Monday, July 29, 2013

Review: Sweet Venom (Medusa Girls, #1) by Tera Lynn Childs

 
 

It’s been a really long time since I’ve been able to get into a YA book. I mean really enjoy it to the point that I stay up until all hours of the night reading. Sweet Venom had all of the traits that I love in a YA book: a totally kick ass heroine (in this case, we get three!), tons of action, a touch of romance and the holy grail... Greek Mythology. Man do I love me some Greek Myth. This theme isn’t always done right, but Childs did a fantastic job of bringing the myth of Medusa into the 21st century.


Grace moves to San Francisco with her family to start over. It’s a new place, and a new beginning to start fresh. Everything seems to be going well until she sees (and smells) a Minotaur at a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown.

Gretchen is exhausted. She has been fighting monsters for about half her life and the middle of the night wake up calls are seriously getting in the way of her sleep and trying to juggle high school.

Greer has her life planned out. She’s got a perfect boyfriend, the best reputation and the kind of classy and expensive style most girls dream about. So when two girls that look exactly like her show up at her door to tell her that she’s a descendant of a snake-haired monster of myth and that they need her help to fight monsters, who can blame her for slamming the door in their faces? Sweet Venom tells the story of three twins the must unite and take on what the fates have in store for them to save those that mean most.

I’m usually not a huge fan of multiple points of view in a story. I like to hear from one person and get one perspective. While the alternating POV chapters with the three different girls were a little confusing at first, they really added to the story in a way that made you pull for each character.

Grace is the peacekeeper and the one trying to keep the sisters together with a smile on her face. Gretchen has a kick ass and take names later attitude and Greer...well Greer is kind of a stuck up snot. But their differing personalities were so fun to read and their interactions ranged from hilarious to heartwarming.

Obviously I fell in love with the characters, but the best part of Sweet Venom was the mysterious plot. Childs kept me on my toes with a balance of mystery, world building and action. I was never bored and I was always wanting more. In reading Sweet Venom, I can tell that it’s only the beginning in what I expect to be a fantastic series. We now have our characters and world established and it can only get better from here. I tend to be turned off by books that feel like the sole purpose is to introduce characters and the world, but Childs unique way of storytelling made book one a springboard for me to want to dive into the Medsua Sisters series head first.

Sweet Venom is a mix of Percy Jackson, the Shadowhunters from the Mortal Instruments and the sassy style of Paranomalcy. It’s a fun and sweet story that will leave you begging for book 2!

8 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

Photobucket

2 comments:

  1. I love the Shadowhunters from TMI, and I've kept my eye on Sweet Venom for a while. Every time I go into the book store, the cover always attracts me to it. But I hesitate only because I haven't had the best record with mythology. Not sure it's my thing yet. So glad this one turned out to be a winner for you! I may talk my sister into reading it because she adores myths ;D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I'm crazy for Greek Myth :) This may appeal to you both becasue of your love of super heros as well. The three sisters are a sort of supernatural super hero trio that protect the world from monsters. It's a little less about myth and more about fate and their ability to kick monster butt. If you're not sure about myth, this may be a good place to start!!

      Delete