I haven't read Wuthering Heights, so I can't speak to that comparison. I also didn’t realize this was the third book in a series, but I was still able to follow along just fine without reading the first two.

Ruthless Devotion is set in South Carolina, where folklore runs deep and people work hard to keep the demons at bay. I really enjoyed the magical creatures and all the folklore woven into the story — but honestly, I felt that part got a bit overshadowed by all the smut. I don’t mind spice in a book, but in this case I found myself wishing for more insight into the world and how everything works.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

I am a sucker for a good retelling, especially one that adds new elements like this one does. While I haven't read the original Wuthering Heights, Ruthless Devotion brings all the yearning, star-crossed love anyone could ask for. It is very heavy on insta-lust, which quickly turns into insta-love. While not my favorite tropes, I do appreciate their use here

This book is a part of interconnected stand-alones in the Gilded Monsters universe, so while not necessary to enjoy the story, I would recommend reading the first two books, as they provide some background on other characters that appear

A Supernatural Storm of Emotion, Lust, and Love
If you love stories that grab you by the collar and refuse to let go, this one’s for you. Packed with razor-sharp wit, sizzling tension, emotionally tortured characters, and lightning-fast pacing, this book checked every box for me. The short chapters? Chef’s kiss—they kept me tearing through pages like my life depended on it.
Series Context (Don’t Sweat the Order) Although it’s part of a series, you can absolutely dive in without reading the previous installments. Sure, there are some character references sprinkled throughout, but each book features its own standalone storyline and cast. So if you’re a series rebel like me, go forth and read fearlessly!
Characters That Hit Hard Told in dual POV (my personal favorite), the story drops you into the stormy minds of two unforgettable leads. It's a supernatural new adult romance—with roots twisting back to Wuthering Heights. I haven’t read the original, but I can confidently say this reimagining is electric. Think gods, goddesses, cultish shadows, and enough spice to summon thunderstorms.
The heroine? She’s chaos incarnate—in the most glorious way. Raw, grieving, hungry for more than what life has handed her. I wanted to wrap her in bubble wrap and whisk her away from everything cruel in her world.
The hero? He’s not your typical dark-and-dreamy heartthrob. Rough-edged, emotionally wrecked, and self-deprecating to the bone. His voice is all grit, perfectly setting the mood for the wild emotional ride ahead.
That Romance Though... When they come together, it's not gentle sparks—it’s an uncontrollable wildfire. Their bond is obsessive, tangled, and painfully beautiful. It’s the kind of love that feels like destiny, not choice. The chemistry pulses off the page, alternating between heart-melting sweetness and gut-twisting intensity.
As secrets unravel and emotional walls crumble, we’re pulled into their trauma, their pasts, and what shapes them. It’s messy and haunting—and I adored every aching minute of it.
This isn’t just a book—it’s a fever dream. One I’ll happily fall back into anytime.

This book had everything I didn’t even know I needed—southern gothic vibes, creepy cult secrets, and a romance that’s as unhinged as it is meant-to-be. If Wuthering Heights had a baby with The Vampire Diaries and raised it on dark fairy tales and smut, Ruthless Devotion would be it.

Rebecca Kenney brings a whole new kind of magic to a classic in this twisted, wildly original retelling. The Lowcountry swamp setting? Chef’s kiss. Dark, haunting, dripping in death and mystery—you can practically feel the humidity and hear Cathy screaming through the trees. Gothic romances aren't my usual genre but I had a lot of fun reading this!

And Heathcliff… whew. He’s raw, obsessive, a complete emotional disaster, and yet somehow completely magnetic. This is an insta-smut book where the emotions come later but when things finally go there, it’s intense (although maybe feels a bit too fast for such strong feelings). Overall, it's tender and hot and messy in all the best ways.

Also, the little crossover cameos from Kenney’s other books?? SO fun. Spotting familiar faces made everything feel even more alive (or undead 👻).

If you’re into dark, chaotic love stories full of southern folklore, forbidden romance, and twisted fairy-tale energy, Ruthless Devotion will absolutely devour you.

“𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞.”

“𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐟 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭”

“𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞.”

-If you like dark humour, creepy folklore and feral scenes then you might like this one.-

This story is unlike other retellings I’ve read. Specifically the banshee lore! I love all things deep in folklore, macabre and dark retellings so this was an easy pick up. Plus the cover is beautiful.

Going into this, I struggled to stay immersed with certain writing passages at the beginning.
In saying that, the story progressively got more intense, darker, and I actually did not see the twists coming. Which is what you want!

It was fast paced, with messyyyyy twists (almost reminiscent to Riverdale in some aspects) and dark. I loved the dark and absolute feral scenes.

The characters I’d say are quite eccentric which made them intriguing. I understand why there have been a mixed reviews and an overall consensus of the current stars. But I did enjoy this, particularly the end.

Thank you for the arc SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and Rebecca Kenney. Out July 22nd 🖤

[ ✩ 3.5 ]
[ 🌶️ 4 ]

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
4.5/5 stars.
Wuthering Heights retelling with magic? Say less.
Honestly I ALMOST stopped reading at the very beginning when the author used the slang word "rizz". 1- I am too old for Gen Alpha slang. 2- This type of language dates the book. In a few years it will seem old and out of touch. Best not to use modern slang in writing.
I pushed through though and am SO GLAD that I did. This story takes Wuthering Heights, adds a dash of Irish/Gaelic mythology, a big dash of spice, and a HEA and makes a swoonworthy and bingeworthy novel. I am now planning to read Rebecca Kenney's other titles.

Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me.

Ruthless Devotion is marketed as a Wuthering Heights retelling with a paranormal twist set in rural Texas, which initially sounded like an intriguing, gothic horror-esque romance. However, it seems the only inspiration from the source material are the characters’ names. The gothic horror tone I was expecting didn’t really come through.

I made it to about 45% before skimming very quickly through to the end. The writing is quite simple, and both the characters and the romance fell flat and lacked substance. It didn’t feel much like a romance at all, and I struggled to connect with anything in the story. It just didn’t quite hit the mark for me personally.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

First of all I did not know that Ruthless Devotion was the third book in the series, at least according to Goodreads, when I requested the ARC for it. There was no indication in the description at all. With that said, I don't think it prevented me from understanding what was happening in the story. I wanted to like the story because I enjoyed the magic system. However, I could not get into it at all. I also didn't connect to the characters and I found the pacing of the story super slow.

I'm not sure if my experience would be different if I had read the other books first, but I think that this is just an instance of my taste not lining up with how the author writes. There's clearly a lot of love for the book and I think it's still worth seeing if it's one you'll enjoy.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This Wuthering Heights retelling grabs a powerful grip on the reader and refuses to let go. We see what happens if Catherine had never married Edgar Linton and also if they had the dynamics of a fantasy world filled with resurrected gods and fantastical church members. The world is heavy and complex as is Cliff and Cathy's relationship. I also thought it was especially darling of Kenney to include other strong literary character names as feature characters. I thought this retelling was sharp and the plot curious. The ideas of resurrecting a god and old world powers blended straight into a modern storyline was excellently assembled.

I read an ARC of this book, and I want to preface by saying I had no idea it was the second book in what seems to be a series. With that being said, I had a few moments where I felt like had I read book 1, things would have made more sense, but not to the point where I couldn’t understand what I was reading or make sense of the story. I just didn’t have clear context on some of the characters from book 1 (if that makes sense). Aside from those small moments, I enjoyed this book so much. It was a perfect mixture of grotesque and beautiful. It was darker than I expected, but also had me consuming until the early hours of the morning because I was on the edge of my seat needing to know what happened next. And don’t even get me started on the passion between the two main characters… HOT is an understatement. It was rough and wild from the jump and I enjoyed their banter so much as well. This book was so unique and well done that I will definitely be going back to read book one, and no doubt will continue on with book 3+ as they release. If you’re looking for something sort of dark and twisted that also has a small spin on the classics you love, definitely check these out!

This book was really not for me.
I did not finish reading it as it was a bit much for my taste.
I did not know what to expect but the language was strong and seemed very smutty. Didn't know how much there would be as I haven't checked so maybe it was my fault for choosing it to read.

Rebecca never disappoints. These retellings are everything! The characters from the previous books so make an appearance and I would definitely recommend reading the previous two before reading this one.

This book was honestly so good. It’s the first thing I have ever read by this author and it’s safe to say I was not disappointed, I love a retelling and I absolutely loved the characters in this book, the chemistry between them and the witty back and forth between them was amazing. I love the authors writing style too. The only reason that I didn’t give this book 5 stars is because I would liked to have waited a bit more than until chapter 2 for a spicy scene even though I understand why it happened like that and I also wish I had read the others in the series first as I felt like I was missing bits. I cannot wait to read other books by this author and will definitely be recommending this to people

I’m a sucker for modern retellings, and this Wuthering Heights-inspired story absolutely delivered. With sharp banter, steamy tension, angsty characters, and short, fast-paced chapters, it’s everything I love in a romance. You don’t need to read the series in order—each book stands on its own. I’ll keep reading as long as this author keeps writing!

I didn't realize this book had so much smut until I started reading. And listen, I ain't got anything against smut, you do you, have your fun, but I don't enjoy reading it. So I had to DNF the book because I knew I'd just drag reading it. So I'm giving it 3 stars because it wouldn't be fair to give less than that, but I did not enjoy the little I read, so... yeah.

thank you Netgalley for the e-arc, loved the book. was hooked from the start. something completely different from my normal fantasy/romantacy reads. will have to read the other books from Rebecca. highly recommend "Ruthless Devotion". 🌶️🌶️🩷

And going to create a video on Tiktok and post a review on Amazon when book gets released on there .

This book didnt disappoint. Love a good retelling and a book that has good smut. This book definitely hit the mark with the story line, the characters, and the plot. Loved that it is fast pace and has short chapters. The spice was done with elegance as I like to call it.
The book itself has a beautiful cover and it was immediately drawn to it. I am one of those readers that unfortunately do judge the book by its cover.

This was intense, emotional and completely absorbing. A paranormal romance with gothic vibes, cultish secrets and two deeply broken characters who feel like they were made for each other.

Cathy can sense when someone’s about to die and the grief hits her in uncontrollable waves. She’s trapped in a small town religious community that treats her differently and the grief she carries is heavy. Then Heathcliff walks into her life quiet, haunted, magnetic and just as dangerous as she is. Their connection is instant and messy and raw and I couldn’t look away.

The world feels eerie and lived in: swampy woods, hidden graves, rituals passed down in whispers. There’s a strong Southern gothic undercurrent that gives the whole book this unsettling, haunting atmosphere I really loved. It’s paranormal but it’s also deeply emotional. The themes of grief, family, trauma and twisted belief systems are all woven in really effectively.

Their romance is not soft or safe but it’s compelling obsessive, tender, painful and real. Cathy and Heathcliff both carry so much damage but they see each other clearly in a way no one else ever has. And somehow that makes all the chaos feel worth it.

It’s definitely on the spicier end of the scale (check warnings) and some of the darker elements won’t be for everyone but I enjoyed it and thought it was beautifully written.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-Arc.

I was drawn to this book because of its mention of the low country and South Carolina. This is my first read in the Gilded Monsters series by Kenney. I don’t think it’s necessary to read the first two books to be able to read this one but of course, it would benefit readers to read them in order to get the full story. It was a spicy read and a solid retelling!

Ruthless Devotion is what happens when Wuthering Heights joins a cult, flirts with ancient gods, and decides emotional damage is a love language. Cathy is fierce, feral, and done with everyone’s nonsense, while Heathciff simmers with “touches her and die” energy - but with actual respect, which is somehow even hotter. It’s dark, it’s spicy, and it drips with blood, trauma, and mythology like a fever dream you don’t want to wake up from. Read the trigger warnings then buckle up- you’re in for a wild ride!