A delightfully engaging debut from Sophie Clark, Cruel is the Light brings a wonderfully complex fantasy Rome featuring Demons, Gods and a fantastic grumpy x sunshine romance to life.

As a lifelong fan of Rome, the history of the city and the Vatican, I found Sophie’s description incredibly immersive. I felt like I was running through the streets with Selene and Jules, exploring every crevice of St Paul’s and sat on the rooftops of some of the most famous ancient architecture in the world.

However, sometimes the formatting and world building fell short of my expectations. The magic was interesting, but I’m still unsure of how it comes to be in the different characters and the exact repercussions of using it (if any). There were times throughout the chapters where it was not defined which POV it was out of the two main characters and I had to reread sections to establish this.

The romance was strong, I did love their relationship with one another. However I would disagree with the definition of “enemies to lovers”. I think a more accurate trope would be reluctant allies!

Overall the premise was good but for me this lacked a lot of personality and proper structure. The dialogue was too much in places meaning the actually plot line became tedious and repetitive.

DNF'd at 20%

I have been looking forward to this book for a long time. In theory it sounds like everything i would like but in execusion it just did not grip me. I didnt particularly care for the main characters or what was happening and found the world building and setting lacking.

A god vs demon romantic fantasy. Ever since the deathless god was wounded defending humanity from the demons, a brutal war has raged across Europe. Known as the butcher of death, Selene Alleva is an elite Vatican trained exorcist and niece to the powerful Imperium Bellum who has a vice like grip on the control of the ruling Vatican. Jules Lacroix, an orphan is a foot soldier in the trenches with a particular skill for killing vampires and who has against the odds so far remained alive. When Jules’ superior is killed in a particularly nasty battle, he escapes the army and starts on a quest to find out who is really is. He crosses paths with the gorgeous and impressive Selene when both come into the presence of the powerful demon duke Baliel at the orphanage where Jules grew up. Jules survives the demon’s fire but is arrested by Selene who apart from being secretly attracted to Jules, is suspicious of who he is and decides to take him back to Rome. However, during the train journey back, they realise that something underhand is afoot in the power corridors of Rome and they need to work together to find out what. As they start to unravel its secrets, they realise the answers may be in their own pasts.
As they fall in love with each other, Jules and Selene start to realise who he is.. Selene has had to choose in the past between heart and duty and she chose duty. What will she decide this time?

It's a good escapism read, although I thought it was a little longwinded at the end. I’m sure it will appeal to YA romantasy fans.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review

If you’re looking for an action-packed fantasy that throws you headfirst into a war between demons and the Vatican, Cruel Is the Light delivers on that front with intensity. Sophie Clark crafts a dark and gripping world where faith, duty, and forbidden love collide, keeping you on edge with every twist and revelation.

From the start, the book pulls you in with its fascinating take on exorcisms and the Roman Catholic Church. The battle between demons and the Vatican isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a living, breathing conflict that shapes the lives of the characters, particularly Selene Alleva and Jules Lacroix. Selene, a high-ranking exorcist haunted by her family’s past, and Jules, an orphan turned Vatican soldier, are both compelling in their own right. Their forced partnership, filled with distrust and reluctant respect, is one of the book’s strongest elements.

Now, let’s talk romance. The fake-dating trope—where Jules poses as Selene’s estranged fiancé—wasn’t my favorite aspect of the book. While it added tension and some emotional stakes, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Their chemistry was there, but I was far more invested in the mystery and action surrounding them. That being said, if you enjoy slow-burn tension and the struggle between love and duty, you might feel differently!

What really kept me hooked was the high-stakes action and the unraveling conspiracy at the heart of the Vatican. Clark doesn’t hold back on the intensity—there are brutal battles, shocking betrayals, and an overarching sense of doom that makes you question who (or what) can truly be trusted. And that ending? Let’s just say I need the next book immediately.

Overall, Cruel Is the Light earns a solid 4/5 stars from me. The world-building and action are top-tier, and while the romance didn’t fully win me over, the story itself was strong enough to keep me turning pages late into the night. If you’re into dark fantasy with high-stakes intrigue and moral dilemmas, this one is definitely worth picking up!

Cruel is the Light is an action packed fantasy read with a compelling romance and a unique setting.

It took me a minute to get into, as the beginning is pretty action heavy, but once I was hooked I couldn’t put it down. Our FMC Selene is a ruthless badass who shows no mercy, fighting against a family history she’d rather forget. Our MMC Jules is an orphan soldier with secrets, who brings cheeky humour and witty banter to the story. The relationship between the two takes centre stage right from their first meeting, bringing tension and fire to every interaction that you can’t help but enjoy. I couldn’t get enough of their back and forth banter!

The setting was a big pull for me when picking this one up. The mix of historical and magical backdrop of Rome brought an interesting stage to host the story. I enjoyed the religious element that featured at the heart of the book, with both our main characters constantly questioning their faith throughout as the plot progressed.

In general, the writing seemed a little messy for me. Despite really loving the idea of a modern day roman empire of demon fighters who protect humanity from monsters, the world building felt chaotic and hard to follow at times. Even though there was a glossary specifically for them, I also struggled to keep track of who the side characters were or place them in the story. I didn’t find them all that compelling either, so the romance between our two main characters really pulled me through initially.

All of that aside, I genuinely had a great time reading this one. It spoke to my younger self who fell in love with the world of shadowhunters and demons, throwing in some more adult themes and a few twists here and there. I devoured the last half of the book in a couple of days and will definitely be reading the next book!

Like many people, after seeing this book circulating online, I was excited about it.

It delivered in many areas. I enjoyed the characters of Jules and Selene. The plot pacing confused me in areas. The world Sophie created was exciting but I wish there was more world building and the magic system was built on.

This book is a bit like if The Mortal Instruments was set in Rome. And if the nuns had guns. And if the demons were hot.

I wouldn't say that it's the easiest read. I had to reread lines often and it still took quite some time to actually understand what was going on and what the characters were doing.

Even though the book was almost 500 pages it really didn't feel very long at all, in fact there were a lot of scenes where it felt like there were pages missing. A I'd have liked to linger in the moments, particularly the action. I found that a lot of the fights were very quick and written rather vaguely so I didn't fully grasp what was happening. However, I understand that the book was inspired by anime and maybe the writing style was meant to feel like one too? As this is a debut, I'm hoping the author will be able to focus more on scene setting and slowing down the tension in the following books.

The pacing was very jumpy but the characters were everything. I really enjoyed the balanced power dynamic between the two main characters and especially how they were both allowed their moments of vulnerability, despite being known for their colder natures. They displayed maturity but still felt their age. I do think I would have preferred more of a slow-burn between Jules and Selene. What happened to making us wait until later books for just a kiss?! The plot was really compelling, and though a lot of the twists were predictable there was still a lot of mystery to keep me hooked. The characterisation was really the best part of the book, and why I would rate it 3.75 stars. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the group will tackle the new threat in the Vatican in the next book.

this was better than I initially expected. YA is always a hit or miss for me. I thought the romance progressed a bit too quickly and overall the book didn't need to be that long. I didn't have a bad time reading it though.

Cruel is the light @thesophclark

Dio, where do I begin with this book?!

OK, let's start by saying WHY I gave it 4.5 instead of 5 because honestly, I was VERY close to putting a 5. The reason is because at first, I didn't think I was going to like this book, maybe even dnf at around 15% because there was so much world building in the beginning it was hard to read. I will say though I am SO glad I didn't stop because once that mass of world building was done, I could NOT STOP READING. And I understand now that I probably wouldn't have loved it as much had that world building not been there at the begining in all honesty.I also think because it is set in Rome, it is a place I'm not familiar with and it did throw me a little and take a bit of getting used to.
NOW,
Can.
We.
Talk.
About.
JULES?!?
It's VERY rare I obsess over book males. But I'm making an exception for Jules. That man.... 👀 This story gained 2 extra stars JUST for Jules. I adored him.Everything about him. I loved that Jules and Selenes love grew over time too and I loved their jabs at each other, especially when Jules calls Selene his Mon Petit Lapinou Infront of everyone 😂
Sparrow is also a definite favorite character of mine! Especially the way in which he interacts with Jules!
I also liked that the romance, although there, progressed naturally and so did ALL of the characters in their own way. We weren't overloaded with characters from the start and it was super easy to keep up with everything going on.
Wow, what an absolute ride that was. Please bring book 2 out ASAP as I need more Jules in my life.
Dio, this book hits HARD.

Wow what a first book to start a series! It did take a little while for me to get into it but once I did I was fully immersed in the world and I cannot wait for book two.

I’m fully invested in these characters and this world, I can see this becoming one of my new favourite series.

I so wanted to love this book! It hits every trope I love, and the premise is great. The idea seemed pretty unique in what is a very saturated market in romantasy right now. Had I been younger reading this, during the Cassandra Clare era (no hate on Clare, I’m a Mortal Instruments gal forever) maybe I would have loved it more. I enjoyed the dual narrative, that always works for me, and that held my interest.

I think my main criticism was the lack of depth to the characters- I felt like I was thrown in straight away and whilst I love a fast-paced story, it did mean I didn’t have time to connect to the characters as much I would like to. I needed more world-building- this is a pretty complex and interesting world yet I felt like we were shown the bare minimum. I really liked the range of demons, again reminding me of Mortal Instruments, but something was just missing and I didn’t engage or obsess over the story like I so wanted to.

Not sure whether it’s relevant but the cover art is gorgeous and I will continue to admire it on my shelf!!!

(Rating- 2.5)

Another fabulous gem read in 2025 🤌🏼✨️💕

I can hardly express how completely captivated I was by the story and its characters. Jules, you absolute rizzler had my heart 🩵 Selene the dangerous black cat, is one of the strongest FMC I've read, and I'm here for it 🙌🏼 The complexity of the world and its rules had me thoroughly invested.

One of the things that stood out to me that I love is the MMC being super emotional, he doesn't care that people will see him cry, and that's one of the biggest reasons why I was head over heels for Jules. He wears his emotions boldly. I wanted to give the man one big hug and then shove him and Selene in a small room (and scream kiss already!) ✨️🩵

Don't get me started on the romance, do you guys realise how hard it was not to scream into my book?! Ahhhh!!! My invisible camera crew had to deal with me looking like this 👁👄👁 instead of this: 🤭💥🥰😲🫠🤪😝😜😵‍💫

In summary, this has been one of the most thrilling, heart-fluttering, and enjoyable reads I've experienced. Words can hardly capture how much I adored Cruel is the Light.

This book is for the romantic seekers who love a high stake, filled with tension, and have your heart pounding by every page. Looking for your next 5 star 🌟 read, then look no further and pick up Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark ✨️

I haven’t felt this way reading a fantasy series since I read mortal instruments way back when by Cassandra Clare.

Absolutely loved this world and cannot wait to see what comes next in the series.

Very grateful I was able to read and review this book early as it’s one I thoroughly enjoyed.

I loved that you’re thrown straight into the thick of it, with lots of world building and action. I enjoyed the unique magic system used and felt as though I could disappear into this book the entire time I was reading.
If you’re new to fantasy I wouldn’t recommend starting with this book as the world building is very full on, but I LOVE details so enjoyed this aspect of it.

Selene and jules quickly become characters I now adore, the slow burn forbidden romance was perfectly balanced with the high stake war looming over their shoulders throughout the book.

I’m excited to see what Sophie Clark does with book 2, the world, politics, characters and intricate magic system made me fall in love with this book.

This is a must read for high stake, enemies to lovers fans.

DNF

I was thrilled to recieve an arc of this book because it sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, i found this too long and siding. The story didn't feel appealing enough for it to justify the 500 page length. The worldbuilding was good, but the characters weren't well fleshed out. I might give this another chance later.

This was a bit of a swing and a miss for me. The premise was cool and pretty original, but the execution could have been better. The front half was very slow, and I was at 70% thinking, "Oh, the story is finally starting," because the front half could have easily been condensed. In turn, the last 20% felt a bit overloaded with reveals and big events, which made it all feel a bit too confusing. I thought the reveal about God's identity was cool as hell but it sort of lost the plot by the end with how literally everyone ended up having demon blood.


I also think it's annoying and weird that this book has been marketed as 'enemies to lovers' because it's a demon x exorcist romance but like, Jules being a demon is a big reveal towards the end of the book, shortly followed by the reveal that Serena has demon blood too? So there was no real gravitas to that reveal.

Thank you to Netgally and Penguin Random House UK Children's for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This review is for Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark which was released in the UK on the 23rd January! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for giving me an eArc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first novel from Sophie Clark, and oh my god it was great! Honestly can’t wait for the second to come out, I need to know what happens next. 👀

It’s exorcists vs demons, but with a plot twist that will leave you shocked!! It was a super fun, yet trauma filled book following Selene, a badass exorcist and Jules. It has fake dating and grumpy x sunshine. Their relationship was so cute, it had me kicking my feet and giggling at times.

It did feel a little rushed, and the ending was kinda anticlimactic. There was this massive build up to the scene at the end where they confront someone… and then ehh.
I loved the characters and their build up in relationships, as well as Selene character growth, but some of the scenes were a little hard to follow. Like right at the start of the book, we’re thrown into the middle of an action scene but it feels like you don’t have enough information to keep up with what was happening. You also don’t get a lot of detail on the type of magic used throughout the book, and would have loved more exploration of Selenes power in particular and how/what makes it so much stronger than everyone else’s.

As I said, cannot wait to read the next one in the series!! Would highly recommend this to any YA fantasy readers out there!

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book. All of my thoughts are my own.

Jules and Selene were great. I loved their reluctant attraction to one another, I like that this developed into more. Every interaction between them was great. Jules should annoy me, but I loved him. He was a bit like a whipped puppy dog. Selene was fiery, very firm in her beliefs. Interesting to see that'll happen as I still don't think Jules is aware of her secrets.

I found the magic system a little confusing, I don't think it was explained that well and the worldbuilding could have been done a bit better. The lore was interesting. I saw a lot of the twists coming.

I enjoyed this book, wasn't aware it was the start of a series. Intrigued to see where it'll go next.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Penguin Random House for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: self harm, death, violence, war, injury, blood, demons, religion

‘Cruel Is The Light’ is set in a version of our world where God was killed and now exorcists have to hunt demon armies, led by the Vatican. This has been going on for over a century, and attacks by demons keeping getting worse and more unpredictable. Selene Alleva is a high ranking exorcist with close connection to the divine war because of her family and her hidden, terrifying powers. Hunting a dangerous enemy, the demonic Duke of Briars Baliel, Selene travels from Rome to Nice. Jules Lacroix is an orphan, abandoned at birth and now a foot soldier in the never ending war against demonkind. He is unrivalled in battle, known for surviving the impossible, but when tragedy strikes, Jules abandons his role. Fleeing to his hometown of Nice, he crosses paths with Selene in the midst of terrible demon attacks led by Baliel. Striking an uneasy alliance to solve the mystery- and why Jules always seems to survive- Selene convinces Jules to appear as her estranged fiance, allowing them both to return to the dangerous politics of the Vatican. As Selene starts to doubt her connections and Jules is forced to question everything he knows about himself, it becomes clear that Jules might be the threat Selene needs to be wary of, even as they fall in love.

This book really took me by surprise with our furiously fast it starts, and even though you’re dropped into the action, I found I liked Selene straight away. Her determination to be great and her willingness to sacrifice herself just to protect people was well written, I liked how there was a real conflict between what using her powers does and the damage it did to her. Jules is a different character to Selene, abandoned at birth and forced to fight on the deadly battlefield for years. He’s traumatised but sees the humour in things, while also trying to solve why he seems to survive the impossible. Their scenes are some of the highlights of the book, especially when Jules takes on the identity of Selene’s fiance, the banter, chemistry and growing tension was great as things worsened and came to light. I loved the world building, though it’s not explained a lot initially, and the way that religion and exorcism is used to fight demons. I took to the demon character of Sparrow really quickly and I hope that he has a larger role going forward, his interest in Jules was such a fascinating plot line. One of the best parts of this book is the way that twisted politics and internal conflict has made everything tense, worsened by the increasing threat of demons. I wish the side characters had been expanded on more, they didn’t feel as significant in scenes as they should, especially the ones that make up Selene’s team. This was a fun, dark YA with a really original take on religion and demons, I’m interested to see how the sequel might go.