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blvelances's review
3.0
it’s a theme in this series that the male characters do their worse to hurt the female characters… and they just take it until the males change
you’d think this one was different you know since we know from the other books that renee cheated on callum?
except the cheating part has to be excused so - i should have expected callum to be treating her badly even before any cheating happened
from the first second in this book he was treating her badly. then something switched they dated for a second, he threw a tantrum over her not being overjoyed with their mothers’ plans to have them married when they were 18… so got married.
and then went to college… where he proceeded to ignore her immediately. yo hang out with his friends. and then call her needy and insecure. all that unwarranted
but then she cheats (after he had gone home smelling like another girl AND she saw girls touching him btw) while being extremely drunk and suddenly of course he cares.
(and btw alcohol isn’t an excuse yada yada - except no one can consent when they’re too drunk to know what they’re doing and too drunk to remember it. it was extremely hard for me to read that part because it’s a little worse than cheating. )
parenthesis aside, callum now has ANOTHER reason to be terrible renee, even though he never needed a reason he was doing fine on his own
and for some reason, for the same mysterious reason that made daisy wait for her ex boyfriend and go to college to be together again with him while quinn had started dating daisy’s ex best friend, and the same reason that made pippa forgive each and every of toby’s offenses and even wait around for a little less than a year while he gave her no news at all
(the reason is that some authors and readers want their female characters to be tortured)
second parenthesis but renee basically only came to gray springs only to be with callum, even though the university didn’t really have what she wanted in terms of education- great right
« I’d always known what she was capable of. I just never thought she’d set her sights on destroying me. » ??? boy what - this book calling renee pretty venom but never showing examples is simply bad writing. none of her actions have shown what the boy who supposedly dated her for over three years is saying here. she didn’t even cheat out of spite
and btw the story COULD have been that renee was tired of being ignored and kissed mike to ignite a reaction out of callum. and then she’d have regretted it and the quote above could have been warranted. it would have been much better than this weird dubbcon
« Falling in love changed you bit by bit in a way you didn’t realize until that love had left you suffocating in the remaining pieces » were was that love before ? love is more than pretty words it’s actions
« In the downstairs bathroom, I stared at my reflection, the milky pallor to my skin, my defined cheekbones more prominent, and my hair, curled yet still flat.
Lifeless. As though who I was had been seeping out of my pores every day for the past year, and it was starting to show. »
over a man who basically never deserved her ? who never acknowledged even once he had treated her badly since they first arrived to college
who hasn’t ONCE looked for an explanation and simply kept of hating her and talking about prey to her when he was treating her like less trash
and then after all the suffering comes the truth: she actually did not fuck mike and he lied - to complete the martyr act. she was (kinda) innocent after all
and funny when callum is now chasing her he’s sending presents, and she’s not fucking anyone else. his pride gets to remain great while she gets to remain chaste (because it’s VERY important in this series as well)
knowing where the story was going, why couldn’t the author erase some of those ideas she had from the book?
- callum getting a bj from renee’s roommate et renee walking in on them
- all the times they had sex and he treated her like garbage
- all the time he talked to her and about her like garbage
- how many months the whole ordeal lasted
the book could have been about the aftermath instead. some things are hard to forget or forgive and i’m sorry but since their problems started when they arrived at college, i would have loved to see them be a real couple in college. see how callum’s behavior changed. but of course none of that happened (just like it didn’t for toby and pippa for whom i had the exact same problem - why keep piling up the offenses and then sweep them under the rug and jump to 10years later?)
it seems me from the past read this book and rated it 5stars and ??? it absolutely doesn’t deserve 5 stars. renee as a character does though
reneecallum could have been a worthy couple as well based on their personality and plot but the author decided to handle it badly
you’d think this one was different you know since we know from the other books that renee cheated on callum?
except the cheating part has to be excused so - i should have expected callum to be treating her badly even before any cheating happened
from the first second in this book he was treating her badly. then something switched they dated for a second, he threw a tantrum over her not being overjoyed with their mothers’ plans to have them married when they were 18… so got married.
and then went to college… where he proceeded to ignore her immediately. yo hang out with his friends. and then call her needy and insecure. all that unwarranted
but then she cheats (after he had gone home smelling like another girl AND she saw girls touching him btw) while being extremely drunk and suddenly of course he cares.
(and btw alcohol isn’t an excuse yada yada - except no one can consent when they’re too drunk to know what they’re doing and too drunk to remember it. it was extremely hard for me to read that part because it’s a little worse than cheating. )
parenthesis aside, callum now has ANOTHER reason to be terrible renee, even though he never needed a reason he was doing fine on his own
and for some reason, for the same mysterious reason that made daisy wait for her ex boyfriend and go to college to be together again with him while quinn had started dating daisy’s ex best friend, and the same reason that made pippa forgive each and every of toby’s offenses and even wait around for a little less than a year while he gave her no news at all
(the reason is that some authors and readers want their female characters to be tortured)
second parenthesis but renee basically only came to gray springs only to be with callum, even though the university didn’t really have what she wanted in terms of education- great right
« I’d always known what she was capable of. I just never thought she’d set her sights on destroying me. » ??? boy what - this book calling renee pretty venom but never showing examples is simply bad writing. none of her actions have shown what the boy who supposedly dated her for over three years is saying here. she didn’t even cheat out of spite
and btw the story COULD have been that renee was tired of being ignored and kissed mike to ignite a reaction out of callum. and then she’d have regretted it and the quote above could have been warranted. it would have been much better than this weird dubbcon
« Falling in love changed you bit by bit in a way you didn’t realize until that love had left you suffocating in the remaining pieces » were was that love before ? love is more than pretty words it’s actions
« In the downstairs bathroom, I stared at my reflection, the milky pallor to my skin, my defined cheekbones more prominent, and my hair, curled yet still flat.
Lifeless. As though who I was had been seeping out of my pores every day for the past year, and it was starting to show. »
over a man who basically never deserved her ? who never acknowledged even once he had treated her badly since they first arrived to college
who hasn’t ONCE looked for an explanation and simply kept of hating her and talking about prey to her when he was treating her like less trash
and then after all the suffering comes the truth: she actually did not fuck mike and he lied - to complete the martyr act. she was (kinda) innocent after all
and funny when callum is now chasing her he’s sending presents, and she’s not fucking anyone else. his pride gets to remain great while she gets to remain chaste (because it’s VERY important in this series as well)
knowing where the story was going, why couldn’t the author erase some of those ideas she had from the book?
- callum getting a bj from renee’s roommate et renee walking in on them
- all the times they had sex and he treated her like garbage
- all the time he talked to her and about her like garbage
- how many months the whole ordeal lasted
the book could have been about the aftermath instead. some things are hard to forget or forgive and i’m sorry but since their problems started when they arrived at college, i would have loved to see them be a real couple in college. see how callum’s behavior changed. but of course none of that happened (just like it didn’t for toby and pippa for whom i had the exact same problem - why keep piling up the offenses and then sweep them under the rug and jump to 10years later?)
it seems me from the past read this book and rated it 5stars and ??? it absolutely doesn’t deserve 5 stars. renee as a character does though
reneecallum could have been a worthy couple as well based on their personality and plot but the author decided to handle it badly
nadine_booklover's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
"A handsome boy. Beautiful but like a wolf. He'd charm me, invite me in with sweet words and stomach clenching stares, then leave me half dead on the unforgiving ground."
Reading Pretty Venom is an experience you don't want to miss. It's something special spiked with sugary sweets as much as with pretty venom. I still don't really know how I feel regarding this story. There is so much hate and at the same time so much love that my confused heart still tries to wrap all around that.
"Renee wasn't all sweet; she was pretty venom wrapped in a sugary bow."
Renee was definitely not what I expected her to be at all. And again, never judge a book by it's cover as you don't know the story behind it. Even though you can say she's a spoiled and pampered girl, she pretty much knows what she wants and goes for it.
Her development through the book, the way she grew slowly into adulthood was impressive. In the end I really came to like Renee and the way she fought for her love.
"You could love someone until your final breath, but unless you could trust them, love wouldn't let you keep them."
Callum is very similar to Renee. Also growing up in a rich family with his future already mapped out by his parents he tried to find his own way in life. Once he loves and caught your heart, you'll learn that he's actually perfect boyfriend/husband material. Callum also grew into adulthood through the heartbreak he suffered and became a man fighting for his one true love.
"Because in your dreams, everything and anything is possible. And in mine, you're with me. Always with me."
Ella did an amazing job with telling Renee's and Cullum's story: From their beginning when hate turned into love, through when love turned into hate and then back again into love.
Their story shows, how close hate and love are. They are two sides of the same coin and one can't exist without the other. It's only a fine line separating them. And it shows how much can change with the years and how important trust is. Not only in the significant other but in yourself. More important their story shows that true love is always worth the fight.
"My enemy, my ally, my best friend. She was love in its rawest form. Everything I needed wrapped in one multilayered bow. One that I refused to let unravel ever again."
Pretty Venom is surly another masterpiece out of Ella Field's magical feather. She's a witch with words creating special and unique characters you can't help falling for. The way she tells the stories goes straight to your heart and an emotional roller-coaster ride is always granted.
"A handsome boy. Beautiful but like a wolf. He'd charm me, invite me in with sweet words and stomach clenching stares, then leave me half dead on the unforgiving ground."
Reading Pretty Venom is an experience you don't want to miss. It's something special spiked with sugary sweets as much as with pretty venom. I still don't really know how I feel regarding this story. There is so much hate and at the same time so much love that my confused heart still tries to wrap all around that.
"Renee wasn't all sweet; she was pretty venom wrapped in a sugary bow."
Renee was definitely not what I expected her to be at all. And again, never judge a book by it's cover as you don't know the story behind it. Even though you can say she's a spoiled and pampered girl, she pretty much knows what she wants and goes for it.
Her development through the book, the way she grew slowly into adulthood was impressive. In the end I really came to like Renee and the way she fought for her love.
"You could love someone until your final breath, but unless you could trust them, love wouldn't let you keep them."
Callum is very similar to Renee. Also growing up in a rich family with his future already mapped out by his parents he tried to find his own way in life. Once he loves and caught your heart, you'll learn that he's actually perfect boyfriend/husband material. Callum also grew into adulthood through the heartbreak he suffered and became a man fighting for his one true love.
"Because in your dreams, everything and anything is possible. And in mine, you're with me. Always with me."
Ella did an amazing job with telling Renee's and Cullum's story: From their beginning when hate turned into love, through when love turned into hate and then back again into love.
Their story shows, how close hate and love are. They are two sides of the same coin and one can't exist without the other. It's only a fine line separating them. And it shows how much can change with the years and how important trust is. Not only in the significant other but in yourself. More important their story shows that true love is always worth the fight.
"My enemy, my ally, my best friend. She was love in its rawest form. Everything I needed wrapped in one multilayered bow. One that I refused to let unravel ever again."
Pretty Venom is surly another masterpiece out of Ella Field's magical feather. She's a witch with words creating special and unique characters you can't help falling for. The way she tells the stories goes straight to your heart and an emotional roller-coaster ride is always granted.
drez80's review against another edition
1.0
Based on the blurb, I thought I'd love this, but sadly, I did not. The beginning was really slow, and I had trouble getting into it. I did like Renee and Callum together originally, but I ended up hating both of them and think they'd be better with other people after everything that happened. I know how everything looked to Callum, but to not even listen or care when Renee said she blacked out and didn't know what happened? Why was he not upset or wondering if she was drugged? And the way he treated her, and yet she just kept going back for more and trying to force him back into a relationship with her? WHY?! So frustrating! He was sleeping with everyone on campus and even got a bj from your roommate and made sure you got to see it, and yet you still keep following him to parties and trying to talk to him and have sex with him?! Then once the true story comes out, you put up the tiniest bit of a fight but rollover anyway because you love him. It was great that Callum finally realized he was just as much to blame for their situation because of his behavior when they got to college, but he didn't do nearly enough to redeem himself in my eyes. I would have preferred Renee end up with someone else (not Mike).
lesslinette's review against another edition
I'm so confused, I'm unsure what I'm reading?? Xd For a short book, it baffles me the amount of filler it has, oh my. I'm not an inpatient person in the least, so it's really surprising to me the fact that I grew tired of this really quickly.
I thought I was reading a book about adults, but turns out there are several chapters I have to read before the characters become of age. No biggie, sure, but there are more effective ways to explain the character's backstory than ,, this. Super slow, with a bunch of irrelevant conversations and scenes. So sorry.
I thought I was reading a book about adults, but turns out there are several chapters I have to read before the characters become of age. No biggie, sure, but there are more effective ways to explain the character's backstory than ,, this. Super slow, with a bunch of irrelevant conversations and scenes. So sorry.
beckyrendon's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E hate to lovers stories. It's the passion behind the hate and then transformed into love theater's my heart. The fire and sparks warm ...other parts. Giggle all you want but hate to lovers are intense stories and this one- yikes.
The story of Renee and Callum starts in a fairly perfect way. The stage is set the mood is right and bam! Instant drama. but it's the way it unfolds that causes my heart to seize and my tears to erupt. Even knowing (the blurb tells me so) that things would get bad, I couldn't fathom it.
Ella Fields found the perfect way to destroy the readers hearts while leaving us holding on to hope. Just keep holding on, because this gets brutal. Absolutely gut wrenching brutally in the worst way...
Don't worry those tears dry up. You find a way to move on. And maybe, just maybe, you find love CAN be enough.
Reviewed for Sweet Spot Sisterhood
I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E hate to lovers stories. It's the passion behind the hate and then transformed into love theater's my heart. The fire and sparks warm ...other parts. Giggle all you want but hate to lovers are intense stories and this one- yikes.
The story of Renee and Callum starts in a fairly perfect way. The stage is set the mood is right and bam! Instant drama. but it's the way it unfolds that causes my heart to seize and my tears to erupt. Even knowing (the blurb tells me so) that things would get bad, I couldn't fathom it.
Ella Fields found the perfect way to destroy the readers hearts while leaving us holding on to hope. Just keep holding on, because this gets brutal. Absolutely gut wrenching brutally in the worst way...
Don't worry those tears dry up. You find a way to move on. And maybe, just maybe, you find love CAN be enough.
Reviewed for Sweet Spot Sisterhood
rcrg's review against another edition
5.0
I was blown away by the emotion I felt while reading this tale. It was a full on roller coaster ride. I wanted to throat punch Callum so many times and slap Renee just as many. These are two very self centered kids, who we get the chance to see grow into adults. It was as painful as watching my own child grow up! All the mistakes, bad decisions and repercussions were so real and heartbreaking. This book lingered with me and I would highly recommend this read.
caseroo7's review against another edition
4.0
I couldn't wait to get Callum's story! I was so curious about him and Renee! They broke my heart, but I couldn't get enough of them! Well worth the wait, I can't wait for more from Ella Fields.
sienna727's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
ameserole's review against another edition
3.0
SO MUCH SEXUAL TENSION!
Okay, this book was way better than the second one. I loved Callum and Renee so much. They were cunning and their relationship was exciting and different. Their relationship started off iffy, then they fell in love, and then one day - everything changed. It was a freaking roller coaster kind of book. From enemies to friends, friends to lovers, lovers back to enemies, and on and on. At one point they do become friends with benefits.. but damn, I loved them. I couldn't stop shipping these two.
Their relationship was just filled with sexual tension. Of course there were some things I didn't like about the book but in the end, it didn't matter. It was entertaining enough that I just wanted to see where things were going to go.
Overall, I enjoyed it. I have no idea if there is another book at the moment, damn you work, but if there is - I will probably dive into it.
Okay, this book was way better than the second one. I loved Callum and Renee so much. They were cunning and their relationship was exciting and different. Their relationship started off iffy, then they fell in love, and then one day - everything changed. It was a freaking roller coaster kind of book. From enemies to friends, friends to lovers, lovers back to enemies, and on and on. At one point they do become friends with benefits.. but damn, I loved them. I couldn't stop shipping these two.
Their relationship was just filled with sexual tension. Of course there were some things I didn't like about the book but in the end, it didn't matter. It was entertaining enough that I just wanted to see where things were going to go.
Overall, I enjoyed it. I have no idea if there is another book at the moment, damn you work, but if there is - I will probably dive into it.