Review: The Viper Queen Strikes
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 23, 2014
After escaping the Queen Viper’s hold during one of The Viper Rooms grand party, Joely and Jace manage to start a life together on the run. Moving from place to place, never stopping in one city or country for too long. Their peace seems to be a godsend, and the couple take advantage of the calm. But just when everything seems to be going smoothly, Clara strikes and rips Joely & Jace’s world to shreds.Back in Clara’s grasp, Joely has to do one thing… survive.I love the way we’re led into this second installment of the Viper series. After the stressful and dangerous game Jace & Joely play with Clara in the first book, it’s hard to see any type of future for those two. Yet, the start of The Runaway Viper fills the reader with a sense of hope for them. They’re given a moment to breathe, relax, and not have to constantly be looking over their shoulder. But don’t think they’re off the devil’s radar just yet! There's still that underlying fear and resistance to completely succumb to bliss, because Clara is still out there.Hunting and plotting.I could feel every emotion Joely was going through. I was just as anxious to find out what was going on with the club. I empathized with her when Clara stole her love away. A lot of emotions stir up from this book, and a lot of that emotion is raw and painful to read through. You can’t help but feel those tragic moments that J&J; spend apart as much as the beautiful seconds they spend together. Every word they speak about each other goes right to the heart.There was a good amount of time where Joely got reacquainted with the pit and I’m convinced it drove her a bit mad. Things that she said and her reactions weren’t sensible or beneficial. One scene in particular had me bug-eyed in shock and confused at her feelings toward the situation. I just had issues with the way she acted at times. With the treatment she was being given, who could blame her for going a little bonkers.“Clara may want me broken, but some parts of me are so impenetrable now, even she won’t win.”Overall I really liked the pacing of the novel, though it did seem to drag on a bit in the middle, that just adds to the empathy the reader feels for Joely. There were fast paced moments and then some calm ones.The end left me with a sense of fear. For Clara that is!Jace and co. have something up their sleeves and they’re not even close to being finished with the Viper Queen. I’m eagerly anticipating the final showdown for these characters in the third book, The Viper’s Bite.