Rina Kent’s Sweet Venom, the second installment in the Vipers series, is a masterclass in psychological tension wrapped in the guise of dark romance. This isn’t a book for the faint of heart—it’s a raw, unfiltered exploration of trauma, obsession, and the thin line between hatred and healing that will leave readers breathless and emotionally devastated in the best possible way.
The premise is deceptively simple: Violet Winters witnessed a brutal murder and froze. Now, the victim’s son—hockey god Jude Callahan—has made it his mission to make her pay for her silence. But beneath this revenge plot lies a complex tapestry of psychological depth, emotional scarring, and two broken souls finding unexpected solace in each other’s darkness.
The Weight of Silence and Shadows
Kent doesn’t ease readers into this story. From the opening pages, we’re thrust into Violet’s world of constant surveillance, where every shadow could hide her stalker and every breath feels borrowed. The author crafts an atmosphere of suffocating tension that permeates every interaction, every glance, every moment of silence between our protagonists. This is not a romance that unfolds gently—it crashes into you with the force of one of Jude’s infamous hockey checks.
What makes this narrative compelling is how Kent avoids the trap of romanticizing toxicity while still delivering an intensely passionate love story. Violet’s paralysis during the murder isn’t portrayed as simple cowardice but as the culmination of years of abuse, trauma, and conditioning from a mother who taught her that her existence was worthless. Her freeze response is visceral and painfully real, rooted in genuine psychological trauma rather than convenient plot mechanics.
Jude, meanwhile, is a study in contradictions. He’s violent, obsessive, and ruthless in his pursuit of revenge, yet Kent peels back layers to reveal a man shaped by his own trauma. His mother’s mental illness and death have left him with a void he tries to fill through violence and vengeance, making him both terrifying and tragically human. The duality of his character—protector and predator, savior and stalker—creates a magnetic tension that drives the narrative forward.
Dual Perspectives, Dual Devastations
The alternating point-of-view structure serves this story brilliantly. Through Violet’s eyes, we experience the paralyzing fear of being hunted, the confusion of arousal mixed with terror, and the slow, painful journey toward self-worth. Her internal monologue is achingly authentic, capturing the voice of someone who has spent a lifetime believing she deserves nothing better than the scraps life throws her way.
Jude’s perspective offers a darker counterpoint. His chapters read like a descent into controlled chaos, where violence is routine and emotional connection is foreign territory. Kent doesn’t shy away from showing us the full extent of his brutality—this is a man who kills methodically as part of a secret society called Vencor, who uses hockey as a socially acceptable outlet for his violent tendencies, and who sees revenge as the only path to honoring his mother’s memory.
The beauty lies in how these perspectives gradually converge. As the story progresses, we watch Violet find her voice and strength, not because Jude saves her, but because his presence paradoxically forces her to save herself. Meanwhile, Jude’s single-minded focus on revenge slowly gives way to something more complex—an obsession that transforms from destructive to protective, from hate-fueled to love-driven.
The Vipers Universe Expands
For readers coming from Beautiful Venom (Book 1 featuring Kane and Dahlia), Sweet Venom enriches the world-building substantially. The Vencor organization, with its founding families and black rings denoting status, provides a sinister backdrop that elevates this beyond a simple romance. The secret society element adds layers of danger and intrigue, reminding us that our characters operate in a world where murder is currency and power is everything.
Preston Armstrong, whose story will be told in Tempting Venom (Book 3), plays a crucial role here as Jude’s best friend and fellow Vencor member. His presence adds levity to otherwise dark proceedings while setting up intriguing threads for the next book. Kane Davenport, the series’ first hero, appears as a stabilizing force, offering glimpses of what Jude could become if he chooses healing over vengeance.
The interconnected nature of these stories rewards series readers while still allowing Sweet Venom to function as a standalone. Kent skillfully weaves in references to past events without making newcomers feel lost, though reading Beautiful Venom first will certainly deepen the experience.
Where Darkness Meets Desire
Kent’s signature writing style—direct, unflinching, and emotionally visceral—is on full display here. She doesn’t prettify violence or trauma. When Jude stalks Violet, it’s genuinely unsettling. When Violet experiences panic attacks or dissociation, the descriptions are clinically accurate and deeply uncomfortable. This authenticity makes the eventual romance feel earned rather than forced.
The intimate scenes are intense and boundary-pushing, featuring elements of consensual non-consent and power dynamics that won’t appeal to everyone. However, Kent handles these scenes with surprising nuance, always grounding them in the characters’ emotional journeys. These aren’t gratuitous; they’re crucial to understanding how both protagonists reclaim agency and rewrite their narratives around sexuality and vulnerability.
The pacing occasionally suffers under the weight of Jude’s internal monologues about Vencor politics and his family’s pharmaceutical empire. While world-building is important, some middle sections feel stretched as we navigate the intricacies of the Callahan family dynamics and the organization’s hierarchy. However, these slower moments serve the larger arc, establishing stakes that will likely pay off in later series installments.
Imperfectly Perfect
The book’s greatest strength is also its potential weakness: the psychological depth. Violet’s journey from self-loathing to self-acceptance is portrayed with admirable realism, including setbacks and non-linear progress. Some readers might find her initial passivity frustrating, but it’s precisely this authenticity that makes her eventual growth so satisfying. She doesn’t transform overnight; she fights for every inch of self-worth.
Similarly, Jude’s redemption arc walks a tightrope. He remains violent and morally gray even as he falls in love, which may not satisfy readers seeking traditional reformation. Yet this feels true to the character—he doesn’t suddenly become soft, he simply redirects his protective instincts toward someone he loves. The question becomes whether readers can accept a hero who continues to kill even while cherishing the heroine.
The supporting cast sometimes feels underdeveloped outside their relationships to the main couple. Dahlia, Violet’s adopted sister, shines in her scenes but remains somewhat one-dimensional as “the bubbly best friend.” Julian Callahan, Jude’s brother, hints at fascinating complexity but doesn’t receive enough page time to fully explore his morally ambiguous actions. These feel like deliberate choices to maintain focus on the central relationship, but readers craving rich ensemble casts might feel slightly disappointed.
For the Brave of Heart
Sweet Venom is not for everyone, and that’s perfectly acceptable. This is a book that demands emotional resilience from its readers. It contains explicit content, graphic violence, mental health struggles including depression and suicidal ideation, and relationship dynamics that blur ethical lines. Kent provides comprehensive content warnings, and readers should heed them.
For those who can handle the darkness, however, this book offers a profoundly moving exploration of trauma and healing. It asks difficult questions: Can love exist alongside violence? Can two broken people truly heal each other, or do they simply learn to navigate their brokenness together? What does redemption look like for those who’ve committed terrible acts?
The answers Kent provides are complex and sometimes uncomfortable, but they feel honest in a genre often criticized for glossing over consequences.
Who Will Love This Book
Fans of Penelope Douglas’s Punk 57, S.T. Abby’s The Mindfck Series*, and H.D. Carlton’s Haunting Adeline will find familiar territory here—morally gray antiheroes, stalker romance elements, and heroines who find strength through adversity rather than despite it. Readers who appreciated L.J. Shen’s Vicious or J.T. Geissinger’s Cruel Paradise will recognize Kent’s commitment to emotionally intense, psychologically complex romance.
This book will particularly resonate with readers who appreciate:
- Dual POV narratives that offer competing perspectives
- Hockey romance with actual stakes beyond the rink
- Secret society intrigue woven into contemporary settings
- Trauma representation that doesn’t minimize or romanticize mental health struggles
- Slowburn enemies-to-lovers dynamics with genuine animosity
- Explicit content that serves character development
The Verdict
Sweet Venom succeeds as both a standalone dark romance and a crucial series installment. Rina Kent demonstrates why she’s become a powerhouse in the dark romance genre—she’s unafraid to push boundaries while maintaining emotional authenticity. The book doesn’t ask readers to excuse violence or toxic behavior; instead, it invites us to witness two people learning to exist in their darkness while reaching toward the light.
This isn’t a fairy tale. It’s a realistic, sometimes brutal examination of how trauma shapes us and whether love can truly heal. The romance feels earned because both characters do the work—individually and together—to become people capable of healthy love. By the epilogue, when Jude promises to marry Violet and make her “the light in his otherwise dark world,” we believe it because we’ve watched them fight for that future across hundreds of emotionally grueling pages.
For readers ready to embrace the darkness and trust Kent’s vision, Sweet Venom delivers a powerful, unforgettable romance that will linger long after the final page. Just remember to have tissues handy and perhaps a comfort book ready for afterward—you’ll need both.
If You Loved Sweet Venom, Try These:
- God of Malice by Rina Kent – Another entry in Kent’s interconnected universe featuring morally complex antiheroes
- Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton – Intense stalker romance with dark psychological elements
- The Mindf*ck Series by S.T. Abby – Vigilante justice meets obsessive romance
- Vicious by L.J. Shen – Enemies-to-lovers with a revenge plot and hockey setting
- Ruthless People by J.J. McAvoy – Mafia romance with morally gray characters finding love in darkness
