Poisonous Kiss

Venomous Gods #3

by Jagger Cole, Walker Williams (Narrator), Emery Erickson (Narrator)

To save my father's life, I'm being forced to marry a monster.

The world sees Gabriel Black as a golden successful, gorgeous, charismatic, and untouchable. The good guy.

But I've peeked behind the mask and seen the brutal devil that lurks like poison under the surface. And he knows it, too.

Now, I need a miracle—and money—to save my father's life and pay off the crime boss he's in deep with.

Gabriel needs a wife to further his political career. It's a match made in hell to a secret psychopath who knows my darkest, most depraved fantasies.

And I'm about to learn the only thing more dangerous than being chased by a

Falling for one.

Poisonous Kiss is a blisteringly steamy, dark mafia, grumpy/sunshine, marriage of convenience standalone romance by bestselling author Jagger Cole. It features a smart, untamable heroine and an ultra possessive psycho hero with "look at her and I'll unalive you" energy. No cliffhanger. HEA included. For mature listeners.

Genres: Dark Romance, Marriage Of Convenience, Mafia Romance, Romance, Dark, BDSM, Enemies To Lovers

10 pages, Audible Audio

First published April 4, 2024

About the author

A reader first and foremost, Jagger Cole cut his romance writing teeth penning various fan-fiction stories years ago. After deciding to hang up his writing boots, Jagger worked in advertising pretending to be Don Draper. It worked enough to convince a woman way out of his league to marry him, though, which is a total win.

Now, Dad to two little princesses and King to a Queen, Jagger is thrilled to be back at the keyboard.

When not writing or reading romance books, he can be found woodworking, enjoying good whiskey, and grilling outside—rain or shine.

You can find all of his books at www.jaggercolewrites.com


Grab a FREE book for joining my fans-only newsletter! -> https://dl.bookfunnel.com/8rld1ik3sd

Reviews

[nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

the mouth on this man!! like DAMN 🥵

She’s the equal I never, ever expected to find.

[Kate V · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars!

Jagger Cole does it again and delivers a HOT and addicting dark romance. Kinky, OTT and delicious. I just really loved this.

Gabriel and Fumi?

These two were FIRE.

"She’s the equal I never, ever expected to find.”

This series just hits my dark and kinky needs.

"Monsters don’t bring you water and painkillers. They don’t run you bubble baths, or kiss you like you’re a precious treasure they’d rather die than lose. At least, most don’t. But mine does."

[Amber (Amber Reads Romance) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

Poisonous Kiss is my favorite out of the Venomous Gods series. This is a dark, spicy, and intense mafia romance. I loved Fumi and Gabiel!

Gabriel Black is the partner for the Crown and Black firm and always portrays himself as the perfect lawyer and golden boy. However, he has a much darker side he hides from the world. He is running for governor, but he learns he must get a wife in order to win the election.

Fumi Yamaguchi is a hardworking lawyer at Crown and Black, and she uses most of her money to take care of her sick father. She learns about her father's past when they are attacked, and now she has to pay 5 million or they will pay with their lives. She finds out about the auditions Gabriel is putting on to pay for a fake wife and jumps at the opportunity. I loved the setup of this marriage of convenience.

Fumi actually has an insanely hot interaction with him at the sex club. She knew it was him, but they were wearing masks, and she was not allowed to speak. She discovers he has darker sexual desires that match hers perfectly. She does have trauma from her past, and now she craves CNC.

Let me say, this is one of the spiciest Jagger Cole books, and I was loving it. They had such a great dynamic. It really felt like they were the perfect match to each other, with their darker sides and desires.

I was excited that this book featured the Yakuza. I read a lot of mafia romance, but I have never read one about the Yakuza.

TW: CNC, Previous drugging and SA, sick parent,
Kinks: CNC, Primal Play, anal, BDSM, impact play, period sex, snowballing

Thank you to Valentine PR for providing the ARC.

[(betts) ⚜ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐ / 4🌶️

— vibezz
👹 marriage of convenience
⚖️ a little age gap [34H 27h]
👹 primal CNC
⚖️ lawyer by day punisher by night

mini blurb — ✍🏻
Gabriel is aiming for being the next Governor, but in order to get that he needs an immaculate public image, that include a wife, which he hasn't. Enter Fumi, and equity partner at Crown&Black and in desperate need to save his father. She accept to play Gabriel's dutiful wife in exchange for a compensation. What she didn't expect was to start falling for what her future husband could mean for her, a new beginning and a safe place to explore herself.

//

ngl the previous one did set the bar very high and I was hyping pretty bad for Gabriel's book but alas I felt a little disappointed in the story and how the characters acted throughout the book.

Gabriel has a dark side, honestly the whole book tried to sell it like he had some sort of a split personality but the act was done pretty bad. He was dark, he was the depiction of an anti-hero and a justice vigilante and when things didn't turn out how he liked he took the matter on his own hands, literally.

Just one Crown and Black cell phone was at Salvatore Avella’s exact address the night he was killed.
Gabriel’s.

🤡 did u seriously bought your work phone with you on a killing mission? Ok Jason Bourne

Tonight, I’m not just a wolf. Tonight, I’m death. I’m vengeance personified.
[...]
Orochi is alone, sitting on a sofa watching soccer on TV, his back to me. I slip inside silently, vengeance in my heart, viciousness in my eyes, and Japanese steel in my hands.
He tenses when he feels the edge of the blade against his jugular.

Ok Batman chill tf out
The man was alone and you want me to believe he went on John Wick mode and he fucking obliterated the whole criminal organization in Kyoto with a borrowed katana? *bombastic side eye*

How he didn't got caught still is a mistery to me and the whole human population.
I'm sorry I feel bullshitted, I've watched too many thriller/spy/action movies to accept this dumb shit. Make it believable at least.

Fumi, I literally don't wanna say anything about her since there was nothing I particularly liked about her characterization. Her past? meh, it was there and I expected more importance addressed to it and more importance in the plot. I hated with my core how Gabriel reacted when he learned about it.
At the same time I hated how Fumi reacted when she discovered Gabriel's extracurricular activities 👀

so yeah, the plot twist and the info dump at the end was expected in total Jagger Cole style but unexpected in a way? I'm thinking about another book or a series perhaps.

“I love you, Monster,” she whispers.
“And I love you, Kitten.”

now gimme Kratos' book and make it good pls 🙏

[sahar (warner's version) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank god i am finally a free woman

This book was not good and then he went all "im a wolf" and suddenly it got even worse AND THEN he, this american man, pulled out a whole ass sword in the 21st century to fight the yakuza and i started to cry

[Alina Kravets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ох, ця книга була така гаряча.🔥💎

Пара: Габріель & Фумі


Тропи:
⋆ Мафія
⋆ Шлюб за розрахунком
⋆ Вимушена близькість
⋆ Фейкові стосунки
⋆ Адвокат вдень, каратель вночі
⋆ grumpy x sunshine
⋆ primal CNC

Габріель Блек — партнер юридичної фірми "Crown and Black" і завжди постає перед світом як бездоганний адвокат і золотий хлопчик. Але за цією ідеальною маскою ховається темна сторона, про яку ніхто не здогадується. Коли він вирішує балотуватися на посаду губернатора, то швидко розуміє, що для перемоги йому потрібна дружина.

Фумі Ямагучі — талановита та працьовита юристка в "Crown and Black", яка віддає майже всі свої заробітки на лікування хворого батька. Але коли їхнє життя опиняється під загрозою через борги її батька, вона дізнається правду про його минуле. Їй ставлять ультиматум: або вона заплатить 5 мільйонів, або вона заплатить своїм життям.

Фумі випадково дізнається, що Габріель шукає жінку для фіктивного шлюбу і готовий щедро заплатити за це. Це її шанс вирішити фінансові проблеми, і вона ним користується.

Їх зв’язок починається ще до угоди, коли вони випадково стикаються в секс-клубі Venom. Вона знає, хто ховається за маскою, але їй заборонено говорити. Саме там вона відкриває темні бажання Габріеля — ідеально співзвучні з її власними. Її минуле залишило в ній глибокі шрами, і тепер вона жадає контролю та підкорення.

Це, без сумніву, одна з найгарячіших книг Джаггера Коула, яка мене вразила.🔥
Особливо коли Фумі думала що Габрієль не знає що то вона була з ним в клубі.
І як він потім накинувся на неї в дома, скажу так навіть я почала переживати хто ж за нею слідкує.

Між героями склалася ідеальна динаміка, їхні темні сторони ідеально доповнювали одна одну.

Це моя перша книга саме про японську мафію, і я була налаштована скептично, але мені дуже сподобалось.
Особливо той сюжетний поворот в кінці.🫣

Рекомендую!❤️‍🔥

[Enni (on hiatus) ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let it be a testament to how much I liked this book that I read it within 9 hours during the night and half of that was spent asleep 😂

When I say Jagger Cole is one of those authors that will always deliver a book I enjoy, I am mot exaggerating at all! There is just some kind of drug in them that makes me want to finish each book asap and delay my bedtime (which I did until 4 am the night I started reading this haha).

As if being wildly successful, rich, and ludicrously handsome wasn’t enough, Gabriel Black also has the audacity to look insanely good in a suit.

Gabriel Black.
The name partner in Crown and Black.
A man with a charming facade for the world to see. To hide the monster within.

Fumi Yamaguchi.
A recent equity partner in Crown and Black.
All of a sudden, she finds herself in need of 5 million dollars.
When an opportunity to earn it presents itself, she will do anything to ensure she gets that opportunity.

Sometimes, fantasies are nothing like what you imagined when you attempt to fulfill them. Sometimes, the reality is a sour disappointment. But sometimes, the reality is a thousand fucking times more thrilling, more heart-stopping, more everything than the fantasy ever had a prayer of being.

Fumi and Gabriel were coworkers but they had never really worked together much. Sure, they knew of each other and had exchanged words here and there but, for the most part, their social circles didn't even overlap.

Gabriel has had political aspirations for some time and has decided to run for Governor. However, in order to have a realistic chance to win the race, he needs a wife. Or needed one yesterday. Fumi learns of the wife tryouts throughout a client and is determined to charm her way to win the position. After all, it's not everyday that you learn of your fathers past in the Yakuza and have the current Yakuza leadership knocking on your door and demanding 5 million dollars. With the marriage areangement to Gabriel including an immediate four million dollar payout for the fake wife, it would solve Fumi's problem with the Yakuza at once.

There’s a fire inside of me I’ve never felt before, a roar of something so powerful and thunderous that it’s actually scaring the living hell out of me as Gabriel uses me like his fuck-toy.
Total control.
Complete domination.
Utter submission.

The night before the wife audiotions, Yumi is just leaving Club Venom after a cancelled business appointment once she notices Gabriel Black coming in, ready to play. When Gabriel approaches her and proposes that they move into a private room, she is certain the mask and wig hide her identity and is eager to satisfy her curiosity about Gabriel. After all, he seems almosy robot-like at times at work.

Fumi has the best sexual experience in her life with all her dark and depraved fantasies coming true with Gabriel. From thereon, after Fumi is chosen as Gabriel's wife, they take on this cat and mouse game with secret meetings in Club Venom under disguise while living a seemingly normal life in an arranged marriage.

Fuck me, the look in her eyes. It’s the one I fell for that very first night at Venom, her full submission so perfectly on display in her eager eyes that I almost can’t bear it. That look is a fucking drug, and my monster is goddamn addicted to it.

For a long time, I was curious as to what the traumatizing event that took place when Fumi was nineteen had been since it was obvious it was sexual in nature and it had been brought up several times in the book before further elaborated. In the end, it ended up being a crucial element in tying the plot for the whole book together.

I didn't really know what to expect from Gabriel's and his book, even though he has made several appearances in the previous books as well as the affiliated Dark Hearts series. He was more depraved than I was expecting but I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. I also loved how Gabriel he always presented to the world ended up being a facade and the real Gabriel was a lot darker than people thought. And that Fumi knew this from the beginning.

I want to punish her for even thinking about another man before she met me. That’s the level of my addiction to this woman.
The depth of my depraved obsession.
The price she’ll pay for captivating my monster.
I want to punish her.
I want it to hurt.
I want it to hurt so fucking good.

I found Gabriel's extracurricular hobbies extremely ironic and hilarious considering his profession as a lawyer. And the setting for the whole series as well as the affiliation to the Dark Hearts series. I think it was fitting to Gabriel and, in a way, his prevalence to killing ended up also being a somewhat crucial element in the events that took place in Japan.

Considering all the above, I felt like I somewhat knew what made Gabriel tick but his POVs were definitely more restricted with the insight into his head. Even though his possessiveness over Fumi was obvious, it was still unclear to me at which point he actually developed feelings towards her. It just happened but even though I would have liked being more privvy to his thoughts, the whole "not revealing the inner workings of Gabriel's mind" still worked. I guess it was also somewhat crucial in the beginning as well so it was not exposed too early that he was aware of Fumi's identity the whole time.

Monsters don’t bring you water and painkillers. They don’t run you bubble baths, or kiss you like you’re a precious treasure they’d rather die than lose.
At least, most don’t.
But mine does.

Fumi was an interesting FMC. I did not remember her at all from the previous books so if she was mentioned, her role was pretty minor. To me, Fumi was a lot more mediocre than Gabriel and I did not like her as much as Gabriel (though I did not really dislike her either).

Fumi had a big journey to self-discovery both with her and Gabriel's sex life as well as with accosting her past abuser. Also, there were some pretty big things that were revealed about her past and she was even kidnapped at the end of the book but even that was fairly anti-climatic with being over so quickly.

Once upon a time, I was in control. Once upon a time, I knew what I was doing with her. Now, I realize I’ve lost all control. And I’m not sure I ever want it back.

The beginning of the book and Fumi and Gabriel's relationship was based on the arranged marriage and Gabriel running for Governor but they kind of took a backseat halfway through the book. I like that they were seen through until the end of the book but their lesser importance in the latter half of the book could have been a bit smoother.

All in all, this was a pleasant and quick read filled with good spice, good plot and characters that differed a bit from the mainstream.

I received an ARC of Poisonous Kiss in exchange for an honest review

• • • • •

Let me tell you, I gobbled this book up!

• • • • •

I have a few ARCs to get through at the moment and this is the one I am definitely the most excited about!

[Catie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have yet to read a Jagger Cole book I didn’t love! Gabriel and Fumi were everything!

5 stars!!!

Another amazing read from the king of mAâfia, Jagger Cole!

When I saw the blurb about Gabriel being a secret p$ychöpāth I was thinking there’s no way after he was pretty chill in Devious Vow, but BOY was I wrong. That man had a monster living inside of him that no one knew about.

Gabriel is partner at Crown and Black law firm and when he decides to run for governor, his campaign manager hits him with the news that per study group findings, he’s not likely to win the election as a single man.

Fumi is a new equity partner in the firm and taking care of her sick father when their lives are threatened by her father’s enemies from a past life she knows nothing about.

In a twist of events they’ll both benefit from, Fumi ends up as Gabriel’s spouse in this marriage of convenience story.

This book was so hot in typical Jagger fashion, including some amazing spicy scenes at Club Venom, and all the great twists and turns I’ve grown to love from his novels. And as usual, I flew through this book and could not put it down!

[Kia Borner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just can’t with this author.

I don’t know what he puts in these books that I literally CANNOT put them down, but keep them coming.

Fumi & Gabriel’s story was *chefs kiss*.

THE ACTION, THE PLOT, THE TWISTS…THE EVERYTHING!!

So dark but so SEXY at the same time and I cannot get enough.

I say we just keep this series going😭

Thank you Valentine PR & Jagger Cole for the chance to ARC this book. I absolutely loved it 🥰

[wkretarcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY GOD THIS BOOK 🧎🏼‍♀️🧎🏼‍♀️🧎🏼‍♀️
this part was the best

reread

[Milica's Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uhh, it was so good, absolutely amazing, and the perfect read, I loved everything.

[🎬 · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf

can’t believe trees died for this

[Caitie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“He’s the best guy around!” “What about the people he murdered?” “WHAT MURRRRDAH?”

[Emmanuella · Rating 1 out of 5]

This horrible excuse of a book gave me the immense urge to imagine jumping into the thames river, swimming against the current, thereby drowning myself in the process. From there, my soul would descend to the ninth circle of hell and be tortured by the myriad voices of conscious babies.

The book was THAT bad :)

Honestly, if you asked me what I would rather have done when reading this book, I would have given the option of:
1. watching paint dry
2. hearing harrison butker's speech again
3. visiting a trump rally

[SimplyƝì₭ · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Moshira · Rating 1 out of 5]

The hero sucked big time.

[Nerlie౨ৎ🎧📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

This book had all of my favorite tropes!

Why did I think he was so calm and collected in the previous book? He’s actually insane—but I love it, so I can’t complain.

[Jessica (Bestie Book Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book held 99% of my favorite tropes and I am so happy I picked this one up. This is my first Jagger Cole book and I cannot wait to read more. I am going back to the first book in this series asap!

[v.e.e.r.e.a.d.s · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️4🌶️
Now I’ll be honest I had no idea what to expect with Gabriel….I knew he’d have a hidden dark side? But I didn’t realise it would be that dark! And delicious 😏

This man did not disappoint! 🥵

So Gabriel is running for Governor and he needs a squeaky image to do that. He is then advised to contract a marriage of convenience to help this image…and this is where Fumi comes in.

Fumi’s dad is extremely sick and she is doing everything she can to pay for the medical bills, this is until dangerous men greet her in the home she shares with her father demanding a pay up of millions of dollars. Not only is this when Fumi realises she’s connected to the Mafia but the fact she also needs to get her hands on millions of dollars in a short amount of time.

And guess who’s offering millions to be his fake wife?

Don’t even get me started on what Gabriel gets up to on his free time, I didn’t know he’d have it in him!

Like all Jagger Coke books I loved this! As usual a great spicy x plot x character combo!

[Treena · Rating 2 out of 5]

The storyline didn't make a lot of sense and there was no revelation when they went from fake to 'real' married, they just randomly started saying they loved each other and that was that. A lot of things didn't line up and the couple had next to no chemistry, I didn't feel any connection between them at all.

[Oksana (myreadsjournal) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still maintain that Jagger puts a special kind of addiction in his books, because from the moment I open that very first page I can only put the book down once I reach "the end". It's 2 am? Who cares, the book isn't finished yet, and sleep is overrated.

Poisonous Kiss is like nothing Jagger delivered in the past, and he outdid himself with this one and these characters.

Gabriel Black is the golden man: he's a partner of one of the most successful law firms in New York, he's charismatic, polite, incredibly handsome, has his funny moments and he's just the good guy. Well, this is at least what he shows to the world.
The real man behind this golden mask is someone not only with the darkest desires, but a real psychopath and a true monster.

The FMC is a new equity partner in the firm, a hardworking lawyer at Crown and Black, and a devoted daughter. She takes care of her father and despite an incredibly busy schedule, she leads a quite simple life. This, however, changes once she learns that her father is not exactly who he says he is, and in a blink of an eye she finds herself in a desperate need of money to save her father and herself.

When Gabriel is told that in order for him to succeed with his political goals he'll need to get married, he takes the matter very seriously and opens up the search for a perfect candidate. What he didn't expect was to find his professional co-worker fired up and ready to compete and conquer to claim her righteous spot: Gabriel's ideal wife. It's a win-win situation, right? What could possibly go wrong?

The chemistry between these two characters is over the top from the very beginning, and their story is absolutely wild, intense and brutal. I adored everything about their relationship.
The FMC was never afraid to push Gabriel's buttons, and not only had she embraced his dark side in an enthralling way, she embodied her own fantasies and succumbed to feelings never experienced before. They are a perfect match made in heaven, healing each other's broken pieces and breathing light into one another for another day. 🔥

I will never be able to find just the right words to do Jagger's books justice. His writing is, as always, phenomenal, the twists he creates will keep you on the most exciting edge, and he will oh-so-easily pull you into his stories from the very start, making you pretty much insatiable for his books. 🖤

I'm counting the days for the next book in the series and will never shut up about this Jagger Cole era.

Please make sure to check the TWs before diving in.

[madie dragoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5⭐️
4.5/5🌶️

i feel like i haven’t had a really good five star read it such a long time, so im honestly so glad that i enjoyed this book so much. jagger cole never misses and i absolutely loved gabriel and fumi’s story! i loved their darkness and how well they complimented each other. there was a really great balance between storyline and romance which i appreciated and i really enjoyed the different twists and turns that the story took. i also really loved the marriage of convenience trope and thought it was done really well. honestly the main reason that i think i enjoyed this book so much was the romance and the spice 🤌🏻 jagger cole always does both of these things really well, but this book was next level and i ate it up. i loved how possessive gabriel was and his “touch her and i’ll unalive you” vibes. i enjoyed the deception in the story and the dirty talk🥵very very excited to get my hands on poisonous kiss when it releases!

“at the end of the day, it’s up to you if you want to look away from your fears or face them head on.”

[madi · Rating 3 out of 5]

1 star because the fmc said she doesn't mind the term "r*pe kink" (over "the more politically correct term 'cnc'"). even though it was BARELY cnc (she doesnt say 'no' once), hes just a dom.

But then more stars bc its my man Jagger Cole and ill be on my knees for more of these books tysm

[Yesterdays Chapter · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for a fast paced romantic drama this is for you!
Fumi is a strong fmc with major family loyalty and a huge heart. Gabriel is a dark mmc with vigilante tendencies, that knows what he wants and gets it.
These two have chemistry that sizzles throughout the book.
A couple things that weren’t for me:
• I needed more context whether that be a longer book or another book (just a little too fast paced for me).
• There were quite a few corny instances (thats just not my style).
• There could have been more scenes between the character, where you see how they and why they are falling in love.
📚Though these things weren’t for me they are definitely for some. I recommend giving Poisonous Kiss a try! 📚

[Read All About It · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monster!!

Let me tell you these men don’t mess around. They protect and keep what’s belongs to them with fierce passion.

Gabriel Black is not the man you want to come up against. He will win anyway he can.

“Surely you’ve figured it out by now. There’s no place you could go,” he mutters quietly, “and no place you could run where I wouldn’t catch you, Kitten.”

“Fumi” finds out secrets that will change everything . Her quiet life just explodes.

This was a crazy wild ride and I can’t wait for more.

[SJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was absolutely whack a doodle lmfao
and was so short
and once again so similar to so many of this authors other books idek what im doing still going with it but I’ve commuted at this point. I swear they just write the same story over and over and the details are too specific to not be noticeable

that being said I didn’t hate it LOL
would I recommend it to anyone? absolutely not
but it’s a fine, quick, maybe a little disturbing read

[Marina (taylor’s version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know what I’ve just read.

[Dodibook · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's in the stories of Jagger Cole. I always eat them like candy... I also read this book from beginning to end in one go.

When we see Gabriel appear in the previous books, he seems to be the 'soft' brother, but nothing could be further from the truth, behind his persona he hides a 'monster'. And he craves control in everything he does.

When Fumi & Gabriel run into each other at club Venom (of course, where else?), well, let's just say Fumi is more than happy to relinquish that control to Gabriel.

Jagger Cole always creates such perfect couples, yin yang, they always complement each other, including this couple.

The chemistry is explosive and the spice is so hot and dark, chapter 12, OMG!!! This is not a cute love story, but a dark romance, do check your TW's and CW's.

I missed some closure: How does Fumi deal with Gabriel's monster, does he let his monster come out? Where is the groveling?

🅡🅐🅣🅘🅝🅖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🅢🅟🅘🅒🅔
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

🅣🅡🅞🅟🅔🅢
🖤Dark Mafia
🖤Yakuza
🖤CNC
🖤Primal
🖤Possessive MMC
🖤Marriage Contract

🅕🅐🅥🅞🅡🅘🅣🅔 🅠🅤🅞🅣🅔🅢
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑎 𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝐺𝑎𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑙 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘-𝑡𝑜𝑦.
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙.
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.
𝑈𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛.

𝐹𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑉𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑚, ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑜 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑡. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑟𝑢𝑔, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑑𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑛 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑡.

𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛.
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛.
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒’𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟.
𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟.
𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡.
𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑜 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑.

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 ... 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑡. 𝑇𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟, 𝑘𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛, 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑢𝑛. 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑠, 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠. 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡... 𝐼'𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐼'𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢, ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑. 𝐼'𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ. 𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡?

𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙. 𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝑁𝑜𝑤, 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐼’𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝐼 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘.

[KY Book Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poisonous Kiss is the third book in the Venomous God's Series by Jagger Cole. 

If you have read this series from the beginning,  which you absolutely should, you may think you know each character before reading their book. Ha! If you think you know Gabriel Black, trust me,  you don't. It's a bit frightening how perfectly he portrays a political figure and yet hides his secret “monster” persona. The only thing missing from this perfectly crafted life is a wife. When he is told he needs this to achieve his political aspirations he of course, holds auditions and offers a huge incentive for the part.  What he doesn't expect is to find the perfect candidate wife in an employee named Fumi. 


Fumi Yamaguchi has recently been promoted to equity partner at Crown and Black. She spends her time caring for her ailing father. When she learns her life and her father's is not what she thought.  Now she needs money to save her father's life and lots of it. The only way she can think of obtaining it is to marry her boss and help him in his political career.  But as details of this role become more clear, the job she is to perform gets a lot more complicated. 

Simply put, I read everything Jagger Cole writes. As someone obsessed with Bratva and mafia romances, I have to say I have never read anything featuring the Yukuza. I found it unique and interesting. Told from dual first-person POV,  this book is intense, to say the least. These characters, Fumi especially, come with a lot of past trauma, so as with every Jagger Cole book, check out the tw's and cw's. This is not your sweet romantic read, nope. It is rough and intense from start to finish. My favorite thing about Jagger Cole books is his ability to match a couple perfectly, and as always, he nails it in this one. Their chemistry is explosive, and I dare say brutal. As good as this one was, I am most excited that it gets us closer to the next one, Kratos’ story. I feel like I've been waiting on that one forever!

ARC was provided by Valentine PR, and this is my honest review. 

[Courtney | romancereadswithcourt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pub day eARC review
Poisonous Kiss by Jagger Cole
5 ⭐️ 3.5 🌶️⛓️

First of all, 😮‍💨.

Second of all, this is for the DARK romance girlies. Gabriel Black came, saw, and conquered my heart. I’m truly convinced there’s not a single JC book I will not love. I read my first book from him in March and now this is my 7th 🥰.

This is book 3 in the series. Gabriel is running for office and needs a bride to win over the masses. Fumi needs the large sum of money he’s offering said bride. She works at his firm and already knows a good bit about him, so why not?

We get taken back to Club Venom so quickly in this one. I really love that this ✨schmink club ✨has played such a large role in most of Jagger’s books. They both have dark, pr!mal desires that no one has been able to fulfill for them yet… until one night when THEY get to play at Venom.

I love Fumi. She’s intelligent and quick witted and a survivor. She doesn’t put up with Gabriel’s sh*t nor does she shy away from him. She’s a perfect match for him, and he for her.Gabriel has a dark side no one sees, and she’s not afraid of that either. She wants all of him, light and darkness. It’s so perfectly them 🥹.

Tropes: marriage of convenience • forced proximity • workplace romance • interracial • pr!mal • angsty • grumpy/sunshine • E to L • touch her and 💀 • antihero • SA survivor

Thank you SO much Jagger and Valentine PR for letting me read this early! 🖤