Review of Venom and Song!

Venom and Song by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper is the exciting second book in The Berinfell Prophecies. This thrilling action/fantasy book will capture the attention and enjoyment of many young readers.

Meet the seven young lords of Allyra, elves given special unique powers to defeat the evil of all evils, the Spider King. Three young men and three young women are the seven- thirteen years old on earth, yet eight hundred in elven years. Tommy, Lord Felheart. Autumn, Lord Miarra. Johnny, Lord Albriand. Jett, Lord Hamandar. Kat, Lord Alreenia. And finally, Kiri Lee, Lord Lothriel.

They must learn how to control and master their powers. They must learn how to work together as a team. And they must defeat the Spider King to save Allyra from the havoc the Spider King will be sure to wreak.

A pretty tall order for normal teenage kids from earth, huh?

Let's just give you a background of what I know. I've read all of the previous books by Mr. Batson, but I have not read the Curse of the Spider King, book one in the Prophecies of Berinfell series. I have also not read any book by Mr. Hopper.

Although I didn't understand some things, I still thought this book rocked!

Mr. Batson and Mr. Hopper did a wonderful job blending their writing voices to create this fantastic story. I never felt as if the writing style was changed or broken off, and the storyline was quite good. Readers can pick up from this book without reading book one, but I recommend reading the first one, ironically, first. I had several "huh?" moments.

I liked the surprise twist at the end, the uniqueness of the characters, and as I always say with Mr. Batson's works, and now, Mr. Hopper's, the totally awesome weapon action! I enjoyed how the seven lords' abilities matured and how they learned to work together. The leaders and mentors of the seven are brave, sacrificing, and noble. They lead a wonderful example for the teens and help steer them in the right path, though they know the ultimate decision is up to the young seven.

Some things that weren't my favorite was that the violence could get a little heavy for being listed as a juvenile fiction book and that I, as a gal late in high school, couldn't enjoy this book as much as I did Isle of Swords or Isle of Fire. I sort of felt like the actions and feelings of the characters were a little too young for me, which is very new. I still read juvenile fiction every chance I get, and I still enjoy characters that are way younger than me, but I just didn't understand the characters as much as I would like to have. So, I think that middle schoolers would enjoy this book, but perhaps late teens/adults may like it, but not as much. I recommend this book to people age 11 and up.

The verdict? I am so going to read book one in the series, along with the future books. This book is still just too cool! 

All in all, I rate this book four out of five stars.

~Specifics~ (from amazon.com)
~Hardcover: 384 pages
~Publisher: Thomas Nelson (July 13, 2010)
~Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches

Note: This book was given freely to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers for reviewing purposes. I am not obligated to publish a positive review. 

God Bless,