A big thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel.

This book is absolutely insane in the best way. I liked how the interviews were integrated at the beginning of the book to provide context for Lila’s current situation, as well as introduce characters who would later become relevant as the plot goes on. Lila and Sylvie were both very unhinged but also so captivating as characters. Lila’s downward spiral as she pursues revenge feels natural and seamless as we move deeper into the story despite the crazy things she gets up to. Sylvie read as being kind of annoying but also as someone who is unintentionally funny that I couldn't help but be entertained whenever she was on the page. The supporting characters also felt well developed enough that you always understood their motivations. I also liked how this book highlighted the hypocrisy of those who find success in the beauty industry.

I had a few minor nit picks. Sometimes it wasn’t immediately clear to me when starting a chapter who’s point of view we were in and I would have to go back multiple sentences. Also, at one point in the book Lila has somewhat of a realization about something but then doesn’t think about it for multiple chapters which I found to be a bit unrealistic.

Overall, Cruelty Free is a great blend of horror, mystery, and subtle commentary on the beauty industry. Caroline Glenn has a way of writing that makes you need to keep reading despite feeling uncomfortable. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for future books from this author.

Cruelty Free by Caroline Glenn is a wild cosmetic horror ride of revenge. I liked the combination of narrative shifts and transcripts/interviews to tell Lilah Devlin's story. In her quest to forge a new path in Tinseltown via a beauty brand and heal the grief of her daughter's murder, Lilah literally takes control into her own hands. There are a couple twists that I did not anticipate, and so this really had me hooked in the last third of the book.

This book is a brilliant, blood-soaked debut wrapped in luxurious, clean-girl aesthetic beauty brand packaging. Think Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop owned and operated by Arya Stark as she repeats her revenge list….Joffrey, Circe, Walder Frey, Meryn Trant, Tywin Lannister, the Red Woman….

One woman’s tragedy is entertainment for the public, and a cash cow for paparazzi and podcasters. Can you blame a slay queen for taking her power back? A-List actors are people, and LA is a candy-colored mirage in the desert.

“To use ‘humanity’ as a word for mercy was the greatest lie ever told.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the eARC of this book! Cruelty Free set to be published Feb 3, 2026.

Wow, I just finished and I need time to digest this, but it was AT LEAST 4.5 stars, so I'm rounding up to 5 stars for Goodreads and NetGalley without hesitation because this was very nearly a perfect read for me. I am the target demographic for this book- it's me. If you also love grief horror, femme rage, unhinged women and the like, CONGRATS, you are also the target audience; this book is a MUST read. I see this debut novel being the next viral read in the weird girl litfic niche after publishing! Caroline Glenn will be on the radar of everyone who has good taste, just saying.

Admittedly, I found the first quarter of this book a little hard to get into. Initially, we are following our main character, Lila, through both past and present traumatic events in alternating chapters. The past chapters include a mixed media element with testimonials from others involved in the event and with Lila in various ways, which slowed down the pacing a bit. However, after the author catches the audience up and we primarily focus on Lila's present descent into madness, the novel starts to really shine in my opinion; the storyline unfolding was like a car crash I couldn't look away from, and I was fully engaged. The sheer insanity of the last 25% of this book more than makes up for the slow buildup of the first 25% AND connects perfectly back to the beginning as fluidly as a circle, I promise.

Trying to describe this novel in a brief, non-spoiler way that will encourage you to read it for yourself: Lila stumbled her way into a successful and glamorous family life that she never expected, but all of that is quickly snatched away from her when her toddler goes missing in the night. After nearly a decade, she is trying to reclaim her story and find her own way to peace by launching a beauty brand that will honor her late daughter. "Cruelty Free" refuses to fit itself in a box; this book lands very solidly between the mystery/thriller and horror genres. It is unafraid to bear the ugly side of grief and the beautiful side of fame, calling to mind several notorious child kidnapping cases and other novels centering around the beauty industry, such as "youthjuice" by E.K. Sathue, "Rouge" by Mona Awad, and "Natural Beauty" by Ling Ling Huang. Trust me when I say "Cruelty Free" will appear alongside these powerhouses in the genre after release.

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to receive an ARC of this debut novel! Just to make it clear, if it wasn't already... HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Wow, what a read! At times I thought I had uncovered the twist just to find out I was wrong. Truly doubt anyone can call this one, Caroline Glenn had the rare read that actually kept me engaged and shocked me right up to the end.

Lila Devlin was a science major helping her roommate run lines at an audition before she was catapulted to fame. She met the love of her life, had a kid, and planned to settle down, as much as someone at her level of fame could, when the unthinkable happens. Josie, her infant daughter is kidnapped from the house in the middle of the night, and never seen again. The tabloids dissect Lila as an unfit mother, doing drugs the night her daughter went missing, enjoying her fancy life, not mourning 'the right way'. Lila and her husband divorce and Lila leaves the limelight as his star continues ascending.

Years later Lila returns to Hollywood, hoping to start a beauty brand in memory of her daughter, that would be accessible for all. But when her forgiveness tour takes a bloody turn, Lila updates the recipe for her skincare, and serves it with a side of revenge. As Lila makes her way through the list of those who have wronged her, she gets closer to the truth of what happened to Josie, though she may not like what she finds.

I recommend this to fans of revenge, horror, celebrity gossip, or beauty.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

This was a GREAT time! Mania and mayhem and murder. Grief and love and absolute, roaring hatred. Once this kicked off it didn't let off the gas.

Talk about unreliable narrators, Lila Devlin is a master craft in the art. The entire narrative around her daughter's case in itself was fascinating. Heart wrenching. Yet told in such sizzling, bite sized chunks that it was with sweet irony you realize you've become one of those slobbering parasites she describes, waiting to eat up the tragedy that is her life.

Then to watch her fracture, break, and rise from the dust as the blood thirsty monster she is was as delightful as it was horrifying. Her relationship with Sylvie was beautiful and ugly and DARK and I loved how toxic it was. I could eat up a whole series of them tearing each other apart.

#here be spoilers - DNI if you don't want#

Now, I had some qualms. Suspension of disbelief only goes so far. Why would a hyper suspicious cop like Fox not have already locked into the fact that the Oral Narrators were disappearing? Were Sylvie and Lila really so good and so careful that NO cop ANYWHERE was able to track what was happening? How did only a few bodies fuel so much makeup product once they got big? Sylvie's motive also fell a little short for me. The kidnapping, fine, but the decision to give Josie away and not back to Lila so as not to "re traumatize" her was incredibly weak and while we know she's not exactly Sane, I expected more....just more from something so incredibly intricate and long-standing.

TLDR: this is a fast-paced, engaging read and an absolute soapy, bloody carnival ride that anyone who loves their sapphic with a lot of teeth and their MCs with a whole lot of vengeance in their hearts is going to eat right up.

This book was a wild ride. I loved the two formats the first part of the book was told in — part retrospective podcast discussing the kidnapping, part modern day from Lila’s POV. For the first half I wasn’t sure if this was a good for her book or if Lila was the real villain. This kept me on my toes in a way that made the book feel really fast paced. The ending had twists I genuinely didn’t expect and despite it being a really engaging thriller the author did a good job of showing the complexities and weight of grief.

Cruelty Free by Caroline Glenn is the kind of dark, biting novel that sneaks up on you—equal parts clever social commentary and unsettling suspense. I went in expecting a smart satire, and what I got was that plus a creeping sense of dread that made it impossible to put down.

Glenn has a gift for blending razor-sharp humor with moments that genuinely made my stomach drop. The world she builds feels uncomfortably close to our own, with just enough exaggeration to make you laugh—right before you realize the joke might be on you. The pacing is spot-on, and every chapter deepens the unease without losing its wit.

What I loved most is how layered it is. On the surface, it’s a compulsively readable, slightly absurd thriller, but underneath, it’s wrestling with big questions about morality, image, and the costs of trying to be “good” in a world that thrives on performance. The characters are flawed in ways that feel painfully real, and their choices linger long after the last page.

If you like your fiction smart, satirical, and just a little bit sinister, Cruelty Free delivers in spades. It’s sharp enough to draw blood—and I loved every minute of it.

This was okay at first, but it quickly became unhinged and not in a fun way. I think I kept reading because I was curious to find out what happened to Josie. Even that was unsatisfying.

Cruelty Free by Caroline Glenn


Pub Date Feb 03 2026 | Archive Date Mar 31 2026
William Morrow
General Fiction (Adult) | Horror | Mystery & Thrillers

Cruelty Free is a fantastic, eerie, well-written debut horror novel that will forever change the way I look at the collagen peptides I put in my coffee each morning. Former movie star Lila Devlin— now a famous recluse who ran away when her child went missing and was then murdered, is back and focused on starting a game changing skin care brand named Glob in her daughter’s memory with her publicist and new business partner Sylvie. This book kicks off pretty quickly with the action- and very quickly Lila and Sylvie have a body to dispose of, along with a way to truly make their skincare unique.

This book is great because yes, our female main character is unhinged. But actually it turns out the other characters, like Sylvie, are also completely deranged, so it’s a thrill ride all around. This book is great for anyone who loves a good story about a l character or two that are just completely losing their minds. 4.5 stars from me! Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Cruelty Free takes away the glamor from the beauty industry in Hollywood with the classic horror format. The writing was appropriately violent and bloody across the narrative. I appreciated Caroline Glenn’s writing, however the screenplay between each chapter felt disjointed. It did not appear to mirror the plot in the main chapters and that is where this read fell through for me.
I wanted more charm and growth throughout the protagonist experience. Furthermore, I would like to see the screenplay evolve in between the chapters or blur reality for the protagonist. An ambitious but fun read I would love to see more in depth scenes for! Thankyou Netgalley and William Morrow for the advanced digital copy.

I love a good horror that comments on the treatment of women in the spotlight and while this one did a fantastic job with that commentary, it lacked elsewhere. The beginning held so much potential, I like the oral history parts, but was failing to see how that connected to the present day character. The beginning was so good, but it fell flat maybe 40% through. The ending was okay, but a bit rushed.

I loved this book! A very enjoyable addition to the recent uptick in "I support women's wrongs" books. There is some frankly beautiful writing about motherhood, grief, beauty, and sacrifice, all wrapped around a Sweeny Todd-esque antiheroine I couldn't help but root for. I'll be thinking about Lila for some time!

This was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed in a Hollywood movie star and how the thriller concept was in this. I was engaged in this story and how the kidnapping was used to add to the tension that I was expecting. The characters were so well written and I really cared about what was happening and why this murder happening in this book. Caroline Glenn was able to weave a strong storyline and enjoyed the element of this.