REVIEW: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

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Title: Sweet Evil
Author: Wendy Higgins
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Format: eBook
Rating:
4STARRATINGBNM

Synopsis(source):

Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.
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 willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

overallthoughts

This is the moment when I sit here asking myself, “Why did I put off reading this series for so long?” Because I can’t believe I let it sit on my TBR for years. This book was incredible! Do nothing but read for two days straight incredible. I loved it, simple as that.

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.”

One thing that really pulled me into this book was the whole ideology Wendy Higgins wove into it. I love how she took actual things from the bible and not only built on them, but made them her own. The whole background was so detailed and in-depth. The idea of there being a Duke (fallen angel) for each sin that can possess a human body just for the purpose of wrecking havoc on the human world is intriguing and horrifying, not to mention the lower demons they control. Throw in the fact that they have children, Nephilim, whom they treat like slaves to do their ultimate dirty work, and you have the basis for a very interesting story that really is equal parts horrifying and shocking. The main character, Anna, is thrust into this world having had no idea what she is which creates some problems as she doesn’t agree with what’s happening. Rightly so, in my opinion. There’s also a few secrets that set Anna apart from her fellow Nephilim, which might make this sound a bit cliche, but trust me it isn’t. Besides the fallen angels we also learn a bit about the angels who didn’t fall and their hierarchy, which I hope is delved into a bit more in the next books.

None of the previous angel books I’ve read have been as well rounded of a story as this one was. The character development in the first book alone was huge! I was really impressed.

characters

“I might have inhearited a legacy of sin from my father, but I was also given a heritage of hope from my mother, and that was the one I needed to embrace.”

As mentioned above we have Anna, the main protagonist, who has always known she wasn’t exactly human but never knew what she was. She’s the epitome of kind, caring, and vulnerability. I really liked that about her, even after she finds out what she is she doesn’t let circumstance take that away from her. I had a problem with the level of naiveness she showed in the beginning that caused a lot of eye rolls, but over time I felt like she really evolved from that. She grows a thicker skin in a lot of ways and becomes more confident in herself. She also steadfastly disagrees with the world she was thrown into, and that puts her in a lot of danger, but it also gives her the ability to have the chance to change things.

“There’s no use waisting time thinking about things that can’t be changed.”

Now let’s talk about the lovely Kai. He is the prime example of someone who hides who they really are under a lot of bad attitude, flirting, and a slightly egotistical air. In reality, it’s that shield that keeps him alive. Underneath all of that, you start to notice how much self-doubt and hatred he holds. His story, what he’s gone through, and what he has to do broke my heart. There’s always that one character I want to wrap in a protective box and Kai is that character in these books. It was ultimately impossible to not love him. At times, he came out of his shell and showed this caring, humours, young side of himself that is otherwise kept hidden. I couldn’t help but root for him.

There are so many secondary characters! Jay, Patti, Roni, Marna, Ginger, Blake, Kope, and don’t even get me started on the Dukes and Anna’s father. Wendy Higgins has a huge cast of secondary characters, some you will love and some you will despise. All of them really added to the story in good and bad ways. I will say this though Jay and Marna were my favorites and I loved Patti and how much she cared for Anna.

“He smiled when I made fun of him, a real smile that made his eyes squint in the cutest way. The sight made my heat squeeze.”

The romance was there but at the same time it wasn’t. At first, I was worried that whatever was going on between Anna and Kai was going to venture into insta-love land. It didn’t, in fact no one actually gets together in this book. The romance is definitely there. You know there’s an attraction and more between Anna and Kai, but it’s never able to be completely acted on because of circumstance and the rules of the world they live in. I was rooting for them, still am, and they broke my heart. I did have a problem with one thing though; the allusion to a love triangle. I really hate love triangles. I beyond hate them. So, I hope that’s not the direction the author is going to take it in the next book.

inconclusion
Sweet Evil really goes there in terms of certain issues, topics, and taboos. Given that this world is ultimately controlled by a cast of higher demons/fallen angels known as Dukes that are each assigned a sin it doesn’t shy away from some crude and horrific topics. Some of the details are definitely not for the faint of heart, and some may want to avoid this book if you don’t think it’s something you can handle. I, for one, didn’t like the focus on young teens virginities and how crudely Kai’s father talked about it. I understood the fact that he is the Duke of Lust, but it made me cringe. I tried not to focus on those parts.

That aside, I really enjoyed Sweet Evil. It was an incredible book with incredible writing. The world building was great the character development was on point. It also had the perfect amount of suspense and intrigued that kept me reading for two days solid. I literally couldn’t put it down. It was the perfect book to get me out of my reading slump. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for another angel book or just anyone who has ever seen it and been intrigued. It’s definitely well worth the read!

favoritequotes

“Seek pleasure, Eat, drink, and be merry. Carpe diem.”

“I wished I could snatch the words from the air and shove them back in my mouth.”

“Something might feel good at the moment, but the consequences are scary.”

“We have to face difficulties to find out what our true strengths are.”

“The beauty of poetry is that it can mean different things to different people at different times.”

“I need you to be strong. When you’re hurting and afraid is when you need to dig the deepest.”

“The plan is always changing and rearranging. You can’t mess it up.”

You can purchase this book on: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Google Play, Book Depository, Kobo, or you can check it out at your local library!

No matter how hard I try my reviews always end up being extremely long. There are too many thoughts in my head! Either way, I hope I convinced some of you to pick up this amazing book. 😊

-Melissa
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