Cruel Devotion

by Scarlett Shelton

They say I'm just like my mother - a scandal waiting to happen .

Every day at college is hell, with whispers trailing my shadow.

But the worst is Eli Young - my childhood friend turned cruel tormentor.

He's Mr. Popular, the golden boy with bruises he thinks no one sees.

When he kisses me in the library, I know it's dangerous.

When he touches me, I forget why I should hate him.

They say good girls don't fall for their bullies.

But they never tell you what happens when your bully falls for you too.

Now I'm carrying his secret, and it's growing inside me.

Will this be our downfall, or our salvation?


Author's This forbidden college romance contains bullying, enemies-to-lovers, and an unexpected pregnancy. A steamy tale of redemption where scars heal through love - but only if you're brave enough to survive the cruelty first.

Genres: Enemies To Lovers, Dark Romance, College, College Romance

Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2025

Reviews

[Alonna Irizarry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bully romance/ college/ enemies to lovers/ reformed playboy/ virgin FMC/ bet/ found family/ pregnancy/ HEA

Trigger warning: neglectful parenting/ verbal abuse/ r*pe/ attempted r*pe/ abuse/ violence/ manipulation/ blackmail

This was just alright. It felt rushed at times and personally, I think the FMC forgave the MMC too easily. It also felt odd that, despite making it a point to be extremely careful as to not get pregnant, the FMC only used one form of contraception. She is smart enough to know that no form of birth control is 100% effective. I get that they cared about each other and were in a committed relationship but it was a weird oversight.

[TheBookishK9RN · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is your classic enemies to lover troupe. There is bullying from everyone on the FMC who is just trying to survive until graduation. The MMC is a popular but poor jock who also is also just trying to survive until graduation and stay out of trouble to keep his scholarship. He goes to a party to relax but ends up in a situation where has to win Haley over enough to bring her to the dance. He didn't plan on falling in love with her or her getting pregnant for him. The two have slot of obstacles and trials to overcome but ultimately prove love wins over all.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[elle♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si mid fuera un libro:

Estuvo super equis, osea esta catalogado como un bullying romance pero así que tu digas bullying? no sentí nada de eso, luego eso del trope de la apuesta no me gusta me da hueva, porque ya sabes que la Fmc se va a enterar y ese va a hacer el conflicto.

Luego no hubo nada de grooveling y en todo el libro en vez de enseñarnos la escena nos cuentan todo lo que pasó.

También esta el trope de embarazo que creí que mínimo estaría al 50% de la historia pero literal se embaraza ya casi acabando el libro, esperaba más de eso porque es una de las razones por las que quise leer el libro.

Los personajes fueron mid, no destacaron ni hubo profundidad de nada.

Y para acabarla el antagonista nunca obtuvo una lección ni hubo justicia por querer abusar de la protagonista, y el conflicto se resolvió super conveniente al sacar un personaje de la nada que arreglo todo, bruh.

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the small town of Marston, Haley's family has a reputation that they won't let her forget but as soon as she finishes college, she'll be out of there and away from everyone especially her bullies. Eli was just trying to forget his problems at a party but it ended causing him more problems and now in order to fix them, he needs to convince Haley to go with him to the dance but he didn't expect to fall for her. The story had a some hurt comfort vibes and was pretty sweet. There wasn't a dark bully trope but there is an attempted sexual assault trigger to be aware of.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dorothy Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

So high school…

2.75⭐️

Characters and story feels set in high school, not college. From the way everyone eats together in a cafeteria, to how the *spoiler* unsuspected pregnancy unfolds, and even the way characters act and speak.

It was an okay story. Not dark and not true bully themes. We never see the MMC bully the FMC. It’s only told to us by the FMC, when she starts being pursued romantically by the MMC.

Overall, an okay read. Would recommend as a pallet cleanser and something that doesn’t require too much brain power to get through.

[Samantha Case · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bully? Eh.

I'm a sucker for a bully enemies to lovers romance. Which means I have read A LOT of them. Eli no doubt is a bully and has added to Haley's feelings of mistrust and overall unhappiness. But the enemies to lovers aspect is seriously lacking. You can't just flip a switch. It doesn't work like that. Add in lackluster dialogue and rushed intimacy, and the book just falls short for me. 3/5 stars.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for Cruel Devotion by ( new for me ) author Scarlett Shelton

This is a college bully romance where friends become enemies then lovers. Great main characters in Eli & Haley both find their strength being together thru several challenges.

Good read !.

I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[MCrawDRKRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read. The way the story was delivered was more of telling you a play by play instead of the reader being transported into the story. Everything was fast and because it was play by play telling of the story I never felt any emotion toward the characters 🤷🏻‍♀️. I enjoyed the idea of the story, but delivery failed.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haley has been bullied all her life. Her mom had a horrible reputation, for good reason, and everyone thinks she is just like her. Her childhood friend is now one of her biggest bullies. He finds himself in a situation and has to get her to go with him to the dance. This couldn’t lead to anything at all, right? This was a great read. I loved the characters. Davina and Finn need a spin off!

[Jeannette · Rating 4 out of 5]

hot and good

This was a different kind of story for me to read because I never read a book where the bully fell in love with the girl he was bullying but all in all I liked the characters and their relationship

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the HEA 🥰

It was a rocky start for everyone involved and then as you learn everyone’s story you really start to understand why things are the way they are. Then you start to feel bad for everyone, but it starts to get better

[SamS · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yes this is a bully romance- but the victim of bullying is the H. Bullied by his parents, the rich asshole villain and the heroine. Poor guy wasn’t even allowed to drive a car by his parents and was failing grades. What a Beta.

[Steph · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 26%

[Nessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars is honestly generous.

[Hayden Allphin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked it! Wish it was a bit longer.

[kaylee morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for what it was! It wasn’t really deep, nothing for me to sink my teeth into either these characters but I found it entertaining enough to continue.

[Kristina Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute short story

It was a cute short story. With a lot of challenges, they faced them to build a better life together.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice short book that is perfect to get in a quick read before I read another romantasy or hockey book.

[Amanda Carpenter · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF ?

[Klaudia Przystupa · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was okay

I think the book was a bit rushed at the end and I don’t think this was a true bully romance

[Niako · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6 xom