Venom by Fiona
Paul
Secrets of the
Eternal Rose #1
Release Date:
October 30th, 2012
Number of Pages:
432
Publisher: Philomel
Source: ARC from
BEA
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.
Damn you editor,
for raising my expectations with that letter. Of course, the only thing it did
was make me disappointed with this novel. No this novel isn’t bad, but when you
promised something as amazing as what the editor presented, you’re bound to be
a little disappointed. The thing is, the first half of the book felt really
slow, and with the size of a really great few elements, some were just okay,
but none of them left me speechless, which was what I was hoping for.
The one thing
that really bugged me was the Italian words and sentences that kept appearing
in the novel, and before you judge me, let me explain. To me, unless the
sentence is in another language than what the narrator is supposed to speak, or
if it’s an expression that has no English equivalent, it usually bugs me. I
can’t really explain why, but it really annoyed me. Yes, sometimes I can be
that picky.
I have to give
Fiona Paul points for her setting. That’s probably the thing that I loved the
most about this novel. It really made up for the characters that simply bored
me a little for the first half of the book. Cass just didn’t impress me until
the very end, and I felt a little disappointed in that. I felt like she fell so
easily for Falco, who she seemed to follow way to easily. After all, he’s a
perfect stranger, he is clearly a bad influence, and she goes with him when
there’s a killer on the loose that wants to kill her. Yes, best idea ever. One
thing’s for sure; I wish we could have seen Luca a little more. I know we don’t
get much from him, but he did charm me in his few scenes. I really hope to see
him more in the next book.
Even though this
book ended up being slightly disappointing to me, I’m pretty pumped about the
sequel. The ending gave me everything I needed to see the potential for a
breathtaking sequel. And to be honest, the world is simply gorgeous. Who wouldn’t
want to sink back into that! One warning though, this book has some scene that
may not be suitable for the youngest readers. This is definitely a novel for
the older YA readers.
