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A review by chroniclesofabookreader
The Viper by Kele Moon
3.0
**3.5 Stars***
Marcos and Katie are on two very opposite sides of the track and of life. One is naive and good-hearted, the other is hard and experienced. But on an accidental meeting, their lives become entwined. Marcos gets pulled into Katie’s life despite his misgivings and his desperation to pull away in order to protect her, but something in her innocence calls to his soul.
Katie has led a very sheltered life. She was never wanted or appreciated so she sort of falls into that category of going for the first guy who pays her mind. Unfortunately, that did not work out well, and she’s single again. She really only sees the good in people, even her awful ex-husband. She has a retained sense of innocence, but she’s also someone who believes in her convictions. She truly believes Marcos is a good guy, even under his persona. She’s almost a believer to a fault, as she bucks all safety to be with him.
Marcos has not led a safe life. He’s a member of a gang in Miami that has tainted every part of him. He’s fine with that, but he doesn’t want Katie tainted by it too. So he refuses to be a part of her life, instead choosing to go back to Miami. He doesn’t expect her calling to be so strong. Marcos, I believe, was a good guy. Growing up in poverty in Miami with no father figure to earn the money, he was forced to be that person. For most young men they choose the streets because that’s all they can do. He was forced into his way of living, and he dealt with it. Gave it reasoning and excuses, and he was content to continue in that existence until he was shown what good could come to him, in the form of Katie.
I thought the storyline was great, I love seeing a hard man be made soft by a good, caring woman. The only part of the story that I had a hard time with was his Puerto Rican nature. As someone who is privvy to gangs and their culture, I found his mannerisms (mostly the way he conversed or the things he said) to be out of character of an actual gangster of Latino race. After awhile, I was able to ignore it, because I realized this is fiction, and it is my own personal feeling on it. It certainly didn’t pull me away from the story completely. I loved their love story, and how not only did he change for the better, but she did too. He helped her to grow just as much as she did for him, which is beautiful.
**Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review**
Marcos and Katie are on two very opposite sides of the track and of life. One is naive and good-hearted, the other is hard and experienced. But on an accidental meeting, their lives become entwined. Marcos gets pulled into Katie’s life despite his misgivings and his desperation to pull away in order to protect her, but something in her innocence calls to his soul.
Katie has led a very sheltered life. She was never wanted or appreciated so she sort of falls into that category of going for the first guy who pays her mind. Unfortunately, that did not work out well, and she’s single again. She really only sees the good in people, even her awful ex-husband. She has a retained sense of innocence, but she’s also someone who believes in her convictions. She truly believes Marcos is a good guy, even under his persona. She’s almost a believer to a fault, as she bucks all safety to be with him.
Marcos has not led a safe life. He’s a member of a gang in Miami that has tainted every part of him. He’s fine with that, but he doesn’t want Katie tainted by it too. So he refuses to be a part of her life, instead choosing to go back to Miami. He doesn’t expect her calling to be so strong. Marcos, I believe, was a good guy. Growing up in poverty in Miami with no father figure to earn the money, he was forced to be that person. For most young men they choose the streets because that’s all they can do. He was forced into his way of living, and he dealt with it. Gave it reasoning and excuses, and he was content to continue in that existence until he was shown what good could come to him, in the form of Katie.
I thought the storyline was great, I love seeing a hard man be made soft by a good, caring woman. The only part of the story that I had a hard time with was his Puerto Rican nature. As someone who is privvy to gangs and their culture, I found his mannerisms (mostly the way he conversed or the things he said) to be out of character of an actual gangster of Latino race. After awhile, I was able to ignore it, because I realized this is fiction, and it is my own personal feeling on it. It certainly didn’t pull me away from the story completely. I loved their love story, and how not only did he change for the better, but she did too. He helped her to grow just as much as she did for him, which is beautiful.
**Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review**