Review "Sweet Evil" by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil 

Wendy Higgins

Publication Date: May 1, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Paperback 454 pgs

Summary:

      Anna Whitt is a good girl; she doesn't lie, she gets good grades, and always does what she's told. But Anna is different from those around her, she can sense and see emotions in the people around her. When Anna meets bad boy Kaidan Rowe her life begins to change. Anna discovers she is the daughter of a fallen angel and there are others like her including the super hot Kaidan. She also learns that being a Nephilim is dangerous. Children of the fallen are required to be bad influences, not obeying could be deadly. How will Anna survive this new world she has been thrust into?

Review:

     I have to say I'm not sure if my review will express how much I LOVED this book, but I'll try anyway. There are twelve fallen angels (Dukes) on earth, each one has a job based on either the Seven Sins or the Ten Commandments. Their children must work for them promoting the sins of their fathers. Sweet Evil has such a unique take on angels/fallen angels lore, I was immediately captivated by what I was reading. Since this book is about bad influences, it could have gone overboard and moved out of the YA genre pretty quickly. I thought Wendy Higgins did a good job of saying what the Nephilim did while not going into too much detail about their activities.

     The characters in Sweet Evil are so engaging that I found myself instantly invested in what was happening to them. First there is the main character, 16 year old, Anna. She has lived a pretty sheltered life which has left her naive as well as innocent to the world around her. What I really liked was even though she may have been sheltered she had a backbone. When it counted Anna stood up for what she believed. Her life goes from normal to crazy pretty quickly and at times it's like she is living on an emotional roller coaster. Like most people she has ups and downs and I thought her actions made her even more believable and interesting. 

     What can I say about Kaidan Rowe besides the fact that he has an awesome name? He is the drummer for the band Lascivious and he also has a British accent. Kaidan is a very complicated character. At times it's hard to tell what he is feeling. He tends to keep his emotions to himself. Only allowing people to see what he wants them to see which is usually indifference. Which means I really want to get in his head to see what he's actually feeling and thinking. Kaidan and Anna spend a lot of time together during which time we learn a lot about him. The reader gets information on Kaidan's father, what his job is, as well as the ability he has that helps him with his work. I'm really hoping there is another book because I definitely need more Kaidan, one book is just not enough.

     There are quite a few secondary characters that helped to create Anna's world. We meet a couple of the Dukes including Anna's father(Belial) and Kaidan's father(Pharzuph). There are several Nephilim who help to illustrate what offspring of fallen angels go through. Not all the characters are supernatural, there are some humans who have a connection to Anna. The characters were vibrant and entertaining allowing me to enjoy Sweet Evil even more. 

     Being a fan of YA paranormal books I have read a ton of angel books but I have to say this one blew me away with it awesomeness. A lot happens in Sweet Evil but not so much so that I found it hard to follow what was going on. There is never an overload of information. Everything is explained bit by bit allowing the reader to digest the details while not being overwhelmed by them. During my first reading of Sweet Evil I got so caught up in the world and the relationships that were developing that I forgot to take notes. To fix this problem I immediately did a re-reading. And yes the book was just as amazing during my second reading. The ending made me want more but I didn't feel as though I was left hanging thinking wait it's over? Overall, I thought Sweet Evil was a amazing book with imaginative characters, a well developed world, and a creative story that has me eager for more. 

Cover:

     I like the cover of Sweet Evil but I'm not loving it. I like how "Anna" is dressed in a vibrant red dress and "Kaidan" is looking all mysterious in black. I also think the background with it's foggy forest is appealing. I'm just not really fond of the poses the cover models are in, they look a little awkward. Since they are the focus I keep zeroing in on their weird poses.