Viper's Dream by Jake Lamar was a well-written and well-sequenced tale of resilence during the Harlem Renaissance with organic plot points and well thought out storylines. I absolutely love the cover!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for accepting my request to read and review Viper's Dream.

Narrator: Leon Nixon

Four solid stars. This is my hands down goto genre, historical fiction.

I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator, Leon Nixon.

This is midcentury Harlem. The drugs, and oh boy the drugs to choose from. There was the mention of Jazz greats, wow. The storylines/mentions surprised me. I'm loving going away from WW II. The historical elements in Viper's Dream flow seamlessly through Viper's storyline.

All the characters were likeable and I had empathy for everyone.

The author has written using language of the time. At first it was uncomfortable and distracting. I understood and saw the reasoning for his choices. I paused and put my head into the historical elements and enjoyed the storytelling.

I didn't like the ending and found it farfetched; thus four stars.

<b>Actual Rating 2.5</b>

TW: Drug Use/Addiction, Gang Violence

Clyde Morton set out from Alabama in 1936 for Harlem, assured by his uncle that he’ll be the next greatest jazz musician. But soon after his arrival, he learns that his talents lie elsewhere. He soon becomes caught up in the nightlife of Harlem, including the drugs and the violence, and makes his living from these things. Over the coming years, he must decide what he’s going to fight for and what he must leave behind.

This work was set in Harlem during the 1930s and the following decades, so there are plenty of terms used that are considered vulgar and offensive today but were a part of everyday life then. This is the same with the characters’ thoughts on queerness and traditional gender views, which are also included in this read. I liked how well the author incorporated all of these things in a way that was true to the setting but never felt excessive.

It felt like the author’s focus wasn’t on the characters, but was more on the music, drugs, and crime in Harlem at this time. While there was plenty of interesting information included regarding these topics, it left me wanting much more from the characters and a bit more from the plot. If you’re looking for well-developed female characters, this isn’t the read for you.

I listened to the audiobook version of this work and the narrator did an excellent job. However, this version didn’t have an author’s note, and I’m not sure if the physical copy does. I would have loved to have one explaining the author’s inspiration for the story, where the separation of fact from fiction is, and maybe even some of the resources the author used for research.

I was surprised by the open-ended conclusion of this read, but it left me satisfied. The writing style won’t be liked by everyone – there are times when it lacks emotion and descriptiveness, but surprisingly, I still found myself immersed in this read. If you enjoy grittier, noir historical fiction, you’ll likely enjoy this read. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I would classify it more as Historical Fiction/Drama than a Mystery/Thriller but I really enjoyed it regardless. If you’re into historical fiction that takes place during the Harlem Renaissance, you’ll like this!

This was a sad read for me. I have often wondered how people get into dealing drugs and that life and now I have at least 1 perspective. This was my 1st book by Jake Lamar and I will def read another book by him.

#VipersDream
#NetGalley

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Really interesting read, I would have liked it a little more detailed/longer but very enjoyable. The narrator had a wonderful voice.

I fell in love with Viper even though he is problematic. He is just so cool and the narrator is omg his voice is so smooth and I could listen to him read a phone book.
The history in this book was also perfection. This is brutal though. Like so brutal.