A Drop of Venom

Published: 2024
Language: English

Manisha has spent years hiding among the naga people, fleeing monsters and the king's soldiers, until she finds an uneasy sanctuary as a priestess in the floating temples. That safety shatters when the king sends monster slayer Pratyush to kill one final creature before granting him his freedom: a nagin whose gaze turns men to stone.

But Manisha survives his blade and hundreds of venomous bites, rising from the ordeal transformed, with armored skin, heightened senses, and blood that can turn a man to stone. Neither Pratyush nor Manisha realizes at first that the "monster" he was sent to kill is the girl he once hoped to marry.

Prose complexity: 4/10

Dark Tense Adventurous Romantic

Enemies to Lovers

Fantasy YA Fantasy Mythology

Sajni Patel

Sajni Patel was born in India and raised in Austin, Texas. An award-winning author of women's fiction and YA novels, she writes stories centering strong Indian women and exploring social and cultural themes. Her debut YA fantasy duology, A Drop of Venom, published by Rick Riordan Presents, is a feminist retelling of the Medusa myth steeped in Indian mythology.