Becky's View: Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins
♦publisher: Balzer & Bray
♦release date: April 30th, 2013
♦paperback, 371 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult (recommend 15+)
♦series: The Sweet Trilogy, book 2
  review of book 1, Sweet Evil
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

Review: Can I just get my one little bit of negativity about this series out of the way right now, people?  Before the real review even starts?  The story inside is cool and dark and super sexy...but the covers are just so cheesy they make me cringe!  Especially this one.  I think it's the "I'm too sexy" glare on the character's faces or the fact that they look like they should be strutting down a cat walk.  Plus, this is not how I picture Kai and Anna at all while I'm reading.  I keep thinking, please let this be one of those series that gets a compete cover redo sometime soon.  Still, I'd rather it have a cheesy cover and be as awesome of a story as it is than the other way around! :)

OKAY, enough of that. I just had to get that off my chest. That's really the only bad thing I can ever say about this series because the actual story continues to be fantastic! In the year that we waited to get our mitts on more Kai and Anna, I'd forgotten exactly how dark and sultry this story is. A perfect blend of YA angel/demon lore and a romance to get your blood running hot.  Fans of this series have nothing to fear, as this one very nearly surpasses book one in excitement, danger, and a huge dose of steamy scenes.  Throw in a prophecy that could change the lives of every one of the Nephilim and a desperate race around the world to find allies in the coming war on the demons and you get one amazing sequel!

Anna, while she has spent some time learning to fight and toughen up, is still as sweet as ever, and I absolutely love that in this second book, her purity has become an integral part of the plot.   You really hurt for her knowing she is being forced to "work" under the evil eye of the whisperers, and that means drinking and partying and putting other kids in danger.  She hates it and has so much guilt about it, but as the daughter of a demon, she has to work if she wants to stay alive.

Once again, the characters are what make this book really shine.  Kaidan made me angry for about 90% of this book.  His jealous behavior was maddening and childish and he takes it all out on the wrong people.  But a character is only as good as the intense feelings they make you have, right? :) Loved Kopano again, I really felt for him as he gets caught up in the middle of the mess that is Anna and Kai's relationship.  Hope so much that he finds the love he deserves with a certain new character when book 3 rolls around!  And Blake---I just love that kid.  Such an entertaining character to read, loyal to a fault to both Anna and Kai, a good friend, and definitely knows how to lighten the mood in any situation!  You just feel for every single one of them, because no matter how good any of their lives might seem to the outsider, each of them lives as a slave to their cruel demon fathers.  Well, except Anna's, of course.  Her dad is an outstanding character again, perfectly flawed and bumbling when he's trying to play "Dad", and then protective and smart as he helps them orchestrate the coming revolt.

Sweet Peril was a stunning follow up to Sweet Evil and I can only imagine how amazing and intense Sweet Reckoning will be!

Find Wendy Higgins online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Sweet Peril:  Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

Debut Author GiveawayHop!

I'm thrilled to be a part of the Debut Author Hop!! There are so many great new YA authors making their debut in 2012 and I'm happy to put them in the spotlight for this event!

For my giveaway, I've chosen four of my favorite Debut Authors of 2012 so far!

One winner will get to chose from these titles as their prize!
Just fill out the rafflecopter below.

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And don't forget to visit the rest of the sites participating in the Debut Author Hop!

Review: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

publisher: HarperTeen

release date: May 1st, 2012

paperback, 464 pages

intended audience: Young adult (recommend 14+)

rating:



source: from publisher for honest review

description: What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences? This is life for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.

Tenderhearted Southern girl, Anna Whitt, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

A cross-country trip to meet her father forces Anna to face the reality that hope and love are not options for her kind. When she confronts her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Review: One of my brilliant fellow bloggers told me drop whatever I was reading and read this ASAP. And so I did. And she was so right (thanks, Mindy!) I actually finished this book last week, devoured all nearly 500 pages of it in about two days, and it's taken me this long just to find the words to explain how much a I LOVED this book. Sweet Evil is one fantastic bit of storytelling. As much as it's been done in YA, I have to give Wendy Higgins huge props for taking the Angel & Demon concept and giving us something completely original and outstanding. It was fun and sexy and dangerous...not necessarily non-stop action, but just non-stop awesome.

If you read my reviews, you know how much importance I place on great characters. Sweet Evil brings it in this department. Anna, Kaidan, her family, his friends, and the whole creepy demonic cast---every single one of them jumped off the page and captured my interest. Anna, who has been raised by her adoptive mother with impeccable southern values, is just a joy to read. She has an unexplainable ability of being able to see other's emotions as glowing auras. Strangely enough, she also has a very disturbing draw to substance abuse---and she's about to find out why. Enter Kaidan Rowe. This mysterious drummer seems to have all the answers she's been looking for---but what he knows is still only a small piece of her story. What does a sweet southern girl do when she finds out the main purpose of her existence is to bring sin into the world?

Another really interesting and unique aspect of this story came with the relationship between the demons and their children. It was sort of a twisted aristocratic secret society and the nephilim were treated more as employees--- slaves, really, to do their parent's bidding or face sometimes deadly consequences. In contrast to that, was Anna and her father, who has been imprisoned since her birth. I loved how their part of the story played out. It was so surprising. I also loved Anna's adoptive mother, Patti--she was a fierce mama-bear. :)

The plot really has it all, a fantastic love story, a family drama, mortal danger and all manner of sins, heart-stopping seduction, bravery in the face of pure evil, and even a road trip adventure. I can't say it enough...READ THIS BOOK.

Visit Wendy Higgins site: www.wendyhigginswrites.com

Purchase Sweet Evil at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop!

So excited to be participating in the No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop! Thanks to I am a Reader, Not a Writer for hosting this!

Today I'm giving away one finished copy of Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. This book is awesome, people. The book comes out on May 1st, so a copy will be pre-ordered as soon as the winner is picked. As the contest says, no strings attached---just a one-click entry!



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Don't forget to check out the rest of the great blogs participating in the hop: