This is a GREAT read! Caroline Glenn’s debut book, Cruelty Free, is the story of Lila Devlin who suffers the brutal loss of her daughter, has to share that loss with the world because of her celebrity, checks out to “get herself right”, and then goes through a redemption arc of which only a psychopath can relate. IT IS SO FUN! Lila is a realistic main character who Glenn grows throughout the story in a way that made me empathize with every bad decision she makes - and she makes a LOT of them. Most of the other characters in the story seem a bit flat, though, but they all play a very specific role in Lila’s experience; in that respect I don’t have a problem with that. The world of the story is pretty current with passing references to COVID, fires, name-dropping movies, BLM, podcasters, etc., and these are treated with passing notations as they should be in this story…unimportant factors that “just so happened to be going on” around the most important things in LA - CELEBRITIES! There are a few jarring mentions of racism that I think could have been left out since I didn’t feel like it needed to be verbalized given the situation/conversation. The setting of the story lends itself to some elitism, so to me it would be understood that some people find a reason to exclude. It didn’t disrupt the story, though. The flow of the was comfortable, not rushed or slow. There are a few inserts of interviews that backtracked to the past, which I enjoyed as a break in the madness. Overall, this is a great read that I’ll pick up as a hardcopy for my shelves (that cover is perfect!)

HUGE thanks to William Morrow Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

If you can suspend your disbelief (a lot), this is a fun and unhinged read. It did feel like two separate books: the beginning and everything after the MC slashes someone's throat. I kept waiting for that scene to be a fantasy and then realized we had moved into a very different style story. Sylvie and her manic devotion really elevated the story for me.

Cruelty Free by Caroline Glen is the definition of girlypop horror — glossy, sharp, and totally unafraid to cut deep. It reads like cotton candy dipped in poison: sweet, sparkly, and then suddenly vicious in the best way. The story nails that mix of dark feminine energy and biting satire, giving us characters who are messy, magnetic, and unforgettable. Glen’s writing is fast, stylish, and laced with wit, pulling you through the pages like you’re caught in a glam-goth daydream.
If you’re into Heathers meets hot pink horror, this book is your new obsession. It’s clever, savage, and deliciously fun — the kind of story you want to highlight, annotate, and then immediately force your friends to read.

4 stars

In this deliciously devilish novel Hollywood stars Lila Devlin and Adrian Reynolds have a small daughter, Josie, who was kidnapped. She never came home

In her grief Lila leaves Adrian and stardom behind for ten years. Then she comes back with a plan. Well, two plans, actually.

This is done in interview format combined with narrative. Some nice writing: for years the press and suits had “given her a career for being beautiful only to claw her to pieces as ugly.” Both Lila and her partner Sylvie Lightly are interesting characters and I enjoyed this.

This was such a good debut novel! I blew through it in just a couple days, though I know if I'd had more time I could've finished it in one sitting.

"Cruelty Free," follows Lila Devin, a once beloved movie star who suffered a tragedy and had a huge fall from grace with the public. After ten years of reclusion, she returns to Hollywood in hopes of making amends with those who wronged her and starting a beauty brand. I could give a little bit more detail into how this story comes off its hinges and the bleak downward spiral starts, but, as always, I think going in blind will make this one hit much harder.

The pacing and the writing style of this novel kept me interested without being too "plotty." We're given plenty of time with our main character and we get to know her through her inner monologue and a series of interviews. I will say there were a few points that kind of felt jarring to me, but I believe they were meant to. I really don't want to say anything about what happens in this book, but I will say that despite what happens..I kinda couldn't help but root for Lila. I had so much sympathy for this character and while she obviously makes some choices that, minimally, weren't good...I get it 🤷🏻‍♂️

Super fun read and I definitely recommend it, if you're ok with a little bit of blood and guts and murder and stuff💅🏼 🤗

Rating 4.5 rounded up

Quick very high level summary.
10 years ago her Hollywood career was booming and she was married to the love of her life but then her daughter was kidnapped and murdered. So Lila disappears from public life and her marriage falls apart along with her career. Trying to forgive and start over she returns to Hollywood to launch a radical new skincare brand when an unexpected event turns into revenge.

My take.
So much social commentary on the unrealistic insanity of Hollywood beauty standards and the madness of celebrity culture. Themes of the devastating nature of grief and revenge that is so much more satisfying then forgiveness. This story was so much twisted fun! Wry, sarcastic, and cynical at times but so much fun! Our MC literally mentally detaches from reality to justify her rage filled revenge rampage through Hollywood. The author hits us with detailed and visceral description of violence that contain so much rage and anger. We are quickly taken from the perfect body image to literal body destruction in a heart beat and sanity seems to have taken a quick exit. The best part, I did not have a clue about that ending! There was a tiny plot hole at the end, I will just say DNA existed. Overall this was a wild, fun and gruesome ride!

"Cruelty Free" is a delightfully satirical look into the dark recesses of Hollywood, told through the story of a woman on the brink. After surviving a hardscrabble childhood, Lila Devlin becomes a Hollywood darling just as she enters adulthood. But when her beloved daughter Josie is kidnapped during a rare night out, her life turns upside down. No matter how self-actualized or successful she is in the years to come, she will never be the same.

Reading this book, it is so clear that Caroline Glenn is intimately familiar with the unique dysfunction rife in the entertainment industry. Her prose is incredibly evocative and I truly felt like I was on the scene in each moment, from the oral history of the "Devlin baby" to the climax of Lila's violent streak. While I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, I do think the pacing gets a bit jumbled as the third act, if you will, begins. I am fully on board with the twists and showing Sylvie's true lunacy, but I think it should be teased out a bit better. Ultimately though, I would strongly recommend this to anyone who gets a little too invested in all those retrospectives about maligned women of the Y2K era.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I genuinely think this could become a cult classic. I love stories with unhinged women, and Cruelty Free delivers in spades.

Thank you, NetGalley, and William Morrow, for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

This was such a unique book. This is a smart, brutal, and unhinged revenge story. This was gory and weird and I never knew where it was going next. This book is not for the faint of heart and I couldn’t recommend it to just anyone. You have to be in the mood for some messed up events.

She came back to Hollywood with a dream and a skincare line.
What she didn’t pack? Mercy.
Lila Devlin is back, and she’s exfoliating the past one body at a time.

If Promising Young Woman had a collab with Dexter and The Substance, this would be the limited-edition serum.

Cruelty Free is sharp, brutal, and weird in the best way. Caroline Glenn takes grief and rage and turns them into something addictive. Lila doesn’t just come back to LA, she claws her way in and builds an empire out of pain. A skincare line soaked in vengeance is already unhinged, and Glenn leans into it hard.

The writing cuts deep. It’s tense, bloody, and unsettling. The interview style and POV shifts can be jarring, but that off-balance feeling works with the story. Lila and Sylvie are messy, magnetic, and hard to look away from.

This is not a light read. It’s violent, sad, and satirical, but also beautiful in how ugly it lets itself be. A debut that knows exactly what it wants to do and doesn’t flinch.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the eARC.

An actress with a dark past--did she kill her daughter or was she another victim of the tragedy?

The first 40 percent of this book is written in dual timelines: when the crime took place and the present. Both are told through Lila's, the actress, point of view. I loved the past chapters. They were well written and organized, just like a true crime documentary. I was absolutely captivated by the case and the players involved.

The next half shifts, cleverly bouncing between POVs (it was thankfully clear and well organized, leaving little room for confusion). Only the present timeline remains, but things have twisted and spiraled. Lila slipped from wanting to start a beauty line and puck herself back up to something dark, surreal. And her new 'friendship' is fuel to the fire.

This was riveting. A dark mystery of two women spiraling deeper and deeper ...

Genre: mystery & thriller, horror, satire, lit fic
Rating: 4.5 Stars ★ ★ ★ ★
Release Date: February 3, 2026

No, that twitter user was right - Lila WAS serving cunt and being mother.

A darkly funny and at times poignant tale that felt like a modern Sweeney Todd. I know these types of stories have been done over and over that are filled with the same type of commentary on motherhood, beauty and aging, but I think Caroline Glenn has something unique, fresh and sharp with Cruelty Free. Which mostly has everything to do with the story itself and her writing. Caroline managed to create a compelling storyline with equally compelling characters.

To me, the first four chapters dragged a little, but I think that had more to do with it feeling like a set up for the later part of the story. By the time it hit chapter five, I couldn't put it down. An incredibly fast paced story that takes you on a whirlwind of revenge and grief. Perfectly balanced blend of witty and biting satire, brutal violence and deep humanity.

Sometimes I go around thinking I don't like lit fic and then I read something that blows my mind and makes me want to devour more. Caroline Glenn crafted such an insane and fun debut novel that I can't wait to see what else we'll get from her.

Thank you to William Morrow, Caroline Glenn and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Is this a bit over the top? Yes, but this is still a really fun Sweeney Todd esque take on the beauty industry and a child's death and disappearance as the decaying heart of it. We get a very bisexual protagonist who balances an obsessive lesbian sadist lover, a budding beauty empire, a world that all deserve to die in our protag's eyes, and a need to source collagen "ethically" for her beauty line. There's so much transference going on here between so many women and the men are so ridiculously incompetent that I think a few could be in our current Cabinet. The best thing I can recommend coming into this is to make the most ridiculous choice you can and see if your choice makes more sense than the narrative. Buckle up, make a drinking game to this, and enjoy the ride.

This novel kept me on my toes. The story hits a turning point 1/3 of the way in and from there it devolves more and more into a horror story of a woman consumed by grief and haunted by her missing daughter. It just kept getting darker. The twist at the end shocked me.

The way interviews are interwoven with the narrative really brings this “crime of the century” to life. Even more interesting, it centers on a mother who struggled with postpartum depression, calling into question her sanity and stigmatizing maternal mental health. Lila is immediately in the spotlight and considered a suspect while her actor husband is only seen as a grieving father.

This story deals with grief, vengeance, motherhood, beauty and society’s ravenous consumption of scandal and catastrophe, especially in the form of true crime content. Fantastic!

Thank you William Morrow and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cruelty Free by Caroline Glenn was an immersive journey into grief, motherhood, and the consequences of revenge. This book drew me in and kept me interested to the very end.

I will say that I found the pacing between interviews and character POVs challenging to follow at times. I think the use of interviews in this book was done well and helped strengthen the story; however, some adjustments could be beneficial to the overall flow.

I’m looking forward to future works from this author!

Did someone say weird girl fic? I devoured this, the premise itself was so intriguing on its own, but once i really got into it I was enthralled with the story. I will say those beauty products were NOT cruelty free lol. I immediately need more books like this one.

How can an author have a reader so interested from the first paragraph and never seem to lose the momentum? Caroline Glenn is atypical in the best way. In addition to this, it's a debut!

The format was clever and enhancing. Going back and forth from the present-day pov to interviews about the series of events that played out was great. It allows the reader to see all sides of the story and even hear from unknown characters.

One thing that I disliked was that I felt as if I did not get to fully know all of the main characters. It seemed sort of ambiguous at times, but I also think it added to the thriller/horror effect.

I liked the author's writing a lot. It was easy to follow without feeling too inexperienced. The ending!!! The last 10% had you not wanting to put it down, and it took a turn that I was not expecting. The final chapter left a lasting effect on me as well. If you are into the "weird girl fiction" trend, add this to your tbr immediately! I cannot even start to imagine what else Caroline Glenn will have in store for future novels.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and Caroline Glenn for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. Cruelty Free comes out on February 3, 2026!

Dark, satirical, and completely addictive. This story blends Hollywood glamour with true crime obsession and sharp social commentary, delivering twists that are both shocking and satisfying. It’s equal parts bloody revenge tale and biting look at fame, grief, and beauty culture—a wild ride that keeps you hooked until the very end.

Is it revenge or has she become completely unhinged? One woman’s desire to make a comeback after her daughter’s kidnapping may have gone too far.