Venom

Today’s post is on “Venom” by Fiona Paul and it is the first in the Secrets of the Eternal Rose. It is 435 pages long and is published by Philomel Books. The cover has a girl in a beautiful mask looking at the reader with the word ‘In Venice, beauty can be deadly’. The intended reader is young adult and they are the only ones who are really going to enjoy this. There is some drinking and some underage drunkenness but no foul language or sex. The drinking is time appropriate because in renaissance Venice everyone drank wine or ale. It is told from third person close and only from Cass’s point of view. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Secrets can be as powerful and deadly- as poison.
Cassandra Caravello has everything that a girl could desire: elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, invitations to the best parties, and a handsome, wealthy fiancé- yet she longs for something more. Ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape.
When Cass stumbles upon the body of a murdered woman- with a bloody X carved across her heart- she’s drawn into a dangerous world of secret societies, courtesans, and killers. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a poor artist with a mischievous grin… and a habit of getting into trouble. Will Cassandra find the murderer before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco?
Beauty, romance, and mystery weave together in a novel that’s as seductive and stunning as Renaissance Venice itself.

Review- This book sounds really interesting and good but it is really just long. It is not badly written it just it not interesting. I had to read this for a course in my grad school so I have read it all. Cass, Falco, Luca, and even the killer is just boring. I did not guess the killer because he is only in about four scenes. He is just generic woman hating killer. Cass is not stupid but she is not brave, she is bored and I think that takes over the story. When Cass was in danger, I felt nothing about it, and maybe that is because I had no doubts that she would be fine. In fact the only character that I was worried about was her cat. I was worried that the generic crazed killer would kill her cat to scare her or to get at her. I have no plans of reading the second book which is coming out this year. Another thing I found annoying was her nickname Cass. I know that is a nickname for girls named Cassandra but everyone, even people who do not know to call her that, call her Cass. It really just annoyed me every time I read it and it is in the text a lot.

I give this one Two stars out of Five. I get nothing for this review and I borrowed this book from my local library.