When I first started reading, I thought there would be too many stories being told, and the novel would end up being too busy and crowded. Childs was able to write the very distinctive characters and voices and managed to avoid making the too big for the novel.

Gretchen is the huntress. It’s all she’s really known for four years. She’s accepted it as her future and works hard to make sure monsters don’t roam free for too long. Grace is new to town, looking to make herself different with this new move. She starts seeing monsters and her world gets thrown a little off-kilter. Greer saw a monster once, but years of therapy have molded her into the perfect daughter her socialite parents want her to be.

When these three girls discovery their connection, the world starts to change. The rules Gretchen has known and followed begin to change. Grace starts to get a backbone. Greer has a chance to be something more than a rich family’s daughter. Gretchen and Greer have the hardest time with these changes. They live their lives how they were, when they knew what to expect and what to do. Grace has the easiest time embracing the truth. This is the change she was looking for.

Sweet Venom is a beautiful book that brings mythology into the modern world. It has the stories of three very different girls interwoven in a clear way and it doesn’t overwhelm with details and backstory. Childs could easily have had a bit of a mess on her hands, but she wrote this book so well that I never once felt the 3 different points of view was a bad idea. Childs got the stories of all three girls across without losing the main plot of the novel.

The boys in this book are pretty swoon-worthy as well. Nick enjoys getting under Gretchen’s skin and Milo is the sweet jock everyone couldn’t help but love in high school. They weren’t a huge part of this first book, but they were in the novel enough to make me smile. I’m looking forward to reading more of these relationships’ development.

Sweet Venom is a novel that could have gone in the opposite direction and been a bit of a mess. Childs worked some sort of magic and kept it entertaining, flowing, and wonderful. This is definitely a book for anyone who likes a touch of mythology in their novels. It was a great read and I’m certainly going to be reading the next book.