A Generation of Vipers

Shifter Shield #1.5

by Margo Bond Collins

Capturing the killer who was stalking the shapeshifter community should have earned weresnake Lindi Parker and her new boyfriend, mongoose-shifter Kade Nevala, a vacation. Instead it earned them a basket of baby lamias and a whole heap of trouble. Someone in the shifter community doesn’t want those infants—or Lindi—to survive. Not knowing who or what they can trust, Kade and Lindi must use every skill they have to stop a killer—again.

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

87 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2016

About the author

USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times bestselling author Margo Bond Collins is a former college English professor who, tired of explaining the difference between "hanged" and "hung," turned to writing romance novels instead. She now writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and science fiction romance. Sometimes her heroines kiss aliens, sometimes they kill monsters. But they always aim for the heart.

You can learn more about her at http://www.MargoBondCollins.ink and follow her on all the usual social media outlets:

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/margobon...

Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.ink

Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin

Google+: https://plus.google.com/1164845554481...

Reviews

[Tera Comer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I obtained this book when I bought Cursed: The Beast of Summer and Just as the first book the story line flows perfectly and this one leaves off somewhat were Under Her Skin leaves off with Lindi and Kade's story. I love how this book is based off of different shifter types than the normal ones that are in books.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great follow-up to Under Her Skin. The story is full of action, shape-shifting, and humor. I had been left wanting to know more of what happened after the first book ended. Although you can read this as a stand-alone book and not be lost, I would highly recommend that you read the first book, Under Her Skin. I look forward to more adventures with Lindi and Kade!

[Ms. Cyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but good

Lindi is much stronger than most shifters. Many are scared of her and the unborn lamias. I can't blame them for the fear, but attacking pregnant women is not the answer. This was action packed, pulled on my heart strings and a bit mysterious. Some important questions came up that will hopefully be answered eventually. Although this was a quick read, I really got i to it. The best part was the baby.

[Shayay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the first book in this series, and the author said this could be read as a standalone, so I thought I'd go ahead and read this, which I suppose it could be read as a standalone, but I think I would have really benefitted from reading the first book because I didn't really feel a connection to the characters, or really a connection between the characters themselves. With that being said, I still loved the snake shifter aspect, and that there are a lot of different types of shifters that don't really get written about, such as a were-mongoose and a were-squirrel. I enjoyed the writing, and I liked the action parts. When Lindi is in snake form, I find it really cool that she kicks butt by using snake attributes. I wasn't really feeling the connection between Kade and Lindi, which I was hoping would come across more, but I found their scenes together lacking, and there is a scene where Lindi is in some trouble, and I just didn't feel like Kade felt strongly for Lindi; maybe if I would have read the first book, I would understand them together better. I did like both characters though, so maybe since the book was short, the connection between them didn't come across to me, and they do have a couple of cute moments; when she is in snake form with Kade, it is so cute! In this book, Lindi is dealing with the pregnant women from the first book, who were raped, so they would have snake shifter babies, and since the women have chosen not to keep the babies, Lindi is going to be sort of an adoptive mom to all these possible snake shifter babies, but someone is out to kill all the babies, so Lindi needs to find a way to protect the babies, and she also worries about being there for the babies. I'm not a huge fan of books that the focal point is babies, so I wasn't in love with that part of this story, but I still enjoyed the other aspects of this story, and I was entertained and interested the whole time reading this book, so I do look forward to reading the next book in the series to see how this series develops, and I'm also looking forward to reading the first book in the series, so I can learn more about Lindi because I enjoyed her as a character!

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindi Parker and Kade Nevala are still dating, but they have a new issue… babies. Not their own.
Plus, Lindi has to take time out to train for her new Shield role, and still try to keep up with her day job.

Even after almost four years at the CAP - C , working with abused and damaged children , the sex - abuse cases never failed to horrify me . I guess that was good — the day I stopped feeling that sickening combination of revulsion and heartbreaking sorrow was the day I had lost my ability to help the children I had trained to serve . (pp. 21-22).

All made more complicated when Hank keeps calling council meetings to vote on decisions the council has already voted on; mostly relating to Lindi being on it. And still around.

Hank was also a squirrel - shifter , prone to , as Kade said , " Chattering and scolding . " I would have dismissed the squirrel , if not for the fact that he apparently had the werewolves backing him up on this . (pp. 11-12).

The greatest issue is that some of the women forced to breed lamias are coming up to their due dates. Lindi wants to help, but she doesn’t think she’s ready to be a mother.
That is, until someone attacks one of the women and brings on early labour.
***
Baby snake shifters? Dawww…
A novella length - about 60 pages. So a quick read… and with more babies on the way I’m interested to keep up with Kade and Lindi.
4 stars

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story follows directly upon the full length book that started this series so I can't be too specific about what happened in this story itself.

What I can say is: mongoose and snake continue dating. Continue in their different jobs (doctor; child therapist). And, wait for it - the big evil in this story? Squirrel. Yes, a weresquirrel. hehe. Okay okay, no, really, the people who 'attack' physically in this story are werewolves and a large werebear. The weresquirrel is strongly opposed, actively working against, the lead character in this story (the female snake, Lindi).

Okay, so, to line things up: weresnake = lamia = Lindi, child therapist and lead character who is dating a weremongoose = Dr. Kade. Werebadger is Janice who leads the shifter council. Werecoyote is . . . um, what was his name, Eduardo? Something like that - head of Shield which acts as the defense/police of the shifters (and Ed is training Lindi). Weresqurriel is Hank (I think that's his name). Werewolves and werebear are physical attackers - the bear's name gets mentioned but isn't important.

On the sex front: on two occasions sex almost broke out but got stopped for 'reasons'. Unless I missed it, no sex occurs in this story.

Rating: 3.77

May 29 2017

[Bella Doerres · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Generation of Vipers by Margo Bond Collins
When one of the young women carrying the Lumia off spring rescued by Lindi and the shifters is attacked and beaten the birth of her baby is eminent. Fearing that the mother or child might be lost Lindi rushes to the hospital. She had no way of knowing how she would feel seeing this child and wondering if the child will be a shifter or human child. Lindi isn’t prepared for love at first sight. Now she must protect this baby from those that don’t understand her and make sure that she is raised in an environment of love and understanding as she had been. An attack at the hospital causes the child to shift early and turn into a baby Lumia. Lindi faces this challenge head on and must deal with finding out that keeping secrets isn’t always possible. New challenges face her and the doctor and they both have to find out if this new human involved will be a friend or a foe. When the worst happens Lindi discovers that motherhood may not be just by birth. This fast-paced story will keep you turning pages so start reading it early I stayed up all night reading this one.

[OneDayI'll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold blooded doesn't mean not maternal

Being a dual natured shifter is stressful enough. Add in a day job being a counselor to abused children and it gets hectic. Now people (read reptile hating shifters) are out to kill off the babies that are already going to be facing off against so many obstacles and you've just hit the level of fun and frantic that our h is facing. Oh, and she has complete responsibility for all these shifter babies, too, since she's the only known adult lamia. Let's not add in the prejudiced squirrel, whining wolves and the killer kodiac because this poor lady's dance card is already full!

I am loving this series. There is an intriguing plot, enough action to keep it moving and heart. Thankfully, even though it involves shifters there isn't insta-love. These are people, they just happen to be able to shift into an alternate animal form. (People are animals, too!)

[Meleeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept creative world building

I have read a lot of shifter books so I was prepared for a little of the same old thing. Luckily I was pleasantly surprised. The author has certainly done her research and implement it in the book. But the kicker was putting two shifters in a relationship even though their animal sides are natural enemies. Check it out.

[Shoulanda August · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

I love this storyline but this one was to short. It picked up right where it left off and that was great. More problems with being the only weresnake. Shifters trying to take out innocent babies. Action packed with great details, descriptions, and fighting

[Carly Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a super fast read (obviously - it's a novella) and I guess I'm glad I read it, but if you don't read it you won't miss anything that isn't summed up in More Than Skin Deep in a couple of sentences.

[Katherine Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and different

This is urban fantasy romance. Not unusual, right? Yes there are werewolves, bread and felines but let’s add-in squirrels, insects, birds and, wait for it, the main characters are a weresnake and weremongoose. Awesome! Highly recommend!

[T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novella was less than 60 pages. Was A Generation of Vipers worth 99c for such a small novella? I suppose so-- it was a cute little story and a fun continuation of book 1.

[Lucinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book of the series that I read. I can't wait to read more. Kade is interesting and Lindi is definitely interesting! I can't wait to find out more about her. I haven't read many books about weresnakes and find it a different concept. A definite must read.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

A group of women had been victimized and impregnated in an ill-conceived criminal plot to increase the number of weresnake shifters. After their rescue, some of them chose to have the babies, even though they would not be keeping them, which is where this book continues from the previous one. Lindi, a lamia or weresnake herself, was to be the children’s counselor in the group home that would be set up for them. She was worried about this new responsibility. With one of the women having quadruplets, this could turn into quite a large number of children depending on her guidance. And not everyone on the Council wanted to include the lamias in the shifter community, thereby denying them all rights and fair treatment.

While filling out paperwork for her job at the child protective agency, Lindi was listening to a recording. She heard what sounded like an additional body breathing on the recorder. They had the recording analyzed but could not identify the source of the sound. Lindi’s phone rang and she stepped away. Dr. Kade Nevala told her that Marta, one of the pregnant women, had just been attacked and they needed to risk delivering the baby early. Both mother and child survived, but had a long recovery ahead.

Lindi showed up to visit the baby in the NICU at the hospital when an alarm sounded. Someone had broken in to the secure area. Shifters dropped from the ceiling and Lindi and the nurse fought to defend the newborn lamia. Who was launching this attack to kill the babies? How could Lindi protect them all from harm? And why was this happening? Drawing on her shifter magic, Lindi envisioned the gigantic snake she would have to become to fight off the bear and two wolf shifters attacking them.

This was a really good book that I highly recommend. The action pulled the reader along in solving the puzzle of the strange recorded sound and in pondering why someone wanted the babies killed at all costs. It was exciting, wondering how Lindi was going to deal with her new responsibility. It certainly promised to bring a big change into her life! I received a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Serroi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good short story

Margo Bond Collins delivered a nicely written short story. I wished it was longer because it felt like it wrapped up fast in the end. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Seraphia Bunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** I received a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review of it. All of the opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. ***
A Generation of Vipers by Margo Bond Collins is Book 2 in her Shifter Shield series. Now in saying that this book is by definition a short Novella, meaning that it is way shorter and just an in-betweener for the time being. In this story we catch up with Lindi and Kade as they deal with the women who were the victims of the killer in the shape shifter community. Now they are dealing with all of the women who were raped and impregnated with potential lamia babies helping the women deal with their pregnancies so that they can move on with their lives. But there are some shape shifters in the community who are against the babies even being born at all and will take steps to ensure that they don’t.
Despite how short this story was I really enjoyed it. Kade and Lindi are opposites but you can tell that they really click together and Lindi is such an awesome character. She loves her job and is good at it and does the best that she can and wants to really be there for these women as they go through this hard time. There are a couple of humorous moments in this story that help lighten it up a bit when it gets a bit dark but it’s a really engaging read and I really enjoyed it. I’m really looking forward to the next book in this series and can’t wait to get my claws on it. I give this book, despite how short it was and leaving me craving more…5 out of 5 stars. Because hey…that’s what a good book is supposed to do right? Leave you wanting more. Especially if it’s part of an ON-GOING series. ;-) Two thumbs up to the author.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this series

It's an unusual world with a fascinating main character, the plots are new and different and the intimate/family relationships feel both real and warmly loving. I also like the fact even though the MC is one of kind, she's not a mary sue and she has reasonable emotional responses to difficult or dangerous situations. I've read too many books in this genre lately where the heroine is only able to whine, scream, cry or lash out when she gets upset, so Lindi being a strong, sane female was very welcome. There are some minor issues for me. First off, we don't know much about Dr. Kade Navala, the love interest, other than he's handsome, he and Lindi are deeply attracted to one another, he's bright, responsible and has a lot of self-control and is a very compassionate doctor. We also know he has a large family but Lindi doesn't seem to have met them yet. So he still feels like a bit of a placeholder rather than an actual person, and that's odd given how much I got to know about Lindi's parents and their relationships as a family, even though they have far fewer scenes than Kade does.

It also seems odd that in formal Council meetings, shifters are allowed to call Lindi names and refer to her as a thing who ought to be killed. Why doesn't the Council think that allowing her to be treated like verbally that can be taken as covert permission to abuse her physically? Surely that should have been halted after Lindi joined the Shield?

Those are minor concerns, though, as the book as a whole is well-written and very enjoyable.

[Marisa]

Amazon - 16/02/2017

[Lyn Mckenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!!! I loved this book, it was so unbelievably addictive, it is a serious page turner and I would love to read more!
I think the thing that I loved most about this book was the diversity of the were-animals, it was really unique to read about all the different variations.
The world in which this is set in is written so descriptively and imaginatively that it captures your attention from the first page to the last, I found myself gutted when it ended.
The characters are also so well written, although this is a novella, you really see into the characters lives, their pasts, their hopes and their dreams and hoes for the future. Lindi is such a brilliant character, especially as the book goes on. You see a glimpse of how hard her past has been but she still wants the best of herself and the people she cares about, she is such a protective and nurturing person.
This is the ultimate must read, I cant wait to read more of this authors work!!!

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always a little reluctant to read short stories because I like longer books. I'm really glad, though, that I went ahead and read this. The story was well-written, fast-paced, and left me wanting more by this author. The interaction between characters was great, and I felt I got to know them very well. Humor also made this book an enjoyable read. To be completely honest, this is my first story by this author, and I think I would have benefited from reading the first one in this series before reading this one. However, this story intrigued me enough I have obtained the first and am looking forward to reading it. Don't hesitate in picking this story up: it's a good introduction to the author and it is very, very enjoyable! Highly recommend!

Thanks to the author for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review. This exact review will be posted on both Amazon and Goodreads.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Generation of Vipers" is a great follow up novella to "Under Her Skin," book one in the Shifter Shield series. Lindi and Kade are dealing with the aftermath of rescuing ten rape victims from an evil killer intent on replenishing the labia species. Four of the women have elected to have the babies but not keep them. So, the council has elected to build a center to house and raise the babies; however, some of the shifters are out for blood and want them and Lindi dead.

Kade and Lindi are not about to allow anyone to hurt these babies and when Lindi gets one look at Serena, the first baby born, she realizes that her maternal instincts brought out by love will stop at nothing to keep her safe. I really enjoyed this short story. It reveals a softer side to Lindi and promises more exciting situations for Lindi and Kade to come. I can't wait for the second book that is do in April.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Generation of Vipers is a quick satisfying read for readers already fans of Ms. Collins’ “Shifter Shield” series. In it, we’re given a quick and fast story about Lindi, Kade, and the aftermath of the pregnancies that were discovered at the end of the first book (Under Her Skin). I was happy to have an “in-between” story to read in anticipation for the 2nd full book of the series. I love the growing relationship between Lindi and Kade, as well as the progression of events that I’m sure will be drawn out into more detail in the 2nd book (which cannot get here fast enough). I wouldn’t recommend this story as a standalone – although the author gives brief explanations, it’s still not enough information for new readers to get a real sense of the background. All in all, very good novella.

[Christine Karmelreads2665 W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby Love

Originally read this story in the bundle entitle, "Curse". It is the continuation of the saga "Under Her Skin". It can be read as a standalone but it is better if you read the first book to get the back story.

Lindi and Kade will be brought into a messy issue regarding vipers. Lindi will have to make some sacrifices to do the right thing. This novella will keep the story slithering on to the next book.

Eagerly awaiting the next story in this saga.

Received this book in exchange for an honest review from the author.

[Sophie Koufes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Generation of Vipers is a continuation of Under Her Skin. You will definitely want to read Under Her Skin too. This writing style is descriptive and unique. The story line flows through perfectly from the first book to this one. The character's are realistic and likable. I love this book. So if you have not read Under Her Skin make sure you grab it. I was given a free copy in exchange for a honest review.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really quick read and follow up to Under Her Skin. I really felt like I got to know Lindi in this story and am looking forward to others in this series...even though I am a little unsure about snake-shifters overall. I really was intrigued by how much Lindi wants to be there for all of the soon to be born possible snake shifters. I will most likely pick up the next one in the series to see what happens when all the rest of the little ones are born.

[sherri jones-teachout · Rating 5 out of 5]

The saga continues. This story is about what happened to the women who were kidnapped and impregnated with the lamia DNA. Kade and Lindi must determine how to deal with all of the lamia babies soon to be born. There are shifters who fear these babies, and will hurt anyone who gets in the way of their attempts to harm the mothers and stop the babies from being born. This was a great follow up to Under Her Skin, and continues from where that story ended. Loved this novella.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this in exchange for an honest review.

I love the interaction in between Kade and Lindi. They are two people who technically shouldn’t work, but do. This short story does a semi decent job of explaining the back story of the book, but those who haven’t read it may be a little lost and disconnected. I love the continuation though and hope the author does another book for the couple.

[Elizabeth Lech · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This collection was wonderful. Wings Over New York was so emotional. To End the Rapture had me wishing for more. Vipers was really interesting. Actually I wanted more of most all of the stories. Writers please get working on continuing the stories!!
I was given a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Linz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that under her skin was great and couldn't wait for the next book so to get this short story to make the wait more bearable was great. I thought this book was a great read too and has just made me impatient for more of the series