They turned me to save my life, but damned themselves in the process.
My life has always been a morbid test, seeing just how much I can endure before I finally break. So when I'm abducted and shoved into some psycho's trunk, it really shouldn't come as a surprise. Yet even the mercy of death is torn away from my grasp, three men sinking their teeth into me and refusing to let me go.
Now I'm drawn to them in ways I've never experienced, and it’s as terrifying as it is thrilling. A blessing and a curse, I escaped my old life only to replace it by three sets of chains forged in blood, binding me to these strangers that feel like home. With the bond forcing my hand, it’s impossible to tell what’s real and what’s not where they’re concerned, if I’m only drawn to them because their venom is coursing through my veins.
Or if they only bit me because they couldn’t stop themselves, my blood a siren’s call for shifters.
One hit and they're faster, stronger, and hopelessly addicted. If I thought I was being hunted before, it’s nothing compared to now, when turning me into one of them amplified the draw of my blood enough to turn men feral. All I want is a quiet life and the chance to explore this bond with the men who saved me, who look at me like they’ve waited a lifetime to find me.
But will they be strong enough to stand between me and a world that would bleed me dry the first chance it gets?
*Standalone *Shifters with blood kinks *Overprotective, devoted men *Damsel in distress
This is a standalone, 18+ RH novel with darker themes, which means our leading lady doesn't need to choose. As always, I include a trigger/content warning on the copyright page.
3.49/5 (Weird number but I wanted it in the 3 star category but it is better than your average crappy 3 star)
I read this over a month ago but forgot to pop my review in here. Honestly initially rated it 4 stars on rounded 3 but I've decided to be less generous because I have read J. Kearston and loved it and this did not didn't do that for me. The idea of viper shifters were cool. I was a little confused why the heroes were down for her stripping after they were committed to each other but I mean it is her body so her choice. But then why do that reckless display? If you read it, you get it though it did make for a cool cover design.
The heroes: Mason, Sawyer and Bane. I actually totally liked them. I could have used more of their perspective but not gonna dock for that, what I got I liked. Risa: gritty, troubled past. Not an asshole like many from the wrong side of the tracks heroine but she felt empty compared to the boys on characterization. Also if you are going to right a cautious, battered heroine maybe don't have her up have sex fairly early. Build her up man FIRST. Risa with the help of the boys did eventually get build up to stand on her own but it felt out of character for her to sleep with them so soon.
The reason this was disappointing for me is that Risa and their connect seems insignificant or at least not life binding. Is it her blood that draws them in or are they fated mates? This idea was never truly clarified for me and if it is the blood and she's their addiction we shouldn't encourage a romance like that. The reason this happened is the writing feels choppy and rushed. Dare I say this book should have been 400 pages?
If you love Reverse Harem give it a shot. If it's your entry into the genre maybe look for another option. I quite enjoyed her debut Oblivion. Though I did rate it 3 stars as well. it's more of 3.75 so I may have to raise that although the later books make the series.
DNF ~30% But I skimmed past a handful of chapters and the action picks up afterward.
Various triggers like kidnapping & abuse but I was somewhat too disconnected to really pay attention to the list. Risa, the heroine, seems to have had one hell of a crappy life.
3.1 stars. First off. The cover of this book is so pretty! It totally captures the characters and their animals.
Second. I really enjoyed getting to know the guys and seeing them boost Risa up with their love care and patience.
But. I was sort of disappointed.
The story line was cool, but a little choppy. It felt like we were missing pages at certain points. The pacing was just off. And a lot was packed into a short time span. Leaving a lot of it just magically resolved, and forgotten quickly to move on to the next thing.
And I can’t even say that it was smutty enough to make up for it because there wasn’t hardly any sex and it was just ok. I think there was like one scene and one blow job…and they were sort of vague and brief.
And then that ending really sealed it for me. Once again, something super important happens but there’s no time to flush it out and none of the characters actually want to deal with it so they just sort of pawn it off on the strangers they just met and go do their own thing.
I don’t know. I thought it was cool. Though I was disappointed right off the bat that Risa didn’t shift. I mean that would’ve made the book better in my opinion, but I understand that’s not how the author was playing it. And I thought the characters were interesting and fun but we didn’t get all that much time with them.
Everything just felt rushed. Like maybe the author had too many ideas and didn’t know how to pick so she just crammed them all in without fully writing them all out.
It just sucks that it wasn’t completely satisfying because with the cover and the description and how it started, I had pretty high hopes.
Honestly, the only reason I read as much of this book as I did was because I spent 5$ on it and I felt like I had to get something back. This book was....disappointing. The writing isn't too bad, the characters are likeable. There's a somewhat interesting world to discover, it's got the reverse harem kink. All in all I was expecting to really enjoy it, but it's just so blah. I don't think we got a decent description of any of the main characters. I honestly can't pull any likeness up in my head except for the fact that Risa has Violet eyes.
And the chemistry? Borinngggggg. I quit the book at 58% and there was one actual sex scene, which was neither hot nor exciting.
The fact the all of the MCs like to sit around talking about who they're going to kill, all casual like was also a really eye rolling thing for me. I think it was supposed to tie in to them being other, not human and therefor not having human ideals, but at least one of the guys grew up human, as she did. And yes, everyone they discuss killing could be conceived as a threat to her life in some way, so it kind of makes sense that they should be removed, but the fact that she has no thoughts or feelings beyond, "yeah, the guys should kill them, they have it coming." is just so ridiculous to me and really put me off.
Anyways, this book really missed the mark for me. I had high hopes, and they were completely dashed.
I dnf @ 54%. I couldn't get through this one. I had a few issues with how our H woke up upset, which is understandable. She lets them know she has now been kidnapped twice and is having a hard time believing they changed her although she has no scars nor any lasting issues since she was in that horrible wreck, and the color of her eyes are now violet? We get a few pages of denial, (which i hate) our H has some real big trust issues since we learn that she's constantly been hurt. Totally understand this part of the book, and her not warming up to these guys right away. but then Our h just ups and throws caution to the wind and sleeps with the guys right out of no where? I just didn't get it? After that I kinda began skimming through because now I couldn't take the book seriously. A lot of nothing I really cared about and lots of crying and bleeding hearts. I like feelings in my books, but this was way to much for me! Every other page was someones tragic story and our H crying about it. I just didn't want to finish anymore
So this book was OK and I really wanted to like it a lot more than I did. I mean look at that cover..... It's so smoking hot and even with a borderline deathly fear of snakes I was super excited about the concept of shifter snakes. Not to mention the addition of a crazy story-line and a heroine who has the worst kinds of luck. I mean she gets herself kidnapped not once but twice in a matter of months, that's some seriously shit luck. But alas I could just not mesh with the story at any point until the end.
The book had some really funny moments too which is why it bums me out so much that I didn't love it. I honestly just found myself getting super confused by the writing style and kept losing track of scenes. For me it also seemed like there was a lot of insinuation going on, things readers should pick up on but those with a limited brain cells like me really need things laid out for us. This also made the dialogue hard to follow. I think I had to go back and re-read scenes more than a few times just to get a vague sense of what was going on. At times scenes were simple and not overly convoluted but that did not make it any easier to understand and move on in the story.
The romance was OK. I didn't really get much connection between them all and honestly their interactions were all kind of flat for me. While locked in the trunk of her kidnappers car, the heroine is rescued after a crash by the 3 shifters also her future mates. She's beyond injured and the only way to bring her back is to bite her and that could have dire consequences especially as none are aware of how special the heroine is. She's not a shifter but not quite a human either and it's the other side of her that makes her a precious commodity. For the most part the story was interesting, just so hard for me to understand and why things were even important enough to be included. OK read and others will probably enjoy it more but it just wasn't for me!
This book was too fast and yet too slow at the same time. More fast than slow tho. This honestly would've worked better as a series.
Being thrown into a mated bond with instalove, instalust, and insta-obsession was blinding as well.
This book needed more time, more detail, more slow-building rather than everything shoved in your face. And Risa gave in waaaay too easily to the 3 guys. The first bit of attention this girl gets and it turns out theyre perfect shifter hunks that will do anything for her in the first like 20% of the book, so why not just give in without a fight? Didn't much like this choice at all.
Also, for the life of me, I couldn't clearly picture the guys. They were vague faces and bodies for the entire book.
That question and take-a-shot scene? Sorta juvenile. Them turning into 3 foot pink/purple snakes? Honestly, not very intimidating, and yet they were feared bc they're rare shifters? I just wasn't impressed.
Their backstories sounded forced, there were too many coincidences, and there were some preachy and overly understanding dialogue pieces that felt shallow.
I enjoyed it the best I could, tho. It had a lot of potential.
Would I re-read this? No. Would I recommend this? If you want a short, standalone RH book, why not? But be ready for some rushed things and instalove. Was I entertained? As much as I could be.
The book is so preachy. Like running dialogue that is not really adding anything of significance. The guys acting all cocky, flirty then cagey/hurt when it comes to their past. Risa getting lost down memory lane or preachy about what it's like for women in the world. Like a lot of dialogue, but insignificant contribution to the overall story.
Then, if Risa was sick all this time, how did she learn to drive? There are plot holes when it comes to her back story.
Then, and this is what got me into reading the book, the introductory kidnapping scene. But she has stayed with them for about 2/3 weeks as far as I have reached, but nobody has thought to research as to who would have motive to want to kidnap her and why?
J. Kearston has become one of those authors that I can and will read without even knowing what the book is about. I knew this was going to be about snake shifters but what I got was so much more! I have read many shifter books over the last couple of years but I have not read a snake-themed one... so I was quite intrigued by this concept.
Risa is our FMC in this book and I was rooting for her the whole time. She has had a bad past but the way she was able to pick up the pieces and carry on with her life was incredible. It seems like no matter how many lemons she was dealt she just made lemonade. The guys' instantaneous reactions to Risa could be seen straight away and the way that she became their world was perfectly crafted. They have their own traumas to deal with and their humanity is precarious at times, but strangely, it makes them more relatable and endearing.
There is a whole new level of problems to this book- it doesn't deal with the "normal" mate issues that most shifter books deal with (finding one, getting rejected, for example). There is a great storyline here and it is executed perfectly. The writing flows really well and never drags at any point. The characters are easy to love- even if they have homicidal tendencies- and I found myself rooting for them throughout the book
I love this book and I can't recommend it enough. A great read for fans of PNR RH that revolve around shifters.
Overall, I liked this book but I found that the idea for reptile shifters could have been more exploited. Then, it wasn't clear for me what bounded Risa and her guys: were they fated mates or was it just Risa's blood? When I read the blurb, I was expecting a dark paranormal story with a lot of hesitations and inner monologues from the FMC but finally it wasn't dark and the FMC stopped quickly to overthink things. I didn't like the end which was too easy for me, nothing is resolved in fact. It's a standalone and maybe if it had been a serie, the plot would have been more developped, more interesting, and logical regarding some parts.
I liked this different take on the shifters RH romance book. Yes it's dark in places but at the heart of it is the relationship between Risa and the guys - Bane, Mason and Stryker. All of which have had their lives tainted by tragedy and their looking for a place to belong as well as love. There's a lot packed into this standalone book and with all the plot twists it keeps you on your toes. I really liked the dynamic between them all and I wanted them to get their HEA ending so much. Serpentine is a bloody brilliant read and I enjoyed reading it
So, this was waaay different from all of the other J. Kearston books I've read. There were different pacing, and build up, but still amazingly well done. This one did take a little longer for me to read. Maybe I was expecting a little more humor to it, but the chemistry between Risa and the guys were hooot! I definitely sensed the bond and connections between them. J. Kearston is still one of my favorites and I have to admit, this cover is 🔥🔥🔥. This is a complete standalone, but I hope to see more of this world in the future!
I really enjoyed this book. The storyline even though it was based on shifters it was so much different. I loved the fact that Mason, Bane and Stryker are vipers and how the bond between them and Risa forms so quickly yet none of them at first want to overstep. We see Risa go through so much after meeting her mates when she has to go back to her ex, and things come to light. Which causes so many twists and turns. To then end the book in a great way that they all deserved.
Safety info: -No virgins -No OW drama or past hookups/ exs come back -OM drama- h’s ex boyfriend was controlling and causes some drama along with another guy who is obsessed with her from a distance. h works at a club but isn’t a stripper, still gets a lot of attention from guys at work. -Not sure when the H’s last hookup was, it was clear they weren’t virgins and only mentioned they used hookups and alcohol to feel better. Don’t think they shared a girl before -No pregnancy, condoms used
Yay snake shifters. I prefer it when the guys are shifters other than wolves. Three guys, not afraid to kill for their mate and one woman that isn’t too much of a damsel in distress, but there is a lot of kidnapping, stalking and abusive relationship going on. I liked the guys, I liked how Risa fights when she needs to and accepted the guys. Nice rounded ending. Curious about Kara.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was not at all what I was expecting because it was SO MUCH BETTER! I absolutely love Risa and her vipers. It was sweet and heart warming and I may or may not have almost cried at a couple of parts. You have absolutely outdone yourself! Brilliant story!!
This was a way different book. I am nor a fan of snakes but I loved them in this book. Very different take on shifters. Lots of twists in this book and some super steamy moments. Loved it
This book!! I loved every page! The story is so intriguing you’ll be hanging off each word and then get side-swiped with some WTF twists! So hot! And that ending is perfection!
Just wow! This book just had me hooked right from the start till the end. Enjoyably different with lots of twists. Definitely recommend reading, seriously stop reading reviews and get this book now.
Author, J. Kearston is fast becoming one of my favourite authors to read. I just love the storylines and characters she creates and this was no exception. Risa is the FMC and she's found herself in a rather sticky situation, and things slowly go from bad to worse. But that's when Mason, Bane and Stryker step in to save her from her fate. They guys are all easily likeable with their own pasts which you discover throughout the story. There is also more to Risa than meets the eye.
I loved the concept of the guys being snake shifters, I've seen the odd one in books RH books before, but a lot of the time the rest of the guys are different types of shifters as well but in this, the guys are solely snakes.
There are definitely one or two triggers in this book, but I had no issues with any of them but please be warned in advance that there are some. A really enjoyable book and I can't wait to see what comes next from this author.
Oh wow... Let me tell you I could not put this down. I have been slammed between work and school and had so much I needed to do, but I completely ignored it to read Serpentine. Risa, a cage dancer in a club, is on the run when she ends up taken by Mason, Sawyer, and Bane. This was a super exciting read as I have only ever read one other snake shifter book. The characters were interesting and pull you in from page 1. The story has twists and turns that will have you gripping your seat and an ending that will leave you wanting sooo much more! It is a standalone though. *sighs in sadness* lol I highly recommend this read! I plowed through it in one sitting and LOVED every second.
It took me a while to get into this one, I think there was so much action in the first couple of pages that I was totally invested and on the edge of my seat. Then when it slowed down for the world building in the first part of the book I actually found it boring, and I'm normally all about the world building and the mythology etc of the world. So for me the pacing for the first part didn't work.
However I really enjoyed the latter half of the book and the way the author continued the storyline. There was a good bit of action and plenty of character development for our leading lady. I don't feel I got to know the guys as well as I would have liked but I loved Stryker.
Overall a good read if you're looking for an RH stand alone.
Serpentine is definitely a twist on shifters and overall author J. Kearston does a good job with it. Risa already has had a bad life, and the last thing she expects while going on a run...is to get abducted. Now, here she is stuffed in the trunk of a car fighting to try to get free. Things go from bad to worse when her abductor ends up in a car accident, but it turns out that it's what saves her from whatever fate was looming. Three shifter men save her life, but in the process...they make her one of them and but a bulls-eye on her back as well. Who knew that her blood was so going to be so tasty that others would do just about anything just to have a taste? Serpentine is an interesting twist on shifters. It seems that the author has taken a little tidbit from vampires and given it to these guys. Okay, granted they are snakes, but still. LOL! The storyline is interesting and I honestly like the vampire twist that we get with these characters with them siring Risa. Risa hasn't had it easy, but neither have these guys either. So the dynamics really go in an interesting direction with all of them having their own pasts to struggle through. I really like that the author takes a detour from the usual troupe as well. Typically when you get "turned" by a shifter you turn into that particular species. Not so with this book and I have to say that I love that little twist. It really helps bring a truly unique and unexpected twist to the storyline. The only thing I don't really like about this book is the way the mate thing comes along. There is no such thing as "fated mates" with this book, but the way that the guys act from jump...it's too along the line of fated mates. Now, things are attempted to be played off as the "sire bond" but that's really a stretch for me to the snapping point. They are just a little too aggressive and domineering if any other male so much as smiles at her. They can't get her out of their minds, they are overly protective, and the list goes on. So, it's fated mates while trying to dodge saying it. Just, please...call it what it is. Other than that...this book keeps you page-turning and that is always a good thing because I love a good page-turner of a novel. I'm choosing to rate this book though 4.5 out of 5 stars. I'm taking off half a star for the mate angle. While things are supposed to be "unpredictable" in that angle, it does go that way fully and it's disappointing. Plus, there is the pretense she has a choice...but she really doesn't when you get down to it. It's an enjoyable book with a unique collection of shifters, so if you enjoy paranormal romance and reverse harem...check this book out.
This is my first book by J. Keatston but as soon as I saw the cover and read the blurb I knew I had to read it. The overall story is good. There were parts that were slow but it didn’t take away from the story. Most of the first half is getting to know the characters and the world. It seems whenever I read a shifter book there is a different take on things so I liked that it was explained well.
The characters were easy to like and root for. Once the story picked up and we started getting some action I couldn’t put the book down. Definitely had a lot of different things happening but it wasn’t too confusing to follow. Will be checking out J. Kearston’s other books!
This started off pretty good and I was into it…. And then it felt like craziness happened that was skimmed over and then live happened really quickly and I was left just… over it. Rushed the parts which would have made the story impactful to get to the banging.
This book is more like 3.5 stars but I prefer to round down rather than round up.
It's interesting to have three viper shifters; can't say I've ever encountered shifters who take the form of venomous snakes before. And also interesting conundrum about the FMC whom they try to turn to save because she's so badly injured that she's dying. But after they turn her, she's unable to shift, although she develops accelerated healing, so they're all confounded by that.
I do like some mystery in my RH but I have to wonder why it's always the FMC who is some mysterious creature... and why she must always turn out to be rare and possessing unusual powers. This trope is getting a bit old: I have already ranted about it in my reviews of Hemlock Academy by Kelsey Soliz and Claimed by the Goddess by Rozie Marshall. At least in this book, the FMC Risa didn't have some big mission to accomplish. Thank goodness for that.
I think one reason why the book didn't reach four stars for me was Risa's backstory and her demeanour. When she discovers the truth of what has been happening all her life, I don't know if it makes sense to so easily trust another person that she'd move in with her bf so quickly. I'd have expected the sense of betrayal to make her extremely wary.
Likewise, she's been mistreated by her bf although he doesn't beat her up. Sometimes she seems to have moments of self-doubt due to the cutting things he has said to her, but at other times she seems confident and like her past hadn't impacted her at all. She trusted Bane, Mason, and Stryker so quickly, which the author tried to explain is because of the sire bond that formed when all three of them bit her and tried to turn her. Maybe I can accept that, but I think I just expected her to struggle a lot more with her past.
The guys all also have tragic backstories, although I don't quite understand Stryker's because I thought shifters, having animal instincts, would be protective of their young and not act like shitty humans. There seems more to Bane's story than we are told as well (why would his parents do that?). None of the three men have close family still living, except for Stryker's great-grandmother, so they have become family to each other. I like this concept of "found family" a great deal, and they bring Risa, another person with no family, into their circle, giving her something she had lost.
The book tries to make it that they all heal one another and Risa is the missing piece, the one who finally completes the guys' healing process. It suggests that having Risa gives the guys something to focus on, as they have to protect her and take care of her, so they are less likely to spiral down into dark places mentally. I didn't feel very comfortable with this because this isn't how trauma works. If a relationship or a partner helps to distract you from the pain of your past, it's just another way of coping with the pain (redirecting your energies) but it doesn't heal the pain. I thought that the way the author deals with past trauma and deep-seated fears was too cavalier and simplistic.
I liked all the guys. They were honourable and protective men and treated Risa well from the get-go. No arguments about bringing her into their family, even though Stryker basically turned her without even consulting the two others first. They had the classic angry, I'm-going-to-murder-him reaction to hearing about her douchebag bf and it was good to see. Just that I didn't really sense her emotions or any emotional struggle when she talked about him. She tells them her story quite matter-of-factly and like I said earlier, the way she talked about it or responded to it didn't ring true for me.
Risa is a strong FMC -- life has given her a lot of knocks but she's still fighting and soldiering on. She quickly gets over her shock at finding out about shifters and the supernatural world... too quickly, considering she's feeling overwhelmed by all the information the guys give her. She doesn't make any TSTL (too stupid to live) moves or decisions, so I didn't dislike her, but I also didn't fall in love with her. She's like the kind of friend you meet at parties and make pleasant small talk with: You neither love them nor hate them. You like them fine, since you're okay standing there and having a conversation with them, but you also don't feel inclined to meet up with them for drinks after the event nor to properly keep in touch with them during the interval between now and the next party. I wasn't overly impressed by Risa nor was I drawn to her. She was just... okay.
The concept of mating seemed different in this book because fated mates and being irresistibly drawn to each other from the start doesn't exist in this world. The mates also don't give their mate a claiming bite or mating mark to indicate that they are mated. More world-building was needed to help me get a better feel of this world with its different shifter lore. In other books, because of the mating bite, other shifters will know if you have mated, or sometimes your scent changes as it mingles with your mate's scent and people are able to scent your mate on you and back off. But here, a person could say that they are mated, with no way to prove that it's the truth. I think I'm not used to it, so that threw me off a bit.
The plot was decent. I can't talk much about it without giving spoilers, so I won't. It had one or two twists that I didn't see coming, but even though I was surprised, I didn't feel that the twists worked for me. I guess because with the first one, I never felt that Risa was in any true danger, and I always knew the guys would save her. So it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, worried for her or tensing with eagerness to find out what would happen next. The other twist also lacked this quality, so both were kind of 'meh' for me.
I do like that this was a standalone book. Gives me a break from all the series I've been reading. I just am very picky about my reads and it's hard to find something that truly captivates me and fires up my imagination like Their Vampire Queen (by Joely Sue Burkhart) did.
Kearston is a first-time author for me and I am so glad that I discovered Serpentine, she took shifter lore and blew it out of the water. With possible fated mates, kidnapping, snake shifters, bad boyfriends, and a new twist on shifters, Serpentine was one heck of a ride and I loved every minute of it.
The story starts off action-packed but leads to deep connections between the main female character Risa and the three men who become her mates. Risa hasn't lead the happiest life, she has a jerk for a boyfriend, he was emotionally abusive and it takes its toll on Risa's personality. She doesn't like standing out, she makes herself as small as possible, doesn't trust anyone, isn't all that confident, the list just goes on. However, after she gets kidnapped she is then rescued by Stryker, Bane, and Mason. The three are snake shifters, this is my first time reading about snakes shifters, and let me tell you, dang it, I didn't find something I like. To be in human form have all the powers of shifters, strength, speed, fangs (yes, fangs), and all but then to shift into a snake and be able to curl themselves around your body, opened up whole new doors for me. I loved reading about new shifters and snakes are quickly becoming loved.
Like Risa, the guys all have dark pasts and have issues but they are good guys who are there for each other. They have a bond and are more like family, willing to do anything for each other, and after they find Risa the same applies to her. They help her, protect her, boost her confidence, give her a safe place and help her grow into a better version of herself while she gives them something they've been craving acceptance, love. The guys are obsessed over Risa but in a good way and I'm not gonna lie, I like the obsession, how devoted and caring they are towards Risa is touching, I loved it.
There was also new shifter lore that's very interesting. First, it seems that in this world most shifters live normal life spans instead of the extended lives I normally come across. There was a slight mention of fated mates but nothing in-depth but I believe they exist in this world. Then there is how shifters are created, either they are born or can be turned but just because they are turned by one type of shifter doesn't mean that they will shift into that creature, everything is based on genetics and what that person is genetically close to is what they will shift into, so that was pretty cool. In this lore that Kearston created there's a new supernatural that I haven't come across before, I don't want to spoil anything so I won't mention too much but I found it a very interesting concept, to be separate but a part of the shifter world made for a refreshing take on the shifter story.
The story had fast-paced action that I like, a few different plot lines all coming together to form an interesting yet cohesive story that was filled with action and steam, and just when I thought I knew what was going on things took a surprising turn that made the story that more interesting. One thing for sure is that while Risa and the guys did get a happily ever after, there was one thing that Kearston didn't take normal root in resolving it and that was surprising and I enjoyed the root not normally taken. It pretty happened all the time in this book, which was great, kept me on my toes with all the little surprises and a couple plot twists.
It's kinda crazy because Serpentine is a standalone and I'm a series reader but Kearston manages to fit a complete story that was emotional hitting, worked in important topics like abuse, and the double standards when it comes to men and women, all the while putting a unique twist to a supernatural story all centered on characters that I connected to and cared for right away. Truly I have no complaints about this book, I would normally say I want more but I felt the story was complete as is. One thing is for certain after reading Serpentine I'm now hooked on Kearston's writing and I can't wait to read more from the author.
I love everything that I’ve read from J, so it’s not really a surprise that this one is also amazing. I was sooo intrigued by the blurb and the cover (Oh my God this cover!) so I knew I had to jump in as soon as possible!
We meet Risa as she’s being kidnapped from a park, thrown in a trunk of a car which then has a massive accident that would be fatal. It’s an intense beginning! She’s saved from the wreckage and death by our heroes, who in a bid to not allow her to die change her into a shifter.
This is a super interesting take on the shifter lore and mythology. It’s something that was teased out through the book and I really hope gets expanded out in a further series!
We kind of get two stories in one here which I’m digging. First is the meeting, introduction to shifter world, and relationship build. Second is the revenge and safety angle. Oh buddy we get some reveals in this one and the hot sexy protective vibes from the guys is 🔥
The FMC! Risa has had an all-around horrible life - she’s more surviving than living when we meet her. She’s had a mystery illness growing up, family trauma, an abusive ex-boyfriend and to top it off is kidnapped. I love how the guys have given her a safe place to discover herself and are all in from the first moment.
The Guys! My sexy, broken vipers. They are such an interesting group who have also had traumatic pasts of varying degrees. The message of breaking so that you can fit with your true family is clear in the way they have come together as a group and then as a family when Risa enters the picture.
The Smut! This is a standalone so it’s a fairly fast burn, but oh baby is it hot! I’m here for the sexy times that they all get up to. That hotel scene is amazing.
It was good but I felt like all the characters personal problems were skimmed over and not worked through so they never made any emotional growth. There are also questions that have been left unanswered like what happen to the cops Ryker and Thatcher? Like we kind of learn about them but we never hear about them again after the explosion, I assume they died, but they were interesting characters and I liked them because they were good cops so I wanted them to make it, but we will never know since we never hear about them again. And did Blake die? I hope so but again never hear about him after the explosion. There are so many things that are not tied up. Like Bane had that moment of such debilitating doubt that he shifted uncontrollably and we never know if he worked through that. I wanted more from all the main characters and I just didn’t get it, but like I said it wasn’t a bad read. More background would have also been nice about these shifters because they drink blood and they all seem to be groups of men of different sizes with 1 mate and it all seemed interesting and then more about incorruptibles and their special blood. I would have liked to know more about all of it.