A House of Vipers coming April 28th, 2026 from Delacorte Press; 400 pages
Content Warning: PTSD, blood, death, bullying, profanity, overdose, drugs
About the Author: “Emma Jackson is the author of A House of Vipers. She wrote her first story at eight years old and knew immediately she wanted to be an author one day. Emma studied writing at the University of Oklahoma, where she focused on young adult fiction. When she is not writing her next story, she can be found spending time with friends and family, playing cozy video games, going on adventures with her husband, or reading on the couch with her orange tabby cat” (Bio from Penguin Random House’s website).
Find Emma Jackson on the following platforms:
Sutter Heyward’s brother, Lawson, has gone missing from Meddlehart Academy’s secluded campus, and everyone has given up on looking for him—except for Sutter. After finding a clue tying his brother’s disappearance to the search for the mysterious treasure rumored to have been buried at the Academy, Sutter and his friends—Grayson, Fallon, Carter, and Margot—set out in hopes of finding both the treasure and Lawson. However, they aren’t the only ones looking for the treasure. A secret society—the Order of the Vipers—has dedicated themselves to finding the treasure. Sutter and his friends rush to join the Vipers, but the trials are much more dangerous than they thought. But with every clue they find, Sutter knows that they are one step closer to finding the treasure and figuring out what really happened the night his brother disappeared.
When reading A House of Vipers, I already had my suspicions about the turn of events. I expected this book to be heavily focused on the friendship dynamics within the friend group while they tackled the mystery at hand, and it was. However, I didn’t expect a love triangle. I am not much of a love triangle fan, but I like how it functioned in an unexpected way. On the other hand, the love triangle sometimes overshadows the thriller-mystery elements, especially when shifting between POVs. This made sense, as each character wanted something different: Sutter was driving the hunt for the treasure because of his brother, while the other two, Fallon and Grayson, each had their own desires. The multiple POVs provided greater character interiority and background information while highlighting the friction between the characters. The chaotic friend group interactions felt very true to high school dynamics, and the added layer of Sutter struggling with his brother’s disappearance both heightened and tested the group. The group had some stereotypical roles, like Fallon being the voice of reason and Carter being the supportive free spirit of the group, but the added character quirks—like Carter being a food connoisseur— and Jackson’s use of them made the group’s dynamic more interesting overall. While the story was a little slow in the beginning, once Sutter and his friends began their trials for the Order of Vipers, I was practically flying through those pages trying to unearth what actually happened to Lawson that night.
A House of Vipers releases on April 28th, 2026.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Delacorte Press for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Natalia Williams, Pine Reads Review Writer