I did enjoy this audiobook however, my main gripe is the male narrator, I had a bit of difficulty getting used to him and the way he did the female speaking voice.

But the book itself is an intriguing vampire book. I really enjoyed the last 30% but felt that there was some tension missing in the beginning. It just felt flat to me and I think it was the chemistry. I never really felt that there was a lot of chemistry between the two main characters even tho there were some spicy scenes and it’s sad because the plot makes them have the most enjoyable hatred fuelled moments but then when they kiss after it just didn’t feel right.

I do like how the plot captivated me though. The whole concept of a snake inspired fantasy is interesting and I think I will continue this series but at a later date, I do want to see how the two main character’s relationship develops.

A sickness has plagued humankind - everyone is sick or dying. Well, everyone except Larisa. In a world where species other than humans exists, this poses an issue to those species that consume humans or their blood as their food source. Larisa's king makes a desperate deal with Kingsnake, the the King of Vampires and Lord of Darkness to save his kingdom. This deal includes the king providing them with a group of healthy humans, and Larisa, to feed on. By doing this, the vampires have promised to never return.

As Kingsnake's prisoner, Larisa begins to see that not all vampires are vile killing machines. As she tries to figure out why she's immune to this epidemic, she discovers some wild secrets and it all snowballs from there...

I really enjoyed this title! I will say that I was a little apprehensive to read it because vampires aren't usually my jam, but the author did really well with how she portrayed them. I actually really liked how she wrote in snakes as part of becoming a vampire. It's an interesting twist/take on vampires. If you like paranormal romance, or want to venture into the realm of vampire romance, this is a really good place to start!

Also - the audiobook is wonderful! I love a good dual POV - especially when it's enemies to lovers!

Thank you to Penelope Barsetti, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

If you’re looking for a romance story with fantasy elements, romantic tension, and ‘spice’ this is a fun easy read. If you’re looking for an intricate plot elements, fantastic world building, and thorough character development this is not the book for you. It’s a cute spicy fantasy romance that’d I’d recommend to romantasy readers.

An interesting take on a vampird tale and a nice start to a series. I do hope there iw more world building in future installments, but the story does have good appeal.

This book is the first of a series, but has no world building whatsoever. You are kind of just thrown into the story where the world is plagued by a sickness and only one girl's blood is safe. The characters are well-crafted, each with their own distinct personalities and motivations, especially the snake itself. I really want to know what the deal with the snake is lol

One of the strengths of the book is its exploration of deeper themes such as power, control, and the blurred lines between love and obsession. It is such a thin line in this book, you don't really know what the characters want. Pacing can be uneven at times, with some sections feeling rushed while others drag on a bit too long, with that being said the narrator did a great job keeping up with the book.

If you are a fan of darker, more complex vampire stories, you will likely find this particular title engaging.

I gave this a 3.5 stars

I enjoyed this new take on vampires. The relationship with Fang and Larissa was lovely. And Kingsnake was great too. I’m interested to see where the story goes next.

Bite the Woman that Feeds by Penelope Barsetti is the first book in the Dirty Blood series. The narrators do a good job with the characters. I like that there are 2 so that it can help differentiate. Overall it was a solid 3.5 stars.

This book takes you to a fantasy world where the humans have some sort of sickness that is killing them off. One woman seems to be immune to it. She was supposed to marry the prince before his brother passed and he now is in line for the throne. She is offered by the man she thought she was going to marry to Kingsnake, King of Vampires, as food with a promise that the vampires do not return. This is an emery to lovers tale. As they spend more time around each other the tension builds and so does their understanding of each other.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own. #NetGalley # Penelope Barsetti #DirtyBlood

Can I tell you what King snake looked like? No, I know he's got snake eyes and a fat dick......because it is said frequently. Do not worry tho it's not just fat. It's massive really.
Lol but really
If you like quick and to the point ...and we'll vampires boy do I have the book for you.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to finish Bite the woman that feeds due to personal matter, although I slightly enjoyed what I was able to “read”.
The world was unique, but the overall story wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audio ARC.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

A human girl who's immune to the sickness ravaging the world is kidnapped by the vampire king... need I say more? A steamy, enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies story where she falls for Kingsnake and befriends his huge snake sidekick, Fang.

Alright, let's discuss this book. It is the first in a series about a vampire king named Kingsnake, who has taken a mortal woman named Larissa as his captive. Larissa possesses a unique immunity to a deadly plague that affects both humans and vampires. Kingsnake "manipulates" Larissa into biting her, and then having sex with her. Additionally, Larissa can read people's emotions, which is a pretty neat trait to have. The elf people want to take Larissa because of her special abilities, but we do not know the reason behind her uniqueness until the final chapter. The book mainly focuses on these plot points, as well as the steamy sex scenes that occur frequently throughout the book. However, the sex scenes are repetitive and poorly written, and the constant mention of certain body parts gets annoying. Despite these flaws, the book has the potential for an interesting world-building if the series continues. Overall, I would say it is an okay vampire book, with a guilty pleasure aspect to it.

I have really mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand I think it’s a unique world that Barsetti has created, and the catalyst to this story is one I haven’t seen before. Larissa is a determined and stubborn young woman who is immune to a plague which has ravaged her Kingdom. However, what was a gift becomes a curse when the vampires who live in the region come to understand that Larissa’s blood is untainted by the plague which has been destroying their food source. Kingsnake, the cold and defensive ruler of the vampires takes Larissa in order to feed, and also try to create a cure to the plague from her blood.

Larissa and Kingsnake do, of course, become closer and closer through their reluctant alliance, but the contempt they have for each other is strong and palpable making for a tense tale. I also love the typical trope in this type of story where the immortal man who hasn’t felt in so long grows to care for the mortal woman and in turn falls back in love with life etc etc etc. The narrators of this audiobook also did a fantastic job, although Kingsnake’s accent was a little jarring at first…

My BIGGEST issue with this book, which I see more often than I’d like, is the use of modern-day terminology in fantastical historical settings. Larissa and Kingsnake both use present-day words, and it would take me out of the story and irritate me every time it happened (which was maybe 10-12 times). I also grew tired of the long smut scenes which felt like they were occurring every other chapter by the second half of the book. I am definitely not against these scenes in general, and even feel some of them were critical to showing the changing nature of Larissa and Kingsnake’s relationship, but they felt gratuitous (though for who I'm not sure...) by the end because of their frequency.

This book had me in a chokehold. I was not sure where it was going at first but I was along for the ride.

Enemies to Lovers
Snake Companion
Let’s make a deal
Dark fantasy romance
Vampire king
Strong FMC

I'll start by saying that I enjoyed the fast pace of the story, as well as the king's pet (familiar?) snake, who knows how to speak to certain people and play poker. It's kind of odd, but he's protective and smart and definitely my favorite character.

The world building was really lacking, the romance seemed rushed and not very believable, and the sex scenes were bad. I found them boring and repetitive, plus the way they were narrated didn't help. The ending was dumb and I guess it's supposed to be a cliffhanger, but I don't care to read the sequel.

I had the audiobook for this one and didn't love the narrators. Maybe the material was the main issue, but I thought the man sounded pretty flat and the woman was sort of whiny and too modern for the fantasy setting.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the copy.

Larissa and Kingsnake (hated that name btw 😂) have a very complicated relationship. There’s plenty of that possessive MMC vibes as the Vampire King and Larissa had lots of annoying, snarky banter that she used to piss off everyone until they loved her.

There were a few plot holes that weren’t really explained that I am hoping the second book will shed some light on. Like the mind reading thing, or emotion reading. That was never explained and we just had rooms “catching on fire” with no idea why or what the deal was.

You Harry Potter fans will probably enjoy a little friendship with a big, poisonous snake 🐍

Thanks to #NetGallery and publisher for a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Format: Audio
POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Age suggestion: 18+

Was this fun? Absolutely. Will I read the next one? Definitely.

However, the writing is WILD. It's a horse-riding, sword-wielding world, but our FMC wants to describe her relationship with the MMC as "frienemies". This is just one instance of a bunch of juxtaposition in setting, dialogue, and plot. Go into this knowing that this is NOT the next great romantasy. Go into knowing that half of it doesn't make sense. Some of us are just here for very silly erotica.

An amazing audiobook from an amazing author. As someone who is friends with a lot of narrators this one was especially enjoyable

Bite the Woman that Feeds is a dark, vampire romance. This definitely felt like a standard romantasy.

I really enjoyed the royalty aspect and, for the most part, getting to know these characters. I enjoyed the paranormal creatures that were introduced, and I felt that they were well done.

I enjoy a good grumpy MC. However, I am starting to feel like that many books are writing the grumpy xx sunshine characters similar.


to Me, the pacing was on the slower side.

I still enjoyed the story and the dark, Medieval atmosphere. S will continue with the series to see if I will enjoy them more or about the same.

HOLY WOW! WHAT A STORY! I loved this book and the audio was great! Amazing storytelling and I absolutely cannot wait for book 2! This was my first Penelope Barsetti book and will not be my last!