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blakeandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I feel mixed emotions about this one.
What I liked: I loved all of the representation in this book! Cade is a transgender prince, and Valencia/Gael is a bigender person who is both a dama for the princess and an assassin. There is also chronic pain and disability representation that I appreciated so much!! Cade uses an enchanted owl staff called Faolan + Val uses a cane. The scene where they are dancing? I loved it, getting their POVs of what it was like to dance with once another and be attentive to each others disabilities was so cool. I really enjoyed them falling in love too. I loved the time with the monks, and I wish those scenes were longer!!
What I didn’t like: There were so many parts where I had no idea what was going on in terms of placement in the story and plot. A chapter would end with Valencia and another would start with Cade, and I felt like I needed to go back because I didn’t understand and felt like I was missing information and context. It just felt so choppy, which was really disappointing! I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had it been a bit longer to create more world building and discussion around the enchantment that their parents were under + if the ending wasn’t so rushed.
Overall, I definitely think this is a read to still keep on your radar, especially if you’re wanting more representation in your reading experience.
What I liked: I loved all of the representation in this book! Cade is a transgender prince, and Valencia/Gael is a bigender person who is both a dama for the princess and an assassin. There is also chronic pain and disability representation that I appreciated so much!! Cade uses an enchanted owl staff called Faolan + Val uses a cane. The scene where they are dancing? I loved it, getting their POVs of what it was like to dance with once another and be attentive to each others disabilities was so cool. I really enjoyed them falling in love too. I loved the time with the monks, and I wish those scenes were longer!!
What I didn’t like: There were so many parts where I had no idea what was going on in terms of placement in the story and plot. A chapter would end with Valencia and another would start with Cade, and I felt like I needed to go back because I didn’t understand and felt like I was missing information and context. It just felt so choppy, which was really disappointing! I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had it been a bit longer to create more world building and discussion around the enchantment that their parents were under + if the ending wasn’t so rushed.
Overall, I definitely think this is a read to still keep on your radar, especially if you’re wanting more representation in your reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, War, Death, and Ableism
cleot's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, and War
kaylallavender's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Violence
Moderate: War and Ableism
Minor: Death of parent and Colonisation
betweentheshelves's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The best thing about this book was the characters, hands down. Not only do we have great queer representation, but also disability rep too. Of course, it's Anna-Marie McLemore, so that's kind of expected at this point. I appreciated all of the details and emotions that when behind our two main characters, Val and Cade. They had fabulous chemistry, and they felt like they could just be with each other. I absolutely loved every moment of that.
It's the world building that brought the story down for me. While usually I don't mind just beind dropped into the middle of the action, in this story, it didn't feel like there were enough details for me to fully grasp what was going on. There's a war between kingdoms and some sort of curse, but we switched points of view so much I felt like I never really got the full story. Adding a few more details definitely would have helped in this aspect.
Despite that, please keep bringing this kind of diversity to YA fantasy! It's great for all kinds of readers to see themselves in these magical worlds.
It's the world building that brought the story down for me. While usually I don't mind just beind dropped into the middle of the action, in this story, it didn't feel like there were enough details for me to fully grasp what was going on. There's a war between kingdoms and some sort of curse, but we switched points of view so much I felt like I never really got the full story. Adding a few more details definitely would have helped in this aspect.
Despite that, please keep bringing this kind of diversity to YA fantasy! It's great for all kinds of readers to see themselves in these magical worlds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, War, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism and Death of parent
metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Transphobia, and War
nox_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“Of all the things my father taught me, this is one most likely to keep me alive tonight: Your hair, mija, can always hold more knives than you think.”
Thank you to Macmillan and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
VENOM AND VOW is a beautifully descriptive fantasy novel by author couple Anna-Marie and Elliot McLemore. Eliana and Adare are two warring kingdoms, and the novel focuses on two of the people caught up in this war: Valencia Palafox, dama, assassin, and best friend to the Elianan princess, and Cade McKenna, the brother of Adare’s prince with a secret of his own.
Cade and Valencia are such interesting characters, each wanting the war to end and for their parents to wake up from the curse that has put both kingdoms’ older generation to sleep. The book shows the differences between the two kingdoms and what they each hold dear, but also the similarities and how they’ve each been affected by this war. The world building and lore behind this book is fascinating, and I love that it’s all explained at a time that makes sense but also when it’s relevant for the story. Most of the book takes place in Adare, but I loved what we did see of Eliana. I really hope that this becomes a series (it ended just open-ended enough that all of our questions were answered and wrapped up but there could definitely be more) so that we can explore Eliana more!
Most of all, I loved the fact that this is a fantasy novel where the two main characters both use a mobility aid. As someone who uses a cane, this means everything to me. It means even more that Adare has worked on making things more accessible, even teaching cane users modified dances so they can still dance during parties! While ableism still exists in this world, I cried seeing two powerful and strong cane users who use them as an extension of themselves, even when they’re fighting. When I say I want accessibility in fantasy, I mean in "small" moments like these too. Using a cane was so normalized in Adare that Cade didn't even think about Valencia not knowing how to dance with hers.
I think there's a lot in the book that will make people turn away from it at first. The first half relies pretty heavily on some misinformation (not necessarily miscommunication because there WAS no communication) and that's really what drives that home. A character also does something towards the end but is easily forgiven for it, and while it didn't ruin anything for me, I would not have forgiven them that easily. She almost got you killed Val, why are you forgiving her? Why is Cade forgiving her? She almost got his love interest killed in an attempt to kill your brother! There are also some things that I questioned when first mentioned but were explained later on (lots of people were talking about Karlynn's heir and I didn't know who Karylnn was yet). The way that the royal family of Adare is explained makes sense in context though, and I loved that there was an in-story reason for Valencia to know that information and give it to the reader. It makes me want another book in Eliana even more!
I can’t wait to be able to talk to more people about how much I love this book!
Thank you to Macmillan and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
VENOM AND VOW is a beautifully descriptive fantasy novel by author couple Anna-Marie and Elliot McLemore. Eliana and Adare are two warring kingdoms, and the novel focuses on two of the people caught up in this war: Valencia Palafox, dama, assassin, and best friend to the Elianan princess, and Cade McKenna, the brother of Adare’s prince with a secret of his own.
Cade and Valencia are such interesting characters, each wanting the war to end and for their parents to wake up from the curse that has put both kingdoms’ older generation to sleep. The book shows the differences between the two kingdoms and what they each hold dear, but also the similarities and how they’ve each been affected by this war. The world building and lore behind this book is fascinating, and I love that it’s all explained at a time that makes sense but also when it’s relevant for the story. Most of the book takes place in Adare, but I loved what we did see of Eliana. I really hope that this becomes a series (it ended just open-ended enough that all of our questions were answered and wrapped up but there could definitely be more) so that we can explore Eliana more!
Most of all, I loved the fact that this is a fantasy novel where the two main characters both use a mobility aid. As someone who uses a cane, this means everything to me. It means even more that Adare has worked on making things more accessible, even teaching cane users modified dances so they can still dance during parties! While ableism still exists in this world, I cried seeing two powerful and strong cane users who use them as an extension of themselves, even when they’re fighting. When I say I want accessibility in fantasy, I mean in "small" moments like these too. Using a cane was so normalized in Adare that Cade didn't even think about Valencia not knowing how to dance with hers.
I think there's a lot in the book that will make people turn away from it at first. The first half relies pretty heavily on some misinformation (not necessarily miscommunication because there WAS no communication) and that's really what drives that home. A character also does something towards the end but is easily forgiven for it, and while it didn't ruin anything for me, I would not have forgiven them that easily.
I can’t wait to be able to talk to more people about how much I love this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Transphobia
Moderate: War and Blood
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
Mistaken identity combined with enemies-to-lovers make for a high drama story in a competently built fantasy world.
Thoughts
I started reading this book while waiting on a work call, and then I spent the entire actual call wondering when I could get back to the book (sorry, boss). The story hooked me from the first page, and kept up at a fast pace all the way through. I love a mistaken identity plot, and the delicious twists of our two leads each mistaking each other adds so much drama to the proceedings. The world building's strength is its politics and culture, with Spanish and Irish terms sprinkled in to differentiate the two kingdoms. The monastery where Cade lived was easily my favorite part, as a thoughtful and thorough way to write queerness in an alternate world. In comparison, the magic system is somewhat underdeveloped, which lead to a couple points of confusion. The middle of the book where the POVs switch off regularly also has a few jumps in the timeline that I couldn't always follow. The relationship between our leads takes the majority of the focus, with an enemies-to-lovers narrative, and lots of political maneuvering for them and the supporting cast. The end hints that there may be more to come, but it ties up all the plot threads very neatly, so this can be read as a standalone without any problems.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an advance copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.
Mistaken identity combined with enemies-to-lovers make for a high drama story in a competently built fantasy world.
Thoughts
I started reading this book while waiting on a work call, and then I spent the entire actual call wondering when I could get back to the book (sorry, boss). The story hooked me from the first page, and kept up at a fast pace all the way through. I love a mistaken identity plot, and the delicious twists of our two leads each mistaking each other adds so much drama to the proceedings. The world building's strength is its politics and culture, with Spanish and Irish terms sprinkled in to differentiate the two kingdoms. The monastery where Cade lived was easily my favorite part, as a thoughtful and thorough way to write queerness in an alternate world. In comparison, the magic system is somewhat underdeveloped, which lead to a couple points of confusion. The middle of the book where the POVs switch off regularly also has a few jumps in the timeline that I couldn't always follow. The relationship between our leads takes the majority of the focus, with an enemies-to-lovers narrative, and lots of political maneuvering for them and the supporting cast. The end hints that there may be more to come, but it ties up all the plot threads very neatly, so this can be read as a standalone without any problems.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an advance copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Ableism
Minor: Death of parent and Transphobia
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