REVIEW: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Name: Sweet Venom

Author: Tera Lynn Childs

Publisher: Templar

Release date: 4th September 2012

Pages: 361

Source: From publisher (for review)

Rating: 4 stars

Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.
Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.
Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.
These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Beverley's Review

When I heard this book was entwined with Greek mythology, I just knew I had to read it.  And it certainly didn't disappoint!  I've heard nothing but good things about Tera Lynn Childs's books and I hoped this would live up to my expectations (it did!)

What I adored about this book:

• The storyline.  It's unique, utterly creative and encourages girl power!  This time it isn't the boys out there fighting off the monsters, the girls are showing who's best!  Sweet Venom takes 'kick-ass' to a whole new level!
• The different POVS.  Sometimes triple POVs aren't great but Tera Lynn Childs works her magic and ensures it will appeal. Because each girl has their own distinct personality, it was refreshing to read each chapter from a different POV.  Even without the girl's names at the start of the chapters, I'm sure I would still be able to tell whose POV it's from as it is so easy to tell them apart.  I'm glad to say it works brilliantly and one of the main things I loved about the book.
• The Greek mythology.  The beasties which the girls fight aren't any old monsters - they're straight out of Greek mythology.  I loved this element of the book because it's so different from anything else I've ever read and the way the author wove in ancient Greek history into the storyline is just amazing.
• The girls.  The three sisters are so different yet so similar at the same time and I warmed to them all instantly.  Gretchen is so fearless and caring, and I wish I had a best friend like Grace.  Despite getting off to a frustrating start with Greer, I couldn't help but admire her as much as the others in the end.
• The boys.  Three female protagonists = three love interests.  Triple the fun!  Even though romance isn't heavy in Sweet Venom, it was still nice to have slight undertones of love throughout. All three boys were really sweet and obviously cared for the girls. 
• The writing.  Tera Lynn Child's writing style is... lush.  Each paragraph has the ability to entice you and I found myself with the ability to clearly imagine the world in which the triplets live - however unbelievable it may sound in reality.

What I didn't love so much about this book:

• The pace at the beginning.  It was quite slow and I was a bit confused to start with but this is only a minor fault that you probably won't end up noticing.
• The wait for the second book.  Fine... that isn't really a valid flaw.  But still... it ends on a cliffhanger and I'm desperate to get my hands on the second book!  My bookshelf already has a reserved space for the next books.

Sweet Venom is one heck of a kick-ass read with admirable heroines saving the unsuspecting human world one monster at a time.  Tera Lynn Child's writing will captivate you from start to finish and you'll find yourself immersed in a world of mythological beasties!

4 teacups for Sweet Venom!

The Sweet Venom UK Blog Tour will also be stopping by on Tuesday 25th so keep an eye out for that!