A review by suzreadsalot
Venom & Vow by Elliott McLemore, Anna-Marie McLemore

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

this is possibly the most true 3 star book i've read. i kinda loved it but was also equally disappointed. so far Anna-Marie McLemore's books have been Hit or Miss for me and Venom & Vow was both a Hit and a Miss, so let's get into it!

What I loved:
  • The main characters 
    •  Cade and Val were great characters in my opinion. they were fun and i love them individually and think that they both had good individual growth.
  • The trans storyline
    • absolutely phenomenal. I loved that we got Cade who was confident in himself and his identity and had known he was trans from a young age. Then we had Val who was still figuring out their identity and come to terms with what that would mean for them moving forward. 
  • The disability rep
    • The dopamine hit of having not one but TWO disabled MCs was magical. 

What I didn't love:
  • The writing was very much tell and no show. for me this really hindered the emotional moments that i wanted to connect to. 
  • The fantasy plotline was..... not there? It was felt like it wanted to be a political fantasy plot but it was riddled with plot holes and consostency issues and overall i'm still confused about what it actually was lol
  • The romance. HEAR ME OUT okay! so did i like the romance? yes. but i also feel like it was rushed. The tension was trying but it just didn't hit and then they all of a sudden just start being friends? the transition from enemies to friends to lovers was not smooth in my opinion. I do think that i can see Cade and Val falling in love but the big I Love You moment just didn't feel genuine to me. 

overall it was a fun book and the narration was amazing but it let me confused and wanting and not in the fun way.