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Review: Cruel Beauty

Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe) by Rosamund Hodge

I give this book a solid 5.

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I listened to the audio version of this book so that may have had an effect on the comments I make below.

I don’t usually make comments on the narrator because I try to focus on the story at hand, but I really enjoyed the reading of this story. The narrator gave a wonderful and engaging performance.

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A dark twist on the Beauty and the Beast tale, Cruel Beauty tells the story of Nyx, a daughter raised as a sacrifice and tribute to the demon ruler of a world in captivity. Filled with hatred and contempt, but bound by duty and a sincere desire to do at least one noble thing in her life, Nyx sets out to destroy her would be husband and then die, with no hope for anything greater.

I know there will be no way for me to fully describe how much I truly enjoyed this story so I’ll just babble on a bit and then stop.  The first thing that I noticed about this story is that it was promoted to me as a YA/New Adult book. I haven’t had the best of luck with these kinds of titles. They are either too teen or too adult for my liking, but this book is what New Adult should be, though I’m sure some will argue for a little more steam and I’d  let them.

I describe this book as a dark twist to a fairy tale for two basic reasons. Traditional fairy tales aren’t that lighthearted, but recently people have forgotten what fairy tales once were, mostly due to the success of the Disney Corporation. Now, I’m not hating on Disney, but some of the things they’ve done to fairy tales is ridiculous.

  1. I want readers to understand that this is a dark story and not because of explicit violence and heavy gore. This story is dark because it touches on the truth of people’s nature and the sense of self-loathing, hatred, and disgust that could arise in any of us at any time given the right circumstances.
  2. This story is also dark because it challenges you to face the reality of choices you make every day and to see whether or not you are always as virtuous as you may think you are.

This book did something to me that not many books have. It made me look forward to reading and experiencing the romance that was taking place between the characters. I think I was pulled into this romance because it’s not at all what you’d expect it to be; especially after you learn that there are others involved you hadn’t expected to even be factors in the equation.

I loved the fact that I really hated Nyx’s family. I don’t use the word hate a lot and I am talking about a work of fiction, but even with all the twists that take place, I’m still not fond of her family, and I love it. This is one of those stories where none of the characters are truly worth rooting for when you get deep down to their souls and see the things they’ve done because they are all human and so beautifully flawed. Even with their lack of virtue, there is still a clear sense that all these lives are still worth saving, simply for the sake of living.

This author may become one of my faves. I’ll definitely have to see what else I can get my hands on from this author. At this point I’ve stopped trying to describe this book and want to say, just read it if you dare. It’s not for kids, and men may not cling to it, but if you are open to really trying something new and different, and have an appreciation for mythology, fairy tales, complicated romance, and or fantasy, then give this book a try.

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Books

Review: Stardust

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I give this book a 4.

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I don’t feel it necessary to describe this book for three reasons. 1. You can see the description at the top of the book’s page, 2. It’s been turned into a movie and you should have at least heard of it by now, and 3. I don’t know how I would put this into my own words and not write a short essay.

I want to start off by making a confession. I’m going through a phase of reading books that I’ve already seen the film versions of to do comparisons and so far this is the first one where I think I liked the movie better. Now, if you all are ready to hunt me down and kill me, please hold off and hear me out.

The fact of the matter is I do like this story very much. It’s a really good story with excellent writing, originality and creativity, and detailed and realistic world-building. That’s why I’m giving it a 4. There’s no denying that this book is a wonderful story.

The problem that I’m currently faced with it a rare one indeed. Usually, the film versions of movies always seem to be lacking that complete sense of magic that the book usually overflows with. However when I read this book and then thought about the movie I’d already seen, the magic of the movie overpowered the book.

I realize that I’m probably a great minority in this matter, but there were parts of the movie’s story that I simply liked better, but I’m not going to talk about those. I will talk about what I really enjoyed from this book.

I like the little story of how Tristan’s parents met. That wasn’t in the movie.

I like that the Unicorn had a much more involved role and actually had a bit of a personality.

I like that Tristan wasn’t some outcast from his village and was quite well-adjusted.

There are other things I could mention, but then I’d have to put a spoiler alert on this review and I don’t want to.

This is but one of many Gaiman stories you can immerse yourself in and enjoy whether you agree with my assessment here or not. This is an adult read, though I can see teens enjoying it. I wouldn’t recommend it for children. If you like adventure and fantasy, you’ll like this book.

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Books Fun Hops Holiday

#IntAuthorsDay is coming! Review: Defined by Others & a #giveaway. Hosted by @b00kr3vi3ws.

IAD

The idea behind International Authors Day began with book blogger Debdatta. Last year she realized that there was no day set aside to praise all the authors (traditional or self-published) who have provided us with years of entertainment. Debdatta has declared July 18th as International Authors Day and for that, we all love her. From July 14th thru July 18th book bloggers and authors will be sharing posts about their favorite books and or authors- oh and there will be lots of giveaways! Check out mine at the end of this post. Be sure to check back with this hop on July 18th – International Authors Day, see if you’ve won a prize.

Today I’ll be mentioning a few authors I enjoy and then I will feature the author of a wonderful book I’ve just reviewed.

Mini Alex 2Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design, graphics, and technical editing. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and co-host of the A-Z Challenge. His awarding winning Cassa Series is now an affordable boxed set and his Dragon of the Stars continues to increase in popularity. What are the Kargrandes?

Stacey Rourke is the awarding author of the Gryphon Series and The Legends Saga, for which I had the pleasure of revealing the latest cover for here. She writes with a quick wit and isn’t afraid to go beyond the norm. My review for book 1 in The Legends Saga, Crane, coming soon.

Ian Mathie is an awarding winning memoirist with a life story worth writing about. He has an incredible outlook on life and is definitely an author worth getting to know. He’s also written some fiction. I’ve just finished Chinese Take-Out and will post my review soon.

And last, but definitely not least, is M.C.V. Egan.  This author writes in genres that I’m just not all that interested in, at least that’s what I thought. She changed all that with her Historical-Metaphysical novel The Bridge of Deaths. She’s at it again with her latest release, a Contemporary (Women’s Fiction), entitled Defined by Others. See my review below.

 Defined by Others (Defining Ways Series Book 1) by M.C.V. Egan

I give this book a 5

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This author has a way of intriguing me that always manages to entice me into reading outside my preferred genres.

Defined by Others, on the surface, is the tale of a mid-life crisis gone terribly wrong, but it’s actually much more than that. It tells the bounce back journey of Anne, a woman who likes to define moments in a single word, only now she’s a little speechless and unknowingly open to pursue other actions. She is after all trying to bounce back from learning that her husband is leaving her for a man, her father has just been hospitalized, and an old frenemy has just died- but not without leaving Anne a parting gift.

‘Manipulation’ is the single word that would define this book. It’s very dark, but glossed over with pretty wealthy people and little white lies, that turn black in the blink of an eye. That’s how the end comes at you. You see it coming the whole time, but when the “stuff” hits the fan, it catches you off guard- even with the metaphysical aspects in the story.

People often complain about the dangers of social media much in the same as they do the use of firearms. I’m not going argue either case here, but as many would agree, it’s not the “weapon” it’s the user. Anne and her friend Connie take their old frenemy’s gift and turn Facebook into a weapon of mass emotional destruction. When they say misery loves company, they must be thinking of Anne and Connie- but is Anne really looking to destroy lives or is she simply hurting, lost, and confused?

I didn’t fall in love with any of these characters, but I did become enthralled in this story. The whole time I read it, I kept thinking, “There are crazy people out in the world just like this, for real. I’m so glad I don’t have this kind of drama in my life.” This book made me appreciate the small number of close friends I have and made me appreciate how wonderful my husband and family really are. One word to define my feeling for this book would be ‘grateful’, plus is was quite entertaining.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes to read Women’s Fiction or Contemporary fiction with a hard edge. This is purely an adult read, though it does not contain erotic material. It deals with mature concepts that young children will not understand and that hopefully teenagers aren’t currently dealing with (but consider the times we live in).

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

And then there’s me, Toi Thomas. I write to entertain and read to be entertained. I’m very proud of my Eternal Curse Series, and am currently working on a contemporary romance, It’s Like the Full Moon, which I plan to release in late 2015 or early 2016. If you want to know more about me and my writing, just take a look around this site…And now for the giveaway.

Please visit the button below to hop around and celebrate with all those participating.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords