Venom by Fiona Paul (ARC Review)
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
Number of pages: 448
My rating: 2/5
Venom was a read that I was highly anticipating. I constantly read and re-read the synopsis, praying for the release date to come faster. However, when I finally did read this book, it disappointed me on so many levels. It wasn’t the worst, but it was far from the best.
Venom is about one of Venice’s elite, Cassandra. The story
is set perhaps a few centuries ago, but the actual time frame is never
mentioned. After stumbling on a murdered, mutated girl in her friend’s tomb,
she discovers a dark side of Venice. She is joined by a stranger and artist,
Falco, who tries to help her get to the bottom of these murders.
As you can probably guess, Falco and Cassandra quickly fall
in love. This romance was far from enjoyable, and formed very quickly. It
definitely wasn’t a very fleshed out romance. At the time of falling in love,
Cassandra knows nothing about Falco. Gosh, she doesn’t even find out about his
occupation and his family until the end. Also, she is already engaged to
another man. Nice going, Cass.
None of the characters in this book were interested or well
developed. Cassandra barely had any personality at all, and was an empty shell
of a character. She was very clueless and gullible, instantly trusting Falco, a
complete stranger. Cassandra’s aunt, Agnese was shown to be a bossy, strict old
lady. Madalena, Cassandra’s best friend was rich and shallow, showing no
personality or depth at all. I felt that some of the characters were also a bit
modern. Falco once mentions that he does not believe in religion, only science.
I haven’t done any research on ancient Venice, but I’m pretty sure that
everyone was incredibly religious back then. People carry crucifixes, make the
sign of the cross, and believe in Satanists and vampires. I find it hard to
believe that one person can just fully dismiss all religion.
I have no idea what Cassandra saw in Falco. Falco made many
appearances in Venom. He was known to hang out at graveyards, know many dodgy
people, and visit brothels. Falco was the second worst character in this book
(after Cassandra). We hardly get to know him at all, despite his frequent
appearances and Cassandra’s obsession over him.
However, despite all the flaws I mentioned above, Cassandra
was by far the worst thing in this book. A stupid, shallow, useless, clueless
character, she annoyed me constantly. She trusts a suspicious stranger she
meets, right at the site when she finds the murdered girl. She obsessed over
Falco constantly, and I cringed every time I heard her speak. Her cluelessness
shocked me, and I struggle to understand how she could miss so many things.
Most of the book has no substance. In attempts to “solve”
the murders and her friend’s corpse’s disappearance, Cassandra and Falco go
around Venice, attending parties, balls, going around to dodgy places, and on
one occasion, even dressing Cassandra up as a prostitute in an attempt to find
information on the murders. I didn’t see why they kept doing this. Almost every
night, Cassandra would sneak out with Falco and go to sopme strange place,
where they accomplished next to nothing.
Although I did not enjoy this book at all, I believe that it
will appeal to many readers, with its mysteriousness, awesome setting,
interesting premise and an amazing cover. I will definitely not be reading the
next book, as I have no interest in continuing this series.
2/5 stars.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley
in exchange for an honest review.
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