Venom is another in my streak of historic young adult novels with female protagonists. This time the narrator is Cassandra and she lives in Venice during the Renaissance. Her story begins at the funeral of one of her close friends. The body disappears from its tomb just a few days later.
At the same time, Cass encounters Falco. Cass is actually engaged to a young man that she hasn't seen in years, and she is dreading the wedding. As it is, she has very little freedom from her aunt, after getting married she will be trapped forever. So Cass is drawn to Falco, a young artist who teases her and quarrels with her and takes her on crazy adventures to brothels to find her dead friend's body.
Throughout the story, there are quotes from some organization called the Order of the Eternal Rose. They have something to do with bodies disappearing from tombs. Then a maid's body is found in the canal, and all suspicions point to a powerful man. It's all very thrilling, plus there are pretty dresses. It is very much like the Renaissance Italy Gossip Girl (Which was what the review described it as and why I wanted to read it). I wasn't a huge fan of Falco, but I never cared for Dan Humphrey much (Gossip Girl character who is poor and artsy). Overall, it was a good read. There is an exciting ending and room for a sequel, which I will most likely end up reading.
I received my copy of Venom from Edelweiss, courtesy of Philomel. It's available for purchase now.
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