Bite of Sin

Shadows of War #1

by Kay Riley

I survive. I don’t live.

After decades of war between the vampires and humans, we now all exist in a tense peace. The government has become a dictatorship, claiming it’s the best for human survival.

I’m part of a group that trains me how to fight. How to kill. To unseat the government. To overthrow the vampires. Until one night changes everything, and I find myself alone and on the run.

I end up in vampire territory. I planned to stay quiet. Hidden. Until one certain vampire finds me, and decides he doesn’t want me to leave. Zan brings me to his city, not letting me out of his sight.

But once there, I overhear things proving the vampires aren’t interested in keeping peace much longer.

Zan doesn't trust me. And he shouldn't.

I need to stop him and the other vampires from whatever they’re planning. The problem is, the longer I'm stuck with him, the more I see we're not all that different. But as time goes on, the truth becomes obvious.

Only one of us will make it out of this alive.

*This is a dark, paranormal vampire romance set in a dystopian world. This is book one of a series and does end in a cliffhanger. It is an enemies to lovers romance with dark themes. For more information on content, please refer to the author’s website.*

Genres: Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal, Dystopia, Enemies To Lovers, Dark Romance, Romance

371 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 29, 2023

About the author

Kay Riley writes dark contemporary and paranormal romance. She loves writing feisty, strong heroines, and keeps things interesting with unexpected twists. Kay grew up in the Midwest but has lived in some amazing places, including Japan.
When she's not writing, she is spending time with her husband and kids. She loves cats, coffee, reading, and her guilty pleasure is watching reality shows.

Reviews

[₊⋆ Nyxia ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vampire Dark Romance • Dystopian World

𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝓃𝑜 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒶 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹.

𝐼 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒.

The book hangover is real. This book was so good! So fast paced. The action. Suspense of what was going to happen, the romance ahhh I absolutely loved it!

The dystopian world itself is great and was easy to follow. War between humans and vampires. We’re following post war…kind of there’s definitely a lot that’s happening and that will happen.

I love anything vampire. I loved Zan! Omggg

"𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕜𝕚𝕤𝕤? 𝕀'𝕕 𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖."

Swoon worthy vampire. Unhinged man. Who did this to you vibes.

Kali such a strong FMC! I love her. She doesn’t back down. And overall a great character.

I’ve read other books from this author & they’re always amazing. If you want vampires, action, enemies to lovers & a bada$$ FMC pick up this book!

🧛🤍🔪

[Amanda Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a millennial I have consumed a fair amount of vampire content (books, movies, shows) but Bite of Sin is making me crave even more!

I’ve been a fan of Kay Riley’s for a while, so I was super excited to hear she was stepping outside of her usual genre and writing something different. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the dark romance writing she is known for is still present, which creates a thrilling dark vampire romance.

Kali and Zan are true enemies to lovers with the best banter, and palpable tension that jumps off the page. I enjoyed the slow burn between the characters, and the pay off made for some super hot spicy scenes.

I will be thinking about this cliff hanger everyday until the next book!

[Jess McDaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

YESSS! It may have taken me a bit to read, but man, it was good! Kali is my favorite type of fmc. She takes no crap and when put in situations, she's a fast thinker. Zan is 🥵 he may be a total alphahole, but it seems like he will move the earth for Kali.

There are a couple spicy bits, but there's a lot of world building and plot going on. It's action packed and I never felt like it was slow at any point. There's lots of things to uncover and I'm super curious as to what is going to happen next!!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not what I was expecting at all!!! I kept thinking a cross of Twilight and Dracula for some reason. But this book was a much better!!! Kali is an orphan, as are her friends Helena and Warren. In the city they live in, each orphan is cut on their 25th birthday. If they bleed black, they are told they go to “treatment.” When Kali, Warren and Helena discover what really happens, it sets off a whole new reality for them. I desperately need book 2!!!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kay Riley's first paranormal romance has everything you've grown to love from her contemporary romance and more. I'm loving the dynamic between Kali and Zan, our main characters who definitely have some tension.

I love the world she's create too, and its different than other vampire romances I've read.

If you love paranormal romance or have read any of Kay Rileys previous books, i can definitely say you will enjoy this.

[Philippa Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎?”
“𝚈𝚘𝚞’𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚊𝚗.”
“𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎?” 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛, 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎’𝚍 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.

🩸🩸🩸🩸 / 5

🌶️🌶️ / 5

»»————-✼————-««

Review:
I’m a HUGE lover of basically everything Kay has ever written, I will eat that sh!t up! So I was super excited to hear she was delving into a paranormal dystopian and I just HAD to make sure I read it! And boy it did not disappoint!

I will admit although I do love a dystopian it’s not my go to genre and I normally procrastinate starting them, but absolutely devour them once I start😅 however the few snippets that Kay teased had me running to start as soon as the ARC hit my kindle! And I was transfixed, I totally did not get ready for work in 15 minutes because I was so engrossed with reading!

As Bite of Sin is the first in the series, the first few chapters are a little slow, as the scene is set, like with most dystopians the world building is so important to set the scene and just really make you hate the governing body. Kay’s world building was great and I could truly picture Project Hope and the forest, definitely had some Hunger Games vibes.

Although I found Kali slightly annoying and repetitive in the first 3 chapters, she definitely grows out of it and I fell deeply in love with her and her fiery attitude! Her strong ‘must do what’s right’ and ‘I would die for my family’ attitude really melted my ice heart; and her constant need to piss Zan off spoke to me on so many levels and it’s totally not something I do to piss off Mr Boyfriend… I think Kali has the beginnings of great character development and I can’t wait to see where Kay takes her in the next book!

Zan is *chefs kiss* and honestly that’s all I can say on the matter. Completely and utterly obsessed with him and his obsession for Kali🤷‍♀️ what can I say I am a dark romance lover and forced proximity and k!dnapping I mean ‘you can’t leave, I will always find you’ are tropes I do enjoy…

This is a dark romance so make sure you check the trigger warnings before you read, your mental health is so important🥰

And now I’m gunna sit staring at the ceiling for the foreseeable future while I wait for Kay to release sequels to all the series I’m reading as I MUST know what happens and I totally don’t feel empty inside…

For lovers of:
- Dark Romance
- Paranormal Dystopians
- Vampires
- Found family
- Enemies to lovers
- Touch her and I’ll k!ll you
- I will always find you

[Monica RP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha sido justo lo que necesitaba, un libro que se lee solo. Vampiros, intrigas, romance emergente. Creo que el siguiente puede estar incluso mejor cuando se vayan descubriendo cositas.

[Britney · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

“Because the one kiss I’d shared with him had ruined everything.”

[Yasemina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in 2 days.
Really like the enemies to lovers vibes💅

[Kreela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I swear this book pulled me out of a DNF slump. I started several books and even reached 70% on two of them before realizing I couldn’t finish. What made this book so good? I suppose I just needed a story not dominated by romantic angst over each other dragging the plot down. I needed a logical plot. I needed main characters that didn’t make me want to scratch my skin off.

Kali may have grown up parentless, but she had a group of orphan friends who had trained as resistance to the dystopian, doctrinarian state. All humans were tested at 25 and those tainted were “sent for treatment” [eliminated].

When she followed her two best friends to discover what happened to tainted people, she escaped only because other resistance members aided her, hoping she would be helpful outside the enclave. In other words, they wanted a spy.

She never saw herself as a spy but as a person of interest hiding from the PARA, or paramilitary group. Kali was the perfect spy. Attempting to hide in the nearest abandoned city, she discovered it was a vampire mecca, which went against all she had learned. They weren’t loners. They weren’t stupid.

Since she applied a spray to mask her scent, the first vampire who found her assumed she was a new vampire. As she grew more aware of the vampire society, she summarized everything on a napkin and managed to drop it off for the resistance. Little did she know that the Clovers were not her family, not her friends, and she had just opened the back door wide for them (shudder!)

The Romance:
Zan claims her upon first sight. It’s not a lame “Mine!”. He treats her as the stabby and prickly woman of his dreams, and every meeting ends in a surprise and a plot pivot point. Yep, he won’t take no for an answer. He distrusts her. He won’t let her go. Everything in a book alpha fantasy I want right now.


⁃ He likes her just the way she is
⁃ Enemies-to-lovers
⁃ Tattooed lady
⁃ Dual POV, first person
⁃ Strong, independent FMC
⁃ Clash of Control
⁃ Backstabbing

[Carmen Alicea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bite of Sin takes you on a dark and captivating adventure through a dystopian world that an unending war between vampires and humans has torn apart. The novel grips readers with its enthralling story and transports them to a future where survival is the only thing that matters, and the line between good and evil fades into obscurity.

Get ready to be captivated right from the start as you join Kali on her perilous journey, where she struggles to deal with the consequences of mere survival and the unforeseen bonds that form in a world on the brink of ruin. The connection between Zan and his brothers is the heart of this story. Their bond is so strong that it draws you in, and you won't be disappointed once they have your attention. Despite being monsters, they have good hearts.

Kali is a strong, beautiful, and loyal individual who is always there for her friends, willing to do anything to protect them. She is a member of a courageous group that has been trained to fight and kill, with the singular mission of overthrowing the government and unseating the vampire rulers. However, when things worsen and the humans want her dead, Kali is forced to go into hiding.

While on the run, Kali finds herself deep within vampire territory, where she encounters Zan, a mysterious vampire who defies convention by sparing her life and drawing her into his city. The story quickly becomes a thrilling game of trust and deception. Zan, with his enigmatic motives, is both a lifeline and a potential threat. As the plot thickens, Kali learns that not all the stories about vampires are accurate and that humans have been lying to them to keep them under control.

She and Zan have an incredible connection that neither can fight and as she learns to trust him and his people, she realizes that they are not as bad as she thought. Kali knows she can't keep fighting her connection to Zan, so she helps him and accepts that there is more to him than meets the eye. Zan proves that he will always be there to protect her.

The author expertly weaves a narrative filled with suspense, political intrigue, and complex characters that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. This book is a must-read for fans of dark fantasy and dystopian fiction, offering a thought-provoking exploration of humanity's resilience in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Bite of Sin is a sinfully irresistible read that will leave you craving for more.

[Whitney Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kay Riley is my go-to contemporary dark romance author and I couldn't wait to read her first paranormal romance book. She did not disappoint! After finishing book one, I am entranced in this world and cannot wait for book two!

Bite of Sin was such an amazing start to this series! Any paranormal series has to start with world building, and Kay did such a great job of setting up the world and characters while still filling this book with action and advancing the plot. This was such a quick and enjoyable read.

This book follows Kali, a human in a dystopian world where it is humans vs. vampires. She is such strong and badass FMC! Kali has been brought up to hate vampires but also to question the totalitarian style government that is in place. Once she is forced out of the government compound, she is found by Zan Kane and his brothers, the sons of the leader of the vampires.

Kali pretends to be one of them to try to get by without being used as food or killed for learning too much during her stay with the infamous Kane brothers. Kali does her best to survive so that she can flee and be reunited with her only friend left in this dystopian world.

This is a slow burn romance with only a few spicy scenes towards the end of the book, and while spicy books are my favorite type of books, I didn't miss the spice here. The book was well written, there was such strong character development of Kali and Zan. While Kay answered so many questions, she left so many open for readers to discover in the next two books. Highly recommend if you enjoy the below genres/tropes!

🌶️.5/5

🔥Dystopian World
🔥Vampires
🔥Paranormal Romance
🔥Touch Her and ☠️
🔥Slow Burn
🔥Enemies to Lovers

[Alyssa Hungate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just realized I never updated from my reread! This is one of those that I liked even more the second time around. Maury Povich says the results are in and I do in fact love toxic fictional men more now than I used to 🤣

The “will they or won’t they” (*ahem*…the basement scene…) was a big tease. I found myself constantly internally screaming at them to just communicate. 🤣 I did like that there were twists and turns and I never really knew what was coming next. And it kept me intrigued enough to read the next one.

Kali: strong, not super whiny like some FMCs with a tragic past/hard life. Her internal back and forth was a little frustrating but again, that might just be my taste.

Zan: definitely morally grey, not just misunderstood or misrepresented. But not so morally grey that you can’t find him appealing. He’s possessive of her from the get go. He essentially kidnaps her twice (she is technically involved in him being kidnapped once too..). I can’t quite figure out if he really is as murder-y as he threatens or if that’s just a front and we’ll see a different truth in the next book?

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speechless ! That is how I feel after finishing Bite of Sin. Kay Riley is such an amazing and is easily becoming a one click author. For her first paranormal book she has outdone herself. The world building, the characters, the feelings, the everything.
Kali is on the run and stumbles into a vampire city. But not just any city Zans’ city. With his brothers, Viggo and Pax, Zan run the city and are trying to gather information to take down Project Hope. At first Kali is taking in all the information she can to give to the Clovers but she keeps some secrets when she is reunited with them.
Kali can’t explain her feelings towards Zan anymore than he can explain his feelings for her. They have a connection but neither knows why or how. They are taught to hate each other but neither can bring themselves to kill the other.
I so need more!!!

[Natalia Munoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off let me start by saying HOLY SH*T!!!!!!

If you love vampires, enemies to lovers, banter, possessive book boyfriends and feisty female characters then Bite of Sin should be your next book.

Kali is a badass with a smart mouth, she is feisty especially to the main male character Zan. Their banter is chefs 😘. This book has you not wanting to put it down, the story building is amazing and I love how you never know what is going to happen. Zan is my man, I always love a possessive alpha male and boy does he not disappoint along with his two twin brothers.

Honestly, Kay Riley has ruined me completely with her books. So to put it, she did not disappoint……… I can’t wait for book two.

I give a 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5 spice rating.

[Rachel Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!
Vampires and enimies to lovers, what a great combination.
The story will grab your attention from the start.
Lots of secrets and lies, some keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Full of action, suspense, spice and more!!
Kali is a great FMC. She is intelligent, strong and no push over.
Zan is just plain yummy. I loved his persistence and that he was a bit of a mystery.
The push, pull and sexual tension between them was everything. I loved seeing the connection between them change into something more. That's not to say they still aren't enimies, but I felt like they made a bit of progress. I can't wait to see how things between them in book 2!!
What a great was to start a series!!!
I loved it!

[Megan Connarton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had everything! Apocalypse in a vampire-run world rebellion spice loss. I really enjoyed Kali's character and her romance with Zan. I found myself wanting to know everything about this world. It reminded me of Julie Kagawa's immortal rules, but I liked this book so much better! I liked how she had a bond with Pax in the very beginning, and he didn't just turn on her completely. I liked how Kali showed her strength she was no pushover, that's for sure! I aspire to be as strong as Kali is fighting for her own survival. I can't wait to see what the next book! It's definitely one of my most anticipated reads! If you are looking for an exciting read for a spooky season with vampires, this is the book for you!

[Blanca · Rating 5 out of 5]

100000/10

This story was so out of the norm for Kay but it was just as riveting and entrancing as the rest. Plus it’s vampires I mean come on

That being said, Kay I’m gonna need the next one cause I’m obsessed and I need to know what the hell else is gonna come out about Zan and the vampires

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Should not have taken this long.
Pacing was pretty inconsistent. Dont know if its a me problem but could not get into this for love nor money.
FMC is a pita imo

[Razzle Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚ARC REVIEW📚

Bite of Sin by Kay Riley
(Shadows of War book 1)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️/3
Genres: paranormal romance
Tropes: forbidden love, forced proximity, kidnapping, enemies to lovers, different worlds, “touch her and die”, dystopian

After decades of war between the vampires and humans, society now exists in a tense peace. The government holds a tight reign on its citizens, claiming it is to keep them protected and cared for in a world that has dangers and a lack of resources.

Kali is part of a resistance group that trains her to fight against the vampires and work to overthrow the government. That is, until she discovers a secret the government has been keeping from the public and has to go on the run.

She is quickly found by the sons of the vampire leader, and has to pretend to be a vampire in order to save herself. They take her to live in nearby vampire community until her “change is complete”. Kali starts to see them in a new light and realizes there are a lot more secrets that her government has been keeping from her.

This is a dual POV between Kali and Zan (one of the vampire leader’s sons).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is Kay Riley’s first paranormal book, and it is a fantastic start to a new series. Kali is a very funny character with a lot of depth. She is easy to relate to and root for. Zan is a morally gray MMC who is ruthless, but he is also gentle with Kali (which is, in my opinion, the best combination for a MMC).

The world is set in a near future dystopia. There is definitely a lot of world building and information needed to properly set up this series, and the author did a fairly good job. I would have liked to know more about the war in general (especially since it is important to the plot), and there were a few plot details that probably should have been elaborated on more. Overall, though, it was definitely a solid start to the series and there was more than enough info to be able to still get immersed in the world without too many open questions.

Definitely a great spicy/modern vampire romance book. If you like paranormal romance with the enemies-to-lovers trope, check out this series!


Thank you to the author for a copy of this to read ✨





‼️‼️book specific notes, may contain spoilers ‼️‼️

-one of the things that makes this story work is that the humans have supposedly developed a lotion that prevents vampires from smelling their blood. I want to know how they developed this? “Scent” isn’t really a quantifiable metric, and the humans and vampires are not on the type of terms where they could have vampires come in and test it. How did the humans discover that it works?

-do the vampires still need regular food? They have food for the humans at their community; where does it come from?

-I really want to know more of the general vampire history. What happened before the war? Why did the war start (like what was the event that triggered it)?

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minor Spoilers
This book was amazing it really is a 4.5 for me and I loved it. I am usually not one for a slow burn unless it is done right, and this was done right. It was also a true enemy to lovers where especially the FMC hates the MMC. But the MMC who is supposed to hate the FMC is just drawn to her and god help anyone who gets between him and the girl. I also really enjoyed the author's twist on vampires as it does deviate from the standard norm and made for an interesting story.
This book starts off with Zan, Pax and Viggo as small children who are sneaking around their father's home as they want to know more about the war effort going on. Their father is a vampire and is basically at the fore front of the war against humans. After trying to spy on their father they are sneaking back to their room when they hear a woman crying. They go to her and find out she is to be put to death but wants them to save her baby and get her off the estate to someplace safe. The boys reluctantly do it because they know the baby is innocent.
24 years pass and the war is basically at a stalemate/cease fire. Kali the FMC who is an orphan is at a monthly ritual that is required by all citizens after their 25th birthday where they are cut to see if they bleed red or if they bleed black. Black blood means they are a vampire/human hybrid called shadows, but this trait lays dormant until their 25th bday. At this ritual she is watching a good friend of her be tested but she unfortunately fails the test. Now, what they have been told by officials that those who bleed black are to leave for treatment, but no one actually knows where or what the treatment is as no one who has ever left has ever return. After she and her other two friends say goodbye, they decide to sneak out of the city which is on heavy lockdown and almost a dictatorship to keep the human residence under control. They want to see if they can grab their friend and get her someplace safe. But in following her they uncover a secret that the government doesn't want its people to know... and that there is no treatment they administer. Instead, they take those infected and execute them. After witnessing their friend's execution, they draw the attention of the officials and have to run because if caught they will be executed as well. But while trying to evade the officials Kali runs into something else that prowls in the dark of night...vampires.
This book leaves on a cliff hanger, and I can't wait to read it!

[Fay Hua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ill try my best to sum this up without major spoilers.

Needs More editing, no information, deadweights, pita mcs.

Enemies to lovers? No, Enemies to Lusters.

This book would've been so good if they weren't just constantly lusting over each other. I mean yeah its a dark romance but honestly it gets to a point. They've barley even met each other and Zan (MMC) is already acting like a damn fool. There is like no love in this book whatsoever. Zan is only head-over-heels for Kali (FMC) because she's pretty and she doesn't obey his every beck and call. Not because of her personality, Not because of her past, Not because of her strength, nothing. Zan finds a new vampire in the city who hasn't showered in three days, bathed in lake water and looks a hot mess and the first thing Zan thinks is "wow she's gorgeous! I'm gonna take her to my drug dealing bar, make her work there and then sexually touch her all night!! hooray!!"

As for the 'no information', we know nothing about PARA and Project hope. I cant really get into detail about this because again, spoilers, But every time Kali does something impressive or difficult to do to defend herself, all we get is "i learned in Project Hope." we don't know how project hope operates, how people get recruited into project hope, nothing. Same with PARA.

And the deadweights. Oh good gracious. I think this is what annoyed me the most other than Zan not being able to keep his pants on. They just drop the most useless details ever, especially when its obviously not called for. They talk about how mc is gorgeous literally every chapter. everything she wears conveniently pushes her breast up too.

Good thing about the book was the jokes were funny. Only thing keeping me reading. Pax honestly should've been mmc but i guess we just love to romanticize weird men and bratty fmcs and call it "enemies to lovers."

But like i said, the initial plot was pretty interesting so it wasn't completely unreadable.
(not proofread lol)

[betkim13reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kay Riley’s first attempt at a paranormal romance and she hit it out of the park. This is a dystopian dark romance with humans and vampires. There are three sides in this dystopian world: the vampires and the humans which are made up by PARA (the government) and the Clovers (the rebels).

The month of their 25th birthday, all humans are tested to see if their blood is diseased. If they are cut and they bleed black, they are sent to a facility for treatment, however no one that had been sent away had ever been seen again. Kali, a 24-year-old human who is a member of the Clovers, along with a couple of her friends, decide to follow the PARA caravan to this treatment facility but soon discover that what they’ve been told is a lie. Chaos ensues, and Kali is on the run from PARA and cannot go home. She is discovered by a group of vampires, and thanks to her training with the Clovers, is able to disguise herself as a vampire and is forced to stay with them in their city. As she learns their secrets to give to the Clovers, she becomes close with Zan, the son of the vampire leader. Eventually her secret is discovered, and the vampire city is attacked, and Kali is once again on the run, but this time from the vampires she betrayed. Kali is unsure who to trust and is confused by her feelings toward Zan. He is her enemy, so why does she feel drawn to him….

I’m a huge fan of Kay Riley. I have read all of her books and I was so excited when she announced a paranormal romance. Once again, she gives you tidbits of information that you have to theorize on throughout the book, and once again leaves you guessing until the next book!
This book does end on a cliffhanger but it’s not too terrible.

[Danielle Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now listen, I don’t read paranormal or vampire romance often (if it all) but leave it to Kay to get me into it!!! This book was phenomenal. Zan is absolutely everything, which is no surprise since Kay’s MMCs are always fire. I think what I loved about this book was despite it being paranormal it was dystopian too, it was modern yet had end of world as we know it vibes and I understood the storyline. The little surprises in the plot were amazing and you really didn’t know what would happen next.

You have Kali who was an orphan and is part of a group that not only hates the government but vampires, until Zan. Zan is the son of the leader of vampires and total book boyfriend goals. He’s obsessed with Kali and I loved their slow burn relationship. Kali still isn’t on board with the feelings but I’m hoping she gets there quick because girl is missing out 🤣. This was more slow burn then what I usually read or even Kay writes but honestly it totally fit the story and the tension was unreal. I also loved every moment of Zan’s POV. What is usually missing for me in paranormal is that dual POV and I think Kay had the most perfect chapters for Zan. Kali was incredible as well, she was so strong and sassy, she was the perfect match for Zan.

I absolutely cannot wait to see where this series goes next, it was left on a soft cliffhanger but there are still so many questions and so many things up in the air. Highly recommend starting this series and falling in love with both the MC’s, I know I did!

[Rachel Kinsolving · Rating 4 out of 5]

June 2025 BOTM.
4.5⭐️
1🌶️

TROPES:
Touch her and die 💀
Enemies to lovers 😤💕
Vampire 🧛🏼
Strong FMC 💪🏼
Found family
Morally black MMC


Bite of Sin is advertised as a dark romance with vampires, enemies to lovers, and a dystopian world due to the war between vampires and humans.

Insert Kali, our orphaned FMC raised by an organization to kill vampires, and Zan, our morally black vampire MMC, and you have a recipe for a true enemies to lovers. And trust me, there’s a lot of hate going on here …. Although it’s pretty one sided.

Overall, I really enjoyed the plot and I loved the characters. The side characters had depth and their own personalities - which was refreshing. I feel like this is an area that a lot of authors struggle in, yet Kay nailed it.

Unfortunately, there’s was a major hitter that made me drop my rating down from 5⭐️ to 4⭐️

For one, this is not a dark romance. Is it dystopian? Sure. Is it supernatural? Yes. Would I call it a true enemies to lovers with a morally black MMC? Absolutely. BUUUUUT how can you call it a dark romance with barely any smut?? And look, I get it, it’s a slow burn. That’s not the problem - I love slow burn. I live for the tension and the lining in enemies to lovers…. But the smut was barely smutting.

Idk, maybe this COULD potentially be considered dark for someone who’s has never even read smut before…or fantasy. Unless the violence is what we’re considering dark… but even then I think this barely scratches the surface of “dark romance.”

I guess if you’ve never read dark romance before and wanted to give it a try, this could be a good place to start. But to someone who’s has read multiple DARK romances, this read like ACOTAR lmao. Still enjoyable, just no way do I see how this was labeled as dark. OKAY END RANT I STILL 10/10 RECOMMEND

[Elizabeth Swartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

🩸 🧛‍♂️ 🏔️
🌟 ARC BOOK REVIEW 🌟
Bite Of Sin by Kay Riley
🎶 Say This Sober - Archers

ARC review, releases 9.29.23.
Now, normally PRN isn’t my jam, HOWEVER, I WILL generally bite if it’s vampire or wolf related. You know hence my Twilight obsession when I was younger!!! 🙈 That being said, the connection that was there between Zan and Kali was perfect, but damn this was a low spice slow burn! In a dystopian world where there is war between the vampires and humans.

I mean if you think about it, these two naturally shouldn’t be drawn to each other. Kali is a human who hates the government and the vampires. When her life is turned upside down, and those she loves and trusts turn on her, she finds herself hiding along the vampires. She begins to see that just maybe things aren’t as they seem. Zan, one of the most notorious vampires becomes attached, even after he found out she was human.

These two together shouldn’t work, but damn I need it to. There is some slight Stockholm aspects here, but the connection and pull was felt right away. There is some underlying truth that we don’t get to, and we end in a cliffhanger. There is a much bigger issue at play and I’m excited to see how Kali and Zan will navigate it. And for the love of god, please let us have Kali make up with her friend that she lost along the way.

Definitely recommend this read but know that you will be left with a cliffhanger!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫/5

[Dishi Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy books with vampires and supernatural elements, so this one was right up my alley — and it surprised me by pulling me in even more than I expected! I especially love when the male lead is completely smitten with the heroine for no apparent reason, and she resists him — and this book gave me that dynamic in the best way.

The apple on the cover gave me instant Twilight vibes, and in some ways, it felt like a comforting nod to that — girl meets vampire, danger and attraction collide, and you just know what’s coming, but you still can’t stop turning the pages. It was predictable in a way that felt cozy and addictive, like you want to see it play out even if you know what’s coming next.

I really appreciated how practical and capable the FMC was. She wasn’t written as meek or passive — she was smart, took precautions, knew how to fight, and refused to just give in to everything around her. And when she did give in to the connection and attraction building between them, it felt earned and satisfying.

Him coming back to her over and over again added to the tension and made their dynamic fun to follow. And the feeding scenes? I loved those — they were intense, emotional, and showed just how deep their bond had grown. Even when she resisted, you could feel that she was falling for him, and it made me root for them all the more.

Overall, I had so much fun reading this. It was romantic, exciting, and immersive — exactly what I wanted when I picked it up.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little iffy about starting this book because I feel like all vampires are all the same and I’ve just been over them lately. However, once I started this one I couldn’t stop. Kay wrote it amazingly and kept me wanting more from every page I read. I highly recommend this book.

Kali is an orphan who is just trying to survive in her world and keep her family safe. She somehow gets thrown into the world she’s been trying to get rid of. In this world of vampires she’s just trying to survive but also learning things she never knew before. She has no idea if she’s safer at home or with the vampires. With all those thoughts she has an even bigger issues with one vampire named Zan. She doesn’t know how to feel about him including wanting to kill him any time he speaks.

Zan, Viggo and Pax are a package deal. They run the vampire city being the top vampires. They always have each others backs no matter what. Pax is keeping a secret that eventually comes out, and now they’re all in to deep. Zan is drawn to Kali and he has no idea why. He will do whatever he can to make sure she’s safe, maybe just not from him.

I can’t wait until the next one ! Kay did an amazing job writing this.

[Can't Believe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is me hemming and hawing around a review. On one hand, I want that conclusion! On the other hand, this book is very much a part 1. If you read this you will be compelled to read Bite of Desire and then you'll join me in waiting for Bite of Vengeance to be published.

All in, there were very interesting refinements on vampires and fated lovers, and the world building was decent—though centered on characters. Might call this "low fantasy" in that the fantastic bits are set in an otherwise modern(ish) world.

5/5, a good read, won't commit to re-reading until the third book is published. You might like this if you wished for Twilight to grow up a lot.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m new to Kay Riley’s books and she did not disappoint!!

First of all the world building is so detailed I could picture every scene in my head whilst reading this. I love the dystopian world gene and when mixed with enemies to lovers who are also forbidden? Amazing!!!

Our FMC is Kali, who at first I was worried I wasn’t going to like her but after a few chapters I loved her. She’s the feisty human who doesn’t back down to anyone including lethal vampires. Kali is extremely loyal, takes no shit and is determined to stand for what she believes.

Then there is Zan, our MMC. He’s everything you want in a mysterious vampire. He is the alpha who gets what he wants and likes to make it known. His obsession with Kali despite their situation is exactly what I was wanting from this dark romance.

Together Zan and Kali have the potential to be powerful. They have a connection neither can ignore or fight which only makes the forbidden romance aspect better! I can’t wait to dive deeper into their relationship.

I had been in a reading slump for a while but I devoured this! The plot, the characters, the action is all so well written. I can’t wait to dive into book 2!