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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Book: The Serpent's Bride by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Genre: Dark Romantasy
Rating: 5 stars!
Audiobook Narration: 5 stars!
Thank you to Netgalley, Second Sky Books, and Bookouture Audio for an advanced listening copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I have a confession: Kathryn Ann Kingsley has been on my TBR for a long time. As a lover of dark romantasy and truly evil MMCs, her Maze of Shadows series has been on my radar for some time. When I saw this book was releasing, I knew I wanted to read it.
After Raziel killed Nadi's family when she was a child, she has vowed revenge. A fae disguised as a human, and an assassin for hire, Nadi has finally found the opportunity to take down Raziel and his entire family. She assumes the face of Raziel’s new bride (whom he has never met) and her plan begins. Raziel is an evil love interest. He enjoys unaliving, and delights in the most evil ways to do it.
This book is a nice blend of shapeshifters, fae, vampires, and other urban fantasy things we love, combined with a mafia spin. Raziel's entire family is ruthless and peddle in all sorts of illegal and immoral operations.
The push and pull between Nadi (disguised as the bridal sacrifice Monica) and Raziel is wonderful. Both are intrigued by the other. Raziel knows that, no matter what, this ends with her being sacrificed. Nadi knows, no matter what, this ends with Raziel and co facing the true death. Yet they find themselves drawn to one another, intrigued the more they learn, and confused that their initial expectations do not match the person they were expecting.
I am very excited for book 2! I inhaled this book in 2 days, and I only didn't finish it in 1 because life demanded my time.
The audiobook narration was very well-done. The narrator did a great job with Raziel's/other male character's voices. Her inflection while narrating helped immerse me in the story. She kept the tension there, and did such a great job with Nadi!
Genre: Dark Romantasy
Rating: 5 stars!
Audiobook Narration: 5 stars!
Thank you to Netgalley, Second Sky Books, and Bookouture Audio for an advanced listening copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I have a confession: Kathryn Ann Kingsley has been on my TBR for a long time. As a lover of dark romantasy and truly evil MMCs, her Maze of Shadows series has been on my radar for some time. When I saw this book was releasing, I knew I wanted to read it.
After Raziel killed Nadi's family when she was a child, she has vowed revenge. A fae disguised as a human, and an assassin for hire, Nadi has finally found the opportunity to take down Raziel and his entire family. She assumes the face of Raziel’s new bride (whom he has never met) and her plan begins. Raziel is an evil love interest. He enjoys unaliving, and delights in the most evil ways to do it.
This book is a nice blend of shapeshifters, fae, vampires, and other urban fantasy things we love, combined with a mafia spin. Raziel's entire family is ruthless and peddle in all sorts of illegal and immoral operations.
The push and pull between Nadi (disguised as the bridal sacrifice Monica) and Raziel is wonderful. Both are intrigued by the other. Raziel knows that, no matter what, this ends with her being sacrificed. Nadi knows, no matter what, this ends with Raziel and co facing the true death. Yet they find themselves drawn to one another, intrigued the more they learn, and confused that their initial expectations do not match the person they were expecting.
I am very excited for book 2! I inhaled this book in 2 days, and I only didn't finish it in 1 because life demanded my time.
The audiobook narration was very well-done. The narrator did a great job with Raziel's/other male character's voices. Her inflection while narrating helped immerse me in the story. She kept the tension there, and did such a great job with Nadi!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed the slow-burn of The Serpent's Bride.
The story mixes vampires, fae, and humans with ease. The revenge plot was interesting and kept me hooked. The slow-burn took a bit to build up, but the wait was so worth it.
The FMC was great. Smart, fearless, vicious. All the while having a quiet vulnerability easily relatable.
The MMC was was also great. He was broody and violent, but protective in a way the best MMC's are.
Overall story was a great build for what's to come, ending on a cliffhanger that left me wanting more.
The narrator did an excellent job of bringing the story to life and catching the different personalities.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for ALC.
The story mixes vampires, fae, and humans with ease. The revenge plot was interesting and kept me hooked. The slow-burn took a bit to build up, but the wait was so worth it.
The FMC was great. Smart, fearless, vicious. All the while having a quiet vulnerability easily relatable.
The MMC was was also great. He was broody and violent, but protective in a way the best MMC's are.
Overall story was a great build for what's to come, ending on a cliffhanger that left me wanting more.
The narrator did an excellent job of bringing the story to life and catching the different personalities.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for ALC.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book pulls you in from the beginning, and then it takes you on a fast-paced ride that doesn't let up until the final period on the last page. At which point your mind starts reeling over the ending.
We've got a shapeshifting fae out for revenge and a dangerous vampire with a mafia-esque family. She's an assassin with a vendetta. He's the monster who killed her family. So she poses as his betrothed, whom he has never seen, in an attempt to 🔪 him.
Both the MFC and MMC are morally gray, like a dark gray. They're both willing to do whatever it takes to do what needs to be done. And if that means getting a little spicy, so be it.
Despite both having sinister plans for the other, there is a strong attraction between them, and it is so well written. The dialogue between the two is fantastic and deliciously fun. I love the way they both take little jabs at one another throughout.
There were a few inner monologues of the MFC that were a little repetitive at times, but had I been reading it instead of listening, I might not have felt that way.
I love how well-woven together the story was, like watching a game of chess played by two masters unfold. Each time one thing happened, it created a ripple effect and you were never sure who it would affect more.
The narrator was fantastic, and I loved the voice she created for the MMC. She brought so much emotional depth to the story with her narration style. Each character was unique and different from the others.
Overall, it was a great read and I cannot wait for the next one.
We've got a shapeshifting fae out for revenge and a dangerous vampire with a mafia-esque family. She's an assassin with a vendetta. He's the monster who killed her family. So she poses as his betrothed, whom he has never seen, in an attempt to 🔪 him.
Both the MFC and MMC are morally gray, like a dark gray. They're both willing to do whatever it takes to do what needs to be done. And if that means getting a little spicy, so be it.
Despite both having sinister plans for the other, there is a strong attraction between them, and it is so well written. The dialogue between the two is fantastic and deliciously fun. I love the way they both take little jabs at one another throughout.
There were a few inner monologues of the MFC that were a little repetitive at times, but had I been reading it instead of listening, I might not have felt that way.
I love how well-woven together the story was, like watching a game of chess played by two masters unfold. Each time one thing happened, it created a ripple effect and you were never sure who it would affect more.
The narrator was fantastic, and I loved the voice she created for the MMC. She brought so much emotional depth to the story with her narration style. Each character was unique and different from the others.
Overall, it was a great read and I cannot wait for the next one.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thoroughly enjoyed this! Vampires and Fae? Count me in. Add a sprinkle of dark romance, spice, a marriage of convenience and a mafia-esque family? I'm not above begging.
The Serpent's Bride has a fairly straightforward plot; Nadi, a shapeshifting Fae, assumes the role of Monica, a human destined to marry Raziel, the bloodthirsty vampire who killed her siblings and parents some eighty years ago. By infiltrating the family from the inside, Nadi hopes to beguile the vampires into prolonging her time with them before her 'sacrifice' is to be made - the human bride must die or be turned. Things get complicated when Nadi starts developing feelings, beyond hatred, for her husband.
Nadi being a Fae disguised as a human added a unique aspect. You get the inner monologue of a feisty Fae assassin but the outward act of a human around a family of terrifying vampires. I enjoyed her as a character, I think she held her own, and loved seeing how her conflicting feelings progressed through the story.
Raziel is your typical morally black MMC. He's blood-thirsty, ruthless and has a reputation that precedes him. Despite only marrying Monica to appease his family traditions, he soon becomes protective of her and you start to see his feelings towards 'Monica' shift. His dommy side is absolutely delightful (🥵) and the spice is truly scrumptious.
I did expect a bit more spice but maybe I'm just being greedy. I will say though, we got a couple of biting scenes (vampire lovers, iykyk) and they were wonderful. 10/10, no notes, give me more.
Don't go into this expecting loads of lore or world-building - the storyline, romance and characters are very much the focus, not the world or its history. As a result, I think this is a book that fantasy and non-fantasy readers alike can enjoy.
While I, personally, would have loved more detail about Runne, the outside world, and the backstory behind the Vampires/Fae/Humans, I do understand it's not actually that important and wouldn't have enhanced the story itself.
An easy read with a compelling story and plenty of tropes & plot points that I love meant that I flew through The Serpent's Bride. The pacing felt a tiny bit slow initially, perhaps because we were aware of Nadi's motive from the beginning, but the last 30% of the book was a one-sitting read, for sure. And the last 10%? (THAT ENDING. WHAT?) Wow. I didn't see that coming, but I loved it.
I'm so excited for the second book - I absolutely need to know how it continues.
Thank you so much to the publisher for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my review.
The Serpent's Bride has a fairly straightforward plot; Nadi, a shapeshifting Fae, assumes the role of Monica, a human destined to marry Raziel, the bloodthirsty vampire who killed her siblings and parents some eighty years ago. By infiltrating the family from the inside, Nadi hopes to beguile the vampires into prolonging her time with them before her 'sacrifice' is to be made - the human bride must die or be turned. Things get complicated when Nadi starts developing feelings, beyond hatred, for her husband.
Nadi being a Fae disguised as a human added a unique aspect. You get the inner monologue of a feisty Fae assassin but the outward act of a human around a family of terrifying vampires. I enjoyed her as a character, I think she held her own, and loved seeing how her conflicting feelings progressed through the story.
Raziel is your typical morally black MMC. He's blood-thirsty, ruthless and has a reputation that precedes him. Despite only marrying Monica to appease his family traditions, he soon becomes protective of her and you start to see his feelings towards 'Monica' shift. His dommy side is absolutely delightful (🥵) and the spice is truly scrumptious.
I did expect a bit more spice but maybe I'm just being greedy. I will say though, we got a couple of biting scenes (vampire lovers, iykyk) and they were wonderful. 10/10, no notes, give me more.
Don't go into this expecting loads of lore or world-building - the storyline, romance and characters are very much the focus, not the world or its history. As a result, I think this is a book that fantasy and non-fantasy readers alike can enjoy.
While I, personally, would have loved more detail about Runne, the outside world, and the backstory behind the Vampires/Fae/Humans, I do understand it's not actually that important and wouldn't have enhanced the story itself.
An easy read with a compelling story and plenty of tropes & plot points that I love meant that I flew through The Serpent's Bride. The pacing felt a tiny bit slow initially, perhaps because we were aware of Nadi's motive from the beginning, but the last 30% of the book was a one-sitting read, for sure. And the last 10%? (THAT ENDING. WHAT?) Wow. I didn't see that coming, but I loved it.
I'm so excited for the second book - I absolutely need to know how it continues.
Thank you so much to the publisher for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my review.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Now this is a true enemies-to-lovers!
Our FMC, Nadi, is a fae shifter female who lost her entire family to a vampire crime lord, Raziel Nostrom, also known as The Serpent. She's spent her whole life training to take him and his entire family down, and her time has finally come. When Nadi learns that The Serpent is about to be married to a human woman he has never met, she takes the opportunity to disguise herself as his bride and infiltrate his home. But Nadi must work quickly if she's going to get her revenge because non-vampire brides must either be turned or sacrificed on their honeymoon, and the Nostrom family matriarch has decided that she's not to return from the trip.
This book had a lot of things that I'm not always a huge fan of (vampires, a crime family, shifters, etc.), but I am a huge fan of a marriage of convenience, so I decided to give it a try anyway. And I'm so glad that I did because I was hooked on this! I was so here for the FMC's revenge plot, and I was even more here for the attraction between her and the MMC. I loved the cat and mouse dynamic between them and the way I wasn't always sure of who was the cat and who was the mouse. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see which way the ending was going to go, and I was completely shocked when it went a way I didn't even know was an option. The author leaves us with a pretty big cliffhanger, and I genuinely can't wait to read the next book!
My only real criticism is that because we know the FMC's plan from the very beginning, the pacing of the book did feel a little slow, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just not normally my preference.
I listened to the audiobook, and I thought that the narrator did an excellent job. I really enjoyed her voice acting, and specifically the voices that she did for the male characters. That can really make or break an audiobook for me.
I would recommend this if you are a fan of marriage of convenience, dark romance, a bad ass FMC, and a powerful, slightly unhinged MMC!
Thank you to The Nerd Fam, NetGalley, and Bookouture Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
Our FMC, Nadi, is a fae shifter female who lost her entire family to a vampire crime lord, Raziel Nostrom, also known as The Serpent. She's spent her whole life training to take him and his entire family down, and her time has finally come. When Nadi learns that The Serpent is about to be married to a human woman he has never met, she takes the opportunity to disguise herself as his bride and infiltrate his home. But Nadi must work quickly if she's going to get her revenge because non-vampire brides must either be turned or sacrificed on their honeymoon, and the Nostrom family matriarch has decided that she's not to return from the trip.
This book had a lot of things that I'm not always a huge fan of (vampires, a crime family, shifters, etc.), but I am a huge fan of a marriage of convenience, so I decided to give it a try anyway. And I'm so glad that I did because I was hooked on this! I was so here for the FMC's revenge plot, and I was even more here for the attraction between her and the MMC. I loved the cat and mouse dynamic between them and the way I wasn't always sure of who was the cat and who was the mouse. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see which way the ending was going to go, and I was completely shocked when it went a way I didn't even know was an option. The author leaves us with a pretty big cliffhanger, and I genuinely can't wait to read the next book!
My only real criticism is that because we know the FMC's plan from the very beginning, the pacing of the book did feel a little slow, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just not normally my preference.
I listened to the audiobook, and I thought that the narrator did an excellent job. I really enjoyed her voice acting, and specifically the voices that she did for the male characters. That can really make or break an audiobook for me.
I would recommend this if you are a fan of marriage of convenience, dark romance, a bad ass FMC, and a powerful, slightly unhinged MMC!
Thank you to The Nerd Fam, NetGalley, and Bookouture Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2025: 2.75
Ugh. This is more like the dark crystal than Harrow Faire.
Ugh. This is more like the dark crystal than Harrow Faire.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
You can find this review of The Serpent's Bride on my blog, Heart's Content!
A big shout out and thank you to The NerdFam and the publisher for gifting me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
A big shout out and thank you to The NerdFam and the publisher for gifting me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
The premise for this story is one that’s not uncommon to its genre, however the execution of it is where the strength of the story lies. The FMC has a very emotional, heart-breaking and traumatic experience in the past that was singlehandedly influenced/orchestrated by the MMC. The story revolves around the FMC and her vengeance drenched actions that take her down the murky and dangerous path leading to the Vampire Mafia.
The writing and world building in this book are closely associated to one another (thus mentioned together) and are definitely one of the stronger suits of the story. Despite the familiar theme, the author’s unique take on it was what makes the book what it is. With paranormal beings set in a fairly contemporary world, the author has done a great job mixing a magical world with a familiar one; which generally makes the world easier to understand given that the foundation is well known to us.
The story is told by both MCs in third person dual perspectives. I will say the author has done a fantastic job creating a true anti-hero; I’ve noticed in most books the characterisation style almost always shies away from portraying the true grey-black of a protagonist that’s meant to be morally black. I will say in this story, Kingsley has not worried in the least that we might hate her protagonist. Because, well … We do. It’s not the redemption of this character, but the journey of living life in their shoes, watching their choices henceforth and observing the changes in them, that will make the readers feel for them and I am curious to see how the author takes on this challenge. Alternatively, the FMC is likeable, nearly from the first time we hear her story/voice. There’s so much pain, cunning and courage in her that it’s hard not to love her a little immediately.
The pace of the story was wonderfully even. This wasn’t a hard book to read given how much was happening nearly all the time. It was certainly interesting and kept the story going.
There were of course some aspects I struggled with and those generally involved the way there seemed to be some kind of … tangential path to the original intentions of the heroine. While I agree that yes, you make sacrifices and will have to pay a steep price for something as demanding as a revenge plot; I still somehow felt that there were some counterintuitive choices made by the character that didn’t add up to her personality or the choices she had made prior to that scene.
I, personally, didn’t connect to the relationship between the protagonists. I enjoyed it quite a bit when she hated him (because of how well built the set up for them being enemies was) but couldn’t associate to her when she began to feel a connection (something that happens fairly soon).
After a certain point I did sense that while the character had a lot of plans that she would speak about constantly, there wasn’t as much action happening on page. It took awhile before it finally fructified and I found myself begin to skim reading until then.
My favourite part—that also elevated my general opinion about the book—was certainly the ending. The book ended on such a surprise that I found myself smiling from having read something that influenced my experience so positively! I didn’t expect it and it certainly intrigues and creates such a wonderfully neat little door of opportunity for redemption/character and relationship development. I’m really quite curious to see what happens next!
Happy reading and please do check trigger warnings as always. There are themes and scenes in this book that can be difficult for some.
I listened to this one on audio (single narration) and it was just… okay. I kept catching myself zoning out and letting it fade into background noise, which isn’t a great sign. That said, I don’t think it’s the story’s fault—I’m adding it back to my Kindle TBR to give it a proper shot before book 2 releases. I’ll circle back with an updated review once I’ve read it instead of half-listened to it.