Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

8/10

Sweet Venom, first published in September 2012, is a tale of urban/paranormal fantasy from award-winning author Tera Lynn Childs. Using a cool, fresh concept it brings Greek mythology and monster-slaying to life in present day San Francisco.

As the book begins we meet Grace, who has just moved to San Francisco. When two girls, looking eerily like her, appear on her doorstep claiming they’re triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, these three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful Gorgon maligned in myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in a world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Tera Lynn Childs is no stranger to mythology-based fantasy with previous works Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp having both drawn inspiration from the same rich source and her fans will certainly enjoy Sweet Venom. Although comparisons are being made to Buffy the two are not as similar as you might at first expect. Yes, they both have urban settings and involve much slaying but by having monsters from Greek mythology rather than vampires Childs makes the two unquestionably different. The narrative revolves around three girls: Grace, Gretchen and Greer. Each is imbued with special powers thanks to their direct ancestral link to Medusa, who is not quite what you might expect and the author’s altered mythology is adeptly handled, providing a rich backbone to the story.

So, if you are looking for a fresh and fun modern take on an ancient mythology then look no further than this book.

Thank you to Templar Publishing for kindly providing a review copy.

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Tera Lynn Childs is also the author of the mermaid tale Forgive My Fins, which we loved and the review can be read here.