I really wanted to love this book because it had so much going for it—a brutal war between humans and demons, a cool magic system with exorcists and different demons, and plenty of political intrigue. But the execution fell flat for me. The pacing was all over the place, and the plot felt disjointed and confusing. At times, it seemed like the demons attacked the plot itself because there wasn’t much to follow.

Selene, the supposed “Butcher of Rome,” felt way underdeveloped—I never really saw why she was so feared or powerful. Jules was definitely the highlight: charming, brave, and fun to read, but even their relationship lacked real chemistry, except for a few moments on a train. Honestly, Jules had more spark with another character than with Selene. The fake engagement and grumpy-sunshine dynamic started well but fizzled quickly.

The writing was complicated and repetitive, making it hard to keep up, and so many characters were introduced only to be killed off quickly without much emotional impact. The side characters and some of the early demon scenes were interesting, but the story never fully grabbed me. It had potential but missed the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I am incredibly conflicted about how to rate this one - it was an anticipated read of 2025 for me, but what I read didn't align with what I had expected. The writing felt off to me; the descriptions seemed wholly fake and contradictory to the way they were described, and the dialogue was just plain dull. It didn't feel like natural conversations between characters and instead felt as though it was words place in quotation marks. The world building also was not great and quite frankly the glossary did absolutely nothing to help with understanding the world. It was for sure something that needed to be focused on a bit more to really make it work.

This book also started off FAST! There was a lot of action right at the start and then it slowly just... ended? Was rather strange to me, but it did keep me reading.

I mainly just loved Jules - Jules is brave and kind. Selene is a beautiful fierce woman and they made a really incredible pair! Where she's soft, he's not, and vice versa which was really fun to read and explore as the characters learned that about themselves as well. Their banter was fun and witty and I LOVED how Sophie Clark wrote the dual POV's and had them switching back and forth within the same chapter which allowed you to read both perspectives - I wish more books would do that!

Overall, I liked the book - I enjoyed it for what it was but wish that there had been more development and fine tuning to make it an epic novel.

This was a quick read for me. Honestly it felt a little like a cross from the animes Demonslayer and Vanitas, which I loved. Cruel Is the Light is a good start for a new series with interesting magic and worldbuilding, though it is very light on these aspects (I really want a deeper dive into these for the next books)

I loved the two leads. Selene is a bit of a grump, but Jules was a great counter to her. Sparrow was also very intriguing and I can't wait to see more of him along with the rest of the crew.

The most fascinating part for me was the little glimpses of the demon hierarchy and what it truly is. I really wanted more of that, but I expect the second book will reveal much more. I look forward to continuing the series and seeing how Selene and Jules struggle with their new world views.

Cruel is the Light is the epitome of a three star book, and I mean that in the most positive and negative sense possible. I’m genuinely so stumped on how to rate this book because I don’t understand how a book could be simultaneously interesting and so, SO frustrating.

The most positive thing I can say is that the vibes of this book are immaculate because Clark really delivered on the demon-hunting Vatican setting. It’s kind of like if The Infernal Devices took place in late 19th century Rome and was more romantasy than fantasy, if that makes sense. The worldbuilding is definitely a little under-explained in the book because it lets the glossary and cast of characters do the heavy-lifting in the beginning (which definitely was a little irritating since we shouldn’t be relying on glossaries for information), but once the alternate demon-hunting religion was explained a bit further it definitely intrigued me. I loved the idea that the current demon-hunting religion with the Deathless God is implied to have supplanted Roman Catholicism once “God” came to Earth to defend humans and lives in a perpetual state of passion, but I wished Clark could have made this a little clearer in the book and expanded upon the framework. There’s lots of references to “the old religion” (aka Roman Catholicism) but I wasn’t really seeing how that framework was reworked to encapsulate the Deathless God and demon-hunting aspect. I understand that Clark was likely trying to avoid real-life parallels between her fictional religion and irl Roman Catholicism, but I think the worldbuilding would have been more interesting if she’d gone a bit more in-depth and worked the fictional religion into Catholicism, especially if things like St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican necropolis exist in the book.

I have a love-hate relationship with the actual plot and characters. I’ve never been a huge romantasy reader because I find most of the genre too derivative and the tropes shoehorned in, so I found it best to just turn off my brain and enjoy the trope-y fluff in this book. It checks literally all the romantasy microtrope boxes, from knife to throat to sexually/romantically-charged sparing to the FMC’s tight fighting leathers to the MMC in a wet shirt. It’s all a bit silly, but I had fun if I just let myself ignore the irrationality of it all. Thankfully, this book didn’t feel overstuffed in every trope under the sun because Clark successfully spaced them out with more thoughtful investigations of religious fanaticism and trauma. The main characters Selene and Jules were both serviceable leads and had decent compatibility, though I didn’t feel a deep connection with either because a lot of their trauma and interiority is told (rather than shown) to the reader. Even though Selene doesn’t quite live up to her violent reputation as the Butcher of Rome on page, she was definitely uncompromising and wasn’t afraid to make difficult but practical tactical decisions. I enjoyed how Jules was able to challenge her black-white morality, but I wish it was also reciprocal because I felt Jules didn’t change or emotionally grow as much as Selene. All in all, the plot and characters are just serviceable—nothing awful or bland, but also not very complex or interesting outside of their archetypes…kind of like the rest of this book lol.

Where this book really faltered was the aimless writing and inconsistent pacing. It took literally 30% of the book for the two characters to even meet, and the intrigue of their first meeting was immediately stifled by over five chapters of them having a prolonged conversation on a train. This book is on the longer side for YA fantasy, and while I’m all for long books that use the extra word count to delve deeper into the themes, Cruel is the Light remained frustratingly surface-level. There’s dozens of prolonged, meaningless conversations between characters that really could have been streamlined as well as random descriptions and flashbacks that completely took the flow out of the scene. The pacing improves in the second half of the book once, you know, the actual plot that was promised in the synopsis starts happening, but it really shouldn’t have taken twenty chapters to get there. My patience was wearing thin in the beginning after chapters upon chapters of set-up and random character introductions (only for them to get killed off or transported to some irrelevant, far off location), and even the (predictable) plot twists didn’t truly capture my attention. If this wasn’t an ARC I probably would have DNF’d in the first 20%, which is ultimately a shame because I found the second half to be quite interesting and with better pacing (though the build-up to the climax and the final fight scene were also inexplicably long). If Clark had cut 10k words, this book would have been much tighter and more intriguing.

There’s also quite a few debut author mistakes that I’d be willing to overlook had Clark not been given the word count she was. A debut YA fantasy over 400 pages is literally a gift, so I can’t understand why there wasn’t more efficient use of all the extra pages/words. Instead, spends way too much time introducing characters, locations, and other general worldbuilding mythology that has no purpose outside of a scene or two. I understand that this world is epic and international in scope, but it’s really not necessary to have as many characters introduced by name as this book did. The bright side is that I didn’t end up DNF’ing (I was on the verge so many times) because Clark just barely managed to keep things interesting, but I would have expected more from an author—even a debut one—who had as many editors and resources poured into a book marketed as the next big YA romantasy. At its core, this book has all the right elements, but there was simply too much fluff for me, and as a debut author, I’m not familiar enough with Clark’s writing style to give her much leeway.

Speaking of YA romantasy, I’m a little confused about this book’s age categorization. I think the publisher did a decent job at specifying there’s crossover potential, but this book felt more like adult with mature YA crossover appeal (and not the other way around). There’s a generous amount of profanity, smoking, and one short but open-door sex scene that felt like this book was trying to be edgy YA instead of a romantasy with a dark thematic edge. I would have loved to see a version of this book that was written more for adults with YA crossover appeal (a la Daughter of the Moon Goddess) because the content would have felt more appropriate and thoughtful rather than edgy. It would have also allowed for a deeper and darker investigation of the religious commentary, which I was really clamoring for as Selene began to question her zealotry.

Overall, I’m pretty ambivalent about this book (as the insane length of this review indicates) because it was somehow good but not lol. I’ll probably read the sequel because Clark clearly has interesting ideas and complex concepts, but there’s still a *lot* of room for improvement for the technical execution (writing, pacing, etc.) of a story. At the end of the day, I stuck with this book and finished it, so that’s got to count for something, right…?

3/5 stars
Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House Children’s) for the e-ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Huge thanks to Random House Children’s / Knopf Books for Young Readers for the eARC via NetGalley 💌

✦ tropes:
🔮 Demon Wars
🥀 Forbidden Love
🔮 Fake Engagement
🥀 Enemies-to-Lovers
🔮 Dual POV (Third-Person)
🥀 Gothic / Vatican Secrets

Had a lot of potential for themes and tropes I tend to love in books. This was incredibly slow paced and the characters unfortunately did not hit for me. The executions was a bit off for me. The romance reads a bit more New Adult than Young Adult, which was a win for me. Overall it wasn't for me but I think if you enjoy the pacing and connect with the characters, it could be a win for others.

*Thank you to Random House Children's and NetGalley for this eARC; the review is my own.*

3.5 stars

I really wanted to like this book more, truly I did. The premise sounds fantastic, and the cover art is beautiful. But it was just so chaotically written that the story and the timeline was difficult to follow. Just when I'd think I was figuring things out, everything would get confusing again. I found myself going back and repeating sections just to figure out what had happened. It's really quite sad since I liked the characters and the story was compelling. The execution wasn't the best. That said, I will likely read the sequel anyway because I'm interested enough to see where it goes and how it ends.

Although this is marketed as a young adult book, I wouldn't classify it as one, at least not in the way that "young adult" has become synonymous with "teen" in terms of literature. Selene (17) was a high-ranking exorcist for the Vatican (she was nicknamed the Butcher of Rome), and Jules (19) was a soldier in the infantry. To be honest, they both felt like they were in the early 20s instead of late teens. I liked them together and appreciated the lengths they went to in order to protect one another. The brief suggestion of another possible love interest for Jules was totally unnecessary, in my opinion. It came out of nowhere and felt forced.

I found the different ranks of demons to be interesting, as was the . . . shall I say misplaced mythology of the exorcists' deities? I still have a lot of questions, but I'm not sure how many of those are because they've been intentionally left unanswered for the sequel and how many of them are things that were just plain confusing. Either way, I'll add the sequel to my interest list and keep an eye out for it.

How it ends: (view spoiler)

Language: Yes, including f words
Violence: Mostly fantasy type, but a guy gets his arms ripped off, demons get branded
Drugs & alcohol: Drinking, smoking (gross)
Physical intimacy: Some semi-open door sex scenes
LGB: At least two gay/bi characters

3.5/5 stars

Summary: In a world ravaged by a century-long war between humans and demons, two elite warriors—Selene Alleva, a Vatican-trained exorcist, and Jules Lacroix, a fearsome orphan soldier—are forced into an uneasy alliance. As a cover for their investigation into a wave of strange demon attacks, they enter a fake engagement and travel to Vatican City. Amid mounting danger and buried secrets, Jules begins to question his identity, while Selene must choose between her growing love for him and her sacred duty.

This is the first book in the Cruel Light duology, and I didn't love it, nor did I hate it. The premise is quite cool - demons and demon hunters, with the descriptions of "normal humans" being used as wartime collateral. The Vatican is a great example of a corrupt government and how the viewpoints of a few powerful people can effectively change an entire belief system. The opening to this book, before Selene and Jules actually meet, had me on the edge of my seat and read as a horror/action novel. However, the pacing significantly slowed, making it tough for me to follow the story. I could make out the general plot, but the small moments sometimes felt disjointed, which had me going back a couple of pages each time to make sure I hadn't zoned out and missed something. The chemistry, especially coming from Jules, was great and felt like it grew throughout the story, which I like much better than insta-lust (which, okay, they were attracted to each other right away, but it took time to take some barriers down). I also liked the majority of the side characters, especially Sparrow, but there were a bit too many names for me to keep track of.

Will I be reading the second book? Sure - like I said, I really enjoyed the concept.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House, and Sophie Clark for allowing me early access to an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a former Catholic, all the biblical references were fun. I enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the novel and was totally shocked by what was in the church. I first thought that Selene didn't want to go in because she didn't like the whole church aspect of being an exorcist but... damn, I wouldn't want to go in either if the body of an immortal was in the church. Part of what bugged me was the character descriptions in the beginning and how one of the girls Bernadette (? I think was her name) was mentioned but then died ten pages in. I didn't think she needed to be on that list if she literally wasn't going to be mentioned literally anywhere else. I also didn't appreciate how Selene literally sacrifices her teammates arm just so she doesn't have to use her power. I don't like anyone who wouldn't try to help someone else, even if it's at their own cost. She is their Captain, their leader and it felt like she was sacrificing them "for the greater good".

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

4.5 stars — kicking myself for not reading this sooner because this was so original and intriguingly action-packed!

i believe this is the first time i’ve ever read a YA fantasy novel revolving around the vatican, and cruel is the light takes catholicism as those familiar with it and spins it on its head.

cruel is the light is full of secrets and betrayal from religious leaders and family, demonic magic, and perhaps my favorite trope enemies to lovers (exorcist vs demon)

i’m excited for book two!!

not to mention my fairyloot edition is gorgina

Selene is a holy warrior with a heart encased in Vatican steel. Jules is a battlefield golden boy with a past full of shadows and secrets. Put them in the same room? Sparks. Put them in a fake engagement while investigating apocalyptic demon attacks? Immediate romantic combustion. Neither of them is prepared for what they’re feeling—or what they’re about to uncover.

This book has it all:
⚔️ Knife-to-throat banter
🔥 Tension so thick you could exorcise it
💔 The slowest of slow burns
🩸 A world of demons, secrets, and moral grayness
💍 A fake fiancé plotline that is violently unholy in all the best ways

What sets it apart is how deeply it commits to its themes: love vs. duty, truth vs. legacy, and the aching terror of wanting someone you were trained to destroy. Jules and Selene are so doomed and so in love, it physically hurts—and you will absolutely thank the book for hurting you.

If you like your romance forbidden, your battles epic, and your protagonists permanently one moment away from either kissing or stabbing each other, this is your next obsession.

Enemies to lovers? More like blasphemously fated.

The premise of this book was really interesting. I loved the demons versus the demon hunters based in Rome. The book was very atmospheric.

The writing was easy to read and the character development was done well so I was invested in each main character. However, I wish there was more development in the relationships.

It was a fun read but it was missing that addictive quality.

3.5 stars!

This was very fun! My favorite parts were definitely the religious aspects and investigation. I also liked the reinterpretation of Ancient Rome and Medieval Europe. I do think the pacing was a bit odd at parts, and I didn't really buy into the romance, but I think the plot and the setting really made up for that. I'm still very interested and would be open to reading the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book felt overly ambitious. The writing style, pacing, and genre all clash, resulting in a work that has potential and missed the mark. It feels like there's so much meat missing, but the book is still 450 pages. While the premise is interesting, the novel just feels so surface level and shallow that it wasn't particularly engaging.

Rating: ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ .5

Cruel Is the Light is the first in an epic fantasy novel duology about a demon hunter and a foot soldier during a war amongst demons. Selene Alleva is a high-ranking exorcist who crosses paths with Jules Lacroix, an orphan who is incredibly skilled in fighting and was recruited to the Vatican.

I want to talk about a few things I really enjoyed about this book. The way Jules kept fawning over Selene at any moment he could (Especially when he had a knife to his throat? Okay, period). Seeing the side of Selene that apparently no one knew about, except for Jules. And of course, the enemies to lovers trope.

I love a dual POV, but at times I was confused as to what was happening and how it all tied together. There were times where I had to reread a page because some things just jumped out of left field.

It may have been better to separate this into a three book series… It seemed as if there was a lot of information dumping here. I can’t believe I’m saying this but, I wish I knew a little less? I love finding out about new magic and plot twists, but it’s almost like the information was just handed to me on a silver platter. I want to be shown and not always told.

In all, I feel that it had a really great concept. The vibe and the world building is what pulled me in the most. I liked the magic system and that it fed into how the main characters felt and acted. This could have been better if there was just a bit more editing.

Thank you Random House Children’s | KnopfBooks for Young Readers for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I am sure "Cruel is the Light" has its fans, I couldn't quite get over the "God created demons" part. I just found myself scoffing at that so much. It was literally the beginning of the book. When we read the apocrypha and the bible, we learn that Elohim created man and woman. Woman slept with messengers aka the Watchers or Angels. Thus, the creation of giants happened and when those giants died, they became evil spirits who torment beings on earth. After I read that initial statement, I just could not take this book seriously.

Thank you NetGalley, the author, and publisher for this arc!

dnf @ 20%

i will put myself into a reading slump if i force myself to keep reading. there might be some interesting world building here, but it’s buried under so much pretentious drivel that i just don’t care. we’re told the MCs are elite soldiers and i guess we’re just supposed to take the author’s word for that because these two do a whole lot of meandering for two people in the middle of a war. where was the urgency?

anyway, very much not for me ✌️

Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark.
*sighs* I think the one star is more of a statement then zero stars, so…here we are.

No one is more disappointed than I was in my rating of this book. I got the ARC sometime in January, and then a Fairyloot edition of it a few weeks later as well. Both the trade cover and the Fairyloot edition are stunning. I would have bought both for the cover alone. The Fairyloot edges are beautiful, the endpapers breathtaking, the naked hardcover magical; everything about this book should have been perfect, if not borderline divine. I feel so…disheartened right now. I haven’t wanted to read another anticipated release or blind buy another book since finishing this disaster. Demon hunting roman exorcists? Not to mention badass nun exorcists? Cruel is the Light rekindled my Cassandra Clare and Da’ Vinci Code days real fast! To be so wrong— My five-star anticipation meter was through the roof, and now I feel betrayed and distrusting of my own gut.

Thinking about this book even now makes me so freaking mad. The further I got, the more I seethed. At one point, I threw this farce across the room and then glared at my copy when I didn’t see any real, visible damage. The only reason I am keeping it on my shelf is to do some hate reels in the future.

I am so upset and incensed with rage because this book is, as Alexandria Kinsey put it, is “borderline (if not completely) sacrilegious.” I am a Christian, and this book was distasteful and blasphemous no matter which way you look at it. I am not typically very picky when it comes to what I read. Fantasy, sci fi, gothic, historical fiction, new adult, adult, gods, monster, demon books even, I have tried almost everything (even if it goes against my beliefs) more than once and avidly, so if I am saying this book is bad, ITS BAD. I think the difference here was that no matter what I read, it is always evidently fiction. The “deathless god” felt like a mockery of those of us in faith. Quoting Kinsey again, “the ‘deathless god’ was too rooted in the Christian God for comfort. The parallels got worse and worse as the book progressed and I have 0 ability to DNF or I would have several times.” Me too, girl. Me too.

To be honest, this book got bad once it was announced Julian was full blooded demon. I thought he was half and half, which would have opened up for a good vs evil trope where he would’ve had to grapple with which side of himself would win, the good or the bad? Instead, he started heavily flirting with a gay man (where did that even come from OR fit in?), found out the “deathless god” was the highest-ranking demon, and to top it all off, EVEN WHEN SERENE FINDS OUT THE DEATHLESS GOD IS A DEMON, SHE STILL REFERS TO IT AS GOD. I cannot morally pick up the conclusion to this duology and face my God, the rightful God, the following day.

I guess it's true when they say the devil can be beautiful, as he was once God's favorite and a fallen angel. Cruel is the Light has his demonic claws embedded so deep within I am not sure the two could be separated if you tried. It was not a pleasure being inside your head, Ms. Clark. I hate this book with every fiber of my being. It makes my blood boil. But, I also feel sad for you and that this is what you believe. If you have even a tiny mustard seed of faith in your veins, dear readers, I implore you to stay away. Between The Immortal Instruments incest trope and now Cruel is the Light mockery, I am going to just write my own book that intertwines magic and Christianity tastefully.

this book has anime in its dna through and through -- from the vibrant cast of quirky individuals to the illustrious action scenes. unfortunately, the central relationship ruined the rest of the book for me. selene and jules lose their shine whenever they are together, and i absolutely cannot stand the insta-love/lust behaviour from them both. i recognize that they're teenagers, but they're also described as these badass heroes so... i was expecting a little bit more maturity. in addition, the plot was rapidly losing me as soon after the central relationship was established, it was meandering with no real tension nor direction to keep me invested.

Cruel Is The Light still has all the potentials of being an amazing read, i have no doubt that i will find its readers.

2.75 stars?

Thank you Knopf Books for Young Readers, NetGalley, and Dahlia (ofpagesandprint)/Musing of the Nine Book Club for this eARC!

Cruel is the Light caught my attention and had me excited with the interesting introduction to the world building and characters: Vatican power hold, death of God, demons and exorcists. Unfortunately, once the two main characters, Jules and Selene, met, the story went downhill for me. I felt like they both had a 180° switch in personality going from intriguing battle-harden characters to flirtatious puppy-eyed characters. I wanted to know more about the world. I know romance is the main viewpoint of romantasy, and I’m finding this genre probably isn’t for me? I felt there were too many introductions to intriguing world building, plot stories, and dynamics that were left dangling and weren’t seen again once they left the page. War front? What war after the characters leave the country side. It felt disjointed.

Furthermore, this is the first time I’ve had the sense while reading that the tropes in this book were here only for favorability and not because it’s what the plot called for.
- fake dating: how do you expect Jules to easy impersonate an officer that he just met only a few minutes ago (also why were Selene and Eliot “engaged” when it seemed like a joke until everyone suddenly believed it?
- One bed: felt unnecessary when first introduced
- Knife to throat practice scene: they fought for like a page and it wasn’t really practicing or showing off skills?

There were a couple scenes, including the knife to throat practice scene, that weren’t written clearly and I had to reread several times to make sure I understood what was going on. One being when they see God for the first time, and they are crying blood from their tear ducts and such. Also some of the writing for the older characters was more juvenile.

Overall, the romance took over the plot, and weakened the foundations of the this story for me.

This did NOT live up to the hype!! When I heard about this book I was so intrigued and the cover is stunningggg. The pacing of the story felt so off as if the characters were disconnected to what was happening around them??? Like aren’t yall suppose to be at war?? Didn’t connect with any of the characters either. Honestly just a flop