Vipers and Virtuosos

Miller (Promises and Pomegranates) leans heavily into bad-boy musician mystique in this uneven dark romance that loosely riffs on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. High schooler Riley Kelly is tricked into attending a gala in which the attentions of the women are sold to the highest bidder and ends up purchased for a late-night N.Y.C. adventure with heartthrob rock star Aiden James. Riley worries about the reaction of her Mafia-connected brother, who has kept a close eye on her in the two years since a brutal assault by her mother’s boyfriend. After Riley flees midway through their date, false rumors that Aiden sexually assaulted her begin circulating, ruining his career. Riley uses her family connections to disappear, but Aiden, who believes Riley started the rumors, becomes obsessed with tracking her down and getting revenge. Theirs is a twisted stalker-turned-soulmate dynamic, and some readers will find Riley’s freeze/fawn reactions to Aiden’s sexual aggression disturbing and be left unconvinced by Aiden’s flip into a more caring mode. Footnotes from the author may be a fun perk for serious fans but mostly amount to Miller insipidly noting how much she enjoys her own characters. Though there’s plenty of steam for readers who enjoy an obsessed ravishment dynamic, there’s not much else to recommend this. (Dec.)