Beautiful Venom

Vipers #1

by Rina Kent

From New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a sizzling dark hockey romance set in a new glamorous secret world.

In a den of vipers, revenge is the deadliest venom.

They shattered my world; now, I’ll bring down theirs.
The problem? I have virtually no way to trace the puppet master.
My only lead: The Vipers.
An elite college hockey team that rules the ice—and the shadows beyond it.
To infiltrate their secret society, I set my sights on their weakest link.
Kane Davenport.
The charismatic captain and the lone green flag in a nest of serpents.
But too late, I realize I’ve enticed the most venomous snake.
Kane’s friendly façade hides a predator more dangerous than I imagined.
He quickly unveils the monster lurking beneath the surface.
A monster who lured me in only to trap me in a lethal game with no escape.


This book marks the beginning of a new chapter in the #Rinaverse. No other book should be read before this.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Sports Romance, Dark, Enemies To Lovers, Sports, Hockey

496 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2025

About the author

Rina Kent is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 bestselling author of all things dark romance.
Better known for writing unapologetic anti-heroes and villains, Rina weaves tales of characters you shouldn’t fall for but inevitably do. Her stories are laced with a touch of darkness, a splash of angst, and just the right amount of unhealthy intensity.
When she’s not busy plotting mayhem for her ever-expanding Rinaverse, she leads a private life in London, travels, and pampers her cats in true Cat Lady fashion.


You can find her below:

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Reviews

[Rina Kent]

BEAUTIFUL VENOM IS A COMPLETE STANDALONE!
Order ┃ ➜ Audio Teaser

Tropes:
Dark Romance x Secret Society
Antihero x Girl Who Bites Back
Enemies to Lovers
Hockey Romance
Primal Play
She’s Out for Revenge

[Marianna Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

What in the Temu Jeremy Volkov was that????

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 4 out of 5]

ATE THIS UP AND LEFT NO CRUMBS BEHIND

[veerali · Rating 1 out of 5]

we listen and we tell the judge.

[Emmy Rosam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh we are so BACK!!!!!! LOG Rina Kent vibes everyone!!

[Clace]

OKAY RINA ANSWERED‼️
. We will get Damien's book and other books from rinaverse finally!!
. its coming out March 20th 2025
. New standalone
. Secret society
__
A DARK HOCKEY ROMANCE?!?! 😭😭😭 I AM SO NOT READY BECAUSE WHAT EVEN IS A DARK HOCKEY ROMANCE 😭😭

(Also I dont think we are gonna get DamienMio/Remis book/ Vaughns or Mia's sisters book for a long long time or possibly never 😔)

[Iqra]

Praying she uses her ghostwriter for this one 🤞

[Maddy ✨ ~The Verse Vixen {AFK brb}]

"If this is the venom, I’m officially allergic. Someone pass the antidote!!"
Hot Takes Loading…!

---------

⁀➷Pre-view:🎯

Guess who got the early copy ? Yep, me 🤸🏻‍♀️—there goes my productivity.

➷ Enter the chaos:
🏒 Steps into Briarcliff Academy— where the ice is cold but the betrayals are colder
🎭 Secret societies, twisted games, and masks that never come off
💥 A "green flag" boy who turns out to be a full-blown “Snake in a varsity jacket”
💅 A heroine who’s smart, savage, and out for blood (revenge > romance… or so she thinks)
😈 Kane Davenport: the charming, calculating, you-think-he’s-safe-but-honey-no type
☠️ Cat-and-mouse games where you’re the mouse, but you think you’re the cat
📚 Schemes, seductions, hockey parties that definitely violate campus policy
🚨 Red flags? Everywhere. Morals? Missing. Logic? Left the building.
👀 Trust issues, sexual tension, and “we’re enemies but also maybe soulmates??” chaos
🧊 One arena, one trap, Locker room-tension and zero chances of walking away clean

This is gonna be my first-ever dark hockey romance (fingers crossed 🤞). And honestly, I’m not usually into hockey, but it’s written by RK. Let’s see if this icy world can heat things up and prove me wrong. 🥶🔥
~This isn’t a love story; It’s a revenge plan with benefits, blood, and a body count.
And babe, you’re gonna devour it like a cinnamon roll laced with poison. 😋
Lace up. The game’s about to begin. 🏒
PS: I’m taking my sweet time devouring this – savoring every page like a slow burn 😋📖 (bc, duh, exam season 🙄). Let’s hope the icy boys bring the fire. Plz, this time—Don’t let me down, Rina! 😌🫡

[annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've read literally all books by Rina, and so far, this was the only one that was very different. i truly mean that. you know the concept of meek, fragile, virgin, and loser fmcs—that's really common in her books? THAT WAS NOT THE CASE HERE.

i'm genuinely surprised how tame and sweet this book was. it has legit 100s of pages of KaneDahlia being absolute cuties and soft with each other, and i'm like IS THIS TRULY BY RINA?

⌞KANE DAVENPORT & DAHLIA THORNE⌝

one thing i don't get is: why are all the male characters' eyes always muted, cold, icy, and specifically with a dark undercurrent?

not one single character in this series was like, normal, and each one was a fucked-up shade of another. nevertheless, did i like all of them? HELL YASSS ‼️‼️

- Kane Davenport is actually pretty cool. he was cold and detached in the start but was never cruel. and even if he did insult Dahlia ever, that was overshadowed by her sass. i again, truly mean that.

- Dahlia Thorne is my favourite. i've never once liked any of Rina's female characters completely, but this girl is PERFECT. she knows when to fight her battles, get what she wants, blackmails to get what she wants, knows how to communicate, and the best part—FEARLESS. 😭✋🏻 I love her sassy scenes sm. she's my favourite!

⌞THE RELATIONSHIP ⌝

"Kane asks what I’m thinking. Seriously, maybe that guy is only in Vencor because he was born into a founding family. He obviously doesn’t belong there."

it's funny how she went from thinking he's harmless and the better option, to being completely shocked when he turned out 50 shades of fucked up. lmao, it was fun tho.

"Am I that scary? I promise I don’t bite.”

"Anything for a fan. If you want an autograph, all you have to do is come closer. I truly don’t bite.”

Their first interaction was genuinely fun 😂 very polite, i must say. i've been conditioned for veryyyyy unhinged 'meet cutes' by rina, so this one was a big change.

- After reading this book, i realized that i don't actually enjoy 'primal play' anymore. it's not very appealing, and the sex scenes bored me. i also skimmed some of them because they're not my cuppa tea anymore. i think rina should let go of it now, as it's been done many times lol (not me giving all sorts of 'dos and don'ts' 💀). and the scenes were a lot.

The Initiation scene was major dub-con, borderline rape-y, but considering Dahlia had a safe word, i'm fine w it.

“Is your tantrum over?"
"I wasn’t throwing a tantrum, but if you want one, I’ll gladly deliver.”

“I slap his hand away. 'Don’t touch me unless you’re ready to fully commit. And this is not a ‘don’t touch me that means you can use me.’ This is a ‘red,’ Kane.”

Dahlia roasting him, showing him attitude, then demanding the better parts of him, ghosting him, all while making him jealous by parading with her ex. yes, yes, i fuck with that. 🫢

“Call her a bitch again and I’ll cut out your tongue.”

Kane was veryyy smitten by her. he defended her a lot, cared for her a lot, and legit threatened his friends and everyone who dared to touch Dahlia. his protectiveness was top-notch. i was wary of him in the start, but damn, he's possessive! 😌

“I don’t know what love is and whether or not it’s real, but if it exists, you’re its definition for me.”




In Conclusion: their relationship was very cute. ignoring all the sex scenes, they both delivered an extremely good dynamic, and it was very different than Rina's other books. man legit killed his own father for her!!!! took care of her, bandaged her wounds, saved her from getting raped 🥹 also many swoony scenes, like going for hiking and doing all fun stuff, and like ik it's a normal scene but when she said 'i like you a lot', to which he replied 'i like you a lot too' 😫❤️

IT ALSO HAS GROVELING ‼️‼️ and Kane Davenport is not shy about saying 'sorry'.

🕊 He fucked up, realized his mistakes, apologized to her, took all her anger, spent weeks following her and waiting outside her house, gave up all his cards for her, bonded with her sister, and just did everything to see her happy. I LOVE THIS.

⌞SIDE CHARACTERS ⌝

1. Preston Armstrong & Jude Callahan:

pls for the love of god, tell me I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO'S SHIPPING THEM? 😭 i legit thought that they'd be a couple even tho it was unlikely since they were friends.

i'm so down bad for Jude and Preston. seriously, he's all Mama bear if anyone even touches Preston, and even if it's out of 'brotherhood' or shit, i'm so down bad for it 😭

I've mentioned some scenes here: Tempting Venom. like legit, they're so cute, and Jude treats him SO WELL 😭🙏🏻

legit Marcus & Violet who?????

- while Preston is legit fucked up and did hurt Dahlia and i was like wtf wtf wtf mostly, i don't care about that stuff. he's funny, weird, and his backstory is already telling me i'll love him.

- Jude, well this dude has extreme anger issues, and he's dead set on killing anyone who just watched his mom die. guess what? Violet (Dahlia's sister) is one of them. while their dynamic is about to be very angsty—seeing that Violet slapped him and he laughed lol—I still fw JudePreston heheh. nevertheless, i liked him.

2. Marcus Osborn – you're good, common Rina men. i like you but i ship JudePreston so idc.

3. Violet Winters – same for you dear. i like you but not enough.

4. Julian Callahan: WHY IS THIS CALLAHAN FAMILY SO HAWT???

this man had few scenes and i'm already drooling. he also cares for his wife a lot. idc if he's locked her in a gilded cage or whatever that is. that one scene of his IS ENOUGH to tell me: HE CARES! 🫢😏

Rina Kent, umm, you might have to give Julian & Annalise their own story. otherwise, we fans might not let you live in peace kahzjwbwjaj. YOU KNEW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

btw, Jude's 6'5, Kane 6'4, Preston 6'3 🥹

⌞RATINGS⌝

• Sweet Venom (Jude & Violet) – 4 stars
• Tempting Venom (Marcus & Preston) – tbr

[Fairuz ᥫ᭡. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book: Beautiful Venom by Rina Kent
Rating: 2 stars (?? maybe? who knows anymore)
Format: Audiobook (aka torture device edition)
Narrated by: Corvin King & Michelle Sparks (who honestly deserved better than this script)

Okay so here's the deal...

If I could erase the initiation scene and every unnecessary, eyeball-melting "sex" scene (and yes, I use that word loosely), this might’ve actually been… dare I say it… decent? Like plot-wise? Maybe? But guess what? You can’t erase those scenes, they’re right there. Loud. Cringe. Unskippable. And since I was trapped in the audiobook dungeon... no, I couldn’t skim. I had to suffer through every groan, grunt, and braincell-slaughtering dialogue like a hostage.

If I could’ve hit “2x speed” on life itself, I would have.

Let’s talk about Kane "I Have a God Complex and a Degradation Kink" Davenport.

He started off strong. Like, actual butterflies. I was THERE. Kicking my feet, giggling like a fool. Hot hockey captain with green flags?? Girl, sign me up. And then... he opened his mouth.

"Your cunt will be my dick’s punching bag."

I’m sorry. WHAT??

I swear, every time Kane got horny, he also got possessed by the spirit of every red-flagged Wattpad villain from 2012. And no, not the hot kind. The “I need therapy and maybe jail time” kind.

I’m all for spice, but did we really need him to be an Olympic-level a-hole during every single scene? Like, there’s a difference between dark romance and unhinged human rights violation. Learn it.

And let’s not even get started on how he backhand slaps her and it’s brushed off like it’s part of foreplay. Like, no. That’s not it. That’s not it AT ALL. 😐

Also, the dirty talk? Look, I get degradation kink is a thing. Some people like it, cool. But why do all of Rina’s women start purring the second they get called a “cumhole”?? Like PLEASE. Have some dignity. Or at least a personality beyond horny masochist with no self-esteem.

Now... Dahlia “I’m out for revenge but mostly vibes” Thorne.

Where. Was. The. Bite.

Girl was hyped up as a vengeance queen, but all I saw was a confused, sad puppy who just happened to trip and fall into trauma sex with the guy she’s supposed to take down. Ten times in one chapter. 😭

And the worst part? I actually LIKED her. Under all the chaos, there was something there. Her protectiveness over Violet? Actual heartwarming stuff. But then Rina was like, “You know what would fix this character? Let’s make her get off to being insulted during non-consensual roleplay.” 🧍‍♀️

Her “revenge” was so unserious, it should’ve been a TikTok prank.

Plot? Barely.
Pacing? Whack.
Character development? Non-existent.
Sex scenes? Painful and weirdly violent.
Degradation kink? Overused to the point of becoming a parody.

The book had potential. Like, the bones of a dark college sports revenge romance? Count me in.
But then Rina said “You know what this story needs? Absolutely deranged initiation rituals and ten pages of violent moaning.”

So yeah. I'm conflicted. The narration was okay. Some lines even slapped. But most of the time, I was stuck between clutching my ears and rolling my eyes so hard I saw my past lives.

FINAL VERDICT:
If you enjoy reading about women being humiliated under the excuse of “kink” while plot peeks through in tiny gasps of air, this book is for you.

But if you're like me, and your “dark romance” phase is hanging on by its last frayed thread, maybe skip this one before it cuts the rope completely.

Rina, please write ONE book without using r@pe and calling it character development. Just one. I beg.

[maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

ᝰ.ᐟ pre-read: ᯓᡣ𐭩୭˚.

This was going so well until chapter 6🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️

Never in my life I thought I would receive an arc from Rina, so imagine my surprise when I saw this box on my front doorstep. I’m surprisingly excited to read this, even if some of her books are questionable, I can’t deny that they help with getting me out of the slump🤸🏻‍♀️

on the tropes she said “girl who bites back” and I don’t trust that😭 I need to read it for it to be true.


____________

THE COVER IS BEAUTIFUL🤭 I’m in love!!!

hope Rina do this right🤞🏻

[Krisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

𝗛𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵.

I breathe dark romances. I've read many non-con and SA books and rated some of them highly too (I DO NOT condone any of that shit) so the reason I'm giving this one star has nothing to do with the non-con or SA but rather with how Rina tried to portray the physical abuse between the MCs as foreplay and tried her level best to show that the 'rape-in-question' was consensual. News flash: she failed miserably.

If you're going to write a dark non-con and SA book with physical abuse in it then be DIRECT about it, instead of portraying it as "consensual" and manipulating the readers into believing it. Sure, the fmc slapped him first, but that's more of a survival instinct to escape (something every SA victim would try to do) and the way Rina used this as a reason to justify him slapping her back was downright ridiculous.

Rina needs to stop, non-con and SA books are clearly not her forte. I've read other non-con books and none of those authors tried to portray non-con as consensual. They kept it DIRECT and showed how much of an awful mental impact it can have on the fmc. But Rina? She's literally normalising rape and physical abuse by manipulating the readers into believing it's consensual. She needs to quit attempting to justify what can never be justified.

[sasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

not a hater but sometimes i am exactly that

[manas (suffering) · Rating 1 out of 5]

welcome to another episode of — writing. the. same. shit.

😎🤏🏼🙄🕶🤏🏼

[Uswah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.35 stars 😃 (Yes, I’m being very generous, trust me 🙂‍↕️)

Keeping this review short—not because I don’t have a lot to say, but because if I really go off… it might turn into something not so appropriate 🙂‍↕️

⚠️ DISCLAIMER ⚠️
‼️ If you loved, liked, or even tolerated Beautiful Venom, you might wanna skip this ‼️

Alright folks, here we go.

👀So why the random 0.35 stars if I clearly didn’t enjoy it? That’s for Preston & Marcus, Preston forgetting Dahlia’s name, Vi and her backstory, and a few moments of solid banter. That’s it. That’s the tweet. 🙂‍↕️

Now let’s talk about that “FMC who bites back” promise that was made… because I’m still out here looking for her 😃 The FMC in this book? Girl barely barked, let alone bit. She “accidentally” kneed the MMC—and then apologized 😃😃 Like ma’am… that man is literally abusing you… and you’re apologizing? Okay 😔💀

Small W for the characters: non-virgin FMC and non-manwhore MMC. We love to see it 🥰 That was the one bright spot in this otherwise very dim reading experience.

Y’all. It got so bad I actually CLOSED the book and went outside… like actually TOUCHED GRASS 😃 Me. A person who rarely steps out by choice. This book had me unlocking new life achievements 😌

Did I want to DNF? 1000%. Did I? Nope. Because I made a silent vow not to DNF Rina’s books. Once upon a time, I really loved her writing. (Still do—as long as it’s not these books.)

I finished it. I don’t know how, but I did. Promise: fulfilled. 🫡

That’s all. Byeeee.
🎀 To those who enjoyed it—I’m genuinely happy for you. But this one? Definitely not for me. 🎀

——————————————
Pre-Read

🖤♥️🖤♥️ I made a promise to myself: no more DNFs for Rina's new books 👀 So, I'm diving into this one, feeling hyped from all the great reviews... fingerssss crossed 🤞🫶

[aira {vacay ia} · Rating 2 out of 5]

well...boy, do I have a review for y'all...😭😭😭 (p.s - there's a spoiler warning below so you can read until there without spoilers)

2.5!! (not a definite rating and I explained why below)

Let me start with a little disclaimer bc I don't have the energy to deal with nonsense. If you love this book, great for you!! if you didn't like this, that's fine as well!! YOU don't have to like/dislike something because the people around you like/dislike it. Own YOUR rating, it's completely fine because at the end of the day, it supposed to be YOUR rating and YOUR opinion. And if you're the kind of person to tell someone what they can or cannot rate a book, that speaks a lot about your character and it's definitely a flaw you might want to work on. This is supposed to be for fun as a hobby, so chill out, it's not school and we're not getting graded on it. I swear some of y'all act so entitled over what? opinions? thoughts? a singular rating? like geez, god forbid a person has an ✨opinion✨.

Can we not just be mature and just respect people and their opinions regardless of if we have the same thoughts or not? bc life would get really boring really fast if we're all supposed to have the same copy and paste opinion. So grow up and learn to respect peoples opinions or STOP LEAVING COMMENTS ON PEOPLE'S REVIEWS IF YOU CAN'T BE RESPECTFUL. I don't think it's rocket science and it's not that hard, like come on, you can't possibly be that entitled, right?

But, that might be wishful thinking on my part, so if you are that kind of person, I have one note for you:

Keep 👏 your 👏 negativity 👏 away 👏 from 👏 my 👏 reviews 👏!! Thank you!! 🫰🙏

now that we got that out of the way, let's get into the review.

I have to admit that I had forgotten about this until I saw an instagram post and then I was like "crap, how could I forget that this was releasing when I was awaiting it?"

I will also admit that I didn't pick this up immediately after I posted my pre-read. Instead, I went to go watch an entire season of my favorite show yesterday bc I wasn't really in the mood. But it's ok, because we're here and I finally finished it.

I think 2.5-stars, rounded down to a 2, might be accurate enough. I can't give it 1-star because that's too low for my enjoyment, but I also feel like I can't rate it any higher than a 2.5. I might need to think about this for a while, bc while I am confident in my rating of 2.5, I'm still on the fence between rounding up or down, so I rounded down for now.

HERE'S THE SPOILER WARNING!! 🤷‍♀️

‼️THERE MAY BE SPOILERS‼️

‼️THERE MAY BE SPOILERS‼️

‼️THERE MAY BE SPOILERS‼️

‼️THERE MAY BE SPOILERS‼️

‼️THERE MAY BE SPOILERS‼️

‼️THERE MAY BE SPOILERS‼️

‼️THERE MAY BE SPOILERS‼️

‼️THERE MAY BE SPOILERS‼️

Well, I had my wins and losses with this book. However, there are things we gotta seriously discuss because WHAT?!?!

I just decided to start with the characters because this is the easiest way to organize my thoughts.

Starting with Kane Davenport, well.....stop, Kane had me giggling at the start. Like the FIRST TWO chapters, I was all blush-y, giggling, kicking my feet up and everything because I mean hello? hot hockey player, anyone? like, duhhhhhh!! It was going so well, but then we got to the part when he took his dick out and things started going downhill. I mean it went tumbling down the hill after that (snowball effect?)

Well, before he took his dick out, right when we get to his pov:

"...everyone at Graystone University bows down to us."

the superiority complex is not it, dude, it's really not. come on, but it wasn't something that really bothered me. (just feel the need to clarify this) 😩

and then we had this during the initiation:

“Your words and begging do not affect me. Here’s how it will go. I’m going to use you, Dahlia. I’ll abuse and humiliate you until you scream and cry and beg me to stop. Your cunt will be my dick’s punching bag, and if I’m not satisfied, I’ll move to your ass and fuck you raw until you bleed. So unless you’re ready to put all your holes at my disposal, say ‘red’. That’s the only word that will stop me.”

We love when the man becomes an asshole when the dick comes out, don't we? 😒

Ok, but that scene was closer to non-consensual, especially when the "consent"(if we can even call it that) came after he had ripped some of her clothes off. Isn't the order "consent" and then rip clothes off. I am not really fully aware about the deets behind CNC (edit - bc this might have been misunderstood - I know enough, I meant to say that I don't know all the hard limits around it), but this didn't seem like CNC, so it was technically very close to non-consensual imo and I didn't vibe too hard with that.

If memory serves, he also backhand slaps her as retaliation because she slapped him first and idk what to make of that?!?!

And, also, yes, we have a safe word and I get this is supposed to be dark romance and its part of the initiation, but come on, he can be less asshole-y about it, right? This might not be it FOR ME.

He sounds like a major asshole and there seems to be a power imbalance. How am I supposed to think about liking him after that?

Like, I'm not really going to be like "oooo, daddy Kane 🫦" after 🌚

then we have:

"cumhole"
"whore"
"dirty slut"
"dirty little whore"
"cunt dripping wet"

this is just the classic dirty talk that we expect and oh, this is all stuff Kane calls her (in one "fuck" session too btw if we can even call it that).

I get that some woman get off when they get degraded in bed, cause like degradation kink is a thing, but it cannot possibly be every woman right? There has to be some women that don't like it. I cannot imagine being happy to be called a whore anywhere, but you know women have their preferences and they all seem to have that same kink.

It's a recurring theme. The man just has to call her a slut or a whore and "her pussy will clench" bc guess what? she likes it!! *cue the eye roll* 🙄

“What I use is mine and mine alone. I don’t share my toys. Are we clear?”

yeah, yeah, we know. one fuck is all it takes for you to "fall in love"realize she has a "magical" pussy. We've seen it before haha (multiple times might I add).

Well, then we have Dahila Thorne. oh, honey. 😭😭😭😭 I want to give her the biggest hug ever 🫂🫂 but where do I even start with her?

"girl who bites back" where? I swear, she bit back as much Ava tried to and all Ava did was play participation trophy wife.

"she's out for revenge" was hilarious. she was so unserious about her revenge that it made me laugh.

I think the highlight of her character is her willing to do anything for Violet. Their relationship, although we don't see much of it, has to be my favorite part of this book aside from the first two chapters of Kane.

I do also have to acknowledge the fact that she has brown hair and she's NOT A VIRGIN. Like, finally!!

The next part of this covers the plot, other characters, dialogues, and anything else that I can think of.

The Marcus and Preston backstory is literally giving Vaugh and Yulian 2.0 and I'm fairly certain they are the MM couple. It was just a hunch, until I saw it confirmed at the end. Man, I'm so good at this.

I'm so sat for Jude and Violet because their backstory is literally giving. It sounds like it's going to be heartbreaking, but also suspenseful at the same time, idk how to explain it.

"The audacity is sending me."

please. it cannot get any more crazier than this. I really wish we didn't have to read internet slang in books. I mean, I'm not expecting formal language at all times or even ever, but I didn't expect this. 😭😭

Overall, I have to say that this was kind of an underwhelming plot line progression for me. The middle part of the book lost the plot and it was just sex scenes back to back because they both like rough sex with "CNC". Again, nothing bad but I don't think that's my bop anymore. There was a point when it wouldn't really bother me, but now, it wasn't something that I was really interested in anymore. However, I also have to say that this had the potential to impress me because the backstory between the two of them was interesting with her being out for revenge and everything, but the plot to sex ratio threw me off since it shifted more towards sex than plot. I think fewer sex scenes and a little more plot progression and I would have given this a 3 for sure.

I gotta also say though, I'm glad this is a hockey, secret society romance because when I tell you I love secret society and hockey romance separately, I can't even explain, but like they're so much better together. And I'm not even playing. Regardless of the complaints I might have against the characters or the plot progression, this book provided the entertainment fix I need.

I desperately need a story for Julian and his wife. It's kind of giving AdrianLia, but also like something different at the same time, if you know what I mean. I NEED THEM SO BADLY!!

There's so much more I can write like the relationship between them being based on insta-lust, or the fact that he said "I'm sorry" to her bc it was actually so cute, but I'm lazy so I'll end it here.

2 stars for the DahliaViolet sister bond and the Kane that made me giggle/blush and 0.5 for the JudeViolet preview. Like I said above, I might round it up to 3 stars, idk yet.

--------

pre-read: ahhhh, I'd forgotten about this releasing today, but it's here, so I'm putting everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - on hold to read this!! and I'm keeping my expectations low for maximum enjoyment 🤣🫣

[Alya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts
Ok... Hear me out THIS BOOK might just be my top favourite reads for Rina Kent to date!-- Seriously she ATE and left no crumbs with this one...Cause ??? Where the fuck do I even begin??? I've said it before RK can write and deliver the most beautiful plots, this was a storyline of healing together .. when I tell you these 2 will live in my mind for a while if not FOREVER!! She gives morally grey men the most beautiful plot lines😭 yes they're fucked up but the way RK delivers a fucked up guy in love literally has a chokehold on me atp🙆🏼‍♀️ I was gonna give this a 4 star rating but the ending changed everything for me😭🫠 Kane Davenport is everything 😭 his back story is just ❤️‍🩹 Dahlia Throne is feisty and fierce af🔥👑 I'm all for it but I must admit I wasn't fond of her foster sister -- I did feel bad for her though -- I have a feeling the second book is gonna be painful since its Violet and Jude story

Plot Summary
After a brutal attack leaves her sister clinging to life, Dahlia Thorne is consumed by a need to uncover the truth and make those responsible pay. With no clear suspects, her only lead points to the Vipers—a powerful and mysterious college hockey team known for more than just their skills on the ice. To break into their world, she sets her sights on Kane Davenport, the team’s magnetic captain and seemingly the least dangerous of the group. But the deeper she goes, the more she realises Kane isn’t the safe bet she thought. Beneath his charm lies something far darker, and soon Dahlia finds herself caught in a twisted game of lies, obsession, and power—where her plan for revenge might cost her everything.

Tropes
▪︎ Dark hockey romance
▪︎ Secret society
▪︎ Enemies to lovers
▪︎ FMC out for revenge

💌
“My obsession with you might have started as a form of limerence, a need to possess and dominate. An urge to prove that you’re a phase and mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. But you have slithered between my heart and rib cage and I’m unable to breathe without you. You’ve conquered me, heart and soul, Dahlia. I don’t know what love is and whether or not it’s real, but if it exists, you’re its definition for me.”

“Why are you crying again?” “Because you’re not supposed to say shit like that when I’m so jaded.” I sink my fingers into his hair. “Asshole.” “I’m sorry,” he whispers, dropping a kiss on the top of my nose. “You’re not! You’re not sorry that you’re the first man I’ve loved. The only man I’ve ever loved and probably the only man I’ll ever love. You had me in the palm of your hand and refused to let me go. No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t let you go either. No matter how much I tried to deny it, I’m miserable without you.”

You’ll be my queen. Actually, you already are.” “Even if we’re worlds apart?” “You’re my world. If anyone dares to touch you, I’ll end their miserable life.” “You’re awful.” “You love it, wildflower.”

[Isha ツ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me give you the exact reason I dnfed this book and I’m not giving a spoiler warning because people need to see what she’s writing in her books -

TW- R@p£

FMC: “I don't want this. Will you stop?"
MMC: “Your words and begging do not affect me.
Here's how it will go. I'm going to use you, Dahlia. I'll abuse and humiliate you until you scream and cry and beg me to stop.Your c*** will be my
d*** punching bag, and if I'm not
satisfied, I'll move to your a** and f***
you”

And watch her justifying this as “but her body was saying something else” 😒
….

Rina Kent should put down that pen and never pick it up again. Authors who romanticize rape and abuse should not be allowed to keep releasing books and us as readers need to start boycotting these fuckass authors who are writing graphic 🍇 scenes in the name of noncon

[itsjessamess · Rating 4 out of 5]

my heads a mess

[Youssra (semi ia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey.. so...


I MUST SPEAK MY TRUTH GUYS I ACTUALLY LIKED THIS😭😭


3.5 stars rounded up because of Corvin King's voice😶‍🌫️

Ok first thing's first, this is just my opinion, it is just a book, it's not that deep😅

Was this a masterpiece? Hell no😅 Did I have a fun time? Yes I did. Chapter 6 happened and yes I was kind of like..??? But then I was like, this is a Rina Kent book, I know what I signed up for. This is hardly the first time her mmcs have said some fucked up shit😅So I just kept going. I am not one to hate on a book for triggers clearly mentioned in there. I usually stay away from books with triggers I don't like no matter how much I love the author because reading a book I know I will not enjoy is honestly a waste of my time.

The plot was just ok, nothing revolutionary but it was entertaining enough. However, Kade and Dahlia?? Umm they got so cute DON'T COME AT ME 🤣🤣🤣 They had a rough start(duh), but the way he got so soft for her?? The jealousy?? Yeah I am so easy to please because I ATE THAT UP🤣

“My obsession with you might have started as a form of limerence, a need to possess and dominate. An urge to prove that you’re a phase and mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. But you have slithered between my heart and rib cage and I’m unable to breathe without you. You’ve conquered me, heart and soul, Dahlia. I don’t know what love is and whether or not it’s real, but if it exists, you’re its definition for me.”
He's such a softie lmaoooooo

“Don’t.” His voice deepens, forcing goosebumps to erupt on my skin. “Don’t what?”“Don’t tempt me.”“I’m not doing anything.”“You’re shaking.”“Shaking?”“I told you, didn’t I? Your fear turns me on.”

but he's also a sexual deviant🤣🤣🤣

Also loved the banter between the guys; gave me LoG vibes🤧

I am so here for the other couples though!!! I feel like the other books might be more interesting and unhinged, especially Preston's book!

Final thoughts

This was fun but not memorable as far as RK books go. Kade was hot but also not that special or memorable to me. Dahlia was actually one of her more better fmcs; she wasn't a pushover and I actually enjoyed her chapters.

[taz · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was so bad, her obsession to romanticise rape should be investigated. rk needs to retire at this point, i’m sure she has made enough coin through those god awful special edition books.

[Ri ♡]

Tell me this is just a prank 😃 Rina Kent?? Writing?? A?? Freaking??? DARK HOCKEY ROMANCE (is that a thing now)?? well this definitely wasn't on my 2024 bingo card 👀 AND I NEED DAMIEN'S BOOK FIRST NOT THIS!!!

[mackenzie (hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

i think i let my hopes and expectations get too high for this one and meanwhile forgot that it’s rina kent and my expectations should always remain on the ground with her books.

kane is the classic rina mmc – dark and brooding and unnecessarily possessive and occasionally crazy and full of red flags. dahlia felt like elsa from royal elite in a different font. her characters get so recycled that it’s impossible to even try to look past the similarities at a certain point. does the woman possess no imagination past like three tropes?

romance was nowhere to be found. chemistry was a negative ten. i felt nothingggg between the two of them, he was just crazy for no reason out of seemingly nowhere (again, way too overused by rina). their interactions and dialogue all felt forced and stunted and awkward and, naturally, cringey at times.

the pacing was off – we went from zero to one hundred weirdly fast but also weirdly slow? like i don’t even know how the pages were going by now that i think about it. like genuinely what even actually happened?

anyways, if you usually like rina kent then i’m sure you’ll like this, but i fear i’m just getting sick of her books. i’ll read legacy of gods and, let’s face it, probably her new releases because #fomo, but honestly... naur.

pre-read:
oookay i’m lowkey so scared for what i’m about to get into because i just can’t see rk writing a hockey romance but idk maybe it’ll hit?? wish me luck??

[ˋ✧*⁀➷ ʙᴇᴛᴛʏ (med school got me good)]

EDIT: BEAUTIFUL VENOM'S HERO WILL MAKE AN APPEARANCE ON KAYDEN AND GARETH'S BOOK!!!!!

IT'S A SERIES!!

• Beautiful Venom- May 27, 2025.
• Sweet Venom- December, 2025.
• Tempting Venom- 2026.

Four hate-to-love anti-heroes and villains.
Three scorching hot, angst-filled books.
Two women who will bring the two anti-heroes to their knees.
One MM between two villainous rivals.

[naz · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝑰’𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝑫𝒂𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒂. 𝑵𝒐 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔.”

3.75 ⭐️

I haven’t read a dark romance in a long time, and to be honest, the dark elements and the whole new level of hate and obsession between these characters? I LOVED. But aside from that, there were a couple of scenes and parts of the plot that just made the experience meh and had me rolling my eyes overall. I did rounded up due to the dark romance scene 🤷‍♀️

The story is about Dahlia, who wants in to the secret society she thinks harmed her sister. Her way in? The college hockey team and her eyes are on their captain. Meanwhile, Kane, the captain, wants to break her for even thinking she can be one of them… but his preferences don’t scare her, and then she becomes his obsession. (rawr hot 🔥)

THE DARK ROMANCE: no notes. Obviously, read the trigger warnings, but Kane’s narrator in this audiobook made every single scene so hot I was flushing so much!!! Again, I AM A FAN OF DARK ROMANCE. If you’re not… please don’t read this book lol.

Anyway, I enjoyed it and finished the audiobook in 3 days, so I definitely had fun!! My rating mostly comes down to my connection (or lack of it) with the characters. I’m sorry, but Dahlia was so freaking annoying and SO OBVIOUS about trying to get info from the hockey team to investigate 🙄. Also, I feel like we had way too much Dahlia POV and not nearly enough Kane. A better balance between both POVs would’ve made the reading experience way better. So many times a scene ended in Dahlia’s POV where Kane would show up, and I’d be like “YES, now HIM” … and then it was her again. I can’t.

More reasons for my rating (minor spoilers, skip if you don’t want any):

It was so WEIRD that Dahlia and Kane were in a f-buddy situation, and she goes out of her way to meet his mom at his house?? Like… how? She just casually hangs out with the mother of one of the 4 powerful families in town?? And then Kane just accepts it?? Idk that part felt so unrealistic.

Lastly, the lies by omission thing. Kane admits he knew Dahlia before, but she gets mad at him for not telling her HOW he knew this information?? That was just so annoying to me lol.

Basically, I just got annoyed too many times, so I lowered my rating. That’s what happened.

Will I read another Rina Kent? Tbh I would read book 2 if I get the dark romance itch again, but i'm not in a hurry

⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
➳ 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ my first rina kent book and as audiobook 😮‍💨 wish me luckkk

[vanessa ⋆.☕︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2 stars.
“I’m your winter, Dahlia. No flower can survive winter. Not even wildflowers.”
Yeah, as you can tell… that easy 4 stars quickly dropped to a 2 the moment I actually sat and thought about it. Funny how a little reflection can completely change how you feel about a book.

Another day, another enemies-to-lusters from Rina. She dropped the ball again, and yet here I am, showing up for it like I always do. At this point, I can’t even blame Rina anymore. The problem is clearly me. I’m too far gone, too deep in this universe to stop now. I’ve read every book, main characters, side characters, background cameos, you name it. And no matter how messy it gets, I know I’ll keep coming back. Some of my friends have already quit her books, and maybe one day I’ll be that strong… but today is not that day.

➺ Dahlia:
oh, Dahlia. She’s bold and dramatic, sure, but her actions often cross the line from passionate to straight-up cringy and annoying. Her desperate attempts to get Kane’s attention, especially the manipulative ones, made it hard to root for her. I wanted to empathize with her pain and vulnerability, but so many of her choices just left me sighing in disbelief.

➺ Kane:
Kane Davenport is your classic cold, emotionally detached MMC who’s supposed to fall hard for the “sweet but strong” heroine. But instead of slow burn chemistry, we get an emotional sense of war that felt toxic more than romantic. I really wanted to throw up every time this man open his mouth.
Ohhh and when he told her that your tears made me a monster, I was like "bruh, are you for real? you are already one!"


Their relationship lacked emotional depth and genuine connection. Instead of a powerful enemies to lovers transformation, it felt like two broken people constantly pushing each other’s buttons without ever truly healing or growing. I can’t lie, I was giggling sometimes but other than than it was just disgust and a lot of wth.

PLEASE, I’m on my knees begging, Rina, don’t mess this one up. I am such a sucker for the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, and Jude and Violet are serving it perfectly. Give me all the tension, the banter, the emotional whiplash, I want it all. I don’t care how cliché it is, I want this trope injected straight into my veins.


_____

"In a den of vipers, revenge is the deadliest venom."
I was reading The Fake Mate and honestly couldn’t handle the cringe anymore! 😭 so my brain immediately went, “You know what I actually miss? Rina’s books.” Her writing just hits different. I’m so ready to dive into this one and binge it in one sitting, though I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous since the reviews seem pretty mixed. Still, I’m going in with an open heart and high hopes because if anyone can pull me out of this feeling, it’s Rina. Let’s see where this ride takes me!

SO DARK SPORTS ROMANCE WITH ENEMIES TO LOVERS …yeah, don’t tell me again; I am already SAT. 🪑

[Seeraaa ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

⁠❥ 2,25✯
“𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐲. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧.”





The beginning of this book was actually good — promising even — and I was excited. But from 12% to 69%, honestly… nothing happened. It was just messed up and chaotic, especially chapter 6 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️. I had so many question marks and “what the hell?” moments 😵‍💫. And that’s honestly why my rating is what it is. There were things I liked, but because of chapter 6, I can’t rate it any higher.

Okay ummm… oh my God, she was literally raped 😬 I get why she didn’t use the agreed-on word — she had to and she was already halfway through that whole situation. But still, the middle plot was not plotting. It was foggy, messy, and turned into nothing but sex and push-and-pull 😒 After that, things did get better…

But I hated that we got two unnecessary extra chapters about how she won’t forgive Kane and bla bla... 😑

I also didn’t understand Dahlia or what she was even trying to do. Like, girl… you literally discovered who hurt your sister. What’s your next step? This is a dark world — they have a whole clean-up team after their purges. They could remove you and your sister from existence easily. She lacks any survival instinct and crosses every boundary possible. She was so dumb and boring to me 🙄 And then it all turned into her trying to get revenge on Kane, make him jealous, and push him into a real relationship with her?? Be for real. You should’ve run for your life from the beginning.

Now Kane… he should’ve chosen a submissive girl. His life would’ve been easier 😭 I liked his cold, controlled, dominant personality — but that was before… well, chapter 6. He humiliated her, was brutal, abused her, and acted as if she were an animal, and saw her as nothing but a toy for his pleasure. He even slapped her after she slapped him, plus all the “whore” and “dirty slut” comments 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ That was not enjoyable at all for me 😕 I understand people have different preferences, but personally, I don’t consider this CNC — it’s way too close to SA and non-con. Their relationship is not romantic in any universe. It’s purely toxic.

Now… what I did like:
• The way she left him on read and how angry and unhinged he got afterward 😭🔥
• Preston saying every name starting with a D except Dahlia — iconic 😭
• And the trio: Kane, Jude, Preston — the psychopathic, obsessive, stalking, sociopathic, possessive, controlling, manipulative, socially sick trio. They’re fun (oh, I mean terrible 🤭)
• I actually loved the ending too 🥲❤️

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥: it had potential and a strong start, but the middle completely fell apart for me. The dynamic was too toxic, the plot too messy, and some scenes crossed lines I personally couldn’t overlook. Still, there were moments and characters that kept me engaged — just not enough to save the full experience 😬🖤




╰┈➤ˎˊ˗ 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝
I can explain… actually no, I can’t 😭🗿

[isy · Rating 4 out of 5]

how does rina serve literally every time??

seriously is this woman okay

[Erika Braga · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok ! It wasn’t bad per se, I enjoyed many parts and it wasn’t as similar as all the other books she’s writes. This one has the same cold unfeeling man but the girl at least is cunning and fiery.
I think I will enjoy Jude and Violet story more in the next book. Idk about Preston and Marcus because I honestly don’t know how I feel about Rina jumping in the MM bandwagon….. AND DONT COME FOR ME because I am an MM LOVER, I just know some authors are the best one those…. it feels like she’s writing them just because they are somehow a type of book people are gravitating towards and she wrote a good one which is God of Fury and now out of the blue she has Kiss the Villain (which was a bad one In my opinion), plus however many more in that series that will be only MM books and now this trilogy and the last book is also an MM ? Feels disingenuous…….. idk, time will tell, let’s see how it goes. She kinda became one of those authors that I love to hate, like I will probably always read a new release from her and than I’ll shit on it complaining about the same shenanigans 😂😂😂
But than again JOKES ON ME cause she’s getting my money and my review anyway so who’s really losing here? Not her, clearly 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.... 📚'𝙼𝚈 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚆 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝚂'📚 can also be found on my blog: ╰┈➤KITTY KATS CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔* 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐌 °❀⋆.ೃ࿔* Is the first full length dark hockey romance book in the (Vipers) series by author Rina Kent. Spoken in Dual POV's (Kane & Dahlia)

🏑 Dark Romance
🏑 Secret Society
🏑 Antihero
🏑 Girl Who Bites Back
🏑 Enemies to Lovers
🏑 Hockey Romance
🏑 Primal Play
🏑 She’s Out for Revenge

Welcome to Graystone Ridge an affluent town with the perfect blend of wealthy legacy people and ambitious students on scholarships. But underneath that shiny exterior it presents to the world the University hides a deadly secret, nestled within its fold is Vencor. A society so secret not many know of its existence and ties to that Vector is the townships powerful founding families. The Davenports, Callahans, Armstrongs and the Osborns..

Dahlia's attendance at Graystone University is due to a scholarship she was offered her senior year on a medical program. That's not the only reason she jumped at the chance. She's also there to infiltrate Vector because she believes that her fosters sisters accident leads right to there doorstep and she wants to uncover the truth so to do that she needs to get close to Kane.

It’s been ages since I’ve read or inhaled a dark hockey romance book and Rina Kent gave me the perfect balance of an obsession turned deadly like only she can. A slow burn which didn't take much time at all to get its hooks into me. Rina Kent came out swinging with this book and took no prisoners, pulled in straight away, loved every second, minute, hours in Kane’s orbit. I couldn’t imagine him matched with anyone else. She was his in every which way that mattered.

Throw in the secret society trope (chef's kiss) which is my kryptonite and yet again I was in my happy place and loving everything this author threw at me.

The twists and turns, add in his two unhinged friendships, both as deadly as the other and I can’t wait to dive into their stories.

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