They are both republican era dramas. The male leads are wealthy, but were somehow poor or not as wealthy when young. The female leads were both rich in the beginning and the family was wronged in a way. The female lead also blames the male lead for the misfortune upon her family. Cruel Romance is a lot more violent, well bc the male lead is kinda like a mob boss, but not really. In The cage of love, it was slow and a lot more of an innocent love.