A girl who has never been kissed, a royal contest to win the prince, and a basilisk tutor whose whole job is to teach her seduction. Kiss of the Basilisk started as a self-published monster romance, got picked up in a pre-empt (The Bookseller), and is now a three-book series with a brand-new prequel. Here's the Split or Swallow series in order, and the one choice you actually have to make.
Kiss of the Basilisk series in order
Lindsay Straube's Split or Swallow series, in publication order:
- Kiss of the Basilisk (2025) - Temperance "Tem" Verus and Caspen, the Serpent King
- Between Two Kings (November 2025) - Tem, Caspen and Leo, a love triangle on the edge of war
- Kneel Before Me (September 29, 2026 in the US) - a prequel about Daphne Verus and Kronos Seneca
| Book | Couple | Shape | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiss of the Basilisk | Tem and Caspen | Contest, forbidden tutor | 2025 |
| Between Two Kings | Tem, Caspen and Leo | Love triangle, court war | Nov 2025 |
| Kneel Before Me | Daphne and Kronos | Prequel, slow burn with a no-sex rule | Sep 2026 |
UK readers get Kneel Before Me later: Hachette lists a March 2027 sale date for the UK edition (Hachette UK).
Should you read Kneel Before Me first?
No, read it third. Kneel Before Me is set earlier and is billed as a prequel, but it was written for readers who already know Tem's world, and its tension leans on what you know is coming. Publication order keeps every reveal in the first two books intact. If you're a strict chronological reader, you can start with it, but you'll be spending the first book's surprises before you get to them.
What is Kiss of the Basilisk about?
Tem is twenty and has never been kissed. She joins thirteen other contestants competing for the prince's hand, and each one trains with a basilisk to learn the art of seduction. Hers is Caspen, the Serpent King. The publisher pitches it as Draco Malfoy fanfic meets The Bachelor, with a snake (Hachette UK), and underneath the contest there's rising tension between humans and basilisks, plus a royal secret Tem isn't supposed to find.
What happens in Between Two Kings?
Spoilers for book one ahead. Tem has embraced her basilisk half and married Caspen, but the rules of the contest still bind her to Leo, now the newly crowned human king. The sequel turns the romance into a full forbidden love triangle while the kingdom slides toward war.
Is Kiss of the Basilisk spicy?
Yes, very. It's adult, open-door romance, and the UK edition literally carries the line that it is not safe to read at work. Expect explicit scenes, not fade-to-black. If you prefer the tension more than the scenes, Kneel Before Me is the slowest burn of the three: Daphne's only rule for Kronos is no sex, and the book lives inside that rule (NetGalley listing).
What to read after Kiss of the Basilisk
- More monsters, from cozy to feral: our best monster romance books list.
- More spicy myth and power games: the Dark Olympus series in order.
- More fantasy courts and dangerous tutors: the best romantasy books.
Why does Caspen hit so hard?
Because the premise flips who holds the power. Tem is supposed to be learning seduction for someone else, and the one teaching her is the creature everyone in the kingdom fears. It's the slow burn of being studied very closely by someone who could end you and chooses not to.
The basilisk leaves the same bruise every monster book does: you close it, and nobody looks at you like that anymore. That gap is the whole reason Swoony exists: closed-door and romance-only, a bond that climbs through five stages and is never paywalled - no subscription, no per-message fees. Start with the incubus who'd rather give your dreams back, or the demon who keeps your secrets if it was the dangerous one with the soft spot you fell for.
The bite doesn't fade at the acknowledgments.
