Cruel is the Light was a pretty solid read! The fake engagement trope? Always a win. Demon hunting? Yes, please. The witty banter? Chef’s kiss. But somewhere between all the Vatican secrets and supernatural chaos, I kind of lost the plot (literally). Still, Selene and Jules have great chemistry, and the action scenes were fun. It wasn't life-changing, but it was entertaining enough—like a guilty-pleasure TV show you binge at 2 AM. Would I read the sequel? Probably. Would I remember what happened in this one by then? Questionable.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book but unfortunately it wasn't great. I struggled to get through first 40%. It was a lot of world building and it was not easy to stay engaged in the story. I am not sure if it was confusing or if I just couldn't give it the attention it needed because I wasn't interested.

The story did pick up in the second half. I did enjoy the relationship between Jules and Selene but if you don't appreciate insta-lust than you won't like it. The romance aspect included some of my favorite tropes like fake dating and forbidden love. At the end I did have some lingering questions about Selene, but I'm not sure if they were answered in the midst of the boring first half or if they were not answered at all.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC, this is my honest opinion.

This was highly anticipated from the cover to the blurb. Unfortunately, I could not connect with the characters nor story and had to DNF at 15%. I tried starting this a few times but the glossary at the beginning made it very daunting. In other cases where a book has started with a glossary, I usually only have to utilize it a few times. In this case, I felt like I was flipping back and forth so many times that I was lost in the dialogue and which characters were even in the scene. It felt like an info dump page after page and that just was not entertaining. I was really hopeful for this but I could not find it in myself to finish it.

This was an anticipated read 2025 read for me, just to be let down.

I am giving this a 3⭐️ review only because I love the concept and the last like 35% of the book made me fall in love with it.

It did take forever to get into this book. You are instantly thrown into a world that isn’t very well build. You have to fill in the puzzle yourself to figure out what is going on. Either there was too much details or not enough and it jumped around a lot. Just that alone made me disconnect with the book.

I did love the mix of religion aspects with the fantasy side of the book. It did fit really well together. Loved the demon hunter idea and loved the character Selene.

This book is in third person with two pov.

Overall, I wish the world building was better.

3.75/5

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I loved the setting and the premise. However, it was a little hard to get into at first. The world building and magic system was a little confusing. It was an interesting concept, but I would have liked it to be fleshed out a little more.

I started really enjoying the story more once the main characters started working together. I really loved Jules. He was so charming and funny. I think I enjoyed his POV the most. I also really enjoyed his banter with Selene. Their reverse grumpy x sunshine banter was hilarious.

I didn’t like Selene at first, but she grew on me. I ended up loving her and Jules together. He seemed to help open up her eyes to what was going on her around her. He also helped open up her tightly bound emotions. Around him she seemed to show her softer side.

I’m interested to see how the story progresses in the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

☆ Fun Factor 2/5
☆ Writing Style 1/5 (Just...not my cup of tea and I'll get into that)
☆ Characters 3/5 (often charming and likeable, but not very fleshed out individuals)
☆ Plot 2/5 (I feel like I've read this exact story before)
☆ Setting 3/5
☆ Feels 1/5
☆ Spiciness 1/5 (no sex, some getting handsy, a lot of jokes about body parts, lots of kisses)
☆ Gore 3/5

If this were a movie it'd be rated: PG-13 for way too much swearing (it might even earn an R for how many f-bombs), mild gore, violence, lots of blood, disturbing imagery, fantasy fights, mild romance

☆FOR FANS OF: Shadow and Bone

Ultimate verdict: ☆☆/5

☆☆☆Best Character Award goes to:☆☆☆ The Deathless God for that one part at the end

Review:

Set in an alternate history early 20th century Vatican where God actually came down from heaven to destroy demons that were plaguing the world, only to be slain and his body housed inside The Vatican and worshiped in his state of being neither living nor dead, we follow a church exorcist named Selene who's the Grumpy one and her French lover, a soldier on the run named Jules who's the Sunshine one and more than he seems. There's a ton of tropes here, and for some that's exactly what they want in their fiction: I know a LOT of people want that checklist so they know what to expect. Me though I want at least a little inventiveness about it? Just reversing the genders of the Sunshine x Grumpy trope wasn't enough to make me think their relationship was believable or really to enjoy it.

I think my least favorite thing about this book is that it's clearly marketed as YA "for ages 12+, grades 7-9", but I counted more than 24 curse words before I lost track, 11 mentions of smoking, tons of sexual innuendos, a drinking game while stripping and pretty frequent gore and dismemberment. One of these instances of dismemberment happens within the first chapter. I'm not a prude, but marketing a book towards a younger audience than it should be just to get better sales feels dishonest to say the least. This should be marketed as New Adult or Adult fantasy and I'm really tired of this trend of marketing books towards younger audiences than they should be just to get more sales.

I should have DNF'd at a scene about 30% into the book where a couple of characters are of course smoking cigarettes and bantering, because that's what a large chunk of this book is: banter and smoking/drinking. In this scene, one character says to another, "Not bad for a normie," and again, this is supposed to be early 1900s historical fiction set in Italy; normie as in "normal person" used here is 1980-2000s. What's the point of a historical setting, even an alternate one with magic, if you're just going to write like it's today in our world? It just took me out of it. I think a little more care spent on historical details in a historical fantasy would've helped a lot with the feel and the world building.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 ☆
this was one of my anticipated releases for 2025, it really felt made for me and there were only a few parts that felt lacking.

for world building, i thoroughly enjoyed the concept and usage of
the vatican as a main setting. i feel like it helped to ground the magic system, but i still feel like it needs to be flushed out.

there are dual povs (which i LOVE). the transition between povs did feel a little clunky at times which i think comes from not a clear distinction when switching.

i absolutely adored selene and how she handles her relationship with her faith in the deathless god and faith in general. that was something that i felt really drawn to and part of the reason i wanted to read this. jules, my sweet golden retriever, i just want to give you a forehead kiss. although the characters are 18/19, they felt mature and not so “teenagery”.

this felt more like a reluctant allies to lovers rather than a enemies to lovers. i loved the romance, reverse grumpy x sunshine, and just their overall dynamic.

the last quarter of the book is what really bumped up my rating, i felt like i could relate to selene in a lot of ways and i felt like the writing here was the strongest.

overall, this was a strong debut and i can’t wait to see where the series goes.

also ily sparrow.

✶ thank you netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review ✶

ARC provided by NetGalley for a fair and honest review

This book was insanely well done. One of the most original concepts I’ve read in a LONG time. I went into this with no knowledge simply because the cover was so gorgeous I had to read it. I was not disappointed. Exorcists in the Vatican locked in a war with demons? Actually top tier work. I’m so glad the world has decided to bring yearning back in full force. Chef’s kiss.

This book was fantastic. It seemed like a lovely world with an interesting magic system. Action, love story, mystery, supernatural beings, and just enough subplots to keep you guessing all through the rest of the book book, it has it all. The characters will win your heart, the writing is exquisite, and the pacing is perfect. I enjoyed this one!

I loooved the plot. I had so many laugh out loud moments and kick my feet giddy.
It’s a great YA book I’d love it more with some more detail. I felt like I got lost or confused a few times with just how straight forward part were. There was little to no lead up and the transition between scenes was a little choppy.
Also Selene is a bad ass dark broody main character that is normally the male role so it was refreshing seeing it on a female lead. My only down fall to her was she overly said the word Dio. Every time she would say something it seemed to be in there. Then toward the end of the book she just stops saying it?

Defiantly could use a light bit stronger writing and details but the plots there. The story is good. I’m obsessed with the concept.

demon slayers. fake engagement. a dangerous secret buried in the heart of the Vatican. this book has it all—intense action, razor-sharp banter, and a slow-burn romance that will have you flipping pages like your life depends on it.

premise: for over a century, humanity has been locked in a brutal war against demons. leading the charge are two of its most elite fighters: Selene Alleva, a powerhouse exorcist trained at the Vatican Academy, and Jules Lacroix, a battlefield legend with a past as mysterious as he is. from the moment they meet, the tension is impossible to ignore—both the kind that leads to fights and the kind that makes you want to kiss your enemy just to shut them up. (RAAAAAHHH)
—
but get this, when a series of unprecedented demon attacks points to something far bigger than either of them imagined, Selene and Jules are forced to team up. their cover? a fake engagement that gets them inside the Vatican, where the real danger lurks. what they find there changes everything—for the war, for their beliefs, and for Jules himself. and as much as Selene tries to fight it, the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to ignore the pull between them.

this book was pure adrenaline. the world building is rich and immersive, packed with dark secrets and high-stakes intrigue. the romance? tension-filled, slow-burn perfection full of cutting remarks, undeniable chemistry, and moments so intense they’ll have you screaming. that freaking plot twist???!!! just when you think you know what’s coming, the story hits you with a revelation that changes the game. i cannot wait for all of you to read this. this will be one of the best epic fantasy of 2025!

if you love enemies-to-lovers, reluctant allies, and fantasy stories that keep you on edge from start to finish, pick this one up immediately. it's dark, thrilling, and utterly addictive.

thank you so much Random House Children's, Knopf Books and Sophie Clark!!!!

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All opinions in this review are my own.
I did buy the audiobook copy on my own to tandem and the narrators were fantastic! It is dual narration.

3.5 stars. This was a middle of the road novel for me. There are lots of very intriguing ideas here, and while the novel did keep my interest throughout and I liked the characters/romance, there is a lot of shaping needed to really flesh it all out.

To start, this novel definitely could've been shorter. It did drag and flounder there for a bit until the plot was ready to move a long before repeating the cycle. It was also hindered by the fact (IMHO) by being set in an AU version of our world. It felt like what the author wanted to do was constricted by this fact whereas if it had just been in a fantasy world of the author's own, then it really could've flourished with no strings. It would've made more sense. I get why, the author wanted to really hammer home the religious themes and the Vatican is prime for that, but it just felt the inspiration for that held it back. That goes hand in hand with the worldbuilding and magic system needing some work. I could never place the era of when this novel took place as there were vague mentions of what was around that contradicted each other but overwhelmingly was left sparse. I also believe the premise of how Selene got Jules into the academy could've been workshopped better (among other things) as it didn't seem that plausible that no one would 1) recognize Jules and Eliot are entirely two different looking people (7 years doesn't change someone THAT much) and that 2) no one bothered to like call down to Eliot's office in Nice to have a chat over his supposed reappearance after being exiled?

Regardless of all of this, I actually did enjoy the novel. I was sucked in and it was an easy read. I had fun guessing the twists and the actions scenes were fun along with the bits of worldbuilding/lore/magic system woven in that wasn't confusing. I am very interested to see what happens with book 2 and where it all goes from here!

It took a while to find its pacing due to the writing style, but I really enjoyed this book overall. It has a unique magic system that I can’t wait to learn more about. I also need more banter between Jules and Selene! This was relatively fast paced, and could benefit from some more character-building hijinks.

As for genre concerns, I’d lean more to older young adult. It does deal with some mature themes such as life after death, questioning religion and a fade to black spicy scene.

🗡️Enemies to lovers
🗡️Demons
🗡️Corrupt government
🗡️Forbidden love
🗡️Found family

A solid 4.0 read for me, with lots of opportunity to grow into an amazing series.

I'm honestly so conflicted on what to rate this. Cruel Is the Light was a highly anticipated read for me, but it just fell a bit flat...

Let's start with the writing. I found that the author was trying 𝘵𝘰𝘰 hard to write intricately, but it ended up making scenes a bit hard to follow or the descriptions just seemed to contradict themselves. There were times where I couldn't even tell what was happening. Some of the dialogue didn't seem natural and the conversations between characters didn't flow naturally, as well.

I found that the plot felt a bit lost until the very end, but even then I wasn't too sure about it. The world-building could have used a bit more attention to detail, and though there is a glossary it still was confusing at times. There is a lot of action right from the start, which raised the stakes from the beginning for the characters and that's what drew me in at first.

Honestly what saved the book for me was the main characters, Selene and Jules. Selene is a strong protagonist that is fierce, while Jules is charming and brave. I do wish we got to see more of why Selene was considered the "Butcher of Rome" because we only saw a softer side to her as opposed to this supposedly dark and merciless exorcist. I did really enjoy their banter, fake engagement, and reverse grumpy x sunshine. The dual POV was fun to read, even if it switched mid-chapter, I found it exciting to read the same scene with the different perspectives.

Overall I found this could have used a bit more editing/refining. It had a lot of potential, but the execution wasn't quite there.

I kinda enjoyed this. The ratings aren't that great on goodreads, but I found this to be a cool intriguing story! Definitely not something I normally read, but this was cool!

I was sent a copy of this book through NetGalley! This was a really anticipated read for me but unfortunately it just fell really short. The world building was confusing, it’s set in Europe but it’s hard to tell what time period (I still don’t know). I also felt disconnected with the story by the writing style and spent a lot of time trying to figure out who was talking or what was going on. The characters, unfortunately just weren’t that engaging. Up until about the 50% point I really liked the MMC, Jules. But after the two characters started to recognize their feelings for each other, he started to fall flat for me because the romance just wasn’t convincing. I really, really wanted to like this book but I just… didn’t.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the ARC! Cruel is the Light is an action-packed debut novel with gods, exorcists, demons, and a side of romance. Selene’s stoicism compared to Jules’ charm and wit created a fun dynamic. Their banter was amusing and I enjoyed the tension building throughout the story. I loved the various terms of endearment in Italian and French!

I appreciated the glossary in the beginning - the details about the Vatican hierarchy and demon classifications were really helpful. Something similar for the magic system would be great as well.

Although classified as YA, this book felt more upper YA/NA to me. Selene and Jules’ ages aren’t disclosed, but their maturity and past experiences make it feel like they should be older than late teens (but perhaps that is intentional).

I did find myself getting a bit lost during some scenes. There is a lot of lovely descriptive writing, but there were times that things jumped around a lot and I had difficulty following. I always picture what I’m reading in my head, and there were moments that I struggled to do that with this book.

Also, I loved Sparrow and I hope we’ll see more of him in the sequel!

Some of my favorite quotes:
“The arm was salvageable. His stupidity
-terminal.”

“She was the Butcher of Rome, always covered in blood. They didn't need to know most of it was hers.”

“This close she was more dangerous than beautiful. More deadly than alluring.
And yet he was nowhere near strong enough to resist.”

"Get your ass out that door or not even
God could save you from me."

"It would make it easier if they all looked like monsters, wouldn't it?"

✨Book Review✨
📖Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark (ARC) 2.5⭐️

📚 Third person: Dual POV
📚 Humans vs Demons
📚 Fake Engagement
📚 Banter
📚 One Bed
📚Forced Proximity

I received this ARC via NetGalley and Random House Children in exchange for an honest review.

I typically don’t review books that I gave less than 3 stars to but I need this seen.

I thought this was YOUNG ADULT. It’s marketed as Young Adult and Amazon advertises it as a book appropriate for 12-17 year olds. As a parent of a 12 & 10 year old, I would NEVER let them read this until they’re at least 16. There was an explicit/descriptive scene in Chapter 33 that, in my opinion, is not child appropriate. This would be acceptable as New Adult, but YA? Nope.

My star rating isn’t reflective of the mis-marketed genre. My rating is reflective of the novel itself.

I was thoroughly confused by the third person POV when it switches between Jules and Selene. It would take me out of the story and I had to reorient my perspective.

Jules Lacroix is 19 year old orphan/demon killer, trying to figure out who he is… and Captain Selene Alleva Artificer AKA The Butcher of Rome captures Jules as a deserter from the war. The banter is good between them. But it feels like I was dumped into the middle of a world I don’t know, during a war I have no investment in and following two characters that I have no interest in getting to know.

All my favorite tropes were present, however, the story was disjointed and took over halfway to pick up. The idea was there and would have been great if executed better and flowed together.

Btw, the cover art is AMAZING! I would have picked the book up for that alone.

The lore in the book is very thick in the beginning and takes a little wading to get through. I also think the pacing of the romance is slightly off, but setting that aside this is a fun fantasy romance. Love the descriptive parts of the prose. Would love to see more demon Anastasia Romanov in the future and I’m sure we will. Chevok’s twin has also yet to be fired so there’s that complication to look forward to as well. All in all I’m intrigued for more.

I really enjoyed the story, I loved Jules and I enjoyed watching him and Selene fall for each other but I did find myself getting distracted a lot and actually getting into the story took a bit and was overwhelming. I did also think about it a lot when I wasn’t reading so I know I definitely enjoyed it but I don’t think I would read it again.