Venom · 2016
Passion & VenomSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by Shanora Williams, S. Williams
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 8 trigger warnings flagged
Passion & Venom is book 1 of Venom by Shanora Williams, S. Williams, first published in 2016. Readers shelve it for captive, arranged marriage, mafia and enemies to lovers. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are sexual assault, kidnapping, murder. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2016. Book 1 of Venom.
Passion & Venom tropes
On this shelf, Passion & Venom is filed under Captive romance, Arranged marriage, Mafia dark romance and Enemies to lovers. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
Passion & Venom spice level
Is Passion & Venom dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Passion & Venom scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
Passion & Venom trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 9 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: car accident, injury/injury detail, gun violence, sexual content, death of parent. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (8) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Moderate (0)
Harm, control, or obsession that is common in this lane.
None flagged in this band.
Minor (0)
Present, and usually not the reason someone puts the book down.
None flagged in this band.
Full Passion & Venom trigger warnings
Venom reading order
Passion & Venom is book 1 of 1 in Shanora Williams, S. Williams's Venom series. Start here.
- Book 1 Passion & Venom (this book) · 2016
Order checked against the StoryGraph Venom series page on 13 October 2026.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like Passion & Venom
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- Dante
Dante
Sadie Kincaid
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Captive romance
- In the Gray
In the Gray
B.B. Reid
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Captive romance
- Bad Bishop
Bad Bishop
L.J. Shen
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- North of the Stars
North of the Stars
Monica James
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- The Foiled Plan
The Foiled Plan
Veronica Lancet
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Enemies to lovers, Mafia dark romance
- Deviant Hearts
Deviant Hearts
Jagger Cole
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- Heavy
Heavy
M.L. Burns
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Captive romance
- Karma
Karma
Lauren Biel
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Captive romance
Books like Passion & Venom, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of Passion & Venom?
Passion & Venom spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the Passion & Venom trigger warnings?
Graphic: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Abuse, Blood, Death, Violence. Moderate: none flagged. Minor: none flagged. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 9 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is Passion & Venom dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Passion & Venom scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in Passion & Venom?
On this shelf Passion & Venom is filed under Captive romance, Arranged marriage, Mafia dark romance and Enemies to lovers.
Who is Passion & Venom for?
For a reader who wants captive and arranged marriage with explicit spice. Read the warnings first.
What are some books like Passion & Venom?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: Dante by Sadie Kincaid; In the Gray by B.B. Reid; Bad Bishop by L.J. Shen; North of the Stars by Monica James; The Foiled Plan by Veronica Lancet; Deviant Hearts by Jagger Cole. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/passion-and-venom.
Is Passion & Venom a standalone?
No. Passion & Venom is book 1 of 1 in the Venom series by Shanora Williams, S. Williams.
What order should I read the Venom series in?
1. Passion & Venom.
How many books are in the Venom series?
The Venom series by Shanora Williams, S. Williams has 1 main book.
What is the Passion & Venom age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
Join on Patreon for the Zade Masked serial.