Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

I went into this book with really high expectations because of the hype surrounding it but, I was sorely disappointed. This is a very loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast that falls so far short of the mark it's nearly unrecognizable. I am very disappointed because I wanted to continue with the next book but, I honestly don't think I will subject myself to this world anymore.

I think where it began to fall apart for me was the world building. It's not very well fleshed out in so many ways. There is a magic system that isn't fully explained so it can be confusing. There are political movements being made that are just glossed over so the reader never really understands what is happening or why. The writing style assumes that the reader knows and understands the world without any of it being explained. It's almost as if we are to just accept what is happening with no reasoning behind it.

Then there are the conversations between our main characters Nyx, Ignifex, and Shade. I can only describe it as if you were overhearing parts of a conversation already in progress and not understanding what you are hearing. So much of this book needed to be more descriptive. It also moved at a very slow pace in the beginning and took way too long for the story to pick up and hold my interest. At that point I was not only bored and confused but also frustrated because I wanted to like it. I loved the premise and it had so much potential to be a really intriguing take on the Beauty and the Beast story but, it was not well executed.

Overall, I would suggest saving yourself valuable reading time and picking up something else.

Review: The Last Boy and Girl in the World by Siobhan Vivian

To be fair, this was actually more of a 3.5 stars for me. When I first saw this on the shelf I walked by it more than once. I kept thinking based on the title and the cover that it was just going to be another cheesy YA contemporary. I finally stopped to picked it up and the premise really grabbed me so I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did. This was a thoroughly entertaining story from page one.

Our main character, Keeley, has three main relationships that we watch develop as she deals with the reality that her town is slowly being flooded. Keeley helps her father fight the local officials to keep the town from being condemned. In a government land grab for a lucrative waterfront deal in the next town over, the town of Aberdeen is scheduled to be flooded and turned into a lake to save the deal. At first the residents band together, but as the bad weather continues and more homes are destroyed, the town begins to fall apart.

While this is happening, Keeley discovers that the boy she's been infatuated with for years, Jesse, may be just as taken with her. They both deal with difficult situations with humor and by trying to make everyone around them have a good time. They gravitate toward each other more and more the harsher their reality becomes. They share a similar penchant for destructive behavior and pushing away anything that gets too serious. Keeley will need to decide if this is the kind of relationship that can be sustained without the current bubble of pressure they are living in.

Perhaps her most shocking relationship arc is with her best friend, Morgan. They have been friends since birth and even their mothers have been best friends since they were kids. They seem destined to always be there for each other. The two girls deal with what is happening to their town in completely different ways. Keeley starts acting out and pulling crazy stunts for laughs while Morgan gets serious and pulls closer to another friend. The abrupt change in their relationship catches Keeley off guard and she has to figure out how to grow on her own in order to be the friend Morgan needs.

Then there is Levi, who is Keeley's friend and enemy in equal parts. They couldn't be more opposite. Where Keeley is silly and wild, Levi is straight laced and follows the rules. We see that he obviously has feelings for her pretty early on, but Keeley, who rejects anything serious, tends to be very dismissive of him. She makes fun of him with Jesse, she ditches him all the time, and doesn't appreciate the things he tries to do for her. But, when she needs someone to be there for her, it is always Levi she turns to not Jesse. She will need to figure out what type of relationship she wants before the town is gone for good.

This story kept me captivated from the very beginning. As a reader you are swept up in the chaos right along with the characters. One day everything is fine and then it begins to rain. Within weeks their world is unrecognizable. The destruction of something that feels so permanent and safe makes you realize that any of our lives can change completely in a moment. It is how we deal with these changes that makes us who we are. I really enjoyed the growth that Keeley goes through as she learns who it is she wants to be. There are several points in the story that caught me completely by surprise. It is refreshing when you don't see major plot twists coming. The only thing that could have made this book better for me would have been more character development for the side characters and perhaps an epilogue since many of the major twists happened in the last few pages. Overall, this was a wonderful book that I am so glad I picked up.