This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Beautiful Venom and Sweet Venom on my blog, now! Contents warnings include: Depictions of mental illness such as bipolar disorder and manic episodes, as well as mentions and on-page descriptions of child sexual abuse. The story also features graphic violence, homophobia (both external and internalized), the death of a parent by suicide, and suicidal ideation. Kink elements involving consensual masochistic tendencies are present.
While not necessary to understand Marcus and Preston's story in Tempting Venom, I would recommend reading Kiss the Villain before embarking on this journey. This is simply due to the fact that events from Kiss the Villain take place prior to the events in this series and while there are no spoilers, some plot aspects mention relationships or events that readers should be aware of in order to make the most of this book.
There seems to be a phenomenon with Rina Kent in which her MM books are significantly better than her MF books - the characters are more fleshed out, relationship development seems to take place on a deeper level, and the obstacles/traumas that we see in these books go into more depth and are explored without being rushed. The tension between these characters are leagues above their MF counterparts, and it astounds me that after going through thousands of pages of secret society, mafia, and hockey romance, we only get to see a glimpse of what Kent is capable of with a handful of couples.
Preston is going through The Horrors in this book, both past and present, meanwhile Marcus is running around town chasing him down like his life depends on it. There is always somewhat of an imbalance between the leading characters in Kent's books - someone is always suffering more while one is always doing more of the chasing. At least with this installment, we were spared any initiations (which I cannot say for Beautiful Venom) - but rest assured, we did get a chase scene, as it would not be a Rina Kent book without someone either running for their life or being the predator. Marcus has this very intimidating energy surrounding him, and while readers only got glimpses of his personality in the previous two books, I appreciated the mystery surrounding him. On the completely opposite side of the scale, Preston appears to be unable to keep his mouth shut and is always on the move, whether it is terrorizing people or causing commotion, he speaks his mind and is refreshingly open about some of his struggles.
Marcus basically spends this entire book fussing over the fact that Preston does not remember something from their youth and takes out that frustration by what I would consider straight-up stalking the boy. Preston frankly does not seem to mind and at this rate, I would go far as to say that he makes his location known so it is easier for Marcus to find him. Preston has a number of moments in this book where you can see the toll of his own mental afflictions start to weigh on him - readers see him start to retreat into himself and as he dives deeper into this spiral, it affects not only his relationship with Marcus, but the relationships he has with his friends and his father.
Preston's backstory was absolutely heartbreaking and was making me nauseous by the time he recounted everything that happened to him from childhood until present moments. With the internal struggles he was facing, this is probably Rina Kent's more complex characters from any of her series, and while this is only my third series from her, I can without a doubt say it is one of her stronger books. As seen in the other two Vipers books, Preston loves to tease Dahlia by never referring to her by her correct name, and his friendship with Violet still comes through in this installment. Considering these books all overlap at some point, it was nice to see the other side of conversations and the fallout from actions that we did not get to see before.
Yes, this is a dark hockey romance book - no, you do not have to follow hockey in order for this series to make sense. I would dare say that the hockey does not even truly come into play in a serious manner in this series, with the exception of Jude, Preston, and Kane having their own little tussles on the ice or shining winning moments. The hockey aspect feels more like a plot driving force in order for the leading men of this series to have an outlet for their aggression, other than the fact that they literally kill people on the regular. These guys are so much like the Devil's Night series by Penelope Douglas, where the college basketball players in that town run around committing crimes left and right.
This trilogy ended on a high note, and with this third installment, I can safely say that it was before than its predecessors. Raw emotion, internal and external conflict, and some pretty solid spicy scenes allowed this book to pick up the slack from Dahlia and Kane's and Jude and Violet's relationships. With what feels like one hundred more Rina Kent books to get through, I can say that while I do not always fall in love with some of the relationships, she certainly will keep you entertained.
Looking for more Rina Kent? You can read my reviews of God of Malice, God of Pain, God of Wrath, God of Ruin, God of Fury, God of War, and Kiss the Villain on my blog, now!
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