This story was a delight to read. It was the first one that I truly tandem read with my friend who is doing Romantasy Summer with me and um… the voice notes we sent back and forth of theories and general screaming was so much fun. The fact that we both were able to sit down and read in the same nearly 48 hours and finish the book? SO GOOD.
This book was a trip, as in we literally had the best world building and descriptions as we made our way through alternate Europe, hitting multiple countries and especially the details surrounding the Vatican and Rome I was in love with all of it. I want to live in this world, especially with the magic building system that she wrote and how the exorcist army interacts with the demons? You know I love worlds with rules and this one has so many that just make sense. Plus as a fun as a side note she has a glossary of people, military rankings and demons in the front which is SO HELPFUL, I love getting to see a glossary which just tells the reader they better be ready for deep world building.
The biggest hiccup for me as a reader, was the writing in the action scenes was often confusing. I know that others might not have an issue or have this detract from their experience. However, there is so much going on that it makes sense that some of that is hard to translate, or maybe I just need to listen to it vs read the physical book so I can picture it better? I will admit I had to reread some of the bigger fight scenes, which drew me out of the story a touch, but the rest of this book makes it so worth it.
Which brings me to the things that I adored other than the world building? THE CAST. There is a wide cast of characters, which ties in well with the background of all the world building that Sophie has made, and they are varied and interesting. The flirtation between the main pairing and relationship building was wonderful. I appreciate a “we are using each other to get what we want… oh no I may have caught feelings” vibe. Plus there were a handful of cookie scenes that you could tell Sophie had been dying to write and it shows with how much I as a reader also loved them.
I have a few favorites and getting to see their personalities and interactions was a delight. I look forward to getting to see some of them again, which I will flag that this book is not a stand-alone. Which is good for me because I need to see more! There were pieces of plot line that she interwove and while the ending ties everything up well, I know that there’s more to learn in book two… which is only nine months away from release? I will wait as long as it takes! But I am so excited to see where she takes this.
This story probably partly jived so much with me because as anyone who’s talked with me about my writing before, knows that I am a sucker for angels/demons/religion anything. I probably had better insight into some of the twists and turns of the plot with my Catholic upbringing but the pay off was so satisfying. It was an artful and respectful narrative set in a long historied world that so many of us are already familiar with. It was not so impossible for this world to exist, and yet it is completely fantastical and to me that was what made me love it so much. The easter eggs, the deep lore, the well crafted magic system tied together with a partnership that sparks with chemistry and a mystery that begs to be solved.
Please please come yell at me, I would love to discuss this fun story! I think that Sophie did an excellent job with this debut novel and I would love to see more people pick it up!
Looking to find Cruel is the Light? Here you go:
Bookshop.org ~ Libro.fm ~ Goodreads ~ Storygraph
As a side note, some of the links to Bookshop.org or Libro.fm will either provide me or an indie bookshop I support a portion of the affiliate sales if you use them to buy a book I recommend!
my way by Starlight 
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