This is the first book I’ve read from Kathryn and I gotta say I’m intrigued, I gelled with the writing style and loved the way the story was written and how it unraveled. I second guessed myself so much, I really wasn’t sure how it was all going to go. I haven’t read one like that for a while and it was so good!

I liked that Nadi was strong from the get go and didn’t waver in her mission, ok yes she had a ton of trauma pushing her but she also didn’t punish herself for allowing some ‘slips’. I mean she can still find Raziel attractive whilst wanting to murder him, the feelings mutual it seems. These characters are both very morally grey so it’s pretty unclear how far each other will go, to maintain the rise, to carry out a purpose and that made me unable to put it down, it was read within a day 😅

Considering how this ended I’m hanging out for book 2, I think it’s going to be pure chaos, a match made in hell, I’d say.

Thank you to Kathryn Ann Kingsley and Second Sky for the eARC!

Review: The Serpent’s Bride by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

The Serpent’s Bride was such a fun and refreshing take on the vampire romance genre. I was lucky enough to receive both the ARC and the ALC, which allowed me to enjoy the story through immersive reading—my favorite way to experience a book—and it made the tension and atmosphere even more addictive.

This story has everything I look for in a dark romantasy: enemies-to-lovers tension, betrayal, slow burn chemistry, and a morally gray hero who is impossible to resist. Nadi’s quest for revenge against the Nostrom family sets up such a high-stakes plot, but what really captivated me was the unexpected emotional depth between her and Raziel. He is ruthless and magnetic, yet slowly reveals pieces of his true self only to her. Their dynamic was both intoxicating and heartbreaking, keeping me on edge from beginning to end.

The audiobook narration by Desiree Ketchum was outstanding—her performance gave each character a distinct voice and perfectly captured the dangerous, seductive atmosphere of the story. It made the experience even more compelling.

The lies, betrayal, and shocking twist at the end left me desperate for the next installment. Fans of dark, twisty enemies-to-lovers stories with morally gray heroes will not want to miss this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up!
This is a dark vampire romantasy. Our fmc Nadi is an assassin and I love her dedication to avenge her families death. She is a mermaid shifter and disguises herself as Raziels bride, Monica, to infiltrate his home and kill him and his family. I liked that the world building wasn’t too complicated there could have been more imo but it made for a pretty easy read.
Raziel our mmc is morally grey and enjoys his darkness. He definitely kept my interest the whole story and had me wanting to continue on.

If you like the following then you should read this!
•fae
•vampires
•dark romance
•marriage of convenience
•mafia vibes

Some things I didn’t love:
It started to get repetitive in the middle of the book. Nadia really had no plan of action to kill her enemies and it was frustrating.She did fall for him pretty quick and I wish they had more time to truly grow their relationship.
Also there actually wasn’t too much spice in this which is fine but I expected way darker spicy scenes with how they portray Raziels love life.

Thank you so much for e arc!

The Serpent’s Bride by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

Thank You NetGalley and Second Sky for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
An unexpected forbidden romance between a fae shapeshifter and a vampire. Nadi Iltani is a fae shapeshifter whose family was murdered by vampire mafia prince Raziel Nostrom. Nadi is intent on murdering Raziel and his entire family, but to do so she must become someone else. When she hears Raziel is to be married to a human, Monica, she pays her off and takes her place. Nadi knows once they’re married and head off on their honeymoon, “Monica” is to be sacrificed by Raziel. So Nadi, posing as Monica, must kill Raziel before that. There is only one problem...Nadi Iltani has fallen in love with Raziel Nostrom, her sworn enemy!
I really enjoyed this novel! I did not want to put it down! This author is new to me, but I loved this first book in the Bloodlines series. Book 2 can’t come soon enough so I find out what happens next....YES!!! there is a cliffhanger!!! Look for this enthralling vampire-fae, enemies to lovers romantasy when it comes out August 28, 2025!

This is probably the first dark romantasy I've read but I really enjoyed it! The pacing was good and the tension build up between Nadi and Raziel was enticing throughout. I loved the shock reveal at the end and sudden finish on a cliffhanger! Will definitely pick up the sequel when it comes out

She's looking to avenge the death of her parents, which she witnessed as a child as has been training for ever since.

He's 'the spare' within a powerful vampire family, and darker than death itself, awaiting the arrival of his human sacrificial bride.

Will she be able to resist the magnetism of Raziel Nostrom and murder every member of his family? Will Raziel see right through her and kill his latest play mate as ordered?

First time reading Kathryn Ann Kingsley novel and what a ride, mortally dark with some spice, there were loads of twists and an ending that makes you wish book 2 were published! Did not disappoint!!!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

I am unwell!!!! I need book 2 NOW!!!!!

He took everything from her so when the opportunity arises she will do the same.

He likes to break his toys.

Vampires
Fae
Shapeshifters
Powers
Enemies to Lovers
Supernatural Mafias
Unhinged FMC & MMC

The angst, the spice🥵, the I want you but why do I want you?!, the I have to kill you but let me taste you first 🫠

“Let’s hope I don’t break as easily as all your other toys.”

“You’re mine. And no one gets to kill you but me”

He's everything she should hate and she plans to kill him, but will she change her mind after marrying him?...

Raziel killed her family and Nadi has hoped to return the favor for years. When he's set to have a new bride, a bride the vampire has never seen before, Nadi takes her place.

But Nadi's emotions are blurred. She hates him, but still wants him...

So the question is, what will she choose?

The conclusion of this book left me baffled. I need book 2!

What a good twist and wild ride!! We see morally gray characters all the time, so it’s actually fairly refreshing to see characters who (so far) have done nothing to redeem themselves or change our view on their actions. None of our players are innocent. The story moves quickly but at a pace that works for the high stakes.

✧ Dark Urban Romantasy
✧ Vampires
✧ Fae
✧ Mafia
✧ Morally black mmc
✧ Morally grey fmc
✧ True enemies to lovers
✧ Marriage of convenience

I went blind into this book and whew, what a ride! 😮‍💨

Morally grey fmc and morally BLACK mmc??? Oh, how I loved these two.

You already know how much I love my morally grey fmcs. Nadi is glamorous, vicious, funny, smart, and the perfect amount of unhinged. And the mmc Raziel is not your typical hero because he’s deadly and truly morally black. These two are true enemies to lovers and it made this book SUCH a fun read!

The story is fast-paced and it kept me on my toes the whole time. I couldn’t guess any of the plot twists, so 10/10 for that.
And the cliffhanger at the end? Too fricking good, omg I need the next book like immediately and the first book isn’t even out yet! 😭

This book was very dark and a little toxic, and idk what it says about my mental health but I loved every second of it!

Thanks to Netgalley, Author and Second Sky Books for this ARC!

WHAT THE HELLY KIND OF AN ENDING WAS THAT?????? YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT TO ME????

You know how some concepts were just made for you? Well "mafia vampire arranged marriage with a fae assassin" was definitely written with a reader like me in mind. It was juicy and I couldn't put it down. I had to tandem audio and physically read it so I could continue with the story.

Genuinely the only reason I couldn't give this 5 stars was 1) because of that ending, so another book with a better freaking resolution might sway me to the 5 stars and 2) some minor sentences were repetitive, though that was easy to overlook when I tried to get out of my copyeditor mindset so it was mainly the ending. Like I need that cliffhanger resolved right NOW.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓, 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝑵𝒆𝒓𝒅𝑭𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 ✮⋆˙

“𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝓊𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝒶𝓁𝓁.”

Okay, wow! I devoured this book in what felt like no time, I just couldn’t put it down! 👏

The Serpent’s Bride is a dark fantasy romance that delivers everything I love!! Vampires, fae, mafia vibes, enemies-to-lovers, and gloriously morally grey characters. Seriously, what more could you ask for?

Nadi, a shapeshifting fae assassin, is out for vengeance against Raziel, the vampire who slaughtered her family. Her plan is to infiltrate his life by posing as his bride. From there, chaos, carnage, and unexpected chemistry follows.

One of the things I loved most is that both Nadi and Raziel are unapologetically villainous, they thrive on chaos and don’t mind getting their hands dirty (or bloody🩸). But what stood out the most for me was how raw and real Nadi felt. She breaks down, cries out of frustration, with real snotty weeping instead of being this flawless character. It really made her feel authentic.

And the mix of mafia vibes with vampires and fae is absolute perfection. I didn’t realize how much I needed that combo until this book gave it to me! 👌

Also… THAT ENDING!! Kathryn Ann Kingsley, how dare you. 🤯 I didn’t see it coming and was definitely not prepared.. And now I can’t wait for the next book! 😍 Highly recommend.

Thank you to Second Sky, The Nerd Farm, NetGalley, and Kathryn Ann Kingsley for the ARC!

BK-R
🌶️Spice: 2
👁️POV: 3rd Person, Dual
🎧Audiobook: 5/5 - Single Narration (Desiree Ketchum)
✨Genre: New Adult Vampire Romantasy

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC & ALC of The Serpent's Bride!

If you love dark revenge plots mixed with slow-burn romance, this one delivers. After witnessing her family slaughtered by the vampire prince, Raziel, a lone Fae girl escapes and grows into a lethal assassin, driven by her vow to kill the monster who destroyed her world. But when fate draws them back together, she must decide: is vengeance worth more than her heart?

This story hooked me right away. The assassin vibe, court intrigue, and steady pacing made it feel like a 5-star read in the first half. The narration by Desiree Ketchum was excellent, capturing the tension and emotion perfectly.

Where it fell a little short for us was the subplot with the uncle. It felt underdeveloped, and her loyalty there didn't fully land. Where did the loyalty come from? Why was he not part of her revenge? We also struggled to believe Raziel was redeemed enough for her to fall for him (mate bond vibes, maybe?). Those pieces pulled my rating down.

But THAT ENDING??? I need book two immediately.

✅Recommend for fans of enemies-to-lovers, assassin
heroines, and vampire romantasy.
❌Skip if you need your villains fully redeemed before romance kicks in.

Spicy Chapters: 7, 19, 25
Annie's Rating: 3.5
Laura's Rating: 4
Average Rating: 3.75
Rated: 4/5

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Format: Tandem Audio 🎧 and ebook 📱


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Hit with another cliffy 💥💀😩

The description of this book intrigued me, but when I tell you I was NOT expecting to get sucked into this book the way I did! I devoured this (the audio was fantastic, the narrator did an amazing job at keeping me engrossed) in less than 12 hours and listened while I was cooking dinner for the family, I could not put it down!

Nadi is a shape shifting fae assassin out to finally get her revenge against vampire mafioso Raziel Nostrom, the male who murdered her family 80 years ago. The Nostrom matriarch arranged a marriage between her violent enforcer son and a country gangster’s daughter as a means of an ritualistic sacrifice, so Nadi takes the place of this innocent girl and uses her identity to try and take her revenge.

But she…falls in LOVE WITH THE VAMPIRE WHO MURDERED HER FAMILY???? I was skeptical but KAK got me, I admit it. I need book 2 as quickly as possible 😭

Notable Tropes ——

🩸 Vampire X Fae
🗡️ Arranged Marriage
🩸 Hidden Identity
🗡️ Assassins
🩸 Mafia Fantasy
🗡️ Feminine Rage
🩸 Revenge


Thank you to Bookouture Audio | Second Sky Books for the gifted ALC and eARC, and the opportunity to read/listen and review and give my honest opinion.

This book is quite dark and very much fits the dark romantasy vibe so please make sure to check triggers and warnings before reading!!

Nadi is a shapeshifting fae whose whole family was murdered years ago by the vampire clan and their “Serpent” killer Raziel. In the time since their death, she’s been plotting a way to kill them all, especially Raziel. When the chance of a lifetime comes after the announcement of his wedding to a human girl, Naid strikes a deal and takes her place as his bride. She must use her shapeshifting and killer assassin skills she’s gained to earn their trust and avenge the death of her family!

This book had lots of gore and was very much dark mafia vibes. The tension between Nadi and Raziel was immense and even though she hated him and all the evil he showed her, she couldn’t seem to keep herself away! When her plots keep getting postponed and her main plan foiled, it’s fun to see how her mind works to come up with a new plan. There were some saddening deaths and a few unexpected twists, especially the ending and I can’t wait to see where the next book goes! Overall my rating is 4.3/5!

My jaw is on the floor. This book was so twisted and crazy, I couldn’t put it down!

Morally black vampire MMC meets morally black fae FMC in a (sort of) arranged marriage? I already knew it was gonna be good. But this? It totally blew me away. 5 stars, EASY.

The chemistry and banter was so good and the mafia-esque plot kept me on my toes the whole time. The last page has my head spinning!!

The action, the brooding, the intensity. This book is unputdownable and I need the sequel like, yesterday! We love a stabby FMC and a MMC with a tortured soul (?)

I didn't love this book :/ I wanted to so bad but it just wasn't for me. I wont be posting about it because I dont want to negatively affect the author!

Wow… this book was intense! Nadi is a shapeshifter assassin on a mission for revenge against Raziel, the vampire mafia boss who destroyed her family. But nothing prepared me for the reveal of her true form—or the brilliance of her elaborate plan to get close to him. I was honestly shocked at how long she managed to keep her identity hidden!

This story just kept delivering twist after twist, giving me everything I didn’t even know I needed. And that ending?! Kathryn Ann Kingsley, how could you leave us with a cliffhanger like that? I need book two in my hands immediately!

Huge thank you to @secondskybooks @kathrynannkingsley @thenerdfam for sending me this amazing book! 💜

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WOW! Just wow. This book snuck up on me and kept me in a vice grip the entire time. Absolutely. Unputdownable.
Our FMC, Nadi, is so fierce and so intriguing. I couldn’t get enough of her, even in the moments I didn’t agree with her. Matter of fact, I couldn’t get enough of most of the characters.. even the ones I hated! 😆
Vampires, fae, unbelievable tension, TRUE enemies to maybe lovers? Say. Less. 👏 The politics in this world were also really interesting and unique to me, and there were some really crazy twists! The ending was phenomenal! My jaw was on the floor and then I started jumping all over the place 😆 Needless to say I’m already dying for book 2!

☾ Mini Synopsis - Nadi, a shapeshifting fae assassin, infiltrates the household of Raziel Nostrom, the vampire prince who destroyed her family 80 years ago. Disguised as his bride, Nadi plans her revenge on this magnetic, dangerous, and morally gray prince.

☾ Thank you so much to @netgalley for the opportunity to review this eARC!

3.5/5 STARS!

I was lucky enough to get this as an arc from Second Sky Publishing! So huge thank you to them for sending me.

Look if you want vampires, shapeshifters, vengeance, enemies to lovers, female rage and some steamy scenes then you will definitely want to read this!

That ending was CRIMINAL!