Venom by Fiona Paul

Venom by Fiona Paul
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Publisher: Philomel
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 432

Summary: Love, lust, murder, mayhem and high society converge in one thrilling debut

Part Gossip Girl, part Edgar Allan Poe, and wholly beautiful, elegant and suspenseful, this novel set in Venice during the Renaissance is a true romantic thriller. When Cassandra Caravallo visits her friend Liviana's crypt and finds a murdered courtesan inside, her world is turned upside down. Before she knows it, Cass is involved with Falco, a grave-robbing artist, and on her way to discovering corruption in the elite Venetian society.

But will she find the man who's been savagely murdering beautiful young girls before he finds her? Will she stay true to her fiance, who's off studying law in France? Or will she succumb to Falco's charms? Beauty, love, romance and murder combine in a novel that's as seductive and stunning as Venice itself.

My Thoughts: When I first started this one, I wasn’t really enjoying it, but I was motivated to finish it. It wasn’t until about 100 pages in until I truly started to love it and enjoy the characters and plot.

We are introduced to Cassandra who is engaged to a man named Luca. He is away studying so it takes a while before we get to meet him. One night she finds a crypt that is supposed to contain the body of her friend, only it doesn’t. Inside is another girl. Cass is stunned and scared. She doesn’t know what to think. She meets a guy named Falco who is going to help her solve the mystery. In the process, she starts getting threats so she knows her life is in danger too.

Cass was a lovely girl. I really enjoyed learning all about her life and what she is going through emotionally. Falco, oh I really liked Falco. He was such a cutie, and so funny. He was mischievous.  You can’t help fall in love with him, because he’s a riot. Of course, this presents the problem of the love triangle. Should Cass be with Falco or Luca? By the end of the novel, we find out who the killer is and we are faced with the ultimate decision of Luca or Falco? So tough!

Venom did take me awhile to get into but by the end I was totally loving it. Once I found a love for the historical part, I really enjoyed reading about what was going on in the city, and how things worked. I’m just not a historical reader, but this one did it for me.

This novel is really good, loved the pace, the setting, the plot, and the characters.

Overall: Like I said above, I have problems finding historical novels that I enjoy. I usually do not like them but there was something special about Venom that I really enjoyed. It was engaging and such a great story.

Cover: Love it! And I love her mask! The cover is what attracted me to this one. Love the cover!

What I'd Give It: