Cruel Angel (Gilded Monsters #4) by Rebecca F. Kenney
3.75 Stars!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for a complimentary copy of the book for review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
Okay, so this is book 4 in this series, but if you haven't read the others/missed one or two (for example, I haven't read Ruthless Devotion yet, but I've read the others), you won't be totally lost. It will make references make more sense but you won't miss big details on this story.
I liked that the author moved things from France to Nashville, but also made things fit. The paranormal aspects were intriguing as well. This series has worked well at building that mythology out and I liked getting more as things went on. The reveals on Lloyd-Henry's doings (and I'll admit I'm a little upset that he wasn't 100% nuked after the crap he pulled in Charming Devil , but at the same time, we wouldn't have gotten the story we did if he had been so yeah. At least the Phantom made his realizations and kind of got that closure, even if Lloyd-Henry thought he was a god himself). Then there was the reveal on what, or more specifically who he was unable to locate and I'm wondering if the author might have another series up her sleeve.
The relationship between Christine, Raoul, and the Phantom/Erik was a weird combination of just what they all needed and very toxic. Christine pointed things out when she tried to run, but she also walked herself to the realization that they might be what each other needs to keep the toxicity at bay and somehow it made their relationship work. It was definitely rocky for a minute, but I liked the three of them finding their footing.
The reveal on Raoul was interesting. Made the reasons his family was a sh*tty to him as they had been make a bit more sense. Didn't excuse a thing, but it explained it. Then there's the reveal on Phillipa's hold, and his choice to leave via email was actually smart. Although I'll admit part of me kind of wanted him to reveal he was an alpha, but that also wouldn't have quite fit Raoul's character so having things fall out in the way they did really was for the best.
This book releases April 14, 2026
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