This novel had me hooked with its intense blend of dark romance and high stakes politics. The heroine is fierce and layered, grappling with loyalty and fear as her world shifts in dangerous ways. Watching her transformation from cautious to unguarded was gripping and deeply moving. The romance is tense and complicated. Every glance and every whispered promise felt electric. The stakes kept rising until the last page, delivering an ending that left my heart pounding.

If you crave bold heroines, morally gray dilemmas, and a love that defies rules, this will keep you turning pages long into the night.

Loved this book! Cathy and Heathcliff’s story was dark but very powerful. Cathy was like a wild spirit, strong but also fragile, and Heathcliff’s love for her was written beautifully. The book felt like a mix of romance, mystery, and thriller, with a spooky southern gothic atmosphere that kept me hooked. The family and religious conflicts made the story intense and sometimes hard to read, but very real. I liked how the characters fought to protect each other, even when things were very dangerous. The ending surprised me a lot and made me want to read more. Overall, it was an unforgettable and thrilling read. Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the book in advance, I received this for free and I'm leaving a honest review

I was quickly drawn into this book. The portrayal of Cathy as a banshee was beautiful, and her feelings and fears made her a very relatable character. Heathcliff is a necromancer with his own trauma, which is also well portrayed. They are very similar and deeply understand each other in a wonderful way. The way they heal each other is fantastically realized. I was so gripped by the ending that I couldn't put the book down!

Wuthering Heights meets the supernatural with plenty of spice.

Cathy has spent years hiding that she's a banshee because her father doesn't understand. All she wants is freedom, but she can't get away. Until Heathcliff. Stolen from his real family as a child, he's a Lockwood in name but not blood which allows him to cross the town line. Her father's twisted church is afraid of the clan of necromancers and what they might do about to old god trapped by their congregation. All they want is to be together, but the world seems determined to keep them apart.

Read if you like:
-Wuthering Heights
-Dark Romance
-Supernatural Beings
-Star-Crossed/Forbidden Love

TW/CW:
-Religious Trauma
-Abuse
-Gore/Death

Rebecca Kenney has done it again! I have never read Wuthering Heights (nor do I intend to) but I know enough of the plot to have a general idea of what might happen in this retelling. But then Rebecca went and completely blew me away with this book. I'm a bit squeamish so I did skip a few parts, but there was enough lead up to what was coming that I knew to skip.

My favorite thing about Ruthless Devotion is how perfectly Cathy and Heathcliff complement and complete each other. A banshee and necromancer make an amazing pair. I'm absolutely in love with their dynamic. It does tie in with the first two books in the series, but you could read it as a standalone. However, I enjoyed those books, so I recommend reading this whole series in order. I can't wait to see what Rebecca has planned next!

Rebecca Kenney does such a great job with story retelling. Her Character development and world building have me coming back for more. Book #3 was great!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

I'm sad to say that I really was not a fan of this book. The concept was great, the setting compelling, but that's about where the good parts end.
The chemistry between the two main characters was non-existent. Also, the whole "I need sex to drown out death" in the second chapter? Where's the tension?
I feel like there was so much info dumping trying to disguise itself as dialogue, as well. Whole monologues that felt so unnatural and inappropriate for the situations.
There were a few instances where the sentence structure didn't make sense, or the author named one character while meaning another.
Overall, I forced my way through a book that should have taken a day to read, when in reality it took me about a week.

Although I have never read Wuthering Heights & I don’t know a thing about the story/premise, the description of Ruthless Devotion still piqued my interest. I also haven’t read the first two books in the Gilded Monsters series, and as much as the story was easy to follow without reading them prior and they’re all interconnected standalones, once the characters from the first two books were introduced I was a little confused by who they were and what they could do.
I had fun reading this, and read it in a day. I really enjoyed the world building and pacing of the first half of the book, but towards the second half it felt a bit rushed and choppy. I still felt compelled to see what happens at the end, and there were a few little twists that I didn’t anticipate.
The southern gothic vibe really set the dark tone and the supernatural elements feel more unique than a lot of other books that fall in the same dark romance category. Heathcliff being a necromancer and Cathy being a banshee was a breath of fresh air after reading countless stories about the same old fae, vampires, etc.
While I do feel that the writing felt rushed and choppy at parts, some sentences and even paragraphs that stood out to me really left a lasting impact that left me rereading them multiple times before moving on, and even highlighting them to read for later which I don’t normally do.
I wasn’t at all expecting the spice to happen within the first few chapters of the book and have always thoroughly enjoyed a slow burn, but that first scene between Heathcliff and Cathy got me sweatin’. Their spicy scenes together don’t feel forced and it doesn’t feel too saturated with simply sex. They’re two souls who have felt so alone for so long who have finally found someone who makes them feel something - I liked the pacing of their romance despite it not being my normal cup of tea.
The cult-like actions of the church truly made me worry for the characters, and felt too close to home as someone who grew up in a very religious small town who felt a bit ostracized by some of my peers for not believing in their god.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this, although I don’t feel compelled to read the other books in the series.

I love retellings, especially with a unique twist, which <i>Ruthless Devotion</i> definitely gave me, with tons of passion and lots of gothic flair. This book not only took the original <i>Wuthering Heights</i> and flipped it upside down in its retelling, but it added a supernatural twist and added dashes of folklore to boot. I've personally been obsessed with the folklore surrounding the <i>Tuatha de Danaan</i> for years as they are linked to Irish culture and believed to be a supernatural race of god-like beings, or fairies with magical abilities and such. To say that I loved that it was woven into the fabric of this story is an understatement. 

All of the <i>Wuthering Heights</i> bones are there; Heathcliff and Catherine are still the main characters of this centuries old tale, along with the judgmental church goers, the creepy-gothic feel of the town, the abusive families, death and passion, but it's still just the bones. This is a different story with two very different people who happen to have the same name. Heathcliff and Catherine do fall for one another, on a level that is soul-deep and beyond words. Their love, ends up transcending the supernatural as it also delves into the mythological folklore part of the book.

How does something go beyond the supernatural...that is the brilliant part and twisted mix of this story. Heathcliff is a necromancer who has powers to revive the recently deceased. Cathy is a banshee whose driving purpose is to weep the loss of the deceased. Her power is to sense when death is looming and for a necromancer who profits off of giving someone a second chance at life, they could make a powerful team, or he could just use her and take all the profit for himself. That seems like a very Heathcliff-y thing to do. However, life is never easy and things are never that black and white, especially when these two have never met and they know nothing about the other or what their supernatural ability is, until their chance hook-up. Plus...this Heathcliff is not like the 1800's Heathcliff, which is quite wonderful. There isn't this deep need for revenge on Heathcliff's part, even though he's obsessed with Cathy, which is on-par, but it's a different kind of obsession. Cathy returns his love and isn't seeking social status or a future within their community, she wants to escape just as much as he does. These two face different hurdles than the 1800's version and thankfully this Heathcliff gets to be the good guy even though his supernatural power is reviving the dead. Trust me...it all works out.

Heathcliff and Cathy were the heart of the story while everything else around them was the gray rainy storm that eventually built into a hurricane. It was their heart that kept the beating pulse of the story moving and kept the pages turning. I will say, people who are not as familiar with Irish folklore, might have a hard time with some of the mythology, just because it's not as familiar like Greek mythology or the long-eared fae that are popular in romantasy books right now, but give this a chance and it might resonate. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advance review copy and all opinions are my own.

I am giving this review, having not read the previous books in the series. At the time of request, I did not realize it was a series. For someone coming in fresh, I don't think its super necessary to have read the previous books. I can tell at the end when the other characters arrive, that they were the previous stories but I don't think it hinders the reading experience.
I thought this book was good. The take on the gods, and the fmc being a banshee was different and unique.
I thought it was okay. It might have been a me, but I wasn't totally invested in the story. I don't know if I completely connected to Cathy. I think a lot of people will love this story because it gives gothic, dark vibes. The cult aspect as well was interesting. It's sad that her father and her aunt both were so committed to this religion that they would abuse and allow the unaliving of their child. They also got released and I don't know if that would be enough to change them. It was overall a good book, but for me, I wasn't emotionally invested in it.

*As a side note, I don't know if it was just a pre-edited copy I received or if this is actually how the book is going to published but there were a lot of dashes.... mid words. It felt very unnecessary? Some of them. There just seemed to be a lot of them. It didn't distract from the story but it was noticeable.

1.75 stars

This had potential, but was way too vague and wanted too much in the supernatural department. Now, this is the third book in a series of interconnected standalones, so there might be some context I missed by not having read the first two books, but I felt lost. Especially with all of these supernatural creatures that these characters are supposed to be. Now, a banshee and a necromancer, I get behind, but this cameo of Jay Gatsby and Dorian Grey - I'm guessing the love interests of the first two books in the series - with their vampirism and weird hybrid powers, but none of the worldbuilding simply made this whole thing messy and not well thought out.

The dialogue was pretty cringey, the overall writing was okay (exceptions: rizz and to rez (abbreviation of resurrecting)). I also feel like there was an opportunity missed to dive more into the fanaticism that rears its head in this book.

What I'm most confused about, however, was the retelling part. Retelling where? Why call it a retelling when the only things that refer to Wuthering Heights are the names? None of the personality traits were there, the paranormal aspects of it created this entirely different dynamic, a wholly different plot. So what was the reason?!

The romance wasn't that bad, but it wasn't good either. It started off with "chemistry" which was lots of telling, not showing. Then it started getting a little better and I was on board. But the book lost me again from the moment they started getting matching tattoos. The lust part was okay, but it absolutely failed to let these characters connect on a deeper level, which made their sacrifices during the last acts not make a whole lot of sense.

I really think this story had potential. It's just that this book could have done with a few more rounds of edits.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Rebecca Kenney for the opportunity to read an advance copy of <i>Ruthless Devotion</i>.

I was initially drawn to this book by its stunning cover and the intriguing premise: a blend of <i>Wuthering Heights</i>, Irish folklore, and a Southern Gothic setting. This was my first novel by Rebecca Kenney, and while it’s the third in a series, it was promoted as a standalone, which made me excited to dive in without needing prior background.

Ultimately, the story didn’t fully resonate with me. I tend to prefer romances that take their time, tension builds gradually and emotional connections feel earned. In this case, the early intimacy between the main characters made it harder for me to invest in their relationship or feel the depth I was hoping for. Additionally, the dialogue and prose often felt a bit underdeveloped. The writing leaned toward a more youthful tone that, while perhaps appealing to some readers, made it difficult for me to connect with the characters or take the dramatic moments seriously.

From what I’ve seen in other reviews, Ruthless Devotion has been a mixed experience for readers. Some were swept up in the atmosphere and bold choices, while others, like myself, were left wanting more cohesion and emotional payoff. I appreciate the originality of the concept and the ambition behind its genre-blending approach, even if this one wasn’t quite the right fit for me.

I forgot how much I love a good retelling story. This book just hit everything I was looking for and more! This is a dark, intense romance that pulls you in immediately. It has so much great tension, emotional depth, and characters. Rebecca has such a great way with writing that really sucks you in from the first page. There were a few times where the pacing slowed down in certain spots but overall this story and all the twists kept me me so engaged and wanting to see what would happen next. I couldn’t put this book down once I started. This was easily a 3.5 (rounded up to 4 star) star read for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

I went into this paranormal romance with a retelling of Wuthering Heights with hesitation. But I ended up loving it! It was my first read by Rebecca Kenney, and I definitely plan to pick up her previous books. The spice was so good, and it didn’t take away from the yearning. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an advanced copy.

This dark, Gothic retelling of Wuthering Heights was so good! This was my first Rebecca Kenney book and I will definitely be reading more. The world-building and character development were very solid and the writing was so gorgeous!

Dark, atmospheric, and addictively intense—this gothic Wuthering Heights retelling had me hooked. Cathy and Heathcliff are wild, chaotic, and magnetic in all the best ways, and the magical twist (plus the cult backdrop) added real weight and urgency to their story.

Some moments felt a little over the top, but overall this was a bold, unique read I couldn’t put down.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the advance copy!

As someone who loves Wuthering Heights I will read any retelling of it. A fast paced modern retelling of it with a lot of banter and tension, cult vibes, gods and plenty of spice.
Fast burn, some dark themes and elements and the protagonist being able to sense death coming.

Third book into an interconnected standalones series of retellings that can be easily read on its own!

Wuthering Heights meets True Detective Season 1 with way more spice than a night requiring confession

Oh I finally understand Heathcliff and Catherine, and honestly, Wuthering Heights needed some spice. Kenney captured my attention fully with this novel of necromancy and religion. Heathcliff is dreamy. Catherine is caught between a rock and a hard place; her character is so interesting. Highly recommend this read.

This book gave me the biggest ick. It just felt so childish and was just ewww. Plus, it’s a crime against Wuthering Heights. It offends itself.
1

This one surprised me—in a good way. The plot was super interesting. The girl is a monster, but not your usual fae/shifter/vamp situation. It’s something different, darker, and honestly way harder for her to hide. Her life is already a mess, but it gets worse when her church (which is super culty about old gods and other supernatural stuff) starts getting even creepier.

Cliff, the MMC, seemed like he was going to be a decent love interest—he had potential—but felt a little surface-level compared to the FMC, who had way more depth and internal struggle.

I was fully into it until the very end, where it suddenly felt like everything exploded. So many new characters showed up out of nowhere, and the pacing became chaotic real fast. It just felt rushed.

It was also genuinely hard for me to get through the church scenes—not because they were boring, but because they felt too real. Uncomfortable in a way that kind of stuck with me.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC!

This was enjoyable and I do believe others will like this book as well!