Review: Sweet Shadows by Tera Lynn Childs

Title: Sweet Shadows
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Publication Date: September 4th, 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy - Mythology - Paranormal

"Gretchen may have known she was a descendant of Medusa long before her sisters--after all, she's spent her life fighting the monsters that escape the abyss--but that doesn't mean it will be easy to teach the other girls the ropes. Can she rely on Grace and Greer, or even trust herself to keep them safe?Greer has pressing social commitments on her plate and precious little time to train in her newfound powers. But that wretched second sight won't leave her alone, and her fabled heritage seems to be creeping into her fashionable life.Grace has worries closer to home--like why her brother, Thane, has disappeared. He's hiding something. Could it possibly be related to the secret heritage the triplets share?
With the warring factions among the gods of Olympus coming for them, the creatures of the abyss pushing into their world, and the boys in their lives keeping secrets at every turn, the three girls must figure out where their fate will take them and how to embrace the shadows of their legacy." ~See it on Goodreads!

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I really loved Sweet Venom, which is the first book in this series. So naturally, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Sweet Shadows (the second book) to see how the story would continue. And I’m glad to say I loved this one just as much of the first! I know sometimes with series I’ll have that whole “second-book-syndrome” thing, and you end up not liking the second book as much as the first, but I’m so glad to say that wasn’t an issue with this one!

This book was definitely a little more intense than the first one, and the action starts right from the beginning. I really liked how you get to see the change and growth in the relationships between Gretchen, Grace, and Greer. They’re all still getting to know each other and trying adapt to the knowledge that they’re triplets and not to mention huntresses. And even though it’s all still new to them you can see how much they really care about each other, and would do anything to keep each other safe.

In particular we really get to know Greer better in this book, she was introduced later than Gretchen and Grace in the first book so you didn’t get to learn as much about her then. We also learn more about Nick, he’s definitely grown on me more through this book, and we find out a big part he plays in the whole scheme of things. I’m still extremely curious about Grace’s brother Thane though! He doesn’t appear much in this book but when he does show up it just raises even more burning questions about him!

There is a bit more focus on romance in this book, I won’t go into too many details for those who haven’t read either book yet. But I do like the pairings pretty well so far, and I’m interested to see what unfolds between two certain characters.

The incorporation of Mythology in this book is just as seamless and balanced as it was in the first book, it doesn’t feel strange or misplaced at all. I was glued to the pages from the start and couldn’t stand to put it down when I had to go and do pesky things like work, or eat. I mean really who does those things anyways?

Needless to say this book ended and left me with so many burning questions and had a bit of a cliffhanger as well, and now I’m likely to go a bit mad waiting for September 3rd to get her so I can get my hands on a copy of Sweet Legacy!

4.5 Stars!

Review: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Title: Sweet Venom
Author: Tera Lynn Childs

Genre: YA Fantasy - Mythology - Paranormal

"Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight." ~See it on Goodreads

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I'm so glad I picked up Sweet Venom! I'm a huge history/mythology geek so I was really excited to read this one! And it was everything I was expecting it to be!

The three main characters in this book are Grace, Gretchen and Greer; they’re actually triplets which I thought was cool in itself lol. They all have very different personalities; Grace is super smart, a bit clumsy, and kind of insecure with herself and what people think of her. But she’s also a really sweet, kind hearted and loyal person. Gretchen is definitely a tough kick a** chick, she knows all kinds of martial arts and won’t take crap from anybody. She’s a little guarded because of her past but also has a sweet and caring side underneath all that toughness. Greer is the epitome of a prissy rich girl lol. And at first it seems like you might not like her much but as the story goes on you see that she’s actually a very kind person and has a lot of depth to her. 

The book alternates between all three girls POV’s and that may sound confusing because if it isn’t done well having multiple POV’s can make the story seem choppy and it won’t flow as smoothly. But it actually wasn’t an issue at all in this book, the author did a great job of making each girls voice so distinctive that it was easy to remember which girls POV I was reading from. And as far as the Greek mythology element goes, I think it was executed and researched very well. The author explains every event and the history behind them really well so for people that have never read anything pertaining to Greek mythology it’s all still easy to understand and you won’t get lost while reading it.

There was a lot of action in the story that kept me rapidly turning the pages to see what would happen next. And I also adored the humor throughout the book, it earned me quite a few weird looks because I honestly couldn’t keep myself from having several outbursts of laughter haha.

I did wish that I had gotten to know more about some of the secondary characters like Grace’s brother Thane and his friend Milo, and the mysterious Nick. But seeing as this is the first book in the series I’m hoping we’ll learn more about them in the next installments. And I just have to add, that ending was such a huge freaking cliff hanger!! My reaction was similar to this:

(shout out to the Supernatural fans out there!)

So needless to say I can’t wait to get my hands on that second book! haha. Overall I really loved this book and I highly recommend it, especially if you’re a mythology fan!

4.5 Stars!

Review: Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Title: Forgive My Fins
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Genre: YA - Fantasy

"Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.
Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.
When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned." ~See it on Goodreads

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I’ve been wanting to read some fun summer books just to mix things up a bit with my normal reading, so Forgive My Fins was a perfect choice. I had a few nitpicks here and there but overall I really enjoyed this book, it was fun, cute and a quick read for me. 

I’ve always liked mermaids; they’re one of my favorite mythical creatures so I was interested to see how they’d be portrayed in this book. I liked how the author took the mermaid lore and made it unique for the story, and the underwater world of Thalassinia that she created sounded like such a magical place and I was captured by it. 

I absolutely adored Quince; he was hands down my favorite character and stole my heart from the beginning. He’s a snarky biker guy, with a sweet/intelligent side. Totally. Love. Him! However, I wasn’t quite so fond of Lily. I mean she was okay in general but at times she just came off as spoiled and immature, and the fact that she was so infatuated with Brody just really annoyed me, especially since she had the amazing-ness that is Quince right in front of her! I hope she’ll grow and mature a bit more in the next book. 

Another nitpick I had was the fact that the plot was kind of predictable in some areas, I would have liked if it had been a little more surprising. Also, the whole fishy lingo thing got a bit old after I was about halfway through the book lol, and that may not bother other people but for me it was a bit... tiresome. Those things aside I still enjoyed this book and it kept my attention well enough to finish it in only a few hours lol. 

If you like mermaids or just want a quick, light, and fun read, then Forgive My Fins might just be something for you. I’ll be getting the next book soon, and I’ll be reading more of Tera Lynn Childs work as well! 

3.5 Stars!