Review: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Goodreads Summary:

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 Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. 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?

Publication Date: May 1, 2012

This was a very good book with the difficult task of tackling a world where angels and demons are trying to control the fate of humans. Angel and demon books can come off as hokey at times, but Higgins does an excellent job of world building. A few of the characterizations fell short for me, but overall a very enjoyable read.

What I liked the most was the chemistry between Kaidan and Anna. On the road trip they take together, you can feel the sexual tension between them. Bad boys always make interesting love interests and Kaidan fits the bill. He's sexy and dangerous and is basically pimped out by his father. Anna's internal struggle between good and evil creates plenty of suspense as you don't know what path she'll choose.

The pacing of the novel was good with enough action (especially in the second half) to hold my interest. I loved the appearance of the other Nephilim offspring and was able to sympathize with them since they were basically tortured into servitude by their fathers. The author didn't shy away from uncomfortable and horrifying visuals to get her point across.

I really liked Anna's relationship with her adopted mother Patti, but then I felt she lost credibility when she allowed her 16 year old daughter to travel across the country with a half demon she was meeting for the first time. (Spoiler alert) Another thing that bothered me was the practically insta-love that Anna experienced with Kaidan. I really didn't feel like he earned her affection and wished she showed a little more backbone. It was sort of off-putting for her to be happy on the night he stayed in the hotel room and wasn't out man whoring for the night. Plus, her seemingly endless depression after only a couple of days with him made me want to shake some sense into her.

I'm curious to see where this series goes and hopefully we'll see more growth from both Anna and Kaidan.  

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars