This week's Cover Crazy is for a very special Cover Reveal of Tera Lynn Childs' upcoming book:
Sweet Venom
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Sweet Venom is set for publication on October 4, 2011 and will be the first part in a new series that sounds absolutely squee-inducing fan-freaking-tastic:
Three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in a world where monsters lurk in plain sight.
New series, in which triplet descendants of Medusa learn they are destined to guard the door between the world of monsters and the world of men – pitched as a mythological Charmed.
A trio of kick butt girls? Monsters? Greek mythology? A sympathetic look at Medusa? Oh my gosh I am SO dying for this series! I loved Tera's mermaid book Forgive My Fins, and now I can't wait to see what she does with this new storyline!
Want more information?
Check out Sweet Venom on Goodreads
Despite the fact that I'm a huge book pusher and I enjoy proclaiming to the world my undying devotion to all book things that make me happy, I still live in the dark ages so I don't use Twitter. If anyone would like to tweet (tweet, right? I feel like an old person using kid slang!) about this cover post, I'd appreciate that and I'm sure the author would as well.
Now for the cover review, because this cover is totally making me crazy (in a really good way)! I just want to hold the book in my hands. I mean, look at it! First off, I'm loving the colors. I know, I know, there isn't a speck of pink anywhere, but green is such a perfect color for descendants of Medusa.
I am so happy the girl's face isn't visible. It makes me really curious to read the book and find out which sister is pictured and why her out of the three sisters. Given that it is a trilogy and there are three sisters, I wonder if each book will focus on each of the sisters in some way. I like that she looks sweet and innocent, and yet....there's something about her that makes me think there's more to her than meets the eye.
Like, that hair, for instance. At first glance it looks just like a normal braid, right? Then again, Medusa wasn't exactly known for having normal hair. In fact, a head full of snakes is probably just about as far away from "normal hair" as you can get! This girl's hair is clearly hair and not a nest of snakes, but there's something about it that just looks alive, don't you think?
Those tendrils at the end almost look like they are writhing around on their own. That long piece to the far right makes me think of a snake's forked tongue. Yes, I think there is far more to this girl than is shown and I want to read the book to find out all about her and her secrets.
The title font and swirls add the perfect final touch to this cover. The pretty swirls (I am in love with curlicue swirls) add a dash of femininity and sweetness, but the title font almost looks like metal. The font is hard and pointed, making me think that the girl has a good deal of backbone and may actually turn out to be quite dangerous.
I love the contrasts between the words "Sweet" and "Venom," the metallic font and the girly font decoration, and the sweetly innocent looking girl with her slightly sinister hair.
This is a fantastic cover and has me absolutely itching to get my hands on a copy!
How about you? What do you think about this cover?
Do you like it? Dislike it?
Does it make you want to read the book?
Do you like it? Dislike it?
Does it make you want to read the book?
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The story opens with Lily in the bathtub talking on the phone with her best human friend Shannon (who does not know she is a mermaid). They are discussing Lily’s crush on popular boy Brody who has recently broken up with his girlfriend. The call is interrupted by bad boy Quince who is also Lily’s neighbor and is always teasing her but secretly likes her.
The next day in school Lily attempts to ask Brody to a dance, but Quince interrupts them. He warns Lily that Brody will say no. Lily ignores him and asks Brody in the lunch room. He says no and Lily runs out crying. She meets Quince in the hallway and he attempts to comfort her. They hide in the bathroom stall when Brody’s ex-girlfriend and her friends walk in and start talking about Lily. They are making fun of her. Quince holds Lily back to keep her from confronting Brody’s ex. Quince offers to help Lily get Brody and she accepts.
They meet after school where Quince gives Lily a costume that will match Brody’s costume for the dance. He then tells her to meet Brody in the library. Quince will tell Brody that his ex is waiting in the library, but really Lily will be there. Lily talks over this plan with her two best friends (human and mermaid) and they both think it is a good idea.
Lily waits in the library where she is kissed passionately by an unknown guy. When the kiss ends she realizes it is Quince and the two are now bonded. She runs home and Quince follows. She agrees to meet him the next day to explain the bond. Lily explains she is a mermaid and they are now bonded. Quince asks her to kiss him again and she grudgingly complies, though she admits to herself that she enjoys kissing him. She then takes Quince into the sea to go to see her father so he can sever the bond.
Quince is accepting of Lily’s secret and goes along with her happily. He is enthralled by the merworld, even though he did not know how to swim before this experience. Quince is welcomed with open arms and the castle rejoices, assuming Lily has found happiness. She explains the situation to her father who is disappointed. He asks that Lily wait until the next day before performing the severing. She agrees. Her cousin Dosinia is angry Lily has come back and stolen Dosinia’s attention (it was her birthday). Dosinia flirts heavily with Quince and Lily is jealous. Lily’s father sees this and decides not to perform the separation until Lily and Quince have a week to think about their relationship. Lily is angry, but complies. Quince is happy because he actually loves Lily.
The two go back to land where Lily treats him coolly, though Quince is increasingly nice to her. Both feel the bond intensifying their emotions and ability to sense one another. Lily recognizes she is falling for Quince, but she brushes it off as the effects of the bond and not real. Both of Lily’s friends don’t believe her and think she likes him and that he is a good guy and better than Brody. Lily persists in believing Brody is her true mate.
Lily and Quince pretend to be dating with Quince convincing her to do this in order to make Brody jealous. Brody is made jealous and begins to show interest in Lily. Quince is jealous of Brody’s new preoccupation with Lily believing, accurately, that he is only interested in her now because she seems to be no longer interested in him. Lily does not believe Quince, but her friends do.
At the end of the week, Lily and Quince return to the merkingdom to be separated. Lily’s father tells Lily they must go through mandatory couples counseling before he will perform the separation. This counseling involves the two staying on an isolated island over a weekend and being tested three times. They go to the island where they first must make a gift for one another. Lily makes Quince a sand dollar necklace because he admired the sand dollars in a statue at her underwater home. Quince builds Lily an impressive sand castle of her kingdom. Dosinia helped Quince, making Lily extremely jealous.
The second test involves Lily and Quince telling one another what they like best and least about the other. Quince’s responses startle Lily because they are essentially all compliments and show he understands and sees her on a deeper level than she imagined.
The third test occurred when a “fishing” boat appeared near them. They believe they are in danger and Lily protects Quince and risks her life to save his by drawing away the boat. The fishermen were really merfolk. Lily’s father decides that he does not believe Lily and Quince should be separated, but Lily insists she belongs with Brody. Her father makes them wait one more week.
Lily decides to tell Brody she is a mermaid and loves him. She realizes that if she is going to tell Brody she loves him, then she should also tell Shannon she is really a mermaid. Lily tells Shannon. Shannon accepts Lily, but cautions her about telling Brody she is a mermaid. Lily decides Shannon is right and that she will first only tell Brody she loves him and see how he responds.
Unfortunately, Brody overhears their conversation and so learns Lily’s secret identity. He thinks it is cool, but he treats Lily as a commodity and not a person. It is clear he does not love her. She regrets her choices and realizes Quince was right about Brody all along. Quince arrives and begins to beat up Brody. Lily stops him and tells him to meet her at home. She then proceeds to use her mermaid powers to wipe Brody’s memory. She tells him he fell down the stairs and then she leaves with Shannon.
Quince attempts to tell Lily he loves her, but she stops him. She is still fighting her feelings and tells him they need to return to her father and get the bond severed. She feels guilty for trapping Quince in a life with her. Quince is very much a land lover, and if they remain bonded, then he will be trapped in the water for as long as Lily is there, which would be almost all the time once she becomes queen.
Lily takes Quince to her secret favorite spot in the water and he appreciates the beauty of the place. Lily feels she is falling in love, but she is confused by the bond emotions and her guilt. Lily goes through with the bond and Quince is returned to land. Lily stays in the water, but she is very depressed.
Lily decides she loves Quince and is willing to give up her place as queen in order to live on land with Quince. Her father knew this would be her decision and is happy she finally realized her feelings for Quince. Lily leaves and tells Quince her feelings. They kiss.
Epilogue: Dosinia is seen stealing Lily’s father’s powerful trident and deciding to wreak her vengeance upon humans (she hates them because they killed her parents).