[Book Review] Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Summary (from Amazon):
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 in myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

First off I want to say Tera Lynn Childs is an awesome human being. She’s sweet to all of her fans and just all around a funny woman. The first time I met her was just after Sweet Venom came out. The next time I saw her I had a few of her other books for her to sign. She asked me if I had read her book yet. Sadly my answer was no. This last time that I saw her at TLA, I had read some of her books, but still hadn’t gotten around to read Sweet Venom. Having told her yet another time that I hadn’t read her book just completely embarrassed me. So, I made it my goal to read her book and the Sweet Shadows arc I had gotten at TLA. One half of that goal was met this week.

I regret not reading this book sooner. I loved everything about it from characters, storyline, romance, voice. It all fit in perfectly.

Characters: Each of Tera Lynn Childs main characters has things about them that make them different. Gretchen, my favorite is the tom boy, I-am-going-to-finish-you-off-before-you-even-get-a-chance-to-touch-me has known about her destiny the longest and has the most experience with monster hunting. Grace is the second main character introduced. She knows she’s adopted, but that’s all she really knows. Little did she know that a move to San Francisco would completely change her world. Greer has no idea what’s going on when she is approached by her sisters. Three sisters. Three different personalities.

The storyline for this book was really great. I’m the type of girl that likes to try and predict what’s going to happen next. I couldn’t do that for this book. Instead I just sat back and enjoyed the journey the author put her characters in.

Although I would have loved to see more romance in the book, I can put it aside since I know this is only the first book in a trilogy. So, I know there’s bound to be more romance coming in the books that follow. Each of the three girls has their love interest. And although some boys are more likeable than others (at this point), I’m sure she’ll give us more scenes of the boys we haven’t really heard much of in this book.

I really admire how Tera Lynn Childs goes back and forth from character point of view. Every book that I read that has the character flip flop only does it better. Meaning I think Tera Lynn Childs has mastered it. It’s very clear which point of view the reader is reading from chapter after chapter. These girls are so different not only in attitude, but also in the voice Tera Lynn Child gives them.

Be on the lookout for my Sweet Shadows (sequel to this book) arc review. I know I’m looking forward to reading it.

5 out of 5 stars to Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs.