Sweet Evil (Sweet, #1) in Never Too Old For Y.A. & N.A. Books

Feb 19, 2012 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, own, reviewed

To say that Sweet Evil is not your typical YA paranormal romance would be an understatement. Sweet Evil really stands out and has to be one of the most uniquely crafted Angel books out there right now. It is just, well, different. Different in a good way. No, scratch the last statement. It's different in an amazing way. The manner in which the author of this book tackles the romance, the angel lore, and the plot is truly unmatched and quite special. And even though Sweet Evil is immersed in the To say that Sweet Evil is not your typical YA paranormal romance would be an understatement. Sweet Evil really stands out and has to be one of the most uniquely crafted Angel books out there right now. It is just, well, different. Different in a good way. No, scratch the last statement. It's different in an amazing way. The manner in which the author of this book tackles the romance, the angel lore, and the plot is truly unmatched and quite special. And even though Sweet Evil is immersed in the paranormal it has a realistic feel. It read like contemporary fiction sometimes which was something I had never encountered before. Why? Well, because Wendy Higgins tackles a lot of the issues that face so many young people today and granted with the paranormal elements of the book these issues are heightened but nevertheless remain so true to what happens on a day-to-day basis in our current society.

The characterization in Sweet Evil is just top notch. Our female lead, Anna Whitt, is a rather sweet and normal girl, that is until the reader learns that she is actually nephilim, the daughter of an angel and demon, and that can sense the feelings and auras of others. What I loved about Anna in this book is that yes she is really sweet but it doesn't mean she tries to be perfect all the time. Anna definitely faces a lot of temptation to go off the deep end and try dangerous things because of her angelic/demonic heritage and her inner emotional conflict was hard. Kaidan Rowe on the other hand, our male lead, is a total bad boy who is charming with good looks, cute witticisms, and a British accent that makes all the girls swoon. And on the surface he may seem like a shallow person who is a bit disconnected and a player but when we get to learn more about his story, we soon learn that he is also nephilim with the charge of influencing others to behave badly and that he has a hidden struggle and desire to maybe not lead the life he is forced to live because of who his father is (head demon with no morals).

The secondary characters in this novel just shine, in my opinion. Wendy Higgins makes sure to make the family and friends of the main characters an integral part of the story and it was really refreshing. Many YA paranormal romances get so caught up in the romantic lives of the main characters that they choose to ignore the social and familial life of the female and male leads and kinda lose what to me is a very important aspect to cover in a young adult book.

What I loved the most about Sweet Evil has to be the world-building. The angel lore in this book was just amazing. It had that rich detail to it that books like Dante's Inferno or films like Constantine have. It really delves deep into the classifications of angels, demons, their offspring and everything in between and truly embodies the classic, good vs evil, power struggle. Everything just felt epic and like it was either life or death. And even though many YA angel books do have this dilemma, it doesn't quite always feel as dangerous and important because they tend to lose themselves in the romance and sometimes ignore the paranormal elements of the story.

I also have to say that the romance in this book was just so well done. It felt real and raw. Yes, Anna and Kaidan have an extreme chemistry and a lot of tension and passion and they get to go on a road trip and it was one of the best parts of the book BUT because of their angelic/demonic origins they face a lot of challenges. And I thought that it was impressive that unlike many YA paranormal romances they did not get lost in their love and forgot to live. And even though they liked each other from the start, they didn't give into it that quickly. It took a bit of time because like every relationship their is a hesitance of "is this person playing me?" or "if I get into this relationship will I lose myself and ignore everything around me" and so on. Like in real life, their relationship faces challenges and it's not always smooth sailing because when you are dealing with matters of heaven or hell, how could things be simple, right? With the stakes so high, it is impossible to work everything out and just face the world together. It is always a challenge and in this book that challenge was represented really well through Kaidan and Anna's relationship.

And honestly the villains in this book were so scary that how could everything be rainbows for Anna and Kaidan. The evil characters in Sweet Evil are so cruel and defying that they make Voldemort and Darth Vader look like new born puppies who like to roll around the grass in the park chasing after a Frisbee. This book was just flawless and an incredible debut novel.

My Rating: 5/5
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Apr 23, 2012 Anya rated it did not like it

Shelves: dnf, abandoned-series

I can't deal with this book. I want to bang my head against the wall just to forget what I put myself into.
The dialogue was cringe worthy to the high heavens:

(view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Cyndi Goodgame rated it it was amazing

Shelves: devilish

Got it. Read it. It's gooooooood! Want more!;-)

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Definite chemistry between Ann and Kaiden, but Kaiden is a top the charts bad boy who tops all others. Yet, you feel sorry for him. I finished the book late and didn't want to get up and check the net to see if there was a book 2 coming. Whoo! There is. *Spoiler* Because...you feel so sorry for the demon who fell in love and feels he can't have what he wants. The drugs and alcohol bother me greatly. I know my students read this too. ...more

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Apr 18, 2012 WTF Are You Reading? rated it it was amazing

Shelves: great-leading-man-boy, want-to-read-series, hard-to-beat-heroines, favorites, fantasy-tastic

I so love this book! Review to come...this read is one to stay up for!

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May 10, 2012 Ruby Jo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, paranormal, fantasy, angels, demons

Can't we get more? I loved it! And I loved being in Kaidan's head :D

Merged review:

To quote Anna, wowza! You know, when I decided to read this book yesterday I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did, nor did I expect to read it this fast. But I did. Boy, did I love this book.

First of all, angels and demons, how can that be a bad plot? Right? I mean, it's nice to see other creatures getting attention. Plus, demons are HOTT. Yes, it needed that extra T :P I liked the mythology and how it was Can't we get more? I loved it! And I loved being in Kaidan's head :D

Merged review:

To quote Anna, wowza! You know, when I decided to read this book yesterday I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did, nor did I expect to read it this fast. But I did. Boy, did I love this book.

First of all, angels and demons, how can that be a bad plot? Right? I mean, it's nice to see other creatures getting attention. Plus, demons are HOTT. Yes, it needed that extra T :P I liked the mythology and how it was used. I liked the idea of guardian angels and whisperers and demon lords (or Dukes) and all that. And while you might think it's cliché that a half-angel, half-demon girl falls for the demon boy, it's such a good story, it doesn't even bother you. Or it didn't bother me.

Speaking of love stories, if I had to pick the best love story I've read so far this year, this would be the one. I loved Kaidan so much. He was a smart-ass some of the times, a jerk a few times, but I realized he REALLY liked Anna and he cared for her. I do hope they end up together, because they have such a sweet connection. Also, Kaidan was hot :D

I liked Anna. She is an easy girl to like and I was sad and angry for her a few times. There was this one scene where I literally wanted to jump into the scene and punch a guy. Not Kaidan, another guy. Kaidan was good with her ;)

Oh, I hope we see more of Anna's father. I liked him a lot. And the way he bonded with Anna and how he cared for her was really special and it's one of those rare father-daughter relationships, one that I haven't found very often in books. So I was glad to see that in a book. I do hope the relationship between them will grow stronger and stronger.

You basically have anything you can think of in this book: humor, suspense, drama, romance, the usual teenage angst, fantasy, you name it. The only thing I can think of that would've made this book even better would be if we had gotten to see things from Kaidan's perspective. Since it's told in 1st person from Anna's view, we don't exactly get to see what Kaidan really thinks or feels. You know I prefer multiple POVs, so maybe that's why I wanted Kaidan's POV also. Other than that, the book was great and I highly recommend it to anyone. Seriously. Go read it! I'm now going to bite my nails for the second book in this trilogy :) ...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Say rated it it was amazing

Shelves: january-2014-reads

OMG!!! KAIDAN.............<3

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Oh Kaidan!!!

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Solid 4 stars for me. Glad I didn't read the reviews (especially the bad ones) coz if I did I wouldn't have given this book a chance. Review to follow. ...more

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