Proceed With Caution:
This book contains blood, gore, violence, kidnapping, death, torture, dubious consent, and mentions of suicide, child abuse, and addiction.
The Basics:
Based on those content warnings, it's safe to say that Den of Vipers is definitely dark. It's a Reverse Harem Romance between one woman and four men. Roxy's father sells her to the Vipers to pay his debts. Needless to say, she's not happy with this situation, but she finds herself attracted to these brutal men and realizes that she's just as screwed up as they are.
My Thoughts:
Den of Vipers popped up in my recommendations because I had read two reverse harem series back to back, so I decided to give it a try. I enjoyed it, but it has its issues. I liked Roxy. She's a no nonsense chick, who isn't going to go willingly with the men who claim she's now theirs. She's even mouthy when being held hostage by the Vipers enemies! I just wish there had been some in-between emotion from her, because she went from hate to love almost instantly. Where was the conflicting emotions?! But this may have also been due to there being exactly zero timeline. Seriously, how much time has passed since the Vipers picked her up and the end of the book? I have no idea.
Den of Vipers is unnecessarily long. There is a lot going on, but it could have been way more concise, particularly in the beginning. Diesel's torture scenes were just extra. We get it, he's a psycho. I don't need to read that much blood and gore. It wasn't shocking or sexy. I kept thinking about how unsanitary it was, which is not likely the reaction the author was going for. Just get to the sex! There's several moments like that, where there's this long, drawn out scene that doesn't really do what it's suppose to do, and it detracts from the main story.
What I did like about Den of Vipers was this screwed up "reverse harem" relationship. I still think that term is stupid, but it gets the point across. Roxy is happily having mind-blowing sex with all four guys with no shame. I was disappointed that she never had sex with all four of them at once though (no DP!). I mean, there's a scene of all of them together, but she never has more than two of them at once. Total missed opportunity. But each guy is into something a bit different, so there's never the same sex twice!
It may seem like Den of Vipers is just a bunch of sex and violence, but there actually is a pretty good plot. It doesn't really show up full force until about two-thirds in, but it's hinted at in the beginning. Basically someone is selling their secrets and put a hit out on them. The Vipers have to find out who's talking and take out all of their enemies, because it's totally believable that four men and one woman can take out dozens of other men. But we're not here for believability, so I'll let that slide. Garrett also has an interesting personal plot, which would have been enough for me without the rival gang aspect added on.
In the end, Den of Vipers was an enjoyable read. There's possibly too much going on and it's not all handled the best, but it's an entertaining piece of work.