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Cruel Beauty
Cruel Beauty
Rosamund Hodge | 2014 | Young Adult (YA)
9
8.5 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
After reading Bright Smoke, Cold Fire I knew I HAD to find more Rosamund Hodge. She has a fantastic flair for taking fairy tales (or Shakespeare!) and twisting them into something darker but more realistic. Cruel Beauty is a twist on Beauty and the Beast, but this is no Stockholm Syndrome-suffering Beauty. She is resentful, and bitter, and angry at her father for subjecting her to this. She has trained her entire life to go to the Beast and destroy him, even if it means destroying herself too. What she find at the castle is nothing like what she expected, though, and neither is she what Hodge's Beast expects. Watching these two bitter, mocking characters dance around each other to get to the bottom of the curse and what actually happened to their world is engrossing and beautiful.

I couldn't put this book down once I started it, and I've already started Crimson Bound (Little Red Riding Hood), the next book in the same world. There's also a novella, Gilded Ashes (Cinderella), that I should snag a copy of.

The world is lovely and evocative, with gods and Forest Lords and Demons who actively participate in the world and grant wishes and make deals. It's a little bit Rumpelstiltskin, a little Fairy Godmother, a little Greek mythology, and all Rosamund Hodge. She's got talent, and writes my favorite micro-genre SO WELL.

If you like dark fairy tales, read this and then everything else Rosamund Hodge has written. It's excellent!

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Long Live the King!
Funny how people complained about the 2014 Godzilla movie saying there wasn't enough Godzilla in it. Anyone who is a fan know most Godzilla movies don't have a lot of Godzilla in it. Anyway, now they're complaining about too many monsters. Ridiculous. Let me tell you, this film is for Godzilla fans & boy does it deliver. The story is good enough. I won't give too much away, but the monsters (Titans as they are called here) are woken up & only Godzilla can stop them.

The movie is still pretty heavy on the human story, but it's just the right amount. It ends with a grand Godzilla fight. I'm sure you all know which monsters are involved in the film. By using CGI, they not only look spectacular, but you can get many angles & views of them that you couldn't get by guys in rubber suits. There are so many cool scenes, my favorite maybe being Rodan against the jets. Mothra also appears in the film. Sorry, no tiny singing ladies. But, the song is in the movie! In fact, all of the songs are in the movie! It was great hearing the monster's themes play when they appeared on the screen. Nothing gets you going more than hearing the Godzilla theme playing while he stomps towards the enemy.

The human actors do the job moving things along. There's some corny dialogue (You're a monster!") but we're not talking Shakespeare here anyway. If you're looking for something fun to see, go right out & see this now!