Kiss of the Basilisk (Standard Edition): A Split or Swallow Novel (Split or Swallow, 1)

Kiss of the Basilisk (Split or Swallow, Book 1)

Author: Lindsay Straube

Genre: Romantasy / Dark Fantasy Romance

Book Rating: ⭐ 8.5/10

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 5/5

Description

Twenty-year-old Temperance “Tem” Verus has never been kissed—but that's about to change.

Tem is selected as one of fourteen women competing for the hand of a prince. To have any chance of winning, she'll need to learn the art of seduction—and that's where the basilisks come in.

Tem is paired with Caspen, the powerful and dangerously alluring Serpent King, who is supposed to prepare her to capture the prince's attention.

Instead, Caspen captures hers.

What begins as training develops into a forbidden connection that threatens everything Tem is supposed to want. She's caught between the prince she's competing to marry and the serpent king who awakens desires and feelings she never expected.

Meanwhile, tensions between humans and basilisks are growing, and secrets surrounding the royal family threaten to change everything Tem believes about the competition—and her place within it.

Now her heart is divided between two powerful men, and her choice could have consequences far beyond romance.

Dark, seductive, and unapologetically spicy, Kiss of the Basilisk blends royal competition, dangerous creatures, forbidden attraction, and a high-stakes love triangle into an addictive fantasy romance.

Tropes / Mood

Love Triangle • Fantasy Competition • Serpent King • Human × Basilisk • Forbidden Attraction • Dangerous Mentor • Seduction Lessons • Royal Romance • Prince Love Interest • Morally Gray Love Interest • Court Intrigue • Monsters & Humans • High Tension • Dark Romantasy • Extreme High Spice