Den of Vipers
K.A. Knight Publisher: Self-Published Pub Date: July 10th, 2020 Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance Synopsis: Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel—The Vipers. They run this town and everyone in it. Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses. Yes, sold me. They own me now. I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant. These men, they look at me with longing. Their scarred, blood-stained hands holding me tight. They want everything I am, everything I have to give, and won’t stop until they get just that. They can own my body, but they will never have my heart. The Vipers? I’m going to make them regret the day they took me. This girl? She bites too. 18+ Reverse Harem Romance. Warning this book contains scenes and references of abuse/assault that some readers may find triggering. Along with graphic sex scenes and violence. This is a dark book. r e v i e w
Many things have been said about 'Den of Vipers' by K.A. Knight. Generally the consensus seems to be that it's the darkest smut people have read before.. and to that I say.. maybe it's time to up your game.
Honestly, while there are some edgy scenes surrounding the demise of people here and there, the more intimate content is not that bad. The author certainly toys with dark possibilities, but she pulls her punches quite a bit.. dispelling the illusion of any real danger often before things get started. Diesel had a ton of potential, but it was largely wasted due to that sort of.. neutering of his character. Ironically, Ryder gets better and better as the book goes on. I will say, the author gives great backstories. If she were able to properly break into those on a psychological and emotional level, they could be extremely moving. But that's not the point of this book.. and while it's a drawback, it doesn't really affect my opinion of the writing. Roxy was a disappointment to me. I feel like if she'd been allowed to be the kind of resilient, sarcastic person she was at the core.. instead of being turned into some Harley Quinn caricature , I could have really liked her. She was still okay, but it just could have been so much more than that. The story is written in multiple POV, but the author lacks the ability to do this well. Her idea of separating her characters comes down to changing their terms of endearment. Unfortunately, they all have the same narrative voice.. with no real distinction whatsoever. Frankly, the book would have benefitted from single or at worst.. dual perspective. Also, not every character in a room has to be addressed in every moment, it just bogs down the progress of the story. Heaviness. That was a real problem with this book. It's long for a dark romance, I suppose.. but it only feels long because there's so much excess. Just.. a lot of wasted words that make it take so much longer to push yourself through than should be the case. All that out of the way, I did find it decent. I enjoyed a few of the intimate scenes.. again, giving special mention to Ryder.. who is the only one that really got to loosen up slightly by the end. D should have been my favorite, but both of his big scenes were held back. I'm glad I got to experience the book that has gotten so much attention in the last couple of years, but now I'm ready for someone to do it right.
1 Comment
Emma
11/11/2024 04:29:59 pm
Great review! What book would you recommend next if you like Den of vipers & haunting Adeline?
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