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I really enjoyed this audiobook! The narrator was great and easy to listen to. The storyline was intriguing with the right amount of spice. The twist at the end has me excited for the next book!

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5!!!
This book was great! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a story packed with action, intrigue, and just the right amount of spice. The narrator did an amazing job bringing every single character to life — each voice was distinct without ever being confusing, which made the listening experience even better.

The plot truly had it all: spice, vampires, fae, an arranged marriage, revenge… every chapter kept me hooked and needing to know what happened next. The pacing was perfect, with twists and tension that made it impossible to stop listening.

And that endinggggg 👀 I’m still not over it! Now I’m impatiently waiting for the second book because I need to know where this story goes next — and I really hope I don’t have to wait too long 😂

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I really enjoyed this. The world was easy to understand and the end was a wonderfully interesting cliff hanger. Thank you NetGalley for letting me read and review.

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I listened to this audio book as an ARC thanks to NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity!!

An assassin shapeshifting Fae, fueled by decades of vengeance after her family’s murder, finally gets the perfect chance to get close to her enemy, yet the urge to kiss him quickly overshadows her need to kill him. After eighty years of burning for revenge, there’s surprisingly little actual planning, scheming, or action toward that goal, just vague threats with no strategy to back them up. The story leans heavily on repetitive inner monologue, with much of the narrative focused on her conflicting feelings and surviving another day rather than advancing the plot.

The pacing struggles in the first half, slow and meandering, while most of the real momentum and stakes arrive in the final 50%. The cliffhanger ending is strong and intriguing, but it would have had far more impact if it had come around the 75% mark, leaving more room to explore that energy and tension before the book closed.

I’ll give book two a chance, largely because the ending hooked me. That said, I’d choose to read rather than listen on audio, this story would benefit greatly from dual narration, especially with a male narrator for the MMC, who would instantly become more compelling in audio form.

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, vampires, and shapeshifting Fae.

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I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW!

Omg I freaking DEVOURED this book. The fantasy elements, the romance, the secrets and lies, gah this was everything!
Nadi watched Raziel take out her whole entire family then spent her live plotting her revenge on his whole family and the himself. I will say I would’ve loved to see more of his people being taken out in the book. I love how they both started falling for each other and I do hope she can forgive him and they get that HEA but also…. Kinda want her to lead him on for a while and then go through with her plan to kill him too. Honestly I’ll be fine either way. The ended had me like wtf and where is this going!!!??!? I’m so excited to have had the chance to read this book and I can’t wait for the rest.

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Oh, my, GOD!!!!!!! This book was SOOOOOOOOO good!!!! I was completely hooked by the end of the first couple of paragraphs. The ending made me a little mad lol but in the best possible way!

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Nadi’s parents were killed by Raziel Nostrom who is a prince of a powerful mafia clan. Raziel will marry someone who he’s never met before. Nadi will intercede and become that bride to get revenge on her family by taking out his. This one was very Interesting and I enjoyed it. I love the tension between the 2. The ending cliffy does make me want to pick up the next one.


Narrator Desireé Ketchum was perfect. Just does a good mix of her female/male roles.

I received this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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This took some time to get into, it couldn’t hold my attention. But it picked up and was good. It leaves you on a cliffhanger making you want to know what happens next.

He’s a vampire, she’s a shape shifting fae…..they are meant to be enemies, and technically still are. But I have a suspicious feeling that they are fated to one another.

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I loved this book! The chemistry and banter was top tier and I really enjoyed how badass the FMC was. The ending has me already eagerly awaiting the next book - which I have a feeling will be even more fun than this one!

4.5 Stars

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The Serpent's Bride by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
4🌟

🐍Enemies to Lovers
💍Marriage of Convenience
⚔️Dark Mafia Vampire Romance
⚰️Fae Assassin FMC
🦇Morally Gray MMC
❤️Some Spice

She trained all her life to kill him. To get her revenge, he killed her family and now he'll pay for it. Switching places with his sacrificial bride, she finally has her chance. She'll get close enough and kill his family one by one before she ends his life. What her training did not prepare her for was falling in love with him.

Thank you @netgalley @desireeketchum @kathrynannkingsley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC of The Serpent's Bride. I'm usually a physical book girlie but Desiree made this so easy to listen to, she did so well portraying the characters and bringing them to life for me.

I truly enjoyed Kathryn's novel, I'm a huge fan of Enemies to Lovers and a baddie FMC, so I was already putty in her hands to listen to this. A baddie Fae Assassin reminding me of a female John Wick. Let's not forget the morally gray sexy vampire.😍 The combo together was just perfect.

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This book was a fantastic listen that had me instantly hooked.

Both FMC and MMC are morally grey. Meet our FMC, Nadi, a fae female and assassin with the ability to take on anyone’s appearance. Our MMC is Raziel Nostrom, a brutal Vampire Prince of a Mafia clan who seems very comfortable being who he is.

80 years ago, Raziel murdered Nadi’s entire family and she spent her whole life plotting her revenge against him.

Now she’s an assassin and her plan is set into action when she gets wind of news that Raziel has a new fiancé on the way to him, whom he’s never seen before. She intercepts Monica - the fiancé,
en route and pays her off to go far away and start over. Nadi then assumes her identity ntity and is now a shy, demure country girl on her way to marry her vampire prince.
Now she is rubbing shoulders with Raziel and the members of his murderous family, pretending he to be the wife he expected.

Not only does Nadi have to keep her wits about her and play the part well but she has to remember that she’s here to kill Raziel and not to fall in love, but it’s probably too late because the attraction
is very mutual and she finds it hard to resist the magnetic pull he has on her.

Raziel is intrigued by her and there’s something he can’t quite seem to put his finger on.

I thought I had the ending figured out, but I didn’t and I am so happy that it concludes with an unexpected twist and now I am extremely excited and ready
for book two.

There is minimal world building but the solid plot and steady pacing more than makes up for that. The spice is moderate with moments that made me laugh out loud. The
narration was done in 3rd person dual POVs, the narrator did well, capturing the voice of both male and female main characters wonderfully, although I would
have loved two separate narrators.
Nevertheless its was not cringey. I
would definitely recommend! 

🌟🌟🌟🌟
Paranormal romance
Marriage of convenience
Bad girl x Bad Boy
Enemies to lovers
Revenge

Thank you Net Galley, Bokouture Audio and Second Sky books for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

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A dark, gothic vampire romance where fae shifter Nadi infiltrates a powerful vampire mafia clan to wipe them out,but her plan derails when she’s forced into a marriage of convenience with their ruthless leader, Raziel Nostrom. What starts as pure revenge becomes a dangerous dance of attraction, betrayal, and survival, leading to a killer plot twist that completely flips the stakes.

Narration was fine- didn’t love it, didn’t hate it-but the story’s tension, pacing, and twist kept me hooked.

Tropes you’ll eat up:
🖤 Enemies to lovers
💍 Marriage of convenience
🧛‍♂️ Vampire mafia
🦊 Fae shifter FMC
⚖️ Morally gray characters
🗡️ Revenge mission gone wrong

Big thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Second Sky Books for the ALC! 🙌

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This was my first dark romance. I adore vampires and thought this would be a good beginning. It was. I enjoyed the assassin killing her greatest enemy by pretending to be his bride. It was fun and very steamy. Nonnie is a sarcastic, pessimistic Fae, Hell bent on avenging her family. Maybe, also, someone who's been waiting to be loved for a very long time.

I felt like the insta love was too much. There was no reason for them to fall for each other. I'm hoping they end up having a fated mates storyline to make it better. Right now, though, it's very instant attraction and love without any justification. He fell for her because she's not like other girls. He thinks she'll be hard to break. Honestly, she's just sassy, and he likes it. She falls for him because he's hot and sometimes has a soft spot. He doesn't.

The story was very repetitive in the fact that she was there to kill him. The fact that they don't fall in love. They are lone wolves in a lone world. They aren't made for love, but for killing. She would kill him. It got a little annoying hearing how skilled she was and how often she had to remind herself she hated him.

The ending was good. I enjoyed the cliffhanger, and I'm looking forward to reading the second one when it comes out.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

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🎧 I listened to this as an audiobook, and the narration was fantastic. The narrator’s voice fit the dark, dangerous tone of the story perfectly and made the tension and chemistry between the characters even more addictive.

🗡️ Nadi’s plan to infiltrate the vampire mafia clan and destroy them all was deliciously bold, and the fact that she’s a fae shifting creature made her even more of a force to be reckoned with. She’s a total badass, and honestly, it’s easy to see why Raziel—the dark and dangerous vampire mafia man—starts falling hard for her.

🔥 The tension between them is razor-sharp banter mixed with dangerous attraction. While Nadi starts out hating him (and fully intending to murder him and his family), she falls for him almost instantly, giving the story an intoxicating push-pull dynamic.

🩸 One thing that pulled me out a bit was the constant reminders from Raziel’s vampire family that she wouldn’t survive in the end. I understood the point, but after a while, it took some of the suspense out because it kept hammering home the idea she wasn’t going to make it.

🖤 Still, I loved the mafia-meets-vampire world, with just enough intrigue, family politics, and danger to keep the stakes high. The pacing was quick, the tension was relentless, and the romance? Spicy, toxic, and exactly what dark romance fans live for. By the end, I was firmly on Team Nadi’s Revenge.

✨ Tropes you’ll find here:
🖤 “Enemies”-to-lovers
💍 Marriage of convenience
🧛‍♂️ Vampire mafia
🦊 Fae shifter FMC
⚖️ Morally gray characters
🗡️ Revenge mission gone wrong

Big thanks to NetGalley and Second Sky for the ALC! 🙌

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🎧 ALC Review 🎧
Narrated by Desireé Ketchum
Bookouture Audio – Second Sky Books
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

A dark, vampire romance blending gothic and psychological fantasy. The heroine is resilient and emotionally scarred. The Serpent male lead, Raziel Nostrom, is ruthless – exploring the dynamic of vulnerability, dominance, and psychological tension. The “bride” trope anticipates forced proximity, power imbalance, and ultimately, emotional unraveling.

The narrator does a phenomenal job of conveying vulnerability, tension, and slow-burning desire. She gives each character an individual vocal identity, helping to track the different shifts throughout the book.

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This book has so many twists and turns and keeps you fully engaged. The beginning started off a little slow but it builds and the ending was unexpected and I loved it! Great read!

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This was my first book by Kathryn Ann Kingsley. I will definitely be picking up more after reading this one while also patient(impatiently) waiting for the second book.
I really enjoyed the world building in this one. The different classes of people the hierarchies were all super interesting.
I enjoyed that the FMC and the MMC were neither fully good or fully bad. They were both morally gray, and it was a refreshing break from a clear hero, clear villain.
I also just found the FMC extremely likable .
I kind of knew the twist at the end was coming, but still enjoyed it.

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3/5 stars!
its my first vampire book in many, many years and a great introduction back into it! lots of slow burn vibes, heated tension, arranged marriage, lost but found, and an assassin's dream to take out the vampire.

The last sentence? floored! I had no idea where the last chapter was going, and I was pretty shocked. id love to read more about the FMC in her natural form exploring more in the next book!

Thanks netgallery for letting me have this ARC!

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ARC and ALC review
Publication date 28 August 2025.

"The Serpent's Bride" by Kathryn Ann Kingsley is the first book in the "Bloodlines" serie.
This is a dark vampire romance.

I received an e-ARC from the Second Sky and an ALC from Bookouture Audio (via Netgalley).
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

What you can expect:
- dark fantasy
- shapeshifter fae assassin x vampire mafia boss
- revenge plot
- hidden identity
- morally gray characters
- enemies to lovers
- slow burn with spice
- arranged marriage

This book really has enemies to lovers. And they are both morally gray (he is a darker shade of gray).
Nadi is a shapeshifter fae that needs to get revenge on the vampire that killed her parents.
So she shifts into Raziel Nostrom's future bride and plans his death.

This is the first book I read from this author and I like the writing and the world building.
The characters are well developed and my favorite is Nadi. She is so strong and ruthless (but she only kills bad people).
As the book only have Nadi's POV, we discover Raziel from the interactions with her and his reputation.
He is a deathly mafia boss, but is more bark then bite with Nadi.
He kept telling her that he will kill her in a sacrifice and it felt a bit repetitive.
The tension between them is so intense and the slow burn turn into hot spice.

The audiobook is narrated by Desireé Ketchum and she does a good job with all the characters.
It was easy to follow the story and I was a good experience.

I did not expect the twist(s) from the end and the cliff hanger left me speechless.
Hopefully there will be a dual POV (and narration) in the next book.

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5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️and a good time!! I really liked Nadi, she is fae and way older, which we don’t see enough of. She was insecure about her true appearance and I could relate with her, she had flaws. She was also a shape shifter and that was pretty cool. I absolutely loved Raziel, killer/murderer/alpha and completely unapologetic for the way he is, what can I say, I am a sucker for the “bad guy” in my books.

Spice was 2/5 🌶️🌶️ the chemistry was incredible and I couldn’t wait for them to finally get together.

A few JAW DROPPING moments, I don’t want to give away and spoilers but Nadi is kidnapped and I was shocked by who!

Also I wanted to absolutely melt towards the end when we got a cliffhanger that I was truly NOT expecting! I am so ready for the next book!!!

Desiree Ketchum was the narrator, I was fully immersed and she did a very good job on Raziel’s part but I would have loved a duet with this book, would have made this a 6 star!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture audio for the ARC audiobook.

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