Review: Sweet Venom Series

Since I've still been in raging turmoil about just what the hell I'm going to do with the Areios Brothers (the answer seems to have presented itself but let's just say it's low on my To Do List for now), I thought it would be smart to read a series revolving around Greek mythology and all it's monster-based awesomeness. That brings us Tera Lynn Childs' Sweet Venom trilogy, three books revolving around three girls with three different personalities as they battle to save the world with three various talents. And of course, the number three plays a very important part to the series. Teasing aside, I was really impressed with these novels. They're fun, the characters are great, and unlike the last series I just finished, it left me excited and eager for more. Minor spoilers to follow.

All the covers are great...

Nice and simple...

Depicting each female lead...

Since I'm going to be doing a review of the series as a whole, I'll sum up the series as best as I can... Main characters Grace, Greer, and Gretchen are descendants of Medusa, triplets separated at birth and tasked with saving the oblivious human world from the monsters threatening to break into it.

Simple enough, but as you begin reading the books, you'll see that it's not. Dozens of complications ensue and tangle the triplets perceptions of right and wrong (I'm looking at you, Nick). Each book is filled with great character growth, fun action, new insights to classic mythology, and interesting stories that lead to a well rounded conclusion.

The story begins with none of the sisters knowing that they are, well, sisters. As such, each one has been raised in a different lifestyle. Grace, a quirky, over-enthusiastic computer whiz who refuses to give up, Gretchen, the warrior trained by another Medusa descendant who has a bad attitude and trust issues, and Greer, a pompous, proper young woman who never felt as though she belonged with her parents, and their unyielding image of perfection. Each of these female leads are fantastic and have their own flaws and distinctive traits, which made the three first person POV writing style easy to follow. Sometimes it can be hard to read that kind of constantly changing style, but Childs mastered it. Gretchen is of course my favorite, tough and intense, she's not someone I would want to cross if I were a beastie.

The secondary characters were also interesting in their own rights. Mentors with mysterious pasts deeply connected to mythology, and of course, the boys. This is a YA novel after all. Of the three of them, I found Nick and Thane to be the most interesting. Milo's sweet, but he had no past that I was intrigued by. Nick and Thane on the other hand... well, they're more deeply involved than the girls know. I wanted to know more about them, but by the time we found out what Thane's deal was, it was the third book.

The mythology was great. Each monster I was familiar with was created with the description I wanted and am familiar with. I even found out about some that I was previous unaware of, drawing more inspiration for my own series. The story was unique and carefully thought out with enough secrets to keep me focused the entire time.

If I have complaints about everything, it's that the YA part of the series is painfully obvious sometimes. Maybe it's because I'm a horror author who writes a lot of violence into her novels, but I was kind of hoping for more dire circumstances, serious death-defying fights, and a much more climatic end battle. I finished reading it only to say, "Okay, when's the other shoe going to drop? It's not? Oh. Okay..." In that regard, I wasn't intimidated by the villains, because we never really knew them. Considering how many of them there were, you'd think that we would actually get to see the threats and be scared by them. Not so much.

Still, if I'm complaining that I want more from a series, that's definitely a good sign. As I said, I did have fun with it. Strong female leads and Greek mythology– how could I not? I can recommend the series to anyone who enjoys those elements and YA urban fantasy and fun reads in general. And trust me, watching three girls meeting their identical twins for the first time is the basis of fun.

Amy