Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Our heroine Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom since birth. Her entire life has been training to kill him once they are wed. Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. But Nyx puts duty first and as a good little sacrificial lamb she married the immortal Ignifex on her seventeenth birthday. Although not blindly, she has a plan. Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the curse he put on her people. But neither Ignifex or the curse is what Nyx expected. She finds that the story she knew was not the whole story, and despite herself she begins to love her husband.
I had a hard time putting this one down once I started reading it. The writing is simple and beautiful. There is a lot of Greek/Roman lore woven into the story that made me do a little happy dance. The story felt very familiar, but then again Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytales, so the story wasn't that new. But the details were rich and gave it a fresh breathe. I really loved that Nyx was conflicted and not always a nice person, but then again being raised the way she was how could she not have some self image issues?
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