Review: Venomous by Nicole M. Rubino

Review: Venomous - Book #2 Monstrous Series - Nicole M. Rubino - October 2024

Some books sit on your Kindle for years before the right moment finally comes along to read them. Venomous by Nicole M. Rubino was one of those books for me. I’d had this one sitting on my Kindle for a couple of years, but it was an August reading challenge that finally gave me the push I needed. One of the prompts was for a mythology retelling, and I immediately knew this was going to be the perfect choice. Sometimes a reading challenge really does know what you need to pick up next!

After surviving her first year at Alystair University, Rhiannon is barely holding things together. She is plagued by nightmares that blur the boundaries between dreams and reality, while the guilt of the friends she failed to protect continues to weigh heavily on her. Then there is Nick. Believing that letting him go was the only way to keep him safe, Rhiannon soon discovers that her plan has spectacularly backfired as Nick’s own monster begins to emerge.

What follows is a darker and much more dangerous journey as Rhiannon makes a perilous bargain with three powerful entities to save Nick. This takes her deep into the Underworld, where vicious creatures lurk and every decision comes with a price. Meanwhile, Rhiannon is facing her own inner monster and questioning whether the very thing she fears might actually be the thing she needs to survive.

And then… THAT TWIST!

OMG. I genuinely did not see that coming, and finally discovering who Rhiannon’s biological parents actually are was one of those moments where I just sat there thinking, Wait… WHAT?! I love it when a book manages to pull the rug out from underneath you, and this one certainly did that.

Of course, now I have approximately a million questions. Most importantly, how on earth did Rhiannon manage to be adopted?! After that revelation, I desperately need to know more about what happened and what the background to her adoption actually was. I’m also really hoping we get much more of Rhiannon’s parents in the next book, particularly her mother, because there is clearly so much more to this story.

I’m now very keen to jump into Book #3. After that ending, there is absolutely no way I’m leaving this series sitting on my Kindle for another couple of years!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4iBlJ00