✨ARC Review - 4.5 Stars✨
Listened via NetGalley audiobook.
I did not see that ending coming 😳
This book hooked me from the beginning, but the last few chapters devoured me. The final twist left me absolutely desperate for book two.
I really enjoyed the slow-burn dynamic between Raziel and Nadi. Their relationship builds with tension and tenderness, and I loved watching the layers of their connection unfold alongside the political and magical stakes. The world is dark, rich, and full of secrets, and you can feel that there's so much more still to come.
A solid 4.5 stars from me! The only reason it's not a full 5 is because I wanted slightly more pacing in the middle, but honestly, the ending more than made up for it.
If you like morally grey characters, forbidden dynamics, and an ending that will haunt your brain, The Serpent's Bride needs to be on your radar.

What a fantastic read! I loved absolutely every minute of this story.

What can I say??? That ending!!!! I honestly didn’t know how it would go, there was so much suspense added. Oh my the author knows how to write her more explicit scenes very well, cultivated by the narrator I was blushing. I love how I was completed engrossed in the vampire/fae story. It almost kind of felt like Butcher and Blackbird esque!

I have to give a huge shout out to the narrator. She was absolutely perfection. Great pacing, great switch between the male and female characters. She brought the story to life.

I love the FMC and MMC still holds a sort of suspense that I can’t wait to unravel. I love how the FMC is out for vengeance in disguise, what a refreshing take. All in and all, a solid 4 star read. I shall be grabbing my little trophy shelf and cannot wait for the next one.

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧🌹”I will disguise myself as the vampire’s bride. I will win over his family. And then I will murder every last one of them.”

I finished the audio for The Serpent’s Bride a few days ago, and while it’s advertised as a dark romance, I’d say it leans more toward satire than truly dark. Maybe I’ve just read too many dark books for this to feel intense… or maybe it’s because I simply expect vampires to behave this way, so it doesn’t shock me anymore.

I had a great time listening to this one! It’s fast-paced, features mafia vampires, revenge, and just the right amount of spice, not too much! I really enjoyed the ending and can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

The narration was fantastic and really brought the story to life. The Serpent’s Bride is available from the 28th August, thank you to NetGalley and @Bookouture for the ALC!

Was this dark, yes. Was it super spicy, no not really. Is it worth reading? Maybe... I feel like this would have been better in print form then in audio form. I just couldn't stay focused with this one.

This does end on a cliff hanger and what a twist of events it was.

Audiobook: One Narrator
Spice Level: 1/5

Enemies to Lovers
Instant Attraction
Vampires x Fae
Forced Marriage
Forced Proximity
Revenge Plot
Morally Grey Characters

Nadi wants revenge for a dead family. And as a shapeshifter Fae she has the perfect opportunity to become a human bride forced to marry the vampire that killed her family. However, she didn't account for her attraction to him, and now is fighting that along with her plan for revenge.

Raziel is a powerful vampire who can control peoples minds and have them physically harm themselves. And he hates Fae... But he is very intrigued by his "human" bride and doesn't want to kill her but he will do as he's told.

I received an advance review copy audio version. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio | Second Sky Books, for the opportunity to listen to this book. Desireé Ketchum did an amazing job narrating this audiobook

Thank you for this arc!

I was so excited to read this book and it had me completely hooked from the start. This is a true enemies-to-lovers story with a good heroine, amazing banter, and just addictive. It’s deliciously toxic in the best way. I devoured it in a day and can’t wait for the sequel.

I was drawn in by the vampires and enemies to lovers trope by means of revenge.
The world is interesting — a conflict between humans, vampires and monstrous Fae. But it felt flat.
I found the Nati and Raziel’s inner monologues to be repetitive at times. I was expecting their attraction and relationship to be more of a slow burn, but it was instant attraction.
The audiobook would have been better if a man narrated for Raziel’s chapters.
Thank you Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC.

Gahhhh that ending! Like Interview with a Vampire meets marrying the enemy trope with a dash of a siren song. I was intrigued by the cover and summary and received the audiobook arc to try out. I enjoyed the narrator and was entertained from start to finish. The FMC has a witty determination to avenge her family but keeps getting distracted by her attraction to the enemy MMC. I enjoyed how the characters backgrounds and history were included throughout the story - it wasn’t complicated, easy to follow and picture, and didn’t distract from the plot line.

I will definitely be listening to book 2! It ended and I gasped and almost threw my headphone at that cliffhanger.

A fae assassin seeking revenge on the vampire prince who ruined her life. That's the premise of this urban vampire fantasy, where Nadi is determined to infiltrate the heart of a powerful mafia by disguising herself as the human bride Raziel is set to marry. Nadi is a shape-shifting fae, and she is constantly stressed about not allowing Raziel to access her blood, as he would likely taste that she isn't truly human. The tension ramps up as it becomes clear Raziel has been given orders by his mother to murder his new bride. Despite their obvious attraction to each other, the question looms: who will kill who first, as they both keep putting off the inevitable?

I'm just so obsessed with vampire romances right now, so I was excited to get this ARC. I really enjoyed this one. The narration for the audiobook was a huge plus, as it was so expressive and great that it made keeping track of everything a breeze. This story had me hooked from the start, and it definitely feels like it’s part of a larger series, which is perfect because I’ll absolutely be reading the second book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 8/28/25.

A huge thank you to Net Galley and Second Sky for this ARC.
I devoured this book in a single sitting. The Serpent’s Bride is a mafia romance and fantasy love child and I was here for it. Raziel is in the vampire mafia and also the one who murdered Nadi’s entire family. Nadi ,who just so happens to be a shape shifting fae, sets out for revenge decades later by taking the form of Raziel’s soon to be bride. Betrayals happen, people are murdered and there’s a twist at the end you won’t see coming! Already looking forward to the next book in this series!

The way I screamed by the end of this book! The plot twist was incredible! A vampire mafia romance & a fae rival with well awaited score to settle. Set in a modern world, with forced marriage, hidden identity and TENSION! The will they won’t they in more ways than one had me fully invested.The banter between the main and side characters made me giggle. Toxic, lust and a high-stakes seduction that’s borderline masochism. This enemies to lovers tale had me on the edge of my seat.
Best listened to at 1.5 or 1.75 speed depending on your preference. All in all I rate this a 4.25, I did enjoy the narration, she was concise, to the point and played all characters well in my opinion

Well what a ride!
To be completely honest the opening had me a little worried, we’re getting married to someone we hate but he’s devastatingly handsome etc but worry I need not!
This is a TRUE enemies to lovers, the fmc isn’t a simpering young girl coming into her abilities, the humour is actually funny and not cringe, this was so enjoyable I read it in nearly a day and although I’ve read plenty of vampire/fantasy/romance books I haven’t read one like this before.
Can hand on my heart say I can’t wait for the next book in the series now!
Loved the narrator

This book was a fun, quick read (or listen). Both FMC and MMC were morally grey, which was different. She is a badass assassin, and he is a vampire mafia prince. Ended on a good cliffhanger. Will be reading the next one.

The audiobook narrator was good. My only complaint was that the female narrator trying to do a male voice takes you out of the story. But there's only so much she can do about that.

Thank you to NetGalley, Second Sky, and Bookouture for the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

If a lusty enemies to lovers story about a shape shifting assassin mermaid fae (not kidding) impersonating a bride to get revenge on a vampire crime lord (also not kidding) sounds interesting to you…you’ll probably enjoy this.

This book kind of reminds me of the Never After series by Emily McIntyre (but its actual dark romance fantasy instead of dark romance inspired by fantasy stories). It’s spicy, fast paced, dark, and a pretty cheesy. But that’s fine! Sometimes you need a quick, fun, sexy, dark book that’s not that deep and that has lots of random magical elements mixed together but still somehow very minimal world building.

I enjoyed this listen and I was mostly engaged the whole time. I would have enjoyed a dual narration for this one, but the narrator did a wonderful job voicing the characters. The story follows a fae shifter (FMC) out for vengeance on the vampire clan that murdered her family. She infiltrate the clan by posing as the MMCs bride. By getting close to him and his family, she hopes to kill off the whole family and their followers. But, can she resist the sexy vampire who she married? Is there more to the story than what she thinks she knows?

4.5✨

Kathryn Ann Kingsley... you had me hooked with that first encounter with Raziel. A shapeshifter assassin and a morally grey vampire mafia boss was intriguing to start with. They both have compelling dimension while not being overly complicated. Definitely a slow burn that turns scorching hot. Hits the nail on the head for the true enemies to lovers trope. On top of all of that, the cut throat tension throughout. Ticks every box for me even with that torturing cliffhanger.

With a dual perspective, I personally prefer two narrators. Desireé Ketchum did an amazing job with taking on both while bringing out the atmospheric elements. A fast paced dark fantasy romance that had a great flow to it. Nothing felt out of place or extremely random. I was completely enthralled.

Thank you to Kathryn Ann Kingsley, Second Sky Audio and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

3.5 stars, light to medium spice but dark romance vibes. I really enjoyed this fast paced, dark romantasy book. Nadi, a shapeshifting Fae, wants to avenge her familys deaths by taking down the infamous vampire Nostrom family, starting with Raziel, who single handly killed them all. But as she spends more time with Raziel the more her [unwanted] attraction and magnetic pull to him grows. Nadi is ruthless and full of female rage and I am here for it! Raziel is a prick and sometimes it made it hard to root for the romance that you [hope to] see coming. The world building is very easy to understand as it's more urban fantasy. I found the ending to be the perfect cliffhanger and now I can't wait to read the 2nd book!

I was lucky enough to read the book and listen to the audibook, and I'd give the audiobook a 3 for performance. The narrartor sounded a bit robotic/AI-ish and didn't sound like I pictured Nadi.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ARC of The Serpents Bride in exchange for an honest review!

"Now and again, isn't it nice be who we truly are without pretenses?"

Vampires. Fae. Mafia. Sworn enemies.
Do I even need to say anything else?!

The pacing was a tiny bit slow at times, but the writing was excellent ... sharp, immersive, and full of personality. The banter? On point. The story? Fresh and unique.

And Raziel… yeah, I’m going to need a lot more of him in my life.

3.5🌟 this was a quick, fun listen, a dark romance between a shape shifting fae looking for revenge on vampire and disguises herself as his bride. This book had a good balance between plot and romance with a lot of tension! Looking forward to the rest of the series

An enemies to lovers done well. A shapeshifting fae, Nadi is out for revenge. The vampire Raziel, prince of the most powerful mafia clan is her target. He is set to wed a human, which whom Nadi has replaced herself as. Will her plan for revenge succeed?

This book just had me from the start. The bond that forms between our MC's is steaming off the pages. A marriage of convenience with morally grey characters. Secrets & lies that keep the story suspenseful. It's dark & spicy with a plot twist you won't see coming. I just ate this all up. This was my first book by the author & I truly loved it. I can't wait for the next book.

** I was given this as an ALC by NetGalley. I truly enjoyed the narrator's performance. In my personal opinion, I feel this would have been best as a duet. I am a huge duet lover, but I felt Desireé Ketchum did an amazing job playing both characters. Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture Audio & Second Sky Books for this great opportunity.**

This was my first book from Kathryn Ann Kingsley and I throughly enjoyed it, the author has such an intriguing premise it really grabs your attention in the beginning!

While I did find the premise interesting and captivating in the beginning I did feel like the plot lacked a little in the middle - just a bit of repetition that you already get from the beginning of the book and even from the synopsis that feels as if it’s dragging a bit. However, my attention was caught again in the last few chapters and it genuinely made me gasp - felt as if it came to the end too soon then!

The FMC is made out to be tough but honestly you kind of don’t see that and the MMC is pretty morally-grey he never really changes his sentiments somewhat until the end. Also not sure if I would call this true hate-to-lovers given the FMC is disguised, but the tension was really nice, I love good tension! A++

I was fortunate enough to receive an audiobook version of this book and I feel like it really allowed me to picture the story and details of each character Kingsley describes. The narrator does a great job of adding small afflictions and such during, you can feel the emotion of the FMC.

While I enjoyed the narrator, I do however feel as though I would’ve enjoyed it a tad bit more if there would’ve been two narrators simply because there is dual POV and while the MMC POV isn’t as long as the FMC, sometimes it could get a little confusing when the switch would happen because it would occur in the same chapter.

If it hadn’t been for the beginning and the ending (and a few in between scenes) I’m not sure if I would’ve continued this series but it ended on a cliffhanger and honestly left me with even more questions I know I need answers to! So I will definitely be awaiting the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for gifting me this copy!