Beauty blew my mind. 
 The setting is fabulously thought-out, if a conundrum. We're led to understand that we're in an alternate version of England where both Greek gods and the Pagan "Hedge gods" are real but apparently forsook this country when the last of the Roman kings fell. A demon took control of the lands, which have been terrorised ever since. The world building is beautifully done, leaving me absolutely captivated by the version of my homeland portrayed in this story. It's also somewhat of a conundrum because this Arcadia (England) was sundered from the rest of the world with the fall of the last of the Roman kings (in our timeline the Romans left England entirely in the early years of the 5th century), 900 years prior to the start of Nyx's story. However, there are mentions of things that should not have existed in Anglia / Arcadia before the sundering: coffee, for example, brought back from the New World in the 1600s. These are only small issues, though, and easily overlooked. 
 The story itself is incredibly well-crafted. The best way I can find to describe it is that it sneaked up on me: for a long time I thought that I was just enjoying the story, but then I realised that the last page was getting closer and closer, a realisation that left me feeling desolate. When I finished the book, turning that last page was almost heart-wrenching. It was like I was waking up from a daze and I didn't quite know what to do with myself. Cruel Beauty had me utterly spellbound. 
 Nyx isn't perfect. In fact, she's far from it. She's got a lot of pent up anger and tends to lash out when others least deserve it. Ignifex is a weapon shaped by his masters: cruel and yet vulnerable. Shade is a bit of an enigma and I never really warmed to him, but then I'm not sure I was supposed to. The interactions between Nyx and Ignifex were charged with emotions that subtly changed from hatred / aloofness / disdain to something more intimate. Together they were appealing characters - due to them the story wasn't just good, it was great. 
 Cruel Beauty really resounded with me. It took me on a rollercoaster of emotions and dug its claws into me so subtly that I failed to even realise how captivated I'd become. This book is a real keeper and one that I will display on my shelves with pride. I can't wait to see what Rosamund Hodge will come up with next.