Review: Venom by Fiona Paul

Title: Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose #1)

Author: Fiona Paul

Format: Paperback (Speak| Owned)

Summary (Goodreads):

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:

The Plot:

OMG! The plot was so great. With the mystery and murder it just kept me wanting for more. What’s more its set in Venice during the Renaissance period. Meaning there’s masquerades but Cass life is not all that glitzy after her friend died and when she went to visit her at the cemetery, her friend’s body was not in it but instead of another girl. The starting was so full of suspense and I can wait to keep on reading. Along the way she met Falco and he helped her with the investigations. And while she’s investigating, she impersonated a few roles and I found it very interesting. She also gets to places she has never been before. Its like she stepped into the shoes of those people and she learnt from there. She really grew from all these experiences. It’s just so damn cool impersonating.

The Characters:

We have pretty strong main characters in this book. Cass she’s the kind of girl who doesn’t really do gossip and she’s rather independent. One thing I liked about her was her fearlessness. For example, she went to the cemetery alone at night. Then we have Falco. I hope Cass goes with Falco cause he brings out the best in her unlike her fiancee who’s so inflexible when it comes to certain things. I really hope to see Cass and Falco together in the next two books.

The Writing:

I really loved the writing. Fiona Paul just gets straight to the point. She seldom beats about the bush by describing something with flowery, over the top words. Yes and since she cuts all the beating about the bush, it gets me more absorbed into the book. I find that over the top and draggy descriptions, is a total turn off for me and one of the top pet peeves.