Venom Within Her: A Sapphic Shifter Dark Romance

by Cirrus Rae

“As much as I ached to devour her, I needed to savor the moment she decided to let the monster in.”

Ilona came to Cutwood to escape control, but one encounter with Larz, a mysterious, tattooed, split-tongued scorpion‑shifter woman forces her to face an impossible decision she never thought she would have to make: surrender to a claiming that binds her forever, or risk losing the only love strong enough to fight the shadows of her past.

This book contains mature content and is intended for readers 18+

Please read trigger and content warnings below. If these are too much for you, please take care of your mental health and skip this one!

Trigger Warnings:
Violence/Guns
Blood/injury
Character death
Stalking/Voyeurism
Near-death experiences
Body transformation/shapeshifting
Psychic/mind connection
Explicit sexual content
Blood play
Power dynamics in intimacy
Claiming ritual
Grief/fear of loss
Death and afterlife references

Genres: Fantasy

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 30, 2025

About the author

Cirrus Rae is a 30-year-old spicy, dark romance author based in California who focuses solely on fast-paced, filthy, sapphic stories. Her debut series, Masked Mascs, was just the beginning of a growing world of lesbian chaos and obsession. From masked slashers to paranormal shape-shifters, you'll never be bored when picking up one of her books.

Her main goal is to make sure that sapphic dark romance gets the bookshelf space it deserves!

Reviews

[Unpopmary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ⭐

[Karli Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Amazing! 🖤

I found Cirrus Rae through a Facebook group, and I am so happy that I did! I binged the Masked Mascs series in about two days. I was sad that it ended BUT I’m more devastated that this beautifully written monster romance is gone! 😭 I will never be able to read it for the first time again! Why is life unfair like this? Just kidding lol this book had everything I want in a sapphic monster romance! The yearning, the passion, the monster! Ugh!! I will be patiently (impatiently) wait for her next release because she has definitely became one of my favorite authors. 🖤

5/5 ⭐️ 5/5 🌶️

Don’t be afraid to leave a review if you love it as much as I do! Reviews are extremely helpful to indie authors.
(I’m saying this because it’s true! I’m also using my free will to try and spread the word about not being afraid to leave a review. It can make you nervous BUT everyone can be talked through it. Hahaha. See what I did there. 🙂‍↕️😘)

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome story!

I’m a huge sucker for shifter romance novels and this one went above and beyond to give me all the angst, passion and wholesome love and unrestrained joy that makes my nerdy lesbian heart happy. I love this author’s stories and I can’t wait to read more books from her!

[Solely Sapphic Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Venom Within Her by Cirrus Rae
Duel 1st Person POV. 5🌟 3🌶️. 168 pages

I loved everything about this novella. Cirrus Rae has quickly become an insta buy author for me. I absolutely adore the way she writes her characters from masc women obsessed with their femmes, to plus size femmes being treated like princesses. And this novella is no different Larz and Iona are some of my favourite characters from any of Cirrus’s books.

With Larz being an ancient scorpion shifter you would except her to be more on the morally grey side, but she is anything but. She’s loveable, possessive, obsessive and protective of Iona. And Iona as a character has so much depth, from religious trauma, to finally feeling free enough to be herself! Honestly this was one of the fluffiest and spicy monster romance novellas I have ever read and I’d highly recommend reading when it is released.

And more authors need to be describing their women the Cirrus describes women “She was curvy, thick and looked soft. My mouth watered as I thought of sinking my teeth into her generous thighs”. This is how we should be writing curvy women, because these are the thoughts that often run through my own head when I think about my wife!

Must Read if you Love:
✨Lesbian Monster Romance
✨Erotic Romance
✨Fated Mates
✨Masc Scorpion Shifter
✨Plus Size Femme Human
✨Forbiddenish Romance
✨Insta Love
✨Obsessive, Possessive & Protective MC
✨Dom/Sub Dynamics
✨SPICE!
✨Mating Ritual
✨Claiming and Turning

[Shayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sole survivor of the scorpion species after being attacked by human hunters, Larz has sworn off finding her fated mate and lives under the radar in the town of Cutwood.

Ilona, who has followed the clues left by her late Nana, arrives in Cutwood finally escaping her family's religious control. I really enjoyed how Ilonas backstory
was intertwined with Larz's past. The mutual pull towards each other is HOT right from the start!
WHICH I LOVE how obsessive Cirrus’s characters get immediately after meeting, and LARZ was no exception!! Larz's devotion to Ilona held a slightly sweet undertone which further hooked me in and Ilonas homecoming to nature with Larz by her side was pure perfection!

I appreciated how detailed and unique the Scorpion shapeshifting powers were which made for such an engaging, hot, and dangerous, read!

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Daddy kink! Whew. Good shit. This was honestly sitting at three stars until that was introduced. What can I say? Daddy kink in sapphic books is my fucking jam. Larz was hot as hell and possessive and protective and I couldn’t get enough of her. Ilona and she had such great and hot chemistry. The plot ramped up towards the end which was fun and the ending leaves it open enough for a possible sequel. Hopefully that happens cause I would definitely read more about these two.

Spice: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥/❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
Content Warning: Nonconsensual touching, Massacre of MC’s kind (in the past, mentioned), Toxic parent, MC shot, Unwanted advances, Murder, Violence

[Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC for this book

I have read the Masked Mascs series and I was waiting for a new book from them and it did not disappoint. There are only a handful of sapphic monster books and I don’t think I have ever come across one with a scorpion shifter which was actually hot af!
And Larz is definitely my favourite character. She is so confident and sexy I want her for myself. Her chemistry with Iona was off the charts.
But also the spice? I loved every second of it and you might need a cold shower after some of them.
I’m definitely waiting for more books from them.

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book I’ve read by this author and she just keeps getting better. This lesbian dark monster romance is sexy, intense and sweet. This author excels at writing characters who have an intense physical connection with a very balanced emotional connection. The right balance of soft and hard, light and dark.
The world where this story takes place is interesting and well built. I particularly enjoy the forest and its creatures and I really hope we get to hear more about that in future books in this series. It’s well written, very well paced and an all round good time.

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝚅𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚖 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝙷𝚎𝚛 by Cirrus Rae follows Ilona, who is attempting to start over in a new small town. Her life changes when she meets Larz, a mysterious, tattooed, split-tongued scorpion-shifter, and they form an immediate connection.

This book had me in a chokehold. I'm still obsessing over it, and I finished the whole thing in just one day. The characters are lovable, you cannot help but fall in love with them. Watching the chemistry build between Ilona and Larz kept me locked in. It is a spicy read that I devoured. I am already looking forward to whatever comes next for these two.

[Steph H · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

The 3 star rating is purely based on my book preferences. With it being my first monster x human read I was a little lost, and struggled to picture some things
The relationship between the pair felt a little quick, and as for plot it wasn’t that huge, but the spice was spicy, the dom x sub was 10/10. Quick easy read and I have enjoyed previous books by this author.

[Mercedes Rogayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg yasss

Soooo I’m not really a fan of “mated” pairs but I absolutely loved this couple and this read! The sex scenes were spicy I just love happily ever dark romance’s! Highly recommend this please keep it coming ! This did not disappoint.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Cirrus Rae continues to deliver exceptional characters, captivating stories, and immersive worlds. I cannot wait to read more books by her.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story

I really enjoyed this fated mates, instalove story. It has a lot of spice that is well done and a good storyline to go with it. I hope for a book 2!

[Jade Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, I couldn’t put it down. I hope the story continues with another book. Love love loved this one

[Amounah Works · Rating 5 out of 5]

So refreshing and ancient. Very satisfying read. I highly recommend it for those who enjoy fated mates, shape-shifting, and nature lore. Very good writing; free from typical AI praising.

[Kayla Brahm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erotica novella. It does kind of end on a cliffhanger so be warned.
7 spicy scenes

[Vic Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love it from start to finish and want more!!!.. I hope theres a sequel to see what has happend back at home.