Review by koistyfishy - Ruthless Devotion

koistyfishy 's review for:

Ruthless Devotion by Rebecca F. Kenney

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

4 Tattoo Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5

I had forgotten how much I love Rebecca Kenney, and this book just reminded me why she’s one of my favourite authors.

She has this incredible knack for making any story feel good while you're reading it. There’s just this energy her writing gives off. I genuinely don’t think she’s capable of writing a bad book. She’s experienced, and talented, and consistently delivers stories that feel immersive, sexy, emotional, and real. No matter what book of hers I pick up, I know it’s going to be good.

“Kiss me like I’m dying,” I whisper.”

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
This is technically a Wuthering Heights retelling or at least highly inspired by it, and I know absolutely nothing about the original since I was not one of the people forced to read it in high school. I totally had to go watch a couple of YouTube videos about Wuthering Heights to help me prepare. But honestly, I don’t think it really mattered. I think. I think the main things I feel were taken from the original were the names and the family dynamics.

Cathy Earnshaw works at a boutique farmer’s market and coffee shop, where she helps with tourist displays and other day-to-day tasks. But she has a secret... she’s a banshee. Anyone she’s near who is going to die causes her to uncontrollably mourn their coming death. One of the ways she copes or burns off the feeling of the oncoming death is through hard sex. One day, she hooks up with a delivery guy dropping off cider and they end up having a deliciously spicy round of warehouse sex. That man, however, turns out to be Heathcliff Lockwood. The man she most definitely should stay far away from because he is part of the Lockwood Family, the enemies of her church and everything she’s been raised to fear. And... Heathcliff has a secret of his own... He is a necromancer and his family would kill to get their hands on someone with Cathy's powers...

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
Heathcliff is the kind of man who immediately gets under Katy's skin. He is salacious and temptation in human form. Every time they interact, it’s this fiery "I don’t want you... but I really do" push and pull. They’re instantly sexually addicted to each other and can’t help themselves. SO basically if you're like me and you like the spice to hit quickly, this book delivers!

There are a lot of elements that tie into Cathy’s family, her church’s beliefs, and the way Heathcliff’s family connects to all of it. Due to this, this is one of those books where I couldn’t help but feel sorry for both main characters. Cathy and Heathcliff are stuck in systems they can’t escape. They don’t have money, status, or power. They are victims of the world they were born into, constantly knocked down and never given a real chance to win. It always feels like the universe is against them. Cathy has to hide her true self or face persecution. Heathcliff is abused by his brother and trapped in a violent legacy. They are both just trying to survive and find something better than the lives they were given.

I loved the subtle worldbuilding and the mix of supernatural elements, religion, and mythology. Now some of it I didn’t fully understand, but I just went with the flow. Rebecca Kenney has a way of just making you love a story without fully understanding it. It makes the book feel very layered and developed. Overall, I love how the elements of necromancy and the banshee magic came together. I loved how it just seemed that these two characters were the yin to each other's yang and how they seemed to complement each other both in personality and in powers.

I also loved how explosive the sex between the two of them was. Ultimately, it was a great balance of character development, plot, and spice, which is something Rebecca Kenney has a real knack for. She just knows how to pull it all together and make you feel fully invested in any book she writes.

One thing that held this back for me was entirely my own fault. I haven’t read book two in the series and I went straight from book one to this one because I was under the impression these were "interconnected standalones". Technically they are but characters from the previous books appear in this book and I was a little lost. I think knowing their stories would have made some moments more impactful. I didn’t know who they were or how they fit into the lore. Technically it didn’t pull too much away from the story, but from my side, I do recommend that if you want the full effect, it’s worth going in order and reading Book 1> Book 2>Book 3. That said, I loved seeing Daisy and Gatsby again. It was fun to check in on them after their books and see how much they’ve grown and changed since I left them at the end of book 1.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Paranormal Romance
▶ Classic Inspired/Retelling
▶ Intricate Magic System
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Star Crossed Lovers (Enemy Families)
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Burn the World For You

and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Gods
▷ Stalking
▷ Tending to Injuries
▷ Cages Her with his Arms
▷ Banter
▷ Matching Tattoos

𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨:
➢ Car Sex and Sex in Public Places
➢ CNC
➢ Squirting

And so I highly recommend this. I highly recommend this series. Try it out if you want to read something a little bit more paranormal and love classic books!

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Netgalley and Rebecca F. Kenney for the gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own

Content Warnings