For example, dark shadows consume victims, but the anguish is more mental. Besides a fire that almost kills Nyx, the other violence is of the evil demon variety. In the only gory scene, as punishment Nyx is thrown in the room where all eight are preserved - and before her eyes adjust to the dark, she sticks her hand in one wife's mouth. She spends a lot of time plotting to kill him - probably a smart move, because he's had a hand in killing eight previous wives. Parents need to know that Cruel Beauty is a romantic fantasy wherein the heroine, Nyx, is held captive a la 'Beauty and the Beast.' The beast in question is a demon called the Gentle Lord, who gets Nyx as a wife in payment. Nyx is 17 and drinks wine at dinner, and, as an homage to the dead, she shares most of a bottle of wine at a grave site.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide. Talk of Nyx's mother's death in childbirth, caused by the bargain Nyx's father made with the Gentle Lord.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide. Talk of eternal torment at the hands of demons. Mention of the Roman story of Lucretia who is raped, kills her rapist, and then kills herself out of shame. Nyx is attacked by demons who crawl all over her and try to possess her - multiple mentions of this happening to villagers as she's growing up, who afterward either go mad or die.

For one night Nyx is locked in with the dead wives who are all preserved as if sleeping - when she's thrown in the room, her hand touches a dead wife's tongue. Talk of eight previous wives and how they died - one fell down a staircase, and some were attacked by demons. She threatens to stab him, wrestles with him, and lets him suffer at the hands of demons who are eating away at him. Nyx spends most of the book plotting against her husband.

Rosamund hodge