⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Fucking Stars
Well, well… what the fuck can I even say about Cruel Space by J.N. Bamforth?
This book absolutely wrecked me—in the best possible way. Hands down, this is my favorite book I’ve ever read, and I don’t say that shit lightly.
You will fall hard for Silas, even when you know you probably shouldn’t. His past is pure fucking horror: abused at every turn, failed by everyone who was supposed to protect him, and carrying the unbearable trauma of losing his little sister, who took her own life at just eight years old after enduring abuse from their parents. When Silas finally snaps and kills his parents in a brutal, unapologetic way, you don’t cheer… but you sure as hell understand.
Silas ends up hiding in a cabin and later living inside the walls and basement of a manor that Iris inherits from her grandmother. Iris moves in completely unaware that someone is already there—and from the start, strange, unsettling shit keeps happening. The tension builds slowly and relentlessly, and it never lets you breathe.
From the first moment Silas sees Iris, he’s obsessed. Not in a soft, romantic way—but in a dark, possessive, she’s-mine-whether-she-likes-it-or-not kind of way. And somehow, the author makes you feel that obsession instead of just judging it.
This book delivers raw, fucked-up moments from beginning to end.
Iris is a true crime podcaster with a YouTube channel, which of course means she attracts the worst kind of attention. She develops a stalker—constant messages, escalating threats, and then physical proof that someone is watching her. Notes. USB sticks. Someone inside her space. The fear feels real as hell.
When the stalker (the Watcher) kidnaps Iris, drags her to his cabin in the woods, and tortures her, the story goes full dark—and then Silas storms in like an absolute demon and saves her. It’s violent, intense, and satisfying in the most morally twisted way.
By the end, bodies are found, the police swarm the house, secrets spill out… and then Silas gets fucking shot. I legit sat there staring at the page like, are you kidding me right now?! 😱
This book is disturbing, emotional, brutal, and addictive as hell. If you like dark romance, psychological thrillers, morally gray (or straight-up black) characters, and stories that don’t give a single fuck about playing it safe—read this book.
Just be warned: Cruel Space will crawl under your skin and stay there.