Review: Venom & Vanilla by Shannon Mayer

Venom & Vanilla by Shannon Mayer

( I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Successful Seattle baker Alena Budrene doesn’t want to die. But when she’s infected with a lethal virus spread by supernatural beings, her only chance for recovery is to make a deal with the devil—or in this case, a warlock.

Though he saves her life, it looks nothing like the life she once knew—and neither does she. Alena is a new breed of “Supe” no one has ever seen before. Even the supernatural police don’t know what she is. Now exiled to the northern side of the Wall, which marks the divide between humans and Supes, Alena is thrust into a dark and magical new world.

But just as she begins to adjust to all things supernatural, she realizes that her transformation is the least of her worries—and it was no accident. She was chosen…to be killed by a Greek hero trying to make a name for himself once more.

Alena was brought up to be subservient, preferring creating to fighting, and vanilla and honey to blood. But that was then. Now, to survive, she must stand up for herself—and this time she’s got fangs. But will she be ready to use them?

Alena.. I don't know what to think of her. There were some places where I really liked her but most of the time I just wanted to shout at her. She seemed fine in the beginning but after being turned she became a little a lot over-the-top.

I'm not sure what to day about the other characters considering not much is said about them. Their sole purpose of being in the story seems to be to create conflict for Alena. Every character in this book just seemed silly.

The story started off really strong. I really liked Chapter 1. Everyone in that chapter seemed sane despite Roger being a two-face cheat. The premise was good and I was looking forward to a dark and gripping story-line. I kind of even liked the Greek Mythology side of the story but that's just about it. What could have been an amazing dark fantasy/Sci-fi suddenly became a story for which am not sure there is a genre. The story is just all over the place and at some points makes no sense. The plot is cheesy and silly and lacks depth.

I suppose it was the writing that helped me finish reading the book. The story was fast paced and did not dawdle anywhere.

-The initial parts of the book before Alena became a Supe.

- Greek Mythology was involved

- The fast paced writing

- The characters

- 'all-over-the-place' plot

WILL I BE READING THE REST OF THE TRILOGY?

I'm afraid not.

If you're looking for a cheesy, silly fantasy book, Venom and Vanilla might be for you.

I almost gave it 2 hearts but went with 3 because I really liked the beginning.

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