Engaging sequel to the Venom trilogy

Alena’s decision to become a Supe rather than succumb to the deadly Aegrus Virus opened her world up to the supernatural community on the other side of the Wall. Family secrets came to light in which Alena learned that her beloved Yaya was a priestess to Zeus. Hera, in her rage, placed a curse on their family as a result.

Having defeated Hera’s champion Achilles, Alena must now face the cunning demi-god Theseus. While Achilles had been all brawn, Theseus is a cunning master manipulator who sets about turning Alena’s friends and family against her.

Meanwhile Alena is undergoing divorce proceedings in an effort to win back her inheritance as well as her beloved bakery. Her desperate attempts to convince the judge that she should not be declared dead simply because of her supernatural status hits a snag when Theseus chooses that moment to attack...

Fangs and Fennel is the third entertaining instalment in the Venom trilogy which sees Alena trying to adapt to her new life as a supernatural. Her romance with Remo is blossoming, if only she can sort out her pesky divorce from her low life ex husband, Roger. Unfortunately she faces opposition from the courts who refuse to grant her any rights as a Supe.

Meanwhile we have other forces conspiring against her, namely Hera, Aphrodite, Theseus and Remo’s vampire brother, Santos. Theseus is proving to be a formidable enemy in that he is not only trying to drive a wedge between Alena and her family and friends, but he’s working with Santos to effectively destroy her too. Zeus has made himself scarce as usual but Alena does find an ally in Hephaestus, the werewolf Officer Jensen and of course the irrepressible Eros (Ernie) who I absolutely loved!

Alena is an endearing protagonist who refuses to compromise her beliefs and is loyal to fault. I felt that she grew in confidence in this instalment. We were also given more background on the reasons behind Hera’s antagonism towards Alena’s family and I’m looking forward to this being further explored in the next instalment especially with regards to her parents and why they became Firstamentalists. Merlin is another enigma who continues to intrigue me. It’s obvious now that his initial agenda was for the monsters to fall so that humans would see the need for heroes and thereby tear down the Wall that separated them from the Supes. Alena has shown him that the world has changed and it’s monsters that are now needed.

All in all this was a fast paced, well developed instalment which I enjoyed more than the first and I’m looking forward to seeing how the author will tie up all the loose ends in the conclusion. I recommend this for fans of vampires, werewolves, warlocks, shifters, sirens, Greek/Arthurian mythology and of course baking!

I listened to this book in audible form which was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. I was impressed by the way she was masterfully able to bring each character to life with their own unique voice, switching effortlessly between characters and accents.

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