This was a fun read for me. Haha. Not a single dull moment.
Tons of spice with a fun plot. If monster romance is your thing, this one is for you this way my first monster/creature romance and it was very interesting to say the least.

So this is how I learned monster romances are not for me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Omg this book is addictive! I read it back when the author had it on her website and I’m so glad she got a publishing deal because she deserves it. This book has all the spice and romance you could want.

This book was something else! Unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It will stick with me for a lifetime!!!! Read this if you like romance, monster or creature romance, thought provoking books, and you are out for a surprising good time!

THE SPICE!!!! Absolutely loved it. If you can't handle the heat, do not read this book, go back to YA books because this is not for you.

I love a good monster romance, so I was excited to read this (what can I say, I'm a little bit of a perv). I devoured this book in less than a day it was so good. It has everything you could want when it comes to a book in this genre, and then some. Very much recommend a read to those who enjoy spicy monster books.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Full disclosure, I walked into this book expecting it to be kind of a silly, frivolous read that I didn't take very seriously. I wanted to read it because the plot sounded wildly unhinged (a la Lindsay's mom's review of it), and thought it would just be fun. Was it unhinged? Yes. Was it super fun? Absolutely. Did I expect to be totally and completely invested in and absorbed by the plot and basilisk politics? Never would have guessed. If you couldn't tell, I REALLY loved this book, and honestly I still think about it everyday.

The premise of the book is that our FMC, Tem, has never been kissed. She lives in a world where basilisk shifters "train" the young women in her town on the art of seduction, so they can win the Prince's hand in marriage. Long story short, there are a lot of deliciously steamy scenes that made this savant of smut swoon. I usually don't like books where the plot is secondary to the plot, or happens just to happen/for fan service, but Lindsay truthfully did a fantastic job making sure we got plenty of spice without making it feel oversaturated or boring. And the spice was so essentially to the plot in a way I've never seen before. I also loved that this book was totally unpredictable. I read a lot, so I tend to notice patterns and can pretty quickly predict what is about to happen. That did not happen with this book and I found myself saying, "what...?" multiple times (in the best of ways).

I came out of this book low key having a thing for basilisks and I don't know how to feel about that, and I think that's quite a testament to the world Lindsay was able to build.

Please read this book!

Oh boy did I enjoy this book. There was never a moment to feel bored, because it was fast paced… even with how long it is. This book is top of the scales (get it?) spicy, but it plays to the plot. It’s not spicy for no reason, the sex is all interlaced with the plot. Which makes it seem way less smutty, though, smutty it is. And in the best way. I’ll be honest, I saw someone give a bad review for this book and that’s what sold me on it 😂 you say cracked pelvis and give it a one star? I say absolutely yes and throw 5 stars at it 😂 you say there’s smut on every page and there’s no plot? I say “mom, let’s read this book.” This was just a fun read. I laughed, I teared up a couple times, I was shooketh and texting my mom at midnight at others. And I think the author is so funny, too!
Oh, and basilisks are my favorite shifter. 😇

Whooo! This book was a lot! I'm still processing it a week later. The writing is good. I enjoyed the world building and cared about the characters. It pushes the limits of the typical romance however. And there's so.much.sex. Be prepared and read the content warnings!

I recommend it. It's a book you won't forget and you'll want to talk to a friend about!

I genuinely thought I was going to love this, but I fear that was not the case. It started out strong - the concept was unique, Tem & her basilisk had me hooked, and I actually enjoyed the excessive spice. Unfortunately it all went downhill from there and Tem got more and more insufferable as it went on. I honestly couldn’t find a believable reason as to why these two men would be so obsessed with her. The way she flitted back and forth between them despite supposedly having this insane bond with one of them was just nonsensical.

I’m glad to have read this because I wanted to see what everyone was talking about, but I don’t think I’ll be reading the next one especially if it’s as long as this one.

Thank you to Bloom and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have such mixed feelings on this book, I’d heard a brief summary of what the book was about before reading so I already knew I was in for some weird reading but I’ll always try anything once to see if it works out for me or not 😂

My general consensus is that I did actually enjoy reading this book, but there are a lot of contradicting factors to the characters which is why I’m going with an in the middle three star rating.

So what did I like first.. I did like the love interest.. both of them (we have a love triangle situation which brings an interesting dynamic to the book based upon how the competing characters respond to this). I was a big fan of Caspen at first he seems to have a calm logical personality which drew me to him, however I did find towards the end of the book there were certain things he was okay with our FMC Tem doing that kind of put me off him. I was also a big fan of Leo’s character, despite his entry to the book as a smug arrogant prince I could definitely sense something beyond his surface level mask, and I enjoyed getting to go deeper and see his true nature come out, especially in the last chapter of the book that was from his POV I think this was maybe my favourite chapter of the entire book, I loved hearing his thoughts first hand.

I also liked the general plot even though it is definitely unusual, but that’s what makes it appealing to me as it isn’t similar to anything I’ve read before. I enjoyed seeing Tem get some form of payback against the mean girls and the way the village has shunned her. I also enjoyed how she was the master of her own life and the men in her life didn’t try to sway her or take away her choices.

What I didn’t like:

There was a lot of character traits between Tem and Caspen that were wishy washy where they ended up contradicting themselves. For one, Tem is supposed to be this naive innocent inexperienced girl who is wholly insecure due to years of insults and bullying, and sometimes she acted accordingly and then in the next scene she would have this unfounded confidence where she would be making demands from the serpent king or telling the human prince she knew she was beautiful and didn’t care about his compliments. This kept happening repeatedly and I was honestly getting whiplash from her 180 in confidence and perspective.

As for Caspen I touched on this before but he would go from scene to scene saying how much he loved her and didn’t want to harm her and then the next scene he would be totally happy for her to do these outrageous things that could cause her harm or emotional pain. I just couldn’t find any consistency between these two characters thoughts and actions and it threw me off.

Overall thoughts.. will I read the next book? Yes I need to hear more from Leo 😂

Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books and Lindsa Straube for a gifted copy!

Truly living in serpent summer. KOTB/SOS has been an absolutely wild ride and easily one of my favorite recent reads. Enthralled by Tem's journey and the world Lindsay created. A captivating, sexy read--definitely NSFW. Team Leo forever.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the Deluxe Edition. The bonus Leo chapter is everything. Can’t wait for book two!

From the very first page, I was hooked. The passion and plot kept me fully engaged, and the chemistry between the characters was irresistible. It’s the most fun I’ve had reading a romantasy, with unexpected emotional depth in some of the intimate scenes. While the spice got a bit repetitive, I didn’t mind—it was still a fantastic ride. The ending could’ve used some refinement, but it didn’t take away from the experience. Definitely go into this one blind, as it’s a journey worth taking.

Now I'm all for spice, but there's a time and a place for it. This story was always going to have more than the average. I mean, the entire premise is a girl training to seduce the prince and being taught how to f*** by sexy snakes. But even with that being said, I feel like it was too much. Every other chapter had spice... for 500+ pages. Maybe I'd feel differently if it was different each time and had the FMC exploring different elements of her sexuality, but it was the same thing literally over and over and over again.

That being said, the 10% that was plot was interesting and gripping enough to keep me going. Actually, it was better than that. The plot kept me from putting the book down, and is the reason I was able to get through this so quickly. In summary, you have these two factions, the Basilisks and the Humans. The Basilisks lost a war hundreds of years prior and as part of a peace treaty, agree to train the Prince's marriage prospects in the ways of the basilisks (because sex is power and super normalized in snake society). To be a prospect, you have to be born in the same year as the prince. Now enter our FMC Temperance (Tem), who is the daughter of a chicken farmer and a social parriah in her village. She happens to be trained by the Serpent King (Caspen), who is known for teaching the most women that have ended up as past Prince's selections. While training, Caspen and Tem can't fight this connection they feel towards each other. But at the same time, Tem is growing closer to the Prince.

The magic system and worldbuilding in this were really fascinating. The cresting, other basilisk abilities, and the significance of gold (iykyk)... it was just enough to sustain me and hold my interest. Could this also have been done better, absolutely. But as it was, the book was an entertaining read that I'd recommend to a VERY specific audience. Think Ice Planet Barbarians.

Tropes:
✨Monster Romance
✨Love Triangle
✨Competition/Trials
✨Forbidden Romance
✨Fish Out of Water

This book actually had me contemplating if there was such a thing as "too much smut"? 😅
But for real, I loved this book! The plot thickened multiple times (So did the men. 😏), and I was just dying to know how this story would end. I felt a strong connection to the FMC and loved watching her progress and come into her own and it didn't hurt that the men here are absolutely swoon-worthy! 😍
"A wild ride." to be sure!

Unhinged and filthy perfection.

I don't know how to even talk about this book without spoiling things but this book was soo freaking good. I mean…I have no words. None. This book changed something in me and idk how or if or when I will ever find another book to make me feel this way! You honestly just have to trust me and go in blind. It is the only way to fully enjoy this book....go in blind and find a friend to go in with you because you are going to need someone to talk about this book with that "gets it". It is truly a unique experience that I can say as someone who reads A LOT...has never read a book like this and I don't expect to again! The characters were amazing and interesting. The spice was...wow. The plot was intense and left me on the edge of my seat!
I NEEDED to know how this was going to end and how Tem was going to....decide on things.

"Tell me," she gasped . "Tell me how you feel about me." She needed to hear him say it. Now, while they were joined together. "I am undone by you," he said. "I crave your scent, your skin, your voice. I think about you all the time, to the point of destruction. You are unbearably overwhelming. I cannot resist you no matter how hard I try."

Kiss of the Basilisk (formally the beloved title Split or Swallow) was such a fun ride and the basilisk story I didn’t know I was missing in my life!

Let me just come out of the gate and say this will not be an eloquent review so I hope you didn’t come for that because I am at a loss for words in the best way after reading this book. You are going to need a hose to cool you down. Who knew I would be questioning my shadow daddy obsession with a snake daddy? But I am also #teamleo

In this story we follow Temperance, who has come of age to vie for prince Leo’s hand at marriage but in order to win him over she must learn how to please him sexually from her basilisk teacher Caspen <insert eyebrow waggle>.

The basilisks and humans are at odds, which the humans thinking lesser of them. But when Caspen and Temperance start their training there is an immediate pull to one another, though she still must try to win Leo’s hand, Caspen leaves her with something to remember him by 😏

Oh does Temperance not make it easy for Leo, our sweet little cinnamon roll playboy, it only makes him want her more. But there is so much more to him than his playboy ways. While on the other hand Caspen struggles with her budding relationship with the prince and wants her all to himself.

There is a war on the horizon and Temperance becomes a player stuck in the middle with her heart torn between Caspen and Leo, which side will she choose? Or why choose? 😏

You will not find this story short of spice one bit, Temperance is in training after all and Caspen has to teach her all the things so she can practice her techniques with Leo - carriage scene anyone? But she comes into her own throughout the story from a somewhat shy girl to finding her voice and not letting anyone stand in her way.

I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I tried hard to like this book. The sex scenes were so frequent they blurred together and became extremely repetitive. The saving grace was the story line underneath all of the sex that kept me reading. I was very curious about where Tem, Caspen, and Leo would end up. And that’s the part of the book I did enjoy.

I knew this was good when I was following along with Lindsay's weekly releases of chapters. But reading it all together was an experience. Yes this is spicy af. But I also loved the story.

The fact that she calls this basilisk 🌽 is so freaking hilarious, and true 🤣 but tasteful at the same time. Tem has to participate in this "training" to be considered as the wife of the prince. Said training involves learning the ins and outs of...pleasure... with a basilisk. Why a basilisk? Because they are sexual creatures and no better than the experts. Plus it helps with this truce the humans and basilisk have...or so they think.

As you can imagine when you're told to go to the caves to learn how to fvck from a basilisk 🐍 you might grow some feelings for them. But also getting courted by a swoon worthy royal prince, like yeah one of each please.

There were some twists and turns in this book and I was here for it.

I’m absolutely flabbergasted by how disastrous this book turned out to be.

While I understand the concept was a bit outlandish, that’s not what made the story fall flat. The attempt at a plot was incredibly disjointed, and the characters kept making choices that were completely inconsistent with their motivations. Time and time again, the protagonist, Tem, would act in ways that contradicted her internal thoughts, leaving me confused and frustrated. What’s the point of creating all this drama in the end if she’s not even trying to save her father?

Nothing about the world or the events made sense. The basilisk were portrayed as incredibly powerful and easily able to overpower humans in the final scenes—despite not doing anything for years. The plot holes were so glaring that I couldn’t focus on anything else.

If the author wanted to write a sexy, controversial snake-shifter erotica, she should have gone for it, but trying to incorporate actual conflict and character development without properly following through with it was a huge mistake. Also, this book could have easily been 200 pages shorter.

Overall, this was another highly anticipated yet incredibly disappointing read for the year.