A review by weird_but_fucking_beautiful
Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Thank you so much for reading Tryst Six Venom. This world will be forever hard for me to leave.” 
          Penelope Douglas 
Oh God, me too Pen, me too. 

Tryst Six Venom, Penelope Douglas’s sapphic enemies to lovers novel is the story of Clay and Olivia, high school girls from opposite sides of the tracks. navigating the trappings of society, propriety, and their undeniably strong attraction to one another.  
 
Clay and Olivia (Liv), to coin a phrase from John Mayer, are sexual napalm together. I was so immersed in their love/hate relationship that at times I forgot to come up for air. Everything from the tension of being within one another’s space, to their longing, lust filled stares were done with me always wanting more. It never felt repetitive to me, the longing, the joining, the breaking. This by no means is a great award winning literary novel and doesn’t pretend to be.  It does exactly what it sets out to do, which is to present a coming of tale with all the pitfalls and obstacles that first love encounters. This novel is what is considered a Bully Romance. I was not familiar with that term/genre so I was a little put off by Clay’s treatment of Liv in the beginning. I’m happy to have stuck with the novel because Clay’s character arc is one of its most gratifying aspects. I am a reader that envisions the settings and environments as a book progresses. I fell in love with this little slice of Florida that Ms. Douglas imagines….wait, who am I kidding, it could take place in a barnyard and I’d love it because of Clay and Liv. I am such a fangirl of this novel, but I feel I got everything I needed out of Clay and Liv’s story. I’m  absolutely not opposed to a sequel, but am perfectly content with Clay and Liv living rent free in my head with my imagination. 
 
I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes f/f romances that are wildly sexy with a twist of possessive dominance. 
 
I love this so much I’m going to buy the Eternal Embers signed edition. Every bit of 5 stars for me. 
 

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