It turns out to be a perfectly arranged marriage. Arranged Marriage: As a result of the bargain struck between the Gentle Lord and Nyx's father.Arc Words: 'You will never be safe with me' is said and paraphrased in a variety of ways by Nyx and Ignifex.Anti-Hero: Nyx may be her peoples' hope of breaking free of the Gentle Lord, but that does not stop her from resenting the fact that she is essentially doomed to die in the process or worse, be trapped in the castle forever with her husband and his demons.Aloof Darkhaired Girl: Nyx Triskelion, the main protagonist, is described as calm, distant and 'regal', while at the same time having dark hair.An Aesop: Nyx saves Arcadia not through destroying her nemesis, the Gentle Lord, but through saving the man she loves - prince Marcus.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. As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.īut Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. 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. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him. Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom- all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father.

Her destiny was to love him.Ĭruel Beauty (2014) is a Young Adult novel by Rosamund Hodge, and a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, blending the traditional fairytale with classical mythology.

Rosamund hodge