Cruel Beauty and the novella Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge! Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairy tales, so I knew I was destined to love Cruel Beauty. However, since I don't like Cinderella that much, I wasn't sure how much I would love Gilded Ashes. I had nothing to be worried about though, as I loved it.
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.
Orphan Maia doesn't see the point of love when it only brings pain: Her dying mother made a bargain with the evil, all-powerful ruler of their world that anyone who hurt her beloved daughter would be punished; her new stepmother went mad with grief when Maia's father died; and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother's approval, yet she always spurns them. And though her family has turned her into a despised servant, Maia must always pretend to be happy, or else they'll all be struck dead by the curse.
Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn't believe in love either—not since he discovered that his childhood sweetheart was only using him for his noble title. What's the point of pretending to fall in love with a girl just so she'll pretend to fall in love with him back? But when his father invites all the suitable girls in the kingdom to a masked ball, Anax must finally give in and select a wife.
As fate would have it, the preparations for the masquerade bring him Maia, who was asked by her eldest stepsister to deliver letters to Anax. Despite a prickly first encounter, he is charmed and intrigued by this mysterious girl who doesn't believe in love. Anax can't help wishing to see her again—and when he does, he can't help falling in love with her. Against her will, Maia starts to fall in love with him too. But how can she be with him when every moment his life is in danger from her mother's deadly bargain?
One winner will be winning ebook copies of both, so enter below! It is INT, and rules can be found under the Terms and Conditions in the Rafflecopter. Good luck!
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My favorite retelling so far has been A Bed of Thorns and Roses which was a retelling of Beauty & The Beast, it was really good!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite retellings is Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu. I LOVE retellings. :) I have one coming out in May! A contemporary Rapunzel. :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite retelling is Beastly--I love Beauty and the Beast stories :)
ReplyDeleteI like Sinders and Ash by Tara Lain.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is Entwined. It's a retelling of the 12 dancing princesses.
ReplyDeleteScarlet by Marissa Meyer is one of my favorites! Thank you for the giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteCinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer! :D
ReplyDeleteAsh by Malinda Lo.
ReplyDeleteCinderella is my all time favorite fairy tale.
ReplyDeleteI love The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite retelling so far is the Red Riding Hood horror movie!
ReplyDeleteBEASTLY! I adore Beauty and the Beast, and the writing in Beastly is so perfect.
ReplyDeleteHi there, well i have not got the chance to read it yet but i think that book Dorthy must die looks really good, i love wizard of oz so for me i think that could end up being my favorite!! thank you so much
ReplyDeleteBeastly would have to be one of my favorites. I've always loved Beauty and the Beast and several of its various versions.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Cinder and look forward to reading others! Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Cinder. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite so far is The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton.
ReplyDeleteJessica Grey's modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty and of Beauty and the Beast
ReplyDeleteElla Enchanted is one of my favorite books and definitely my favorite retelling.
ReplyDeleteBeastly for sure c:
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is The Lunar Chronicles
ReplyDeleteentered contest as Alisha Sienkiel
I love the Lunar Chronicles. I love how the stories build on each other.
ReplyDeleteSnow by Tracy Lynn :D
ReplyDeleteMy favorite fairy tale retelling is Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey!
ReplyDeleteI loved cinder.
ReplyDeleteCinder by Marissa Meyer.
ReplyDeleteCinder, Scarlet, and Cress by Marissa Meyer even though I haven't read those. I read the synopsis though, I think it's really cool. I want to read them!
ReplyDeleteThe Lunar Chronicles - especially Cinder. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteAnn S