Good enough book. This isn't a story that I normally read and it took me a bit to get into it. The main characters were written well and the relationship between them was really cute. I would have preferred this to be a more paranormal and not so much fantasy forward, but it was still a very interesting book. One main character is a vampire and the other is a lamia and then we have a stalker and the mob thrown in for some drama. This was kind of a slow burn, aquantances to lovers romance with some drama. I would recommend this book, but I don't think I'll read it again.

A cute story but it wasn't for me. I just couldn't connect to the characters. However, I would recommend as I'm sure this would appeal to someone else.


Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC copy.

Snake Charmer is a fun, witty, flirty book about a vampire and lamia who dispite all odds, find each other. I loved the characters' fun energy, the cute romance, and how the high stakes unfold as we learn about the characters. I'd definitely recommend this to any queer person looking for a cute romance wanting to read something a little more out of the box than other romances.

You have Freddie who's a vampire that's on the run from the Berlin mob and head to Toronto to get away, then enters Phoebe who's a streamer with a decent online following but keeps private that she is a trans lamia, she just discovered her soon to be ex=girlfriends has been lying to her for the entire relationship and destroying her image to said online followers by leaking revealing photos are her. All they really wanted was a one-time type of thing but the more time spent together changed that however if feel like it jumped just a little to quickly from one end of the spectrum to the other. Also personally I'm not a fan of the fade to black scenes I'm more of an open door kinda person, if you like or don't mind either one then this book has steam in regards to afterwards when then "deeds" are done just no "spice". This is a good monster romcom type of novel and I would defenitly read more books books from this author.



Thanks to NetGalley, Genevieve McCluer and Bold Stroke Books for the ARC

2 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me with the Snake Charming eARC for my honest review.

*The rating will only show on NetGalley, I do not rate books I dnf on Goodreads.

I think fans of The Ex Hex would like this book. Similar vibes and kind of similar writing style. The LGBTQA+ rep in this book was also great. Even better than what’s described in the blurb, I was pleasantly surprised. Now with that being said, why’d I dnf?

Is there such a thing as a slow, dragged-out info dump with no substance? Well I guess there is, because even after a quarter of the way through this book, none of my questions about the world building or character’s backstory were answered—but the questions kept piling! Too much random things are going on. I was hooked at first. The book started off strong, getting me curious about everything. But there’s just not much focus to the story. Even basic/important plot points remained unaddressed.

I don’t want to give spoilers but the very first big question that the main character, Freddie, faces—the great “culture shock” after arriving in Toronto just kept getting brushed off and even at the 25% point, I’m still left wondering what is up with that. Many info were mentioned offhandedly. Which is a great way to get readers interested. But these offhand comments will only frustrate readers as the author does it for every other plot point. The culture shock thing could’ve been easily and quickly addressed right after Freddie landed in the bar. Then this would have also made it more understandable of why what Phoebe’s ex did was so horrible/dangerous for Phoebe. Because I did not sense any overwhelming malice behind her actions. Hell, we barely know the circumstances surrounding what led up to that point. Despite that, I will say that the depiction of Phoebe’s heartbreak and reaction was very well done. I sympathized a lot with her and her anger at the betrayal. I just wished that I was given more info on the significance of what the ex did and details on how the fallout came about. Like while I sympathized with you girl, I did not feel much hatred for your ex 😭 Which based on the premise of the book, I’m assuming that I should.

Another distracting point was the fade to black sex scenes. Don’t get me wrong, that’s actually how I prefer things but those characters were going aattt itttt goddamn. So there were frequent mini time skips/scene cuts. I understand it’s part of the characterization and situationship but since it happened so often and was always at the forefront of the narration, it felt… weird. It got to a point where I found myself glossing over texts often just so I could stop reading about vague recounts and references to what happened in the bedroom and get back to the actual story itself.

Snake Charming is an adult paranormal romance about the relationship between a vampire and a lamia.

Freddie is a German vampire fleeing the Berlin mob and trying to make a new life for herself in Toronto. She stumbles upong Phoebe, a pro-gamer trans lamia, and they have a one-night-stand and are happy to leave it at that. Yet they cannot stop thinking and stumbling about eachother.

This is the first official romcom novel I am reading so I am very unused to the tropes. It was a refreshing and easy read but it did feel corny at times and repetitive (we get it the sex is the best ever). It is an adult novel but there is no smut/spice, all the scenes are fade to black, even though there is talk about sex.

The pacing felt a bit off because the romance takes a really huge place in the book (as it should because it is a romance novel) but one of the plot element is brought back at the end and the last arc goes by so fast it almost feels like a different novel. I also feel like the character writing was not at its best during the last arc.

I do think it is a very diverse book with a lot of different queer characters. It deals a little with the main characters' past experiences with trauma but I feel like overall it is quite a cosy book.

Freddie and Phoebe had good chemistry but it did feel like instalove. Vivi was a really fun character and I would have liked to see her more. The roster of fiends is very varied even though the book could benefit from describing them more as not everyone would be familiar with what a tengu is.

If you are looking for a cozy paranormal (monsterf*cker?) romance without the spice, this might be the book for you !

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Snake Charming by Genevieve McCluer 2.5⭐️

In this book, we follow Freddie, an 800+ year old vampire and Phoebe, a trans ancient lamia. Freddie is running from the German mob after borrowing and gambling away a large sum of money. Phoebe is struggling through a break up with a crazy stalker.

I was excited by the blurb for this book and read it relatively quickly. The writing was good but I felt the pacing was a bit off. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the entirety of this book happening in about a week. The story mostly focuses on Freddie and Phoebe continuously running into each other and then all the mob stuff is shoved into the last 30% or so. There was a lot going on in this book but also somehow nothing really happened. It was definitely an interesting premise and I enjoyed reading it but I wouldn’t read it again.

A cute and cozy take on on a monster romance. The two lovers are great characters and also the trans aspect of the lamia was nicely integrated. At the end there is a little action but not a lot.

There was a sort a of charm in this book but it suffered from let me cram everything I can think of into one book and see what happened. It is also a part of a series. I had no idea.

This book has a certain charm and I really, really wanted to like it more than I did because I’m a fan of fiends. But sadly it just has way too many ideas, it’s like a kitchen sink answer to an exam question. I was struggling with this aspect before the Nazi’s made an appearance, and by the time Homer was mentioned I was finding it hard to care about anything in the story. The writing has promise, but the editor should have been more active at the drafting stage

This is a really cool take on monster / vampire romance books.
I honestly think thought it was adorable.
I love that it’s modern times and they have to navigate life in normal world as monsters.
It’s super entertaining, the writing is great, it’s got good world building, all in all I would recommend it, it’s a bit hard to follow at first, and a bit hard to get into it but just hold strong.
Lol it gets adorable
If you are looking for a human thing it’s not it, but if you like monsters it’s great 🥰

Was this part of a series or something. Did I miss a series title or number somewhere because why did I get so confused while reading this book? It's not something that happens to me a lot since I'm a huge fantasy reader and not the most stupid (not to brag). I felt like I was supposed to know so much of the stuff that was mentioned and it was never explained in any kind of way nor were we given any kind of clue to figure that out. The characters were nice to follow along, I'll give it that, but I felt completely lost for the first 40% of the novel 2.25 stars

Phoebe is a trans lamia who just had her heart broken, Freddie is a lesbian vampire who owes the German mob a lot of money. Both are running from something, especially their feelings when they meet and share an incredible night together. As Freddie bumps into old friends and begins to contemplate the choices she has made in her life, she realizes that she wants something with Phoebe. Phoebe wants to take things slow but she can't resist the way Freddie really sees her. As their past catch up with them they work together to make a future together.

This book was a fun quick read that has a lot of found family elements with a cache of good nerdy friends and a variety of LGBTQIA+ representation throughout. It was kind of hard to get into the story because this is actually I think the third book in this universe but I didn't really see anything to indicate that. They're was some exposition but honestly not enough unless you'd read the other books in this universe. It always kind of felt like I was missing out on a joke. Also the spice is primarily fade to black though there is a lot of discussion of sex and sex adjacent things throughout the book.

Overall it was a good read and I would recommend it.

thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read the eARC.
**4.5 stars on storygraph**

when i read the synopsis, i just had to read the ARC so i was elated when i learned that i had received the eARC.

the synopsis sounded very interesting to me. a vampire and a half human woman/half snake? who wouldn’t find that intriguing? and trans lesbian representation? a true win.

i was hooked from the very first chapter and adored both freddie and phoebe from the beginning. the timeline did happen really quickly and it was often something i kept forgetting about until it was mentioned that only a few days or a week had passed.

this would’ve been a five star read for me, but i wished freddie’s mob storyline was pursued a little more. phoebe’s storyline with her ex took over and transitioned into her relationship with freddie. when that wrapped up, it focused on their relationship and the reason why freddie came to toronto fell into the shadows until the end which seemed to have been resolved a little too easy considering freddie was in trouble with the german mob?

there was a moment at the beginning that made me pause. when freddie and phoebe meet for the second time, it seemed like they didn’t recognize each other despite having met the day before which was odd to me. if a vampire was confused about there being many vampires in one place and being several years behind on societal norms then i feel like i would remember them. freddie even mentioned phoebe right before she saw her again.

there was a quick moment between phoebe, one of her friends, and freddie that had me briefly wishing the author would pursue them and make them a throuple even if it was meant to be a joke.

overall, i really enjoyed the read and hope to read the author’s other books.

This was a cute story, but I wish that it had progressed a little more quickly. I did enjoy the way that the characters worked together overall!

I've read, and reviewed, McCluer before (in fact if you pick it up you'll see part of my Cold Blood review used in there), and I've been waiting to read this one as it sounded very much up my street.

Snake Charming follows Freddie: an 800+ year old vampire with a history of bad life decisions, as she flees from Berlin to Toronto to escape the mob, who are coming after her hard for the money she owes; and Phoebe: a multiple millennia old transgender, lamia, vtuber, who has just discovered that her ex was actually a stalker fan who posted photos of her, tail and all, online.

The book is set in the same universe as other books by McCluer, and features returning characters - like Dinah and Rachel from the previous book, A Second Chance at Life, as friends of Phoebe.

Speaking of friends, Phoebe has a really cool bunch of them, both human and fiend (non-human). I enjoyed their relationships with each other, and how they're all a bunch of queer nerds who get together to play TTRPGs and wargames. Phoebe makes her living streaming on Twitch, so it makes sense, but it's cool to see. And they're a tight-knit, caring group of friends, to the point of Dinah and Rachel going to intimidate the evil ex out of posting more photos and "admitting" that they were all photoshopped.

Freddie and Phoebe meet because they both want a one night stand. Unfortunately, they then both can't stop thinking about each other, because they have an amazing night, a connection, and they both make each other feel things they've forgotten how to feel. When you're a vampire who doesn't want to get close to anyone because of having to watch them die (and just learned that this hurts those other people), and a lamia who is a disappointment to her species for both being trans and not wanting to eat all of her lovers, it's probably nice to meet someone who can see through to the core of you, and still think you're amazing. They're very cute together. How long they'll last, given how fast they wound up moving, I'm not sure, but they're certainly good for each other. It's pretty funny though when you sit back and think about it:

Freddie: Oh fuck me I'm feeling feelings!

Phoebe: Oh Aphrodite I'm feeling feelings!

Friends: Oh shit you're feeling feelings?!

Freddie & Phoebe: Eh, let's just keep feeling feelings

Really, the mob plot takes a back seat for most of the book, in favour of building the world they all live in, and letting us get to know them which, honestly, is fine by me, because they're all pretty cool, and very queer. So that plot, when it finally shows up, is somewhat rushed, but that's because it's really just side plot. This is a romance, it's about these two getting to know each other and figure out that they want to give a relationship a shot. The side plots of the ex and the mob are there to facilitate the story, they're not the story itself.

McCleur writes very readable stories, that are hard to put down. Her characters are always well fleshed out, with clear voices. And I love how she always pulls in creatures from legends around the world, not just the usual western standards. Don't go into this one expecting huge amounts of action or deep plot, it's a fun piece of fluff - which nonetheless manages to reflect on some serious issues, from revenge porn to being trans. Do go in looking for some nice characters, and a pleasing journey through two people figuring out how to get past their own hangups for each other.

3.5 stars on StoryGraph

A cute, quick read based on an interesting fantasy world. I really like the world of fiends that is built in this book. There’s so many different people and lore that’s introduced here, I love that! There is a lot here that could be explored as we only meet many types of fiends in passing.

I liked the characters and their backstories and friendship, I thought it was fun to get some background from both our main characters from their friends. I thought the relationships were well done and thought out.

Our main couple and the plot were where I took off a couple stars. While Freddie and Phoebe were really cute, and I loved the conversations they had, everything happened so quickly. I wished things took more than a week to develop, because I’m not sure if I would expect them to stay together for the long term or not. Maybe I’m just a skeptic!

I felt like it took a while for the plot to kick in. I wish that we had a slightly longer book to help develop the plot a bit more as it felt a bit out of the blue and rushed as it wasn’t really mentioned in the middle of the book.

Overall, this was cute, I thought the world was interesting but I wanted just a little more time to let everything breathe a bit better!

This is a well written LGBTQ romance. Unfortunately, it didn't capture my interest. If the is a genre you like, I recommend giving this book a try.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.