This copy was kindly gifted to me from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (submitted on Instagram)

I read this after it was published and I really enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, since I didn't see that it had been archived I didn't even realise that I had on NetGalley and I couldn't review ir properly.

I read this a long time ago and I only remember that I enjoyed the writing and the plot very much.

I don't remember much about the characters though.

I'm so sorry I oukdmt write a proper review for this but I need it for my ratio.

Bloody brilliant!! Absolutely adored the characters and the story - I can’t wait for the 3rd book! Give me more Marianne and Bronn because they make my shipper heart so happy!

Unfortunately I am no longer interested in reviewing this book. I can see that it would be a good read but it is not for me. I hope others enjoy it in the future.

I read Viper so long ago, I was worried when I picked up this second installment that I wouldn't remember enough to be able to pick up the story. I needn't have worried. This was instantly accessible and had me gripped from the outset. At the beginning of the story, Marianne has attained the role of Viper and is working to bring harmony to the Twelve Isles, but who to trust? The plot twists and turns and kept me reading,. I could not put it down. Brilliant adventure, pirates, and magic. This series has it all! The ending left me wishing that the third installment was already published! I would recommend this to any of my customers who enjoyed Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse books.

I loved the first book. Hogan has a great style and delivers believable, relatable characters in a unique setting. Unfortunately, since only an epub version of this arc file was provided, I could only read small amounts at a time on my PC since I do not have a suitable device for that file. This was an involuntary DNF at 30% which was when the file expired. (The book had been archived by then so I could not redownload.) I liked what I read so I'm rating it 3 stars but if I'd got to read the entire book, it might well have been 5. This is no fault of the author. Publishers should really think long and hard about what formats they are delivering e-arcs in.

A thrilling, violent, surprising sequel to Viper that didn't disappoint. I honestly had no idea where this story was going, I was swept along by the storytelling and by the many interesting characters. Warning though- it is left on a cliff hanger that made me actually yell in frustration. Can't wait for the next book...

Marianne finally feels like she is making progress. She will marry prince Torin and the King has agreed that he will finally step down and let them rule after the wedding. Of course things never go to plan and when there's an attempt on Torin's life, she finds herself on the run again.
She decides her only option is to learn more about the magic that is supposed to be in her veins. Only as a mage will she truly be able to fight and save the islands and her people. But instead of finding help, she finds more people in need of her help. Marianne faces so many difficult decisions, none seem right and all lead to some kind of pain and heartbreak. The word sacrifice keeps coming up, following her around wherever she goes.
The ending of this book literally left me breathless! I don't know how I'm supposed to wait a year for Vulture.

Hello bookworms! I am back today with my thoughts after I finished reading Venom by Bex Hogan. I recently wrote about my thoughts after finishing chapter one, which you can read here. Are you new to the Isles of Storm and Sorrow? You can read my review of the first book, Viper, here. Please be aware that this review will contain spoilers for Viper and potentially Venom. I was also gifted the paperback of Venom by the publisher.
Paperback of Venom by Bex Hogan
Synopsis of Venom

Marianne has never wanted to be a fighter, but with unrest and discord threatening the Twelve Islands, she will have to battle threats both inside and out in an attempt to attain peace for her homeland.

Marianne is now the Viper, but her hopes for peace in the Eastern Isles are being frustrated. The corrupt King remains on the throne, bandits are proving hard to stop and Marianne is not sure who among her crew she can truly trust.

For the islands to prosper, the invisible bond that once existed uniting land and sea must be reinstated. There’s only one way that can happen – the return of magic. To do that Marianne must put aside all her fears: she must return to her roots, the Western Isles, and call on the power that runs in her blood.

She must become a Mage. Only then, can she possibly command the army needed to finally take down the King.
My thoughts about Venom

Well, Venom really does infect you like a poison, and leave you feeling heartbroken and distraught. Bex wastes no time setting the scene from where we left off in Viper, and I soon found myself rooting for Marianne all over again. Venom is full of adventure, excitement, and hope, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The characters of Venom

Marianne: As the main protagonist of Venom, we are easily thrust back into Marianne’s life and hoping she achieves bringing together The Twelve Isles. A stubborn character who sometimes takes things to heart, and there were times when I wanted to sit her down and give her a stern talking to, but she is something special. I enjoyed spending more time with her on her journey.

Bronn: I love Bronn so much and he did not deserve Bex and Venom to do him the dirty like that. One of the main love interests, Bronn is the broody gentleman, who clearly has so much depth and emotional range, but we didn’t get to see him too much to be able to appreciate him fully. Honestly, Venom from Bronns perspective would make me very happy. Give me my broody boy!

Gaius: The one main character in Venom who can get in one of his cages and rot in hell. I have never hated a character in this series as much as Gaius, and I honestly imagine the animals he kept caged eating him piece by piece, with birds pooping on his head. I have tortured him in so many different ways.
Themes of Venom

Found family: The most heartwarming part of Venom was Marianne getting to know members of her family. The part with her grandmother really tore at my heartstrings, especially with the situation currently going on in the world. This book made me wish that I could have a big get together with all my family, because Marianne made me realise how important they are. Furthermore, it really does highlight that friends are just as important as family as well. I am also someone who misses my pals a lot during these times.

Magic system: Venom doesn’t really touch too much on the magical system, and I am really hoping that we see more of this in Vulture. With so many books having different magic systems, I feel like this has a different take on magic. Venom is less about wand waving, and more about embracing who you are as a person, and accepting magic as a part of who you are.
Overall thoughts on Venom

Venom is peak YA and has everything I want in a book. Bex has kept me hooked throughout the whole book, and I cannot wait for Vulture and to see what she has in store for the conclusion to her series. The characters have depth and emotions, the plot was on point *french kiss*, and the suspense is very well done. The ending? It ended happily and Vulture will be a very happy book. This was also a book I was reading for the OWLs Readathon!

It’s been around a year since I read and loved Viper, the first instalment of Bex Hogan’s swashbuckling fantasy adventure trilogy. By the end of Viper, the protagonist, Marianne, is the leader of a gang of fierce sea-faring assassins but has discovered she has some unexpected royal lineage, which gives her a unique vantage point to unite the opposing Eastern and western isles. As well as this – as if she didn’t have enough on her plate – she’s suddenly realised she can tap into her hidden magic powers. Since leaving Marianne at this point, I’ve had time to reflect on the plot – interesting, fast-placed, traumatic (I will never recover from the Floral Isle. EVER.) – and the characters – all well-rounded, three-dimensional, and occupying places in my heart (I was fortunate to meet Bex Hogan at YALC last year, and I basically begged her to let Torin and Sharpe be safe and happy. Her response? Evil cackling.), and get excited for Book 2.

Let’s just say that in my innocent excitement, I was wildly unprepared for the sheer emotional rollercoaster that was Venom. Bex Hogan established a world and its lore in Book 1. In Book 2, she cracked her knuckles and went: ‘Right. LET’S MAKE IT INTERESTING.’ By interesting, she means hurting all your favourite characters and tearing your heart to shreds but in an incredibly satisfying way.

I very contentedly read Venom in two sittings, as it does not let up for a single moment. Within the first fifty pages, having settled down to read and unwind before going to bed, I was wheezing and clutching at my tattered heartstrings, and by the one-hundred-page mark, I realised I would definitely not be going to bed at a reasonable hour.

I think where a lot of fantasy – both YA and adult – tends to stagnate for me is in the exposition, where plots are drawn out in long passages about journeys of self-discovery, and characters repetitively mull over their destinies for pages on end. Fortunately, Venom doesn’t suffer from this at all. The pacing is excellent; the high-octane action scenes are spread evenly throughout the book and are interspersed with scenes of dialogue and streams of consciousness that keep the plot moving, while occasionally allowing the reader time to recover. Every page is utilised to move the story onwards and to build on the wider trilogy arc, which, having been hinted at in Viper, is now in full swing. Indeed, Marianne’s plot to unite the Eastern and Western isles is in progress… but despite her best intentions, things just keep seeming to get in the way.

Marianne, the Viper, continues to battle threats magical and mundane as she tries to protect the Isles and all their people.

I thought this was a duology! That ending has killed me! (Although the summary of the next one, already available on goodreads, has softened it a bit.)

Like many second books, this book devotes a lot of time to running around, meeting new people, altering relationships, but nothing is very different at the end. I know, you're rolling your eyes at me, but Marianne is still fighting the same fight, to protect the people of the Isles from evil. It's just changed forms slightly.

While a lot of Things happen in this novel, I still left it feeling that nothing much had actually been going on. It's an odd feeling. I'm looking forward to the third book, though, as I'd love to see how that cliffhanger is resolved and what happens in the end.

I honestly couldn't wait for this book, as I loved the first one so much and hated but loved the ending.

This book drags you back in to this world of pirates, sailors and magic quickly and doesn't let you go until the end.

Get ready for a roller coaster of a ride

Trigger warning: attempted rape, graphic details of torture, death, murder, kidnapping 

Hogan has such a skill for creating brilliant world-building and constantly keeping me on my toes. Every time the story seems to breathe and rest, there's a sudden twist, but it never feels frantic, rather carefully manipulated and controlled by a master puppeteer. All this builds to one of the most vicious endings I have read.

This is an explosive, rip-roaring book, bur it stills allows for introspective character growth and self-discovery. Marianne is such a complex main character and I really empathised with her ongoing conflicts and search for identity. Hogan offers no easy solutions and I like how this is an overarching character arc for Marianne. Her actions have consequences and seeing the effect of her choice play out is both unexpected and smart writing. The fighting scenes are some of my highlights for the book, as they are so vivid and action-packed, you can easily envision them on a film screen.

I adore the rich world of the Twelve Isles so much and through Venom, Hogan allows us to explore more of her gorgeously imagined world. Her world building is given time to shine, as we explore new lands, all with their own distinctive character and feel. This entwines perfectly with the growth of politics, directly linked to Marianne's own conflicts that gives us a multi-faceted story. You can sympathise with a lot of the different perspectives, but Hogan ensures that is never the case with the nefarious figures we occasionally encounter. Their dark and twisted deeds ooze with unsettling menace and unhinged morals, really tapping into the idea of the corruptive nature of power that literature has drawn on time and time again.

Appropriately for this sequel, there is a darker tone and a constant creeping sense of foreboding hanging over every word. You never quite know where Hogan is going to draw you next and that is proven quite forcefully by a genuinely shocking ending.

My only criticism of this incredible sequel is why we have to wait another year for the next instalment!