Jen's Review
by Wendy Higgins
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Why. WHY.
Seeing Sweet Evil land in multiple lists of 2012
favorites, I knew I had to pick it up. I'd heard only countless things about the amazing Kaidan Rowe (the HOTTIE.),
and creativity of the angel and demon aspect. And yes, I can agree to those
things. I loved the characters in Sweet Evil,
as well as the twist on Nephilim, sure. The start of the story was addicting
and I knew I was going to fall in love
with it. I thought, "So THIS is what I've been missing out on! You guys
were so right about this book." Well, turns out, I was kind of wrong. By
the last quarter of the novel, I was bored to death. Because of this, I was
left disappointed by Sweet Evil, but at
the same time, I still enjoyed it.
But before I start
ranting about this book, I'd like to rave about it for a little bit. The
characters were one of my favorite qualities in Sweet
Evil. I immediately loved Anna Whitt because she was innocent and new
how to make the right decisions. She was a little too innocent at times, but it
wasn't bothersome for me. I loved her relationship with her surrogate mother,
Patti. It was really sweet and genuine and just really touching overall. Of
course, I have to talk about Kaidan Rowe, the infamous British bad-boy that
everyone seems to rave about. Um, can you say MAJOR SWOON? There was some
definite fan-girling and sighs involved while reading the steamy scenes. Not
only were the main characters fabulous, a lot of the side characters were just
as significantly likeable. Jay, for example. Jay is Anna's music-loving best
friend, and he was so supportive, he made me want to have a guy best-friend. He
was super friendly and just an overall happy character. Also, previously
mentioned before, Patti Whitt. As Anna's "mother", she was really
lenient and protective at the same time. Her genuine concern really hit it home
for me. The characters had to be one of my favorite attributes of Sweet Evil.
I also have to
appreciate the angel and demon world that Higgins has created! It's unlike any
other angel story I've read, since she brings in Dukes and Legionnares and it's
just a bunch of awesome. The creativity
of the demons was able to bring about conflict and little bumps along the way,
which I thought was a very smart way to create plot tension.
However, my
enjoyment for this book pretty much ends here. Let the ranting begin.
While I do say that
I love Anna and Kaidan as characters, I didn't necessarily like them together. Their relationship didn't really
seem real to me. I never fully understood why
Kaidan liked Anna, as he IS the son of the Duke of Lust, and kind of easily
falls for a girl's physical features. Similarly, Anna seemed to fall for Kaidan
for the same reason. Because he was cute. Yeah, that makes a strong
relationship, right? Their relationship was on-again, off-again for the ENTIRE
time, and I just. *face palm* MAKE UP YOUR MINDS, HORMONE-LOADED TEENAGERS.
Goodness.
I also got bored
with the plot in the last quarter of the novel. Nothing was happening, and most
importantly, nothing was being resolved. *Insert bored gif here* And you know
how usually, novels end with a fast-paced, action scene? Well, Sweet Evil had one of those, but it certainly
wasn't exciting or a page-flipper. Needless to say, the ending wasn't even able
to satisfy me. There was no craving for more.
I didn't even want to know what happens next for Anna and Kaidan. Yeah, super
depressing.
This concludes my
mixed-feeling review for Sweet Evil. I
had every intention of picking this book up in the first place and devouring
it, but no intention at all to pick up the sequel. While the characters and the
concept of angels and demons were highly fascinating, I couldn't look past the
romantic relationship or the plot in the end. However, there are so many other
readers out there who enjoyed this book, so I do still recommend it!
3.5 teacups for Sweet Evil!
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