Dive back into the sexy side of the Upper East Side with the second billionaire romance from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde.I finally have everything I ever wanted—fame and fortune and literary success.Only one problem: I lost my muse.He was tall, dark, and handsome. Broody, enigmatic, alluring, and right for me in every way.Until he wasn’t. Until I lost everything.And I can’t lose it … wasn’t. Until I lost everything.
And I can’t lose it all again. I’ll do anything to keep it.
Even seeing him again…
more
5 stars all the way
I’d kind of forgotten that this book was on its way. Now, I’m not saying that this is a forgettable series. It is anything but that. I’ve had a lot going on with life in general. A lot of not so great things that have distracted me from reading. This book was just what I needed to take me away from all that is messed up right now and transport me to another world where I can focus on someone else’s drama. I love this series. Everything about it. The angst and drama, the wonder of who can you really trust, not being able to anticipate what is coming next. It all makes for a great story full of wonderful characters. Just like every good book, we have to have a villain. And we don’t want that villain to turn into a good person. We want them to continue being troublesome and, to be honest, a bitch. It’s what makes them interesting. This story has that. But we’re also left wondering who Natalie will choose and what path she’ll go down. I can’t say enough about Cruel Fortune. It’s a MUST read series for me.
4 stars for – Cruel Fortune – book two in the Cruel series by K.A. Linde. You really need to read book one – Cruel Money – first in order to have a better understanding of the characters and storyline prior to diving into this one.
Natalie Bishop is now a bestselling author and having to go back to the one place she never wanted to be again for a book release. New York’s Upper East side is full of the worst kind of people but it also contains her key to writing. What will she sacrifice in order to find her writing mojo again?
The land of the rich and privileged is not for the faint of heart. Frenemies, secrets and lies are once again part of her life but she’s not going down without a fight! Fans of the author are going to love the second part of this hot trilogy for sure! Can’t wait to read the conclusion in part three!
The second book in this trilogy and I was so looking forward to reading this one after Cruel Money, but this one just didn’t end up going in the direction I thought it would, thank goodness there is a book 3 where I can hopefully get all the answers from!!
Don’t get me wrong this is still a fantastic read, it had me gripped from the beginning, but it just wasn’t how I saw it going, I wanted Penn!!
Natalie is now a best selling author having used her own experience of the bet to write her book but under a pen name, not wanting anyone to know its her. But in the end she has to move back to New York to the East Side where she never wanted to be again, looking for her muse.
I can’t go into details because it would just give the game away, but I really need the next book now please, I have high hopes for where I think it’s heading!!
The characters in this book are amazing, not your everyday types here, I love how manipulative, nasty and condescending they can be, you just never know what you’re going to get!! The read will have you on the edge of your seat, its quite intense and passionate, raw and scathing and just plain nasty and mean sometimes, but you will not be able to put it down!! Highly addictive reading.
5 Cruel, Angsty Stars
KA Linde always knows how to deliver an unputdownable, page turning book. Cruel Fortue was no different! I dove head first into this book and never looked back! In true Linde fashion, Cruel Fortune delivers all the angst, passion, the ups and the downs, and is filled with characters you’ll love to hate and hate to love….though I seem to love them all for one reason or another. I can’t help myself! HA!
I am a die-hard KA Linde fan. I absolutely love the way she’s always able to bring her characters to life, and weave a story that no one will see coming! She delivers the unexpected….the unpredictable, ALWAYS!
The Cruel Series has quickly become one of my favorite series and is one of my top reads of 2019. If you’re a Linde fan, this is one book, ONE SERIES, that you do not want to miss!
I know I’ve not said much about the story line because, hello, spoilers! Just know that I love it and everyone and anyone should buy it and devour it like I did. I am on pins and needles waiting for book 3! July cannot come soon enough.
Natalie, Penn and the rest of the Crew are back in the sequel to CRUEL MONEY. CRUEL FORTUNE had me hooked from the very first page. I was so mad when I had to cut my marathon reading short at 3am so I could sleep. Ms. Linde is one of my favorite authors and I both love and hate how you can be rooting for both men and be “ok” with which ever one she ends up with…at least until the bomb is dropped! This book is full of twists, turns and OMG moments. It’s been a long time since I have been so excited to see how a couple’s story will end. I’m already counting down to July 16th!!!!
Finally! We’re back with Natalie and her new found success a year later after the gasp of an ending to book one. Her success brings new challenges and with the loss of Penn, her mojo. As Nat takes a chance and enters the fray of the Big Apple she back in the the realm of the rich and famous which means the Crew. There’s backstabbing, secrets and lies galore with this bunch. Ugh! There’s one evildoer that is due some serious retribution. I’m rooting for Natalie even after her less than stellar actions. Will she finally leave Penn behind or vice versa? It appears so when Nat develops a new relationship with an old acquaintance. But in usual fashion with this fantastic author and her intriguing storytelling we have another killer ending that left me jonesing for the rest of the story ! Can’t wait for the next installment in this terrific series. Loved it! I voluntarily reviewed an ARC.
Cruel Fortune by K.A. Linde is the highly anticipated second novel in her Cruel serial. Cruel Fortune is not a standalone. The books must be read in order. The previous books are One Cruel Night, a prequel; and Cruel Money.
Natalie and Penn’s story continues and the bokk picks up some time after the previous one was left off. After Penn’s latest betrayal, Natalie’s had enough. She returned home and build a new life for herself. Now she’s back, stronger than before. But is she strong enough to compete against the Upper East snottiness?
Cruel Fortune is a fast paced, breathtaking read that had me hanging on the edge of my seat. The book has more of everything. More drama, more revenge and more betrayal. I recommend this excellent written serial and can’t wait to read the next instalment, Cruel Legacy.
This is a great addition to this series. I highly enjoyed this story and highly recommend this this book
GAH!! Wow! Leave it to K.A. Linde to suck me into a book in the first two pages! I was not able to put this one down. There were so many times I thought I knew where this story was going, but I was so wrong! I can’t (won’t) get into any detail because I hate spoilers, but do yourself a favor and read this book!
Can I say OH MY GOD!
K.A. Linde has sucked me in completely with this series! I absolutely LOVE everything about it!
We get so many secrets, deceit, angst and anything else you can possibly imagine. I knew that coming in reading Cruel Fortune I was in for a treat and boy did K.A. Linde deliver one heck of a storyline. I thought the first book was beyond AMAZING but holy cow I dove in with high expectations like I had with Cruel Money and I was not wrong about my intuitions with this book.
The minute I started reading, I was unable to put down. I pulled almost an all-nighter trying to finish it because it was just that DAMN GOOD!
You think you’ve figured everything out by the end, but I just think that Natalie is one fierce b*tch. She has learned and moved on and I love how determine she is to not back down from a fight. The conclusion is going to come out with a bang and I just can’t wait for it.
Even though I liked Lewis and how much he cared for Natalie, I wasn’t cool with how he came about things to get her. Penn definitely has redeemed himself and I still love him despite what he did in the first book.
K.A. Linde has become one of my favorite authors and I absolutely have to say that the Cruel series is on my top reads of 2019!!
Cruel Fortune was another exhilarating ride by K.A. Linde. I was addicted after Cruel Money and was very intrigued about the direction of this story after that ending in book one. Natalie was absolutely amazing but if you thought book one was high in angst and drama you haven’t seen anything yet!!
This review will be dreadfully vague because..spoilers, but we are now in New York and Natalie is a successful novelist. But the dramatic secret filled world she thought she escaped has once again reared its ugly head where secrets, lies and drama are all once again entwined. I am seriously hooked and shocked af at that ending!! OMG!! 4 stars! ~Ratula
Betrayal takes time to get over and so does a broken heart and no one knows that better than Natalie, who was scorned by the “Crew” from the Upper East Side in Cruel Money, book one of the Cruel series.
Fascinated by the inner workings of a society out of my realm, Linde has orchestrated a world so evolved that the reader can truly lose themselves within the pages of this book.
As Natalie finally begins to move on with her life after seeking refuge from the people and the society that once betrayed her, an explosive secret is revealed that will have her whirling, threatening to shatter her all over again
Upon finishing this book and waiting for the next in the series, this reader is left wondering, will Natalie be crushed by the mentality of the Upper East Side, never to be the same again? Or will she come back from heart break and betrayal, stronger than ever, leaving anyone that crossed her sorry? I can’t wait to find out!
As Always, Happy Reading!
“4/5 Beaming Brains!” – Lit-Up My Mind
Natalie is now successful. Thanks to her experience with Penn and his group of Upper East Side snobs. Her book is a hit written under a pen name. She didn’t expect to run into any of them when she had to go to New York to promote the book. But, when she comes face to face Lewis, Penn’s best friend, things change. Changing her life to follow her muse sends her down the exact road she wanted to avoid.
This was a fantastic follow up to the first book. All of the angst and emotion felt during the first book is thrown right back at the reader times 10. This book has a lot of Natalie in it. Penn plays his role but Natalie’s journey down this road is what takes you on the roller coaster ride. Without giving too much away, Natalie’s success changes her life in the exact way she didn’t want Penn to change it. What she thought she couldn’t handle with Penn becomes her life. In some ways, she is very hypocritical now that her life echoes the one that destroyed her the previous year. One person doesn’t give up though. Penn. Once Penn knows Natalie is in his domain his one goal is to have her back. Unfortunately, the Crew is still around and causing all kinds of hell for people. If you haven’t read Cruel Money yet, I suggest reading that first. July will be a long wait until Cruel Legacy hits the streets.
Oh my good God. I can’t right now. What just happened???
This book picks up shortly after Cruel Money ends and deals with aftermath of that. Natalie is finally seeing her dreams come to fruition, but it comes with a price. Returning to the one place she never wanted to set foot in again.
She realizes that New York City is where she needs to be though. It inspires the creative side of her and she desperately needs that. She’s hoping to fly under the radar and come out unscathed. But that’s not possible in the Upper East Side.
This book takes you on an incredible journey of highs and lows. I had a bad feeling from the beginning, but much like Natalie, I didn’t want to believe it. Didn’t believe that it could happen again. And I got swept up in the glitz and glamour of it all.
We get to see all the players from the first book and get to know some characters that were hiding in the background before. I loved it and hated it. LOL!!!
These rich kids are vindictive and cruel. The title of this series is very apropos, because holy cruelty. The storyline did not go the direction I was expecting, like at all, but it was perfect. Perfectly, deliciously, heart-wrenchingly angsty. God. *clutches chest*
If you haven’t started this series yet, you must. You absolutely must. K.A. Linde brought her A game with this one and I cannot wait for the finale. July can’t come soon enough.
The Natalie Bishop readers reunite with in Cruel Fortune is not the one who they were left with at the end of Cruel Money because a year later, she’s not as naive or as innocent to the world around her, and she seems to understand her worth more and the people she can trust, which no longer include who she thought would be the love of her life or Penn’s crew of Upper East siders.
But Natalie’s hesitancy to go back to the ‘scene of the crime,’ to the city that chewed her up and spit her out due to a crew of manipulative and entitled pricks, even if it’s for something as glorious as her own book release celebration, speaks to the damage that was done to her and her refusal to be a part of any environment that thrives on lies, secrets, and manipulation.
The Upper East Side Crew did give Natalie something, though, in return for the hell they put her through – they gave her an outlet for her anger…for her pain…for her grief…an opportunity to be exactly who and what she had always wanted to be – a writer. And while the consequences of the crew’s actions left her broken hearted and betrayed, she channeled those feelings into her writing and crafted quite the tale about her experience with The Crew, exposing who the Upper East Side elite are, the games that they play, and the hearts and lives that they destroy simply because they have the money, the power, and the desire to do so.
But the extent of Natalie’s transformation is still very much a work-in-progress and because she’s thrown back into the lion’s den for a number of reasons, the games that she doesn’t want to play and the despicable people she doesn’t want to be around are, once again, points of contention and torment for her, and her choices when she’s back in the mix of the elite, including who she chooses to spend her time with and confide in, make me question exactly how much she’s grown and learned from her past mistakes and if everything she was hoping to avoid, especially further heartache, has no way to be prevented due to her reemergence into the world that almost destroyed her.
I have to admit that I was a bit perplexed by the way things played out in Cruel Fortune; I didn’t understand why Natalie seemed to make the same mistakes as last time, only with someone other than Penn. Natalie’s decisions, while good for her writing career, were not ones that make sense when readers look at the big picture and everything she’s risking, yet again, to be in the company of the Crew.
But I know I have to trust in the story that KA Linde has laid out and where she’s leading her hero and heroine, and while it’s difficult at this point, as long as everything comes full circle and the journey fits the characters, I’ll be ready for the conclusion of Penn and Natalie’s story.
With the small insight Linde gave readers for the final book in the trilogy, I can’t wait for Natalie’s reckoning…I want the Crew to understand that they have no right to do the things they do by playing with other people’s emotions and lives! And I have one person in particular in mind for her to unload on; I desperately need a certain Queen B to get hers in the end…the games she played and continues to play with other people’s lives speaks to the spoiled and entitled bitch she is, and she deserves everything that Natalie has in store for her.
3.5 Poison Apples
Reviewed by Donna on behalf of KFF
Cruel Fortune is the second in the Cruel trilogy and picks up a year after an incident which happened in Cruel Money. Natalie is now a successful bestselling author and finds herself going back to the place she never thought she’d step into again. It’s only for a short while before her book’s released and then she’ll be out of there and back home in Charleston. The only issue is she’s struggling to write at home. She’d lost her muse previously; the hot alpha enigmatic man, Penn Kensington. Natalie would sacrifice seeing him again to have the words flow freely but it’s possible she’ll find a new muse in the Big Apple with lots of potential stories in such lively surroundings. After all, she knows she’d never belonged in the world of filthy rich people who will scheme to get what they want or give a second thought as to whom they’d step on.
Obviously, even though it’s a large city, Natalie finds herself bumping into the Crew, a bunch of ruthless people that had hurt her in a spectacular way. However, new friendships and a relationship are formed regardless of her being a little apprehensive. In the back of her mind, she isn’t sure about people’s intentions towards her.
“Your passion is my favorite thing about you. Most people around here lose it, contain it, leash it. You set yours free and it lights you up.”
I can’t go into this story too much without potentially giving loads away. But let me tell you this; it’s a rollercoaster of a ride full of drama, scheming and abounding angst. I mean angst with a capital A! Brilliantly executed, I was on the edge of my seat watching what felt like a car crash in slow motion. I couldn’t stop reading to find out what was going to happen; especially some of the decisions and actions key characters took. I couldn’t figure out who was sincere and I certainly knew who wasn’t, that’s for sure. I mustn’t forget the chemistry and passion in Cruel Fortune. Wow, one scene was intensely hot!
The writing and storytelling were absolutely outstanding and there’s a brilliantly put together playlist which if you listen to periodically as well as reading, you’ll feel like you’re living the story. When an author can transport you right there in the moment, it’s evident the writing is cleverly put together. I was kept wondering if certain characters’ actions had a lot more going on then what I was being led to believe, and intrigued as to where Ms. Linde was taking the story. I have so many books to read and it was with trepidation that I picked up my kindle to read another since this thrilling book was still stuck in the back of my mind. The ending definitely left me thirsty for more. The only clue I will give is I think the next and final part of this trilogy will have the readers even more on edge as the closing scenes were fighting talk. Bravo for a fabulous story Ms. Linde.
One year after the events of the first book, Natalie is back at the place she vowed never to put her feet again: New York. With the release of her book, her dream of being a famous writer is coming true, but being back in the city means being close to people she wants to forget and close to a lifestyle that is healthier to keep distant
But if she thought her stay in the city would be a secret, she is mistaken. Lewis, Penn and the rest of the group end up bumping into her in one situation or another, which will cause Natalie to be sucked back into the Upper East Side vortex. Deciding to establish permanent residence in the city and thus find her inspiration for an upcoming book, Natalie will be courted by Lewis and Penn, while at the same time trying to prevent Katherine from finding that her first and greatest success is based on the fateful bet of the past. But in a world where the art of manipulation is still learned in the womb, who will be the good guy? Who speaks the truth? Or is it all another sick plan?
I mentioned in the first book review that either Lewis was a great actor or really was innocent. Here I got my answer. And I was shocked by what I discovered. Katherine is enshrined as the great villain of the story, opening the hook for the next and last book. I can not wait to see if Natalie will learn to play their game or will be manipulated once again. The time of revenge is coming. And I’m looking forward to it.
I thought Natalie was charmed again with the world that she abhors very quickly. For those who wanted to stay away, did not want to be part of that glamour, she was seduced by New York very easily.
I still do not know what to think about Penn. The character has improved over the first book, has positioned himself more strongly, but I still do not trust him. I can not wait for the next book. My anxiety is high.
Ok so after a mother of a cliffhanger ending with Cruel Money, I was positively salivating to get my hands on this baby hoping a certain someone would get what was coming to her!
Ugh I’ve never hated a character more!
Unfortunately, to me it seemed Natalie just made a lot of the same mistakes. One decision in particular was super shady imo and she should have never went there, I almost wanted Penn to lose interest in her as a result of her choice.
Natalie frustrated me in this book, but I’m still very much intrigued as to what will happen in book 3 and I will definitely be reading in the hopes that a certain someone whom I loathe, and shall not be named is FINALLY brought down a peg or five!
This book had me dying and coming back to life every 5 minutes! what a roller coaster! I wasn’t expecting the turn it took, It made me throw my kindle to the wall, but I understood why it took the turn it did!! I can’t wait for book 3!
Whoa! This is the sequel to Cruel Money where it ended in a cliffhanger and we get to see Natalie and how she has returned to New York as an author. She has accomplished so much yet the sting of what the crew and Penn did to her is still there. First of all I should say I’m Team Penn all the way, so when she starts a relationship with a certain someone it absolutely drives me crazy and I can’t stand it. This person does the same things Penn has done lied, kept things a secret, and she easily tries to give them the benefit of the doubt unlike she did with Penn until this new guy ultimately betrays her. It was just frustrating but the drama with the crew and who will she end up with was very well written that I couldn’t put it down. I’m ready for the next one because I can’t wait to see what happens next and I’d love to see Katherine get smacked around some.