Venomous Kiss

by T.L. Smith

The night I catch my husband cheating is the night I stop pretending.

I don’t cry. I don’t scream.

I don’t get mad—I get even.

So I bring home another man.

A stranger with wicked eyes and a smile sharp enough to carve me open. I let him have me in the house I share with a liar.

A moment of weakness? Maybe.

A moment of revenge? Definitely.

But he saw me—the darkness, the hunger, the parts my husband hated—and he wanted more.

I ran before I could fall deeper into his abyss.

A year later, I crash one of the city’s most forbidden parties…

And land right back in the middle of his depraved world.

Only this time, he’s promised to another.

And he vows he’s not letting me go.

*Standalone*

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Romance, Smut, Crime, Contemporary, Adult

386 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2025

About the author

USA Today Best Selling Author T.L. Smith loves to write her characters with flaws so beautiful and dark that you can’t turn away from. Her books have been translated into several languages. If you don’t find her in her home town of Queensland, Australia you can usually find her travelling around the world to sitting on a beach in Bali, to exploring Alcatraz in San Francisco or walking the streets of New York.



Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authortlsmith/
Instagram - tlsmith1313
Twitter - @LsmithT
Tiktok - tlsmith.13

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

read & finished this in literally less than 24 hours.

THE SPICE.

EXCUSE ME.

JAW DROPPED.

specifically the plane scene bc lowkey that was really hot.

Thank you to the author for an early copy

[Yelena · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO UNEXPECTEDLY GOOD 😋

Psychopath Fmc who's crazy and married her husband merely because when he asked she didn't feel like killing him so she thought..why not BUT said husband is an asshole who cheats on her and she definitely took her payback with the Sexy unaliver Mmc who immediately get obsessed with her ( you get the vision right) I'm not going to say a lot just know that there's secret society things going on and some interesting plot twists.

Lilith she's so fucked up 😭 But I love her she's bold and strong and the way she had Reon wrapped around her fingers 👀 She's also so funny and hilarious.

Reon yall he might be one of my fav mmc this year for the simple fact that he gave me the best "my wife" scene I've ever read yuppp he was also soooo down bad for Lilith and he's not afraid of showing it:
“How could one forget a goddess so easily?”

“Come back. Please, say you’ll come back"

“Oh, yes, for you, I’m a begging man. For you, I’m a pleaser. Only for you, Caterpillar,” he croons, then he drops to his knees.”

Yes I was screaming and laughing and felt like I was drunk while reading this it was unhinged in a ..funny way the 4 stars solely for my entertainment READ.IT

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extra emphasis on DARK in this dark romance. Seriously both the MC’s are absolutely crazy.

She’s an absolute firecracker and he’s morally grey (maybe almost black tbh) but yet still the absolute sweetest to her. Everything about it just works.

I was not expecting the ending. 😅

This was a lot of fun, thank you so much to Hambright PR for the ARC!

[Heide · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started off good but was ridiculously horribly written and too predictable

[Annalise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like a psycho x psycho story but the writing and execution was not good sorry
I’m starting to think secret society is not the trope for me, I just find it all kinda stupid and unbelievable

[Morgan E · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated the fmc. Hated the mcc. This book just didn’t read well. I felt like I was reading a fan fiction the way things jumped around.

[Alexis Hughes · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Caterpillar…. Really. The writing was just not good. Yall will give 5 stars to anything with spice

[Vishous · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have no idea how to rate this. For most of the time this felt flat. I couldn't connect to it because for the first 50% it felt like reading a grocery list. Then I kinda just gave up and wanted to see how it will end. The idea was good but the execution just didn't deliver. It wasn't bed, it just missed feels.
And I can't lie, I just didn't vibe with her. She was the perfect example how someone thinks he's the smartest person in the room but he actually reeks of stupidity.
.

[MissPetiteBrunetteBookBlog · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Lilith catches her husband with someone else she decides two can play that game so she brings someone home too. Reon Holloway frequents the bar she goes to and is the lucky man Lilith chooses to get even with. One night may not be enough though…they are drawn to each other but who is Reon really? He might be a dangerous man but she is no innocent butterfly either. This is a dark romance and boy, one plane scene you’re going to be like WOW! A twisted tale of two people that are perfect for each other. It’s better to go into this one semi blind so I won’t say much more but if you enjoy a k*n|

[ariana ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i ate this up

[Tanya (bookishtanya) · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I take a shot every time he calls her caterpillar I would be dead with alcohol poisoning. The nickname came out of nowhere just after exchanging a few words.

I loved the concept of this book but it felt incoherent; like it was written by an angsty, horny teenager and the way some scenes felt like there was more to be said but changed subjects abruptly gave me whiplash. I was really excited to read about a psycho FMC falling for a psycho MMC but just because she calls herself fucked up every couple of pages it doesn’t actually make her psycho. Sure, she has murderous thoughts but she’s trying so hard to tell everyone she’s so weird and messed up that it gets repetitive and pretentious. Also getting turned on by blood doesn’t make her a psycho either. Also just because her father went to prison for murder it also doesn’t make her a psycho. And the fact that Reon (MMC) and Lilith (FMC) are both obsessed with each other without reason and without a story to explain it just makes it less believable. Another thing is that I’m not one to judge the plot in dark romance since it’s brain rot but if you’re gonna add a bunch of elements to make her look badass and to make him look like a mysterious bad guy then make it make sense. She can’t out of nowhere be a hacker, a stalker (even though she doesn’t actually stalk him, she just goes to the events where she knows he’s gonna be at), and fake her own identity when she didn’t have a cent on her. And then after some years of not talking to her dad they suddenly become besties because he murdered someone and she has murderous thoughts and she thinks she’s like that because of him. And then he suddenly tells her he left her a ton of money so one day she has no savings, the next day she has thousands and thousands of dollars just to make her seem interesting. And to add “plot” for the sake of it Reon is promised to another because he’s a member of a secret society that by age 30 they have to be married so they’re not taken advantage of. What? Only for him to keep denying his fiancé until he’s able to get rid of her in order to be with Lilith. And then when they decide to be together he calls his dick her boyfriend and that he wants to “mate with her for their entire lives, like butterflies”. In conclusion, did I read the same book as y’all?

This is not dark at all and y’all will give 5 stars to anything with spice even if it’s poorly written and the characters have no personality.

[Katie Bevins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look, I didn’t see this cover and think “oh this will be intellectually compelling” but good lord this book was all trope and feigned obsession with absolutely no reason or story to explain it. I was getting whiplash from all the Society members - one minute they’re immoral and the next we forgive them over and over. And how is Maya so desirable but then such an obsessed loser? The nickname CATERPILLAR?! I never want to read a steamy scene and hear someone being called “caterpillar” again holy god. The whole thing was giving touch starved.

[belleeelleelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Honestly, Lilith is the woman every man needs! 🤣 She’s sassy, straightforward, and gloriously unhinged. So what if she has a thing for blood? It only makes her more fascinating! I absolutely adored how Reon not only accepted but actively indulged her every dark impulse. Their connection is pure chaos—explosive, obsessive, and utterly addictive. This is exactly the kind of love I crave in a dark romances.❤️‍🔥

For those hesitant because the heroine is married at the start—don’t be! The novel doesn’t focus on infidelity. Instead, it serves as a potent reminder that actions have consequences. 😉

From the very first interaction, Reon and Lilith had eyes only for each other. Yes, there is a OW drama, but the author handles it perfectly without dragging it out. Reon is relentlessly categorical; his devotion is absolute. For him, only his Caterpillar exists, and he makes that blindingly clear.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚:
✨Revenge Romance
✨Secret Society
✨Billionaire Anti-Hero
✨Touch Her and Die
✨He Embraces Her Darkness
✨Stalker Vibes

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 @tlsmith1313 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚-𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠! 🖤

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 4.5/5 ⭐️ if Goodreads could do that 🤣 5/5 🌶️ 5/5 PLOT! I would describe
this as a Butcher and Blackbird meets L.O.R.D.S series. loved Lilith and her inexcusably way to draw Reon in with her unfiltered mouth. She is pure confidence and always a survivor.
Reon didn't have a chance when he met her in that bar. He was star struck and there was no way she was getting out of his hands.

TROPES ✨
Obsessive Love
Revenge Romance
Morally Gray
Forbidden Romance
Secret Society

[katapolt13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
ARC Review

I am so pleasantly surprised by this book, T.L. Smith is a new to me author so I wasn’t sure what I would think of this, but I loved it. This is a dark romance so make sure you read the content warnings for hopping in.

I am obsessed with Lilith’s character; she is so unapologetically her and I love it. I have to say I think my thoughts might be similar to hers if I saw what she saw with her husband.

I absolutely loved how obsessed both MMCs were with one another. Their chemistry was unmatched and I freaking loved every single minute of this. This book kept me guessing, I wasn’t sure where this was going to go the whole time.

✨ What to Expect ✨
💘 Obsessive Love
🔥 Revenge Romance
⚖️ Morally Gray
🚫 Forbidden Romance
🕰️ Secret Society
🔪 Stabby FMC
🎭 Hidden Identities

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

[Michellelovesreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book. I 10/10 recommend this book. I’m excited to read the next one.

Stars:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Florence Lavoie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanted to read a spicy book and I was SERVED 😛
Pretty fucked up story and you definitely can’t relate to the character’s lives but it’s a good page turner and the plot twist at the end is shocking! Really enjoyed reading that book.

[Mandyloves2read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was everything I crave in a scorching dark romance—raw, twisted, and sinfully addictive! Every time I think Tracy can’t possibly top her last masterpiece, she proves me wrong and completely wrecks me all over again. These characters? Pure obsession. The world she built is dark, dangerous, and dripping with sexual tension.

The MFC is just as unhinged as the MMC, and I lived for it! From the first chapter, I knew she was going to own me—she’s vindictive, a little petty, and absolutely unfiltered in the best possible way. Their chemistry? Off-the-charts insane. It’s toxic, passionate, and so blisteringly hot it should come with a warning label. I devoured every dark, delicious, steamy moment of it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Five stars and a cold-shower-needed kind of read!

[amina · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was so trash (and not even the good kind)

[natalia-marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever regretted reading a book more

[Aleksandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much T. L. Smith for sending me this ARC!

Venomous Kiss is a standalone Dark Romance book and omg I loved it so much, it was deliciously dark and twisted and unique among other books in this genre.

When Lilith finds her husband having sex with another woman in their house, she decides the best course of action is getting revenge by bringing a man home from a bar and making her husband watch them. But Reon is not just another man, he has been watching her for months and with them both having obsessive tendencies and twisted personalities, they can’t stay away from each other but with Reon’s involvement with a violent secret society and Lilith also having surprising ties to it, they need to decide whether to give in to the wicked attraction between them which comes at risk to their lives.

This book had me really intrigued ever since I first heard about it and damn, it was a wild ride from the beginning to the very end and I loved every second of it. Lilith was an amazing FMC, she was crazy at times, so clever and twisted and morally grey and Reon was the perfect partner for her, they were both equally obsessed with each other and more than a little unhinged at times and I loved that. Their relationship definitely wasn’t a typical one which made it even more interesting and had me guessing, they surprised me so many times and I loved how unique it felt. The secret society was also fascinating and I hope we will get books about some other members of it, I’m especially curious about two of them.

Venomous Kiss is a really great dark romance book that I definitely recommend to everyone who enjoys this genre, I can’t wait for the next book from this author!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes 😭😅 it was going so good until 75% onwards 😭 the ending was so rushed, there was massive amounts of text that just kept time jumping. Just a run down...

FMC comes home, bad guy in house, ex husband turns up, bad guy leaves, MMC turns up and shuts door on ex, MMC gets naked, aunt comes in sees MMC naked, MMC goes in shower (guessing aunt leaves). FMC gets in shower, FMC goes to bed and makes MMC sleep on sofa, morning, MMC is in FMC bed, FMC kicks him out, MMC leaves, ex phones raging, FMC in bathroom, FMC comes out and house is burning, Goes to bedroom and gets clothes and stuff, leaves, MMC turns up and takes her to his place not even questioning who set fire to her house. That's literally in one chapter and it was so disjointed I had no idea where I was.

And then at the end loads of stuff was just breezed over so quickly with no real explanation. It was almost like the author ran over a word limit, or the publisher made them cut loads out or ran out of time? I don't know. But it was so good up until then 😭

[thebeespot72 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author T.L. Smith has a way of hooking readers from the beginning, and that’s what she did with Venomous Kiss. I loved Lilith’s character immediately. Her no-nonsense attitude and how she dealt with her husband were outstanding. I didn’t want to put this book down. It’s the type of story I found myself talking out loud to. I got mad at Soren and Devin, too. And then at one point, I found myself wanting to slow down, because I wanted to savor the story longer. I loved the type of secret society Reon was involved in, and the idea of the Hunt is done differently than in other books I’ve read. Venomous Kiss has some edge, with Lilith being drawn to and having dark thoughts, but she meets her match with Reon, and I loved that for her.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this within 24 hours!

Honestly, I didnt know that this was a dark romance before I started, but I recommend to other people to read the trigger warnings. Both MC's are crazy, which was really fun in many ways. I only hated the nickname. the MMC had for the FMC throughout the book, but thats a minor detail.

[Lawlah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good! Both the MMC and FMC are morally grey, and I’ve been anticipating it ever since TL Smith first shared a snippet on TikTok, it did not disappoint. The book ate!

It has morally grey main characters, secret society, and a billionaire MMC. I really loved how the author explored Lilith’s struggles with her identity and how she eventually came to terms with it. And Reon? He’s absolutely obsessed with Lilith, and I loved every moment of it.

All the characters in this book delivered, and the spice? Through the roof, especially chapters 3 and 6 (you’ll just have to read it to know 👀🔥).

This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 star) read for me, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to the author and Hambright PR for this ARC.

[destiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

arc review to come 🖤

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed a quick dark romance in between my usual reads. I can carry on now

[Jahda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started off strong towards the end it felt rushed and messy but I enjoyed the characters.

[Amanda Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reno & Lilith where to even start! Wow… what fire 🔥

Absolutely fall in-love with these 2. The chemistry is off the charts. Loved it!

They have been watching each other from a far for a while now, when Lilith walks in on the biggest betrayal of all.

This push & pull romance begins & 2 worlds collide & the need to want each other takes over.

Dark romance written by T L Smith! Definitely recommend this book 🙌🏻 Thank for another great read! Knocked this one off in 4.5 hours 🤣