Nyx was born to marry the Gentle Lord and fulfill her father's bargain with the trickster demon, whose bargains never turn out as the wisher hopes. She was raised to kill him and sacrifice her life for the people of Arcadia. On her wedding day, her family sees her off. Her twin sister Astraia, more loved and thus sheltered from Nyx's fate, is the only one that shows any remorse. Her father hardly bats an eye when he leaves her on the Gentle Lord's doorstep to face her fate. Destroy the Gentle Lord by bringing down his house around him, burying herself and him inside. It's the only way to defeat him and the only way to free her family. But once inside the ever shifting maze of the castle, Nyx finds herself enthralled by the Gentle Lord and drawn to him despite the whispers of duty in the back of her mind. 
 I loved this book. Like loved so much that after I could form words and was just sitting hugging it like an idiot. 
 The story is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but the author also wove in Greek mythology. Even so, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but I was wrong. This retelling is dark and humorous and multilayered. Nyx and Ignifex are both such damaged souls and I love them to bits. Nyx isn't your typical Beauty. She's got a temper. She loves her family, but she hates her family. And she is desperate to feel the love that she was deprived of as a child. Ignifex is evil and sarcastic and just a dangerous character. Can you trust him? Can you not trust him? Every deal he makes turns out poorly for the wisher, most often with someone ending up dead. I loved this book because it's one of those books that makes you question things. Nyx isn't a "good" person. She isn't even a nice person often times, but it makes her so realistic. This poor girl was chosen because she was less loved than her twin and she was raised to be sacrificed. She is full of conflict and it is beautiful and painful. This book had me laughing and crying and also raging. And I just loved it. I rarely add books to my favorites list, but this one is there and I can't wait to revisit it in the future.