Rivals on opposite sides of the rink who can't stay that way once the season's over. Here's an honest look at the Vipers world's second dark college hockey romance.
Contents
The Premise
As an Amazon Associate, Crimson Pages earns from qualifying purchases made through the links in this article — at no extra cost to you.
Sweet Venom continues Rina Kent's Vipers world, moving the dark college hockey romance forward with a new pairing built on rivalry. True to the enemies-to-lovers playbook, the two leads start the book on opposite sides of a conflict the sport itself keeps forcing them back into contact over.
Why the Rivalry Framing Earns Its Keep
Enemies-to-lovers lives or dies on whether the "enemy" half is actually load-bearing, and a rink rivalry gives Sweet Venom a built-in, structural reason for the leads to keep colliding — no contrivance needed to put them in the same room. Kent's dark, possessive register does the rest, turning every on-ice confrontation into something that reads as charged rather than purely adversarial well before either character admits it out loud.
Who This Is For
Readers already in the Vipers world from Beautiful Venom, or anyone who wants dark college sports romance with a clean enemies-to-lovers structure. As with the rest of Kent's catalog, expect on-page heat and dark romance's usual intensity.
The Verdict
Sweet Venom is a strong follow-up if Beautiful Venom worked for you — the rivalry setup gives this entry a sharper enemies-to-lovers edge than a lot of dark sports romance manages.
Tracking every enemies-to-lovers book you finish this season? Our Reading Journal has a trope log built for exactly that.
You Might Also Like
- Beautiful Venom: Book Review — Rina Kent's Dark Hockey Romance
- Enemies to Lovers Dark Romance: Where to Start
- Possessive Heroes in Dark Romance, Ranked
Love a rivalry that turns into something else? Join The Vault — new picks land in your inbox every week.
