Book Review: A Cruel Kindness by Rory Scott 🌲
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I was really freaking out. Everyone looked so calm, casually chatting with one another. Smiling, making jokes, and completely ignoring the fact we were about to launch ourselves through the fabric of space and time, relying on a fucking tattoo and a deity’s promise to keep us safe.
Synopsis
The Bridge. The fabled connection between two sister planets, able to send people through time and space to reach the other. A story of harmony between worlds ruled by the same gods.
The reality was a war, twenty years and counting, with one planet fighting to keep the other from invading their world. Their strongest weapon—the paranimas. The Soul Mates.
Able to hop between worlds at a whim, the few blessed with a perfect match for their soul were trusted to protect their planet from the threat of the other.
The next pair blessed would test the old adage that Soul Mates fell in love with one another at first sight. Shoved together despite years of hatred and betrayal between their families, Bellamy and Soren must cross the Bridge and put a stop to the war, no matter who is really at fault.
A Cruel Kindness is the first in a series following an overarching plot over the course of standalone love stories, and is a soul mates, reluctant allies, forced proximity romance full of fantasy and science fiction elements.
“The corner of Bellamy’s mouth jumped up, the closest thing to a real smile I’d seen from her. If anyone was going to figure out how to get her to drop that sterile, practiced smile it was going to be me. Even if the only way to do it was to get her to scream at me.”
My Review
It’s been nearly a year to date that I started falling down my Rory Scott rabbit hole, and y’all, I’m convinced this woman can write anything she puts her mind to!! A Cruel Kindness has it all - this sci-fi fantasy is filled with political intrigue, royal schemes and bargaining, soul mates, found family, and tattoed soldiers; what’s not to love?? From Bellamy’s reserved determination to usurp her father’s reign, to Soren’s protective devotion to both his newfound soul mate and soldier duties, I immediately fell hard for our MMCs.
As a fantasy / sci-fi reader, we’ve all come to expect a massive info-dump of world building from page one; I’m pleased to announce that Rory actually cares for her readership and refuses to do this to us!! She masterfully weaves character, plot, and lore introductions to us in a steady build-up to keep us from feeling overwhelmed in a new setting. I also can’t get enough of how clearly she understands her characters and intertwines their POV chapters. Even without the chapter headings I know if we’re in Bellamy or Soren’s head based on the first few sentences. If you’re a fan of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or The Powerless Trilogy by Lauren Roberts, pick up A Cruel Kindness, you won’t regret it!
If you also flew through this one and are banging down Rory’s door for the next installment, I have good news! Book 2 is set to release next Spring in 2025. Don’t forget to read the sneak peek of Chapter 1 at the end of A Cruel Kindness. I am SO intrigued by where we’re left off plot-wise, and can’t wait to have (hopefully) all of my questions answered in the next book! 😏
*I received a free advanced readers copy (ARC) of this book from the author, Rory and Valentine PR. My review is my own and reflects my honest opinion about this book. 💚
Where to Read / Buy
You can purchase physical copies of A Cruel Kindness via Amazon, or read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited subscription starting November 19!
