This book was decent. Not my absolute favorite but still worth the time to read. I wish it was a tad shorter it felt quite long. I did enjoy the characters and plot. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Cruel is the Light had ALL the tropes I love—stabby heroine, enemies to lovers, slow burn romance, only one bed, exocists vs demons, forced proximity, fake engagement, and a dark, atmospheric setting in Rome. The premise? So unique. The main duo? Love them. But…the last 40% of this book kinda lost me. The plot felt scattered, and there were too many characters to keep straight and to much going on that just went right over my head and I had to force myself to finish the back half.

Top-tier moments:
“She was a Roman exorcist. Protector of humanity. And sometimes that meant forgoing hers.” – Selene
“May God protect me from lustful thoughts about Jules Lacroix.” – Selene
“Jules had no shades of gray. He was a light so bright it could blind. And he was a demon.”
“If you’re some old demon, why were you such a dumbass our whole lives?” -Jules

Still screaming over the fact that she’s an exorcist, and he’s a DEMON. The ultimate enemies-to-lovers slow burn, with all the angst and tension my heart can handle. If you love dark fantasy, sizzling romance, and the best character dynamics, this is for you. However, I would recommend paying attention to the glossary of characters and things at the beginning cause you will need it.

Oooo this was fun. This gave me Blue Exorcist vibes. I loved all the banter between the characters. I wish the some of the supporting characters were flushed out a little more than they were. Some of the scenes like at the ball were edited oddly, like almost choppy and rushed and I had a hard time following what was happening at points. But as far as plot goes, 5 stars. Can’t wait for the next book.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
# Pages: 496
Publication Date: 05.20.25

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

⚔️ YA Fantasy Romance
⚔️ Enemies To Lovers
⚔️ Demons VS Humans
⚔️ Corrupt Government
⚔️ Forbidden Love
⚔️ Found Family
⚔️ Dual POV
⚔️ Fake Engagement
⚔️ One Bed
⚔️ Forced Proximity

“Cruel Is The Light” by Sophie Clark is an epic fantasy about a demon hunter and a foot soldier that are thrown together in an old war. As well as a forbidden love that could change the course of history.

“It is said that love conquers all. But will it tear them apart?”

I really enjoyed the book. It was kind of slow and confusing at first. There was some jumping around and odd pacing. I did find the world building to be descriptive and great. It took place in Rome with a blend of magic, gothic type atmosphere, mythical creatures, romance and a splash of dark fantasy elements.

Once the character development kinda started, I felt like Jules and Selene (MMC and FMC) became lovable. Happy it was a slow burn because I did enjoy the build up. I still wish there was a little more to it but that’s a potential for the next book. I think that their romance and how it was written out in some scenes, should be more NA than YA. Other than that, I really enjoyed see how their story develops together.

Overall, I loved the originality and creativity that was displayed in the first book to the duology. I’m looking forward to the second book and seeing where she goes with it.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children’s | Knopf Books for Young Readers for this ARC copy.

aside from the fact that the MMCs last name is seltzer water and his birthday is the day of the attempted coup to overthrow america (that i will forgive bc the author Is Not American and his birthday and last name didn't ever matter), i really enjoyed this one! I love a book that contains heavy catholic themes, and while I wish this one went into a bit more into how catholicism is inseparable from guilt and the pressure to conform, I still liked it overall. I hope the next one goes more into what the college is, because it just came up at the end that they were seizing power, but I don't remember it ever really coming up previously as to what that is or why it's a bad thing outside of the FMC losing any inherent "ruling power" she had. but I looooved reading it set in rome with the dingy little demon underground. I'm intrigued to read the next one!

Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark
★★★

Thank you to Random House Teens and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cruel is the Light was a fun take on the Vatican/Catholic Church in a fantasy setting. It really gave life to an interesting power system with plenty of intricacies, but was badly executed as a whole.

I had a lot of fun getting to know our MCs, especially Jules (we STAN a bisexual MMC)! One thing I wish we got more of is a more immersive setting! I went to Rome last year and was sooo excited to read about a book set in Rome but... I didn't get much of Rome.

The last 40% of this book is where things really started to come undone. The plot line felt scattered, and there were some moments when I felt like the MCs were doing things that felt way out of character.

I think there was a lot of potential for some really powerful moments regarding their God, but this book failed to take advantage of those moments. It felt like some really shocking things happened that were quite glossed over.

Overall a fun read as a romantasy; but I really struggled with the pacing, structure and characterization.

This book was amazing! The world building was top tier and I absolutely loved the main characters in this book. The story was amazing and I could not put it down.

Cruel is the light has such a fascinating premise. In the city of Rome, demons and exorcists fight for control. We have a strong, feisty FMC and a troubled MMC, and all the elements for a really promising romantasy,

However… reading this was full of challenges for me:
The world building was a bit difficult for me to understand. So much lingo that was hard to wrap my head around. The relationship between Jules & Selene was sweet, but lacked depth - I’m still not really sure why they’re in love. So much more could be explored - hopefully we’ll get more of that in book 2. I did feel the plot was a bit disjointed throughout, making it clunky to read. There was also some dissonance in the tone of the story setting and the dialogue: in Rome with formality, a character will suddenly say “but… whatever” or “fml,” jarring me out of the setting completely. Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 rounded up

Slow-burn romance, stabby girl, exorcists and demons, the Vatican and Rome? Ugh /chef's kiss. Young Adult Romantasy so don't get your hopes up on the spice, it's mildly, and I mean mildly descriptive. There's cursing, smoking, and violence amongst other things.

I deducted the points because while I enjoyed parts of the world-building, the political scheming, and the plots with demons and exorcists, it was missed on the magic system and needed to be fleshed out a bit more. If you struggle with remembering things, I highly recommend flagging the beginning of the book/pages to reference throughout this debut.

You will enjoy our two characters, Jules and Selene. Their characters are more mature for their age and every intimate moment between them is a good time. I will say, however, Sparrow while you are a side character I love you the most and hope you all enjoy reading him as I did.

Thank you NetGalley & Publisher for the ARC. And yes, I do have a beautiful Waterstones copy in my library already!

Note to self: YA romantasy is not for me. And that’s okay! I think this book had a really excellent premise (and a BEAUTIFUL cover!) but the execution unfortunately failed to deliver. I do think this will be a hit for romantasy enjoyers though, and I’m excited to see it make its way into the world!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own :)

I am beginning to think that I have either outgrown the romantasy genre or the market has just become so saturated with trope driven plots - that miss their advertised mark - so everything seems to just blur together now. This was entertaining, but not memorable.

Cruel is the Light is an exciting fantasy set in a demon-infested ancient Rome, with great world-building that blends history and magic in a really cool way. The premise is unique, and the FMC, Selene, drives the plot with her determination and strength, battling demons like the bad ass she is. The first third of the book was very intriguing for me, after that it kind of felt like the story was dragging on…

The dual POVs add an interesting layer, though they can be confusing at times, and some fight scenes are hard to follow. I’m not saying the writing was bad, but I just don’t think it was really for me.

The book also plays with fun tropes like fake engagement, witty banter, and the reverse grumpy x sunshine dynamic, which adds charm. Jules, my boy, is a LISTENER. I love it when men just THINK and LISTEN before they do anything.

While the story has its flaws with pacing and clarity, the world-building and dynamic between Selene and Jules really saved this book for me.

Thank you NetGalley and RH for this ARC!

This book is the Da Vinci Code, with magic, done so, so much better. A corrupt Vatican, a war between exorcists and angels, forbidden love, magical blood, enchanted swords, masquerade balls and nuns with Gatling guns, and so much more. This book has a strong romance, excellent world building, religious themes of morality vs. obedience, good vs. nice, and morally grey characters. Honestly, I went into this expecting cotton candy and ended up with a crème brûlée. There are layers and subtleties and a well crafted plot. I want more people to read this.

Selene isn’t nice. She’s ruthless, practical, and good. She will do what it takes to kill a demon even if it means sacrificing one of her own team, or an orphan child, because the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. In a war against demons, she and other exorcists like her are all that stand between humanity and destruction, and she will follow her calling no matter what. That isn’t to say she won’t mourn for the child, or feel the guilt of a lost comrade, but she’s not — by nature — introspective. She’s someone who prefers to move and do than sit and think.

Jules, on the other hand, is very much a thinker. For all that he’s a killing machine, conscripted into the army when he was 15 and sent to the front line to kill demon after demon, he doesn’t like killing. When facing demons, his first thought is to talk, to question, to reason with as opposed to stab, and when given the knowledge that the Vatican may be wrong, may be the true evil in the world, he doesn’t accept it instantly — since it was, after all, a demon who said it — but he listens. Jules is very good at listening.

The romance between them is a slow burn, one of respect and trust and feeling like they’ve been seen, truly seen, by the other person. Selene has lost so much in her life, having witnessed her own father’s murder and the exile of her brother, forced into a school where she was encouraged to see everyone as competition. Jules, though, isn’t scared of her or her reputation, jokes with her, teases her with humor rather than cruelty. He supports her, treats her as a partner, and isn’t afraid to turn to her for help when he needs it.

Their relationship is so balanced and hones, and the characters feel real, with actual motivations that grow and change as they learn new information. Both Jules and Selene grow as people, and when the book finished I immediately wanted a sequel. I honestly hope this book finds its audience. It deserves it.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC!

I enjoyed this YA fantasy. I wouldn't quite clasify it as a romantasy like others are saying. I appreciated this having a unique storyline. I love good banter between the FMC and MMC and this one definitely delivered! Overall I had a good time with this read and recommend it for anyone looking for a slow burn with a little bit of the trope 'loathing to love'. The plot is mostly about the backstory of a complex 'magic' system ( I wouldn't really clasify it as magic, because it's very little magic involved) with different levels of demons.

I usually have a hard time with third POV, so I struggled reading this at times. I also struggled with all the world building. I know some people love it and it was done beautifully, but I struggle when it's still describing the world all the way to the end. It makes me want to start skimming to get back to the plot.

I really loved the MMC Jules and finding out his back story. I feel like the main character really should have been him. And I feel like first person POV would have suited this book so much more!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I waited a few days to write this review because I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump and I wanted to make sure my thoughts and feelings were accurate and not just because of the mood I’ve been in. Unfortunately, this was a huge disappointment. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. From the cover to the description, this sounded like the perfect book for me. In theory, it was. It had such great potential and I was really enjoying the world building. Everything else was just so flat. The characters were in a fake relationship, which is one of my favorite tropes, and there was absolutely no chemistry. I thought I could look past the dull romance because the world was so strong but the plot didn’t live up to what I wanted either. The beginning was action-packed and then for the entire middle portion of the book almost nothing happened. I kind of wanted to rate this higher because of the little elements I did enjoy but I couldn’t justify it for how little I actually liked. I think if you want this style of demon fighting in a more unique urban setting, some of the Shadowhunters series are similar, especially The Eldest Curses. This review sounds like I hated it, I didn’t. I was just let down by the potential. I probably won’t be continuing the series.

Disclaimer this was my first ever arc so I’m nervous about posting a fully honest review but here goes: I DNF’d at 42%. 😩

I wanted to love this book, I really did, it had everything I usually love within a paranormal/fantasy romantasy and yet it repeatedly failed to hook me. To the point where I kept setting new reading goals for myself- 15%, 20%, 35% but I’m finally cutting myself off at 42% to avoid throwing myself into another reading slump.

🛑 SPOILERS AHEAD 🛑

I think my biggest gripe with this book was the timeline. Almost half way through and I still couldn’t tell if this took place during modern day, 1920’s, or medieval Rome. The world building was relatively simple and yet somehow, at times, so complicated I repeatedly noted “huh?” In the margins of my kindle. What could have been an action packed war-torn romance fizzled out into lots of telling and very little showing. Selene and Jules are meant to be infamous fighters nicknamed “the Butcher of Rome” and “Scarred Killer” respectively. And while Selene is given several well choreographed battle scenes Jules only gets cut scenes from French trench warfare against a demon horde army which could have been so much more interesting. The dialogue was clunky and at times just odd? (Jules’ best friend -who’s younger than him- calls Jules “Boyo”??) and Selene was so apathetic towards Jules I couldn’t imagine her ever developing feelings beyond her insta-lust attraction. Don’t even get me started on the heavy emphasis on eyes. It took me back to my wattpad days— iykyk. burning intensity, the fact that at one point eye's are called "orbs", everything. There are so many ways to show a person's emotions beyond their eyes. The only redeeming factor for me personally, were the demon descriptions and their magical hierarchy. It’s genuinely the one thing that kept me invested until I decided to cut my losses because the romance and interpersonal relationships fell so flat for me.

All this being said, just because this book isn’t for me doesn’t mean it couldn’t be for you! If you like:
✨forced proximity
✨anime style fighting
✨unique and original paranormal fantasy
Then I highly recommend checking this out!

Thank you @netgalley and @/thesophclark for the opportunity to review this book!

2.5/5 stars
1/5 spice

Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark started off with an interesting premise, but quickly fell flat. I found that there were too many characters to keep track of and that the plot did not propel the story forward in a way that kept me engaged. Unfortunately, this book ended up not being for me.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I don't think I can express how much I loved this book. It was SO good. I took my sweet time reading it too, because I didn't want it to end. I love Jules, he's the ultimate MMC, and while I could lightly predict where his path might take him during my reading, there were still so many twists and turns I couldn't predict. I loved the setting of the story, and the alternative version of history with the Vatican army. It was so unique, and felt kind of similar to D. Gray Man with the hunting down of the demons. I can't WAIT for book two, it can't come fast enough!!!! A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads for release.

This is the kind of book that sinks its claws into you and doesn’t let go. Selene and Jules clash in the best way, their every interaction crackling with mistrust and something dangerously close to desire. The intrigue is gripping, the emotions run deep, and every twist makes you question who to trust. Impossible to put down and even harder to forget. Definitely looking forward to see what happens next.

Overall: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Plotline: 3/5
World-Building: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Tropes: MF Romance; Enemies to Lovers; Demon/ Demon Hunter

Themes: 3/5
Romance: 3/5
Spice Factor: 1
Enjoyment Factor: 3/5

Review: I saw the potential of this book. The premise was interesting, and I was excited for the book's first third. The beginning was a lot of world-building, which bogged down the story. The characters were okay, if not a little flat, and had no dimension to them, and it made their romance feel stale as if they had woken up one day liking each other, which was pretty jarring. The banter was fun and engaging and made me laugh aloud several times. I wanted to like this more than I did, unfortunately.