Sweet Venom (Sweet Venom (Hardcover - Trilogy)) [Hardcover]

I found Sweet Venom to be a fun and sassy read, and I loved the mythological twist of Greek-style monsters roaming the streets of San Francisco. The monsters were creepy, smelly and each very distinct. Tera Lynn Childs did a great job of recreating snarling beasts, and having been trained to send them back to their world, Gretchen was the perfect, feisty monster hunter. Straight away we were thrown into Gretchen's monster fighting life, giving the story instant pace and action. As Grace and Greer became involved in the foray later on, their attempts at sending the monsters back were a little clumsy and haphazard but it made the story feel more dangerous, as well as humorous.

The story is told from the points of view of three sisters: Grace, Gretchen and Greer. Each girl has a very distinct personality and narrative voice making it easy to distinguish whose POV you were reading. I loved Gretchen's fierce and tough attitude, and Grace's sweet and caring nature. Grace was a pushover but I could relate more easily to her, as she struggled to fit in at a new school. As she gained strength throughout the book I was there cheering her on. Greer, who enters the story much later on, was a bit of a snob who won't accept less than the best. She wasn't easy to like to start, but all of the sisters changed and learnt a little over the story and it made them all more admirable for it.

Lots of things started going wrong for Gretchen, with the plot taking unexpected twists and turns. Her mentor Ursula has disappeared and the rules that means only one monster can be in the human world at a time has changed. Straight away there is a sense of danger, and although Gretchen flounders a little, Grace sees everything in a positive life. There are plenty of questions that need answering and mysteries to solve. Although the story ends on a positive and hopeful note, there was little resolution to any of the plot questions, leaving a lot to be answered in the next books. Whilst I like to resolve some things at the end of every book, I'm still intrigued and excited to find out what happens next.

I think Sweet Venom would really suit a young teen, female audience who would be able to relate to one of the sisters in some way. There's also some subtle morals woven into the story too, about standing up for yourself, being yourself and looking out for family which might hit home more at this age.

Sweet Venom is a sassy action adventure with a fun mythological twist. Perfect for younger teens, this is a great start to the series.

I loved this book which was a fun and enjoyable read. I adore stories which weave in elements of classic mythology and Tera Lynn Childs has done such a good job of it here. I was intrigued by the idea of three girls who are the teenage descendants of Medusa and I couldn't wait to find out what their fates were going to be. I ended up taking this with me to read in bed as it was so gripping and engrossing that just reading a few chapters wasn't enough. I stayed up half the night so I could finish it!

The opening chapter from the point of view of Gretchen was fantastic. It hooked me into the story and really whet my appetite for the rest of the book. It kept getting better and better from that moment on with so much fantastic action and adventure.

I thought the three main characters, Gretchen, Greer, were all brilliant. They have distinct and very different personalities but I enjoyed seeing how they were drawn together by a common goal. My absolute favourite was Grace who seems to be the glue that brings the sisters together but I also liked Gretchen who is very sharp and witty and comes out with some of the best lines in the book. She comes across as tough and independent but I enjoyed seeing her mellow slightly as the story progressed. The narrative alternates between them and this worked really well in allowing each girl to establish herself to the reader, as well as tell her part of the story.

There are some intriguing boys in the book too who I'm dying to know more about. There's the enigmatic Thane, the too hot to handle Nick and sweet Milo. I'm betting that there's a lot more to all the boys than originally meets the eye and I'm sure Tera Lynn Childs has plenty of surprises up her sleeve which she'll unveil later in the series.

The ending was explosive and left me on the edge of my seat. I can't wait now for the sequel 'Sweet Shadows' coming in 2013.

There I was quite happily enjoying the Forgive My Fins series by this author, when Templar waved Sweet Venom under my nose. This book lured me in with it's sweet promise of kick ass girls and full on monster hunting and didn't disappoint. I was completely hooked in the story from Chapter 1 and now I have to wait rather impatiently for the second book.
OK, so this book left quite a few questions unanswered and normally that would annoy the hell out of me, but it really didn't with this book. I honestly felt like it was setting the scene for the rest of the series and I was more than happy with that, because I'm seriously hoping for a long series here.
This book brings together three girls who were all adopted into very different families at birth, but it turns out they are triplets. If that isn't amazing enough, they are also descendants of Medusa. I kid you not! I loved this aspect of the story - I really enjoy all books that embrace Greek Mythology and Medusa hasn't turned up in any of them yet. The sisters are each unique in their taste and style and yet they come together when they are needed to. I loved how individual they were, standing out from each other, even though they are identical.
This book is set in San Francisco and I felt the author really brought the place alive. It's one of those places that I have always wanted to visit, so I enjoyed visually creating the image with the wonderful descriptions the author provided.
This book was a fast paced, thrilling ride as the sisters quickly handled their new found information and skills in order to combat the growing number of monsters appearing in San Francisco. They each have their strengths and weaknesses which fit perfectly together like the missing pieces in a jigsaw. The plot was brilliant and completely engaging. The characters were unique to each other and extremely entertaining, I almost hated leaving one sister's point of view to move onto another, as I would become completely absorbed in their story.
These sisters are the best female trio to come along since The Charmed sisters and Charlies Angels. I love them and can't wait to read more. In fact, someone please make this book into a TV series!