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Serpent's Kiss
While searching for their missing sibling, Zaiden and his sister Kaandhal, come across the last pureblooded psy-clairvoyant of their kind. Unfortunately for them, the psy-clairvoyant Darian has no idea who he truly is and isn’t interested in learning, much less helping Zaiden and Kaandhal locate their missing brother, Zxex.
A bounty hunter by trade, who’s been all but banished from his family due to his visions, Darian is a bit cynical about his ability to be of any assistance to them. Nevertheless, Zaiden brings him back to their home Rhumba, where Darian discovers that very little is what it seems.
With plots unfolding all around them and discoveries about his own heritage leaving Darian reeling, he is left with the choice of whether to embrace who and what he is, or spend every moment with them as a prisoner on the fringes of their society.
Add in a pesky little bond that only seems to grow the more time he and Zaiden spend together, and several factions looking to gain possession of him and Darian is left wondering if his visions just might be the least of his troubles.
A bounty hunter by trade, who’s been all but banished from his family due to his visions, Darian is a bit cynical about his ability to be of any assistance to them. Nevertheless, Zaiden brings him back to their home Rhumba, where Darian discovers that very little is what it seems.
With plots unfolding all around them and discoveries about his own heritage leaving Darian reeling, he is left with the choice of whether to embrace who and what he is, or spend every moment with them as a prisoner on the fringes of their society.
Add in a pesky little bond that only seems to grow the more time he and Zaiden spend together, and several factions looking to gain possession of him and Darian is left wondering if his visions just might be the least of his troubles.
262 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 8, 2017
3 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
Layla Dorine
102 books207 followersLAYLA DORINE lives among the sprawling prairies of Midwestern America, in a house with more cats than people. She loves hiking, fishing, swimming, martial arts, camping out, photography, cooking, and dabbling with several artistic mediums. In addition, she loves to travel and visit museums, historic, and haunted places.
Layla got hooked on writing as a child, starting with poetry and then branching out, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. Hard times, troubled times, the lives of her characters are never easy, but then what life is? The story is in the struggle, the journey, the triumphs and the falls. She writes about artists, musicians, loners, drifters, dreamers, hippies, bikers, truckers, hunters and all the other folks that she’s met and fallen in love with over the years. Sometimes she writes urban romance and sometimes its aliens crash landing near a roadside bar. When she isn’t writing, or wandering somewhere outdoors, she can often be found curled up with a good book and a kitty on her lap.
Layla got hooked on writing as a child, starting with poetry and then branching out, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. Hard times, troubled times, the lives of her characters are never easy, but then what life is? The story is in the struggle, the journey, the triumphs and the falls. She writes about artists, musicians, loners, drifters, dreamers, hippies, bikers, truckers, hunters and all the other folks that she’s met and fallen in love with over the years. Sometimes she writes urban romance and sometimes its aliens crash landing near a roadside bar. When she isn’t writing, or wandering somewhere outdoors, she can often be found curled up with a good book and a kitty on her lap.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 12, 2022
This was one of my 2022 blind reads; meaning I read it without reading the blurb. I didn't even know what genre it was when I started. These are always a toss up. I have rarely been truly disappointed (mostly because of the "where's this going?" element that keeps me engaged), but this time I was underwhelmed. I can't really put my finger on why, but nothing here blew my mind. Everyone and everything was just ok. I was actually hoping it was part of a series, because it felt like the ground work was laid, but not a whole lot happened.
November 7, 2017
***4.13 stars***
SLOW BURN ALERT! Okay, not that's out-of-the-way....
I believe this is my first snake shifter book, and you want to know something? I couldn’t put it down! The world building is phenomenal; so detailed that I can envision everything right down to the 'will-o-the-wisps' dancing outside their underground windows. Not to mention the different species of snakes, and how each one denotes the class that they belong to. And this is just one of the communities/kingdom of snakes. Even though the author goes into a little detail about the other kingdoms, I'm not going to lie it would be nice if this area was explored a bit more.
From the beginning my heart just ached for Darian. No doubt this man was dealt a very shitty hand in life; especially all things family related. As the story progresses, he begins to see his self-worth. Realizing that he is a good person; someone who could love and be loved. It was hard for me to understand why he let others treat him unfairly. Yet, when it happens continuously he still finds it in his heart to forgive. While it pissed me off more times than not, a part of me found it awe-inspiring.
Just as a heads up, some parts of the story are sporadic at times; however, that is due to the visions that he experiences when he is near or touching someone. Even with all of this going on, I was able to understand when his visions were taking place.
In the end, Darian and Zaiden get their HEA, and I feel there is room for this book to turn into a series. Just think about it. As he stops certain threats from occurring, it gives way to new dangers that might be lurking around the corner.
Some things I am still wondering about are:
What are the repercussions Darian’s family endured after finding out that they mistreated him; causing him to repress some of his memories?
Why doesn't he read the Kings'/Princes' future to see if the threat is truly gone even after the threat seems contained?
It seems that Zaiden and Darian are not taking on a third. Will this not be a problem since he is the last seer in existence; no offspring/heir?
I am one of many reviewers at Gay Book Reviews and can be found here: http://gaybook.reviews/author/steph/
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
SLOW BURN ALERT! Okay, not that's out-of-the-way....
I believe this is my first snake shifter book, and you want to know something? I couldn’t put it down! The world building is phenomenal; so detailed that I can envision everything right down to the 'will-o-the-wisps' dancing outside their underground windows. Not to mention the different species of snakes, and how each one denotes the class that they belong to. And this is just one of the communities/kingdom of snakes. Even though the author goes into a little detail about the other kingdoms, I'm not going to lie it would be nice if this area was explored a bit more.
From the beginning my heart just ached for Darian. No doubt this man was dealt a very shitty hand in life; especially all things family related. As the story progresses, he begins to see his self-worth. Realizing that he is a good person; someone who could love and be loved. It was hard for me to understand why he let others treat him unfairly. Yet, when it happens continuously he still finds it in his heart to forgive. While it pissed me off more times than not, a part of me found it awe-inspiring.
Just as a heads up, some parts of the story are sporadic at times; however, that is due to the visions that he experiences when he is near or touching someone. Even with all of this going on, I was able to understand when his visions were taking place.
In the end, Darian and Zaiden get their HEA, and I feel there is room for this book to turn into a series. Just think about it. As he stops certain threats from occurring, it gives way to new dangers that might be lurking around the corner.
Some things I am still wondering about are:
What are the repercussions Darian’s family endured after finding out that they mistreated him; causing him to repress some of his memories?
Why doesn't he read the Kings'/Princes' future to see if the threat is truly gone even after the threat seems contained?
It seems that Zaiden and Darian are not taking on a third. Will this not be a problem since he is the last seer in existence; no offspring/heir?
I am one of many reviewers at Gay Book Reviews and can be found here: http://gaybook.reviews/author/steph/
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 5, 2017
(Originally reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews. Rated 4.5 out of 5.0 Love Bytes)
When this book showed up on our available to review list at Love Bytes, I was interested in learning more when I read the blurb. It only gave hints of what the story would contain, but a psy-clairvoyant sounded like it might be a good read.
I’m happy to say it was. I was caught up in the book and read it all the way through to about the last 20 pages in one sitting. I was so tired last night that I stopped purposely so that I’d get the ending this morning. I didn’t at all realize that the book was going to be about snake shifters. Honestly, I should have… it is called Serpent’s Kiss, but I didn’t. I had never read a snake shifter book and I’m not sure if I would have grabbed it so fast if I had known, but then I would have missed an entertaining story.
The author did a good job with this one. I’ve never read this author previously, but will seek out other stories by her in the future. The story was well written and fairly well edited, although to keep it honest, there were a few little things with incorrect words that should have been caught by the editor. Overall though, I enjoyed it.
I liked the character of Darian, and all the adventures he got into during the course of the book. I’m not sure, but it would seem that there could be more to this tale. The ending leaves it more as a HFN than a HEA, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a sequel down the road.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes a slow burn story. It is more about the characters and story development than it is about hookups. If you’re looking for a book with lots of steamy scenes, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for a captivating, draw you in type story, this would work for you. I’ll be waiting for a sequel.
When this book showed up on our available to review list at Love Bytes, I was interested in learning more when I read the blurb. It only gave hints of what the story would contain, but a psy-clairvoyant sounded like it might be a good read.
I’m happy to say it was. I was caught up in the book and read it all the way through to about the last 20 pages in one sitting. I was so tired last night that I stopped purposely so that I’d get the ending this morning. I didn’t at all realize that the book was going to be about snake shifters. Honestly, I should have… it is called Serpent’s Kiss, but I didn’t. I had never read a snake shifter book and I’m not sure if I would have grabbed it so fast if I had known, but then I would have missed an entertaining story.
The author did a good job with this one. I’ve never read this author previously, but will seek out other stories by her in the future. The story was well written and fairly well edited, although to keep it honest, there were a few little things with incorrect words that should have been caught by the editor. Overall though, I enjoyed it.
I liked the character of Darian, and all the adventures he got into during the course of the book. I’m not sure, but it would seem that there could be more to this tale. The ending leaves it more as a HFN than a HEA, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a sequel down the road.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes a slow burn story. It is more about the characters and story development than it is about hookups. If you’re looking for a book with lots of steamy scenes, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for a captivating, draw you in type story, this would work for you. I’ll be waiting for a sequel.
July 18, 2017
Sorry but no.
I made it to the end of the book although only barely. Usually I enjoy this kind of fantasy if only the characters felt more real or at least believable or consistent but there's nothing there what makes me understand what makes them tick which seems strange because the author is totally more inclined telling what's going on instead of showing. It would also help if the dialogues wouldn't be so stiff, wooden even. Oh, and I would appreciate to focus more on the inner logic of a story and its characters.
I made it to the end of the book although only barely. Usually I enjoy this kind of fantasy if only the characters felt more real or at least believable or consistent but there's nothing there what makes me understand what makes them tick which seems strange because the author is totally more inclined telling what's going on instead of showing. It would also help if the dialogues wouldn't be so stiff, wooden even. Oh, and I would appreciate to focus more on the inner logic of a story and its characters.
November 19, 2022
Solid Storytelling
While a quality editor could correct the smattering of errors, Layla Dorine has created a unique world and compelling characters. I enjoyed it and hope there is more to come!
While a quality editor could correct the smattering of errors, Layla Dorine has created a unique world and compelling characters. I enjoyed it and hope there is more to come!
June 5, 2017
4.5 Stars.
August 21, 2017
*Copy of Serpent's Kiss provided by Encompass Inc for an honest review for Alpha Book Club
When reading the blurb of the book, it seems like it’s just a paranormal book with characters that have superpowers. What you don’t get to see is that the main plot is that Darian finds out he’s a shapeshifter. It was the first time I’ve read a book on snake shifters and actually really liked it. I did have a hard time however, to rate this book, because even though I liked the concept of the story, I didn’t like a few thing about it.
The description of the scenes inside the compound were amazing. The moment they stepped into the cave, the story changed from a paranormal to a fantasy one. Form the bathing areas to the dojo, everything was described in detail and made the story seem more colorful even though they were underground.
The one thing I didn’t like were the characters. I didn’t really feel the connection between Darian and Zaiden, mostly because Darian was pretty much in denial about liking Zaiden, taking a lot of contradicting actions which kind of spoiled it for me. His mind would say how much he would be missing Zaiden and then when he would be with him, they kept on arguing. Zaiden also has communication issues, not being able to voice why he does certain things, especially knowing he was bonded with Darian. Zaiden’s father is the one that made me shake my head at the most, because he is so fast at jumping to conclusions without investigating first, and then when proven wrong he suddenly has a different opinion. I didn’t feel like his character was developed well enough because of that.
I also enjoyed the few moments between Zaiden and Darian where they would ignore their differences and try to explore their relationship, but because they were a few they weren’t as strong. It was such an enormous slow burn story that I was quite disappointed that when they finally really agreed to be together, the only thing they did was getting a blow job and that was the end of the book. All that slow burn just to end like that and it’s not even written as a series, but hopefully will continue as one, because I really want the author to explore more of Darian’s fighting abilities since they were basically forgotten after he left his home.
When reading the blurb of the book, it seems like it’s just a paranormal book with characters that have superpowers. What you don’t get to see is that the main plot is that Darian finds out he’s a shapeshifter. It was the first time I’ve read a book on snake shifters and actually really liked it. I did have a hard time however, to rate this book, because even though I liked the concept of the story, I didn’t like a few thing about it.
The description of the scenes inside the compound were amazing. The moment they stepped into the cave, the story changed from a paranormal to a fantasy one. Form the bathing areas to the dojo, everything was described in detail and made the story seem more colorful even though they were underground.
The one thing I didn’t like were the characters. I didn’t really feel the connection between Darian and Zaiden, mostly because Darian was pretty much in denial about liking Zaiden, taking a lot of contradicting actions which kind of spoiled it for me. His mind would say how much he would be missing Zaiden and then when he would be with him, they kept on arguing. Zaiden also has communication issues, not being able to voice why he does certain things, especially knowing he was bonded with Darian. Zaiden’s father is the one that made me shake my head at the most, because he is so fast at jumping to conclusions without investigating first, and then when proven wrong he suddenly has a different opinion. I didn’t feel like his character was developed well enough because of that.
I also enjoyed the few moments between Zaiden and Darian where they would ignore their differences and try to explore their relationship, but because they were a few they weren’t as strong. It was such an enormous slow burn story that I was quite disappointed that when they finally really agreed to be together, the only thing they did was getting a blow job and that was the end of the book. All that slow burn just to end like that and it’s not even written as a series, but hopefully will continue as one, because I really want the author to explore more of Darian’s fighting abilities since they were basically forgotten after he left his home.
April 8, 2017
In Serpent's Kiss, Layla Dorian has created an amazing world. I could 'see' everything so clearly. The emotions of the lead characters were real and honest and I found myself drawn to their journey. I enjoyed the book so much that I was half way through reading and it was late and I was so tired but I could stop. After all, I can always sleep another day. I got the feeling that there would be another book to continue the story. I would differently purchase the next one. This was an ARC review but I would have happily paid.
April 19, 2017
This book completely sucks you into a fascinating world. There is so much that happens in this book and you just don't want to put it down. I am so happy to have found a snake shifter book that is so different than normal shifter books.
April 26, 2017
I did find this book a little bit jumbled and that it had alot going on and I did lose track of stuff at certain points. I spent more time trying to figure out certain things than I normally do and it detracted from the story a bit. This is a new author to me so I stuck to the story despite the fact that the beginning was a bit off putting and I am glad that I did. The blurb explains the book but basically Kaandhal and Zaiden ask someone to help them find their missing brother. I love this type of book so I knew there had to be something to draw me into this story and bam the book went from me wanting to put it away one minute to me not being able to put it down the next minute. I think you will like it if you like books of this type.
April 29, 2017
An interesting shifter story mixed with magic, tension and romance. I enjoyed the character's journey and how the story progressed. The uniqueness of the characters was entertaining to read. I liked the idea of the snake shifters and different abilities.
I voluntarily reviewed an arc from the author.
I voluntarily reviewed an arc from the author.
April 29, 2017
This was so not what I expected. The world we're introduced to in this story was amazing. I never thought I'd find snake shifters hot or that I'd enjoy a storyline about them this much.
Darien was all kinds of messed up, he had a huge raw deal in life. Zaiden grew on me as the story unfolded, he seemed cold and well, snakelike at first.
I'd definitely like some more, I need to see what happens to Zaidens brother and sister, and do the bad guys win?? More is needed please!
Darien was all kinds of messed up, he had a huge raw deal in life. Zaiden grew on me as the story unfolded, he seemed cold and well, snakelike at first.
I'd definitely like some more, I need to see what happens to Zaidens brother and sister, and do the bad guys win?? More is needed please!
April 29, 2017
This is a new to me author. This was a complete surprise and I really liked it. It sucked me in and I couldn't put it down (I read it in one sitting). I read a lot of PNR and this is the first I've read with snake shifters. Really liked the different abilities the shifters had and how Darian developed throughout the book. I really felt for him as he dealt with his past and tried to make a future in the new community. Navigating a new culture, his new role, ramifications of his abilities and his attraction to Zaiden have Darian trying to keep his head above water.
I do think this book would benefit from better editing as I ran across a few grammar errors and the sudden use of the word Serphenmata during the end of the book was distracting.
All in all, a good book and I will definitely read this author again.
I do think this book would benefit from better editing as I ran across a few grammar errors and the sudden use of the word Serphenmata during the end of the book was distracting.
All in all, a good book and I will definitely read this author again.
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July 31, 2017Head hopping.
November 12, 2017
I absolutely loved this book. This is one book that is definitely different than her other books. This book keeps you on the edge and wanting more. I had a hard time putting this book down once I got into it. The snake shifters is one that you don't find that often and Layla did a great job at and adding her own twist to it. The way it ended makes me want more. So I hope that there will be another story as I love the characters.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews