REVIEW: Sweet Venom

Title: Sweet Venom
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Series: Medusa Girls
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Publisher: Katharine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Format: Hardback
# of pages: 345
Source: Library
Challenge: n/a
Links: goodreads

Summary:
(from Goodreads)
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.

Review:
School has been keeping me busy!  When I did have time to read, I've been reading this book and it was so hard to put it down when I needed to!

Sweet Venom started out a bit slow for me, but after Gretchen and Grace met, it started to move a lot quicker and the story got more interesting.  I have been interested in Greek mythology since 7th grade, I think, which is why this caught my attention.  Another reason this caught my attention is the different view on Medusa than the norm.  Though I really like Greek mythology, I haven't read many modern novels based on Greek mythology, so I don't really have anything to compare to.  But in my opinion, this is a very unique plot, especially with the aspect that Medusa was good and Athena was jealous of her.

The plot was interesting, but I think it was the characters that really made the book great for me.  Gretchen is a badass girl who has issues with touchy-feely stuff until she meets Grace and Nick, who she really doesn't want to like.  Grace is a shy, nice, happy girl who cares a lot about others, and she's the one I relate to most.  Then there's the last triplet that we meet, Greer.  She seems very stuck up, but that was how she was raised, and she eventually redeems herself.  I'm glad the main characters are different and have their own personalities, but are still able to come together and work well with each other.  I also liked being able to hear from each of their points of view.

And then there are the side characters!  Grace's brother, Thane, and her counselor, Ms. West, as well as Gretchen's classmate, Nick, are SO mysterious.  They just add so much to the story with their mysteriousness!  I'm pretty sure Nick knows Gretchen's secret...but I just don't know how he knows.  I suppose that's what the sequel is for.  Also, we never did find out who Medusa's sister is in modern day form, so that's another thing to look forward to in the sequel.  So many questions (that I will list below and will contain spoilers, so don't scroll all the way if you haven't read Sweet Venom yet and don't want it spoiled)!!

Gah~!  At the end of this book, I was left with wanting to know more!  There are just too many questions running through my head.  Tera Lynn Childs has definitely hooked me!  I can't wait for the next book!

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!! SPOILER ALERT !!


Questions I Hope Are Answered in Book 2:
- Where did Thane go?
- Does Nick know what Gretchen does?
- How did Nick get Gretchen's number?
- Was Nick the one who called to warn Gretchen to get out?
- Who captured Ursula?
- Who put the bounty on the huntresses' heads, for that matter?
- Is Grace right about Ms. West being Sthenno?
- What does Milo know, if anything?

Like I said, so many questions!  Can't wait for Sweet Shadows to come out later this year!