Venom & Vanilla is a paranormal urban fantasy and is the first book in the Venom Trilogy.
I have to admit that paranormal fantasy is not a genre I normally read and Venom & Vanilla, while well written in some ways, did not change my mind.
The basic plot finds Alena, owner of a bakery in Seattle, and many others, infected by a contagious, lethal, disease. To save herself, she makes a deal with a warlock (Merlin) to change her into a unique, supernatural being. A “Supe or Super Duper”, as she calls them.
As she struggles to find out what kind of creature she is, she and her brother are smuggled over the northern wall from the Supe side, to the human side. Once there, she finds out she is a Drakaina, which is a snakelike creature. She also discovers that everyone is out to kill her or enslave her. Why? So Achilles (Yes, I said Achilles, as in the Greek God) can make a name for himself in today’s world?
And, it is here that I started chuckling with almost every page turn. Why? Because, as I read, I found vampires, Dahlia, Hermes, Zeus and a human, police officer Jensen, who had the hots for Alena and who she kept trying to seduce so he would protect her.
I know I’m leaving out the parts about her friends and her going clubbing and everyone trying to get into her pastry shop to get some of her, Seattle famous, baklava. Neither of which I can remember much about.
I’ll leave it at; The story was well written and kept me amused enough to finish reading it. It also kept me confused enough to reread several parts which resulted in very little more clarity than the first read.
If you’re a fantasy fan, with new worlds, strange creatures, warlocks and a few vampires thrown in for good measure; this is your book. I’m sorry, I keep trying to add paranormal fantasy to my list of genres but it’s just not working. So, I’ll close with: It’s me, not the book or the author so, give it a try. It really is well written! (I think I said that before.) Enjoy.