Venom (Review)

Book: Venom
Author: Fiona Paul
Series:  Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #2
Publisher: Philomel
Format: Hardcover
Pages:  435
Source: Purchased

Blurb:

Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, her own lady’s maid, and a wealthy fiancé, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet 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 a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin... and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can 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, love, romance, and mystery weave together in a stunning novel that’s as seductive and

surprising as the city of Venice itself.

 

My Rating:

 

The premise of this book sounded like something I would really enjoy. Secrets and murder in Renaissance Venice? That sounds cool right? Unfortunately, I really didn't like it. I had to force myself just to keep reading since it didn't hold my interest and the characters really bothered me.

 

Let's start off with Cass. She was supposed to be intelligent, but I thought the choices she made and the things she did were pretty stupid. She finds out that there is a murderer running around killing young women and she thinks it's smart to go running around at night with a guy she met like 2 days before. That doesn't seem like the brightest or safest thing someone could do. Then we have Falco. I'm sorry but I just found him creepy. I can't even talk about the things he does, it's extremely spoilery but I guess it's better than what I thought he was doing to begin with. He was secretive and Cass had to practically force information out of him, but he wasn't nearly as creepy or insufferable as Cass' fiancé, Luca. Luca is suspicious from the moment we are introduced to him. Everything he does seems to scream "I am up to no good", I didn't trust him at all and I found him to be quite controlling.

 

If the characters weren't enough to turn me off, the insta-love was. Cass met Falco and practically 2 days later she was "in love with him" and he was the exact same way. Even when all of the suspicious stuff with him started happening and she found out he was lying, she was still convinced she loved him. I'm sorry, but no. There is no way that you fell in love with a guy that you know practically nothing about. He could be a psychopath for all you know.

 

The one thing that did save this book for me was the revelation about who the killer was. I did not see that coming. I had been guessing throughout the whole book who it would turn out to be and I did not guess correctly.

 

In the end this book just wasn't for me. The writing style is very good but the book just didn't hold my attention. I was expecting more mystery than there was and I just had trouble relating to the characters.