Review for Sweet Temptation (Sweet Evil) by Wendy Higgins

4 Stars. Sucked me back into a story I loved with a new perspective. I loved reading this because it allowed me to revisit one of my favorite books, Sweet Evil, but still felt new at the same time. Sweet Temptation is the Sweet Evil trilogy through Kaidan’s eyes. When reading Sweet Evil for the first time it took time to really understand Kaidan’s struggle. It was awesome to be inside his head and see how he viewed Anna and how his feelings for her changed. He’s not a ‘good boy’ but watching him realize that he wants to be ‘good’ was an incredible journey. I also loved seeing his struggles and watching him overcome his lust. You get to really understand his character in this book.

I have to say, I actually think I liked a lot of the sexy scenes between Kaidan and Anna even more in this book than I did in the originals. Kaidan’s perspective is really unique because of his inclination toward lust, making those romantic milestones between him and Anna really intense.

The only thing about this book that I wished it would have done was become its own story. We get to see lots of scenes that weren’t in the original books. The author does a lot more than just rehash previously written scenes, but it still felt a little choppy. I didn’t get the sense that someone who hadn’t read the original Sweet Evil trilogy could pick this up and understand everything. And, I wished the author would have done that.

Overall I loved this book and if you’re a fan of the Sweet Evil trilogy it’s a must read.

Read my review of Sweet Evil 
Read my Review for Sweet Peril
Read my Review of Sweet Reckoning

Review of Mark of Defiance (Defiance Gray #2) by Adrianne Brooks

3.5 Stars. A Scary Journey. I enjoyed the dark imagery and scary moments of this book. There were also some interesting philosophical questions that the book raised about religion and being open minded, which I liked. And, most of all I enjoyed seeing Defiance’s character grow and watching her start to open her mind and question all the things her “church” had taught her.

However, there were places where the plot dragged a bit, and the pacing felt off. I think if the first book had been combined with this one, and the author had cut a few things that it would have had a better flow.

Like in the first book there were a few contradictions that took me out of the story. For example they’re taught to lie in school, but lying to a high priest is a bad thing. Also Defiance seemed to have never seen windows before, but I thought I remembered her climbing back into her orphanage through a window in the first book. Also there’s a mention of using gas from old cars in the desert, but considering this is supposed to take place hundreds of years after the apocalypse, the gas shouldn’t be good anymore. They were just little annoyances, but they pulled me out of the story.

The biggest problem I had, was that I just didn’t feel drawn in to the budding romance between Defiance and Uriel. I could kind of understand Defiance having a bit of a crush on Uriel, but there’s so little we actually know about him that I had a hard time connecting to him as a love interest for her. As a protector and an Angel, he’s written perfectly, but I think he maybe didn’t seem human enough for me to believe that there could be a relationship between the two of them.

That said, I did love the ending, and how much Defiance was actually involved in saving the day. It felt like her learning about her gift was building up to that moment, and it finished the story off in a great way.

Read my Review for Act of Defiance (Defiance Gray #1)

Review for Act of Defiance by Adrianne Brooks

4 Stars. Dark and Fascinating. I found this book well written and filled with beautiful imagery. It was darker than most YA I’ve read, but in a way that fit the story. It has some truly dark dystopian elements that wouldn’t have worked if they’d been taken more lightheartedly, so I appreciated the author taking the story to the places it needed to go. Parts were honestly scary, but each scene had a purpose.

This book has a really interesting religious element. It takes place in a dystopian world where demons have taken over the earth and the surviving humans all worship Satan. So much time has passed that living under the satanic church’s rule is all they’ve ever known. It took a little time to completely understand why the world was the way it was, but the pieces came together at a nice pace. It was interesting hearing the biblical stories I knew well from a demon’s perspective, and it was all written in a way that made it easy to understand why the people lived the way they did.

As for the main character I didn’t like Defiance’s name it just felt a little too obvious, especially when I loved the names of the other characters. It felt like the author put some thought into naming her characters and the places they visited. I did, however, like Defiance’s character. She’s trying to make her way in a world that doesn’t offer her many choices. She’s a little rebellious, but she has a big heart. I enjoyed watching her character develop and seeing her start to question all of the things she’d been taught growing up.

I also really liked Uriel and the comradery between him and Defiance, however I didn’t quite feel the chemistry between them. Near the end of the book, when they start to get to know one another better they felt closer, but for most the book it felt like they had more of a mentor/mentee type relationship. During the moments when they’re put in more romantic situations it just didn’t quite feel right to me, and considering Uriel is an archangel there was something that felt off about him kissing Defiance, especially when she still openly worshiped Satan. I hope with the second book that their relationship will develop more.

My main complaint with this book, and why it lost a star for me, was that it felt short, and ended in a spot that made it feel incomplete. The beginning was great and there was plenty of mystery to fuel the story and keep the plot moving forward, however it didn’t end with the main character meeting any of her goals. Defiance and Uriel survive a fight, but they had set out to find the graves of the “Four Saints” and they don’t make it there. Knowing this is a series, obviously the overall plot isn’t going to be resolved, but it felt too much like the story just cut off.

 

Review for Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins

The Perfect Conclusion to the Sweet Evil trilogy. 

4.5 Stars. All the things I wanted to see happen in this book happened, and it wrapped up the story well. Once again I felt Higgins did a good job balancing the religious aspects of this story with the rest of the plot and I was left with a satisfying conclusion.

All of the characters have come so far, their relationships have grown and each one is very different from the person they were in the first book. Anna is a leader now and she really runs the show in this book, as for the other Neph, they are all standing up for themselves and allow themselves to truly be independent from their fathers for the first time. There were some bitter sweet moments seeing all of these characters grow up.

I loved the chapter quotes. I felt they set up the coming scenes well, and I loved the overall storyline.

Kaidan and Anna do finally hook up in this book, however I felt a little disappointed with it. The first two books had some great steamy and angsty scenes, but then when we finally get to the big love scene in this book there's a decent amount of build up, but then a fade to black. I just wanted a little more.

As with the first two books there's a lot of planning and time the Nephs get to spend together, but also a good amount of action. I felt like Higgins stepped up the violence and fear just enough in this book, but she still left us with an overall happy ending, which I always enjoy. Still, there were more than a few parts that made me cry.

Read my review of Sweet Evil
Read my Review for Sweet Peril

Review for Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Suspenseful, Captivating, and Steamy.

5 Stars. Anna has grown up so much by this book. I really enjoyed seeing her deal with more adult situations and the conflicts she faced with “working” and trying to hold on to her own morals. I also really liked getting to meet some of the other Nephs, and getting to see more of the ones we already know

The danger has been kicked up a notch in this book. There were more than a few moments that had me truly scared for Anna and her friends. Again I feel this book is building for a bigger battle, and am excited to read the next installment.

I was nervous about there being a love triangle in this book, as I’m not a huge fan of them. I was glad that while Anna contemplates a relationship with Kope, there’s no point where Kaidan is forgotten. I think Higgins did a good job of balancing these three characters.

As with the first book the scenes with Anna and Kaidan together were my favorites. Their relationship is pretty much back at square one at the beginning of this book. They simply can’t be together. As the story progresses it’s obvious that despite the distance between them Anna and Kaidan can’t forget one another. They’re given mere scraps of one another’s attention and affection as they’re forced to stay apart. But, their relationship does eventually take a huge turn for the better. Their time together is once again bittersweet as they still have danger and obstacles ahead of them, but this book ends with a little more hope than the last.

I highly recommend this series and cannot wait for Sweet Reckoning. 

Read my review of Sweet Evil

Review for Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

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Great Tension and Completely Captivating.

5 Stars. This book has easily become one of my new favorites. It’s filled with mystery and danger, but at its core it’s a story about forbidden love. The relationship between Anna and Kaidan will take you on an emotional roller-coaster as they both find themselves questioning their beliefs and growing as people.

I was a little worried that because this book dealt with angels and demons that there would be thick, overbearing religious themes. While I don’t mind a book with good morals, I don’t enjoy having an author push their beliefs on me. I was glad to find that this book perfectly balanced religion with its own mythology and reality. For example, Anna wasn’t some “Mary Sue” role model, she felt real. She wasn’t perfect. She felt the pull of outside influences and caved to her hormones just like any other teen. I also felt like her relationships were real. I loved her relationship with her adoptive mom, Patti, and with her friends. And, then of course I loved her and Kaidan.

Kaidan is the bad boy you love to root for. From the very beginning there was this fascinating push and pull between him and Anna that made me want to read more. He got under her skin, then pushed her away. He’d act like a total jerk, then do what he could to protect her. He was a complicated character and I enjoyed trying to figure him out.

Anna starts out a little naïve, a little sheltered and maybe a little too “goody-goody” but she grows up throughout the book. I loved seeing her face all of the challenges that came her way. She was put into situations where she had to bend her morals just to survive, and at times I felt my heart breaking for her sacrifices. Still, regardless of the evil around her she holds on to this piece of herself that is inherently good.

Kai pushes Anna to be bad, and I felt Anna’s torment knowing she wanted to be with him, but they couldn’t have a relationship. I wanted her to give in to him, but I was also rooting for her to stay strong, and because she does you see how she changes him.

The end is a little heartbreaking. It feels a little like evil has won. But, this book sets up what I expect to be a much larger battle to come, and I’m already diving into the second book.

Review for My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent

A Nice Next Step in the Soul Screamer's Series

4 stars. I liked this book, just not quite as much as the first one. It had an interesting story line and I loved the characters, but the plot just didn’t draw me in like the first book did. I kind of saw the ending coming and while there were still surprises I just wasn’t as sucked in. Still it was a good story and I am still interested in reading the third book.

As with the first book I loved these characters. Kaylee and Nash’s relationship develops a little, though not as much as I would have liked. She was still worried that the only reason Nash likes her is to try and get with her, which I didn’t completely understand. After the things they’ve been to I’d like to think that she could trust him more. Tod was one of my favorite characters in this book, you get to see his softer side and it was fun watching him and Addy interact. But, I wish there had been more Emma in this book. I think she’s a wonderful character and I didn’t get to see as much of her as I would have liked. Her part in this book seemed just to be convenient to move the plot along. Also, I wish Vincent would have done a little more with Em dying and being brought back in the first book.

I still liked Kaylee and her stubbornness and concern for others, but she was a little too hard on herself about the bad things that happened to other people. She seemed to think it was her responsibility to save these girls, even though it’s not her fault that they died or chose to sell their souls. There are also a few places where some really dumb decisions made, and I couldn’t completely understand why the characters made the choices they did. For example, Kaylee gets cut by this poisonous plant but she thinks she can wait to take care of it, even though it really hurts and she knows it can kill her. I think she was being a little too selfless. Also I thought Addy could have tried harder to keep her sister from signing that contract. Why didn’t she show her her eyes?

There was some confusion with just what souls are in this book. Are we souls, or are we bodies with souls? When Addy sells her soul and has it replaced with Demon’s Breath it seems that we are bodies and souls are just things we have, but the concept of the last book and a lot of this one is that souls are important and that they are who we are. This is why it’s such a bad thing for Addy to die without one. I was just confused as to what the soul is in context of the story.

One thing I really liked about this book was the Netherworld. I was fascinated with it and the creatures that existed there. It was the one thing about this story that was really new and interesting. I felt like in the beginning of this book there was a lot of time spent re-capping what happened in the first book. I think this would have been good had I not read the first book, but since I had, and done so shortly before starting this one it got redundant for me. Also I felt like the ending was a little predictable, but I was glad that it wasn’t a happy-go-lucky, everything is find kind of ending. And, I did really like the conversation between Kaylee and Tod. That last little piece where they speak at the graveyard left me wanting to read the third book.

Read my Review for My Soul to Take, the First book in the Soul Screamer's Series

Review for Purpose by Kristie Cook

Wanted More Dorian

3.75 Stars. This book started out strong and ended strong. It’s much more grown up than the first book and I loved the way Alexis’s character had developed between Promise and Purpose. She’s a little broken, and very real. Where I had some problems with this book was the middle. Tristan’s return is wonderful but his relationship with Alexis quickly gets lovey-dovey. I get that they needed time to reunite, but I felt like the middle of this book got a little too mushy.

This starts out years after Promise ends and I really liked that Alexis had grown as a person. She wasn’t the same girl from the first book, but she still felt like the same person. I really felt her pain, and believed that her love for Tristan combined with living with his absence and trying to hold on to hope that he was still alive would affect her exactly as it did. She was torn between not wanting to forget him and needing to be strong enough to continue on with her life. She pulls it together for her son though, and I understood that.

In Purpose Alexis is a little erratic at times, and she’s gotten much more bitchy, especially in the beginning. But, I felt for the most part that it was an honest portrayal of a girl growing older and becoming more cynical. Although at times she did seem a little too extreme. As the story went on I liked the idea of Alexis having this inner battle with good and evil. I also liked Owen a lot in this book and how complex his relationship with Alexis was. I wish that the author had explored this a little further even.

Also, I loved Alexis’s son, Dorian. He was written very well and I wished that he had been in this book more. I felt like the parts of the story that revolved around him were more real and better developed than others. For example, the over lovey dovey-ness in the middle almost felt a little out of place, it felt too easy when the author had done such a good job setting up the beginning to show the complexity of love. Then there’s all this mushy stuff and I felt like it lost its honesty and believability and in turn was romanticized too much. I wanted for Alexis and Tristan to have a wonderful reunion, and they did, but there was so much time spent on this that it almost felt like the characters had regressed some. I wanted to rush through some of the love scenes to see Tristan meet Dorian. I wanted this to happen so much sooner and would have traded some of the mushy love story in the middle for more time with Dorian.

Some of the other things that I didn’t like as much were that again, in this book Alexis was a little too naieve at times. She can just be a little oblivious and there were times when I figured something out chapters before she did.

Also, I felt the religious themes in this book were stronger than they were in the first one. I enjoyed Cook’s message and I loved that she’s written a book that holds true to her values without ignoring, or watering down the passion, but I think the author could have been less blunt and still gotten the same message across. Also there were times when I wondered if Cook was Alexis, especially when it becomes obvious that Alexis’s purpose in life was to write books to inform her readers about the evil in the world and how to protect themselves from it. Was this also maybe what Cook was trying to do by writing the book in the first place? This wasn’t something that bothered me much, just a thought.

Overall I enjoyed this read, and I did go on to read the sample of the next book wanting to know more. But, I feel at this time I’m going to take a break from this series to read something else, and maybe I’ll return to it later.

Read my review for the first book in this series Promise

Review for Promise by Kristie Cook

Well Developed Characters and Steamy Scenes:

4.5 Stars. This book opens with a lot of action, and it really sucked me in. I did feel a little like the very first scene of this book was a little disjointed from the rest of it; but, after reading the second book in this series it makes sense how it all fits together. The whole book has a very quick pace, which I enjoyed for the most part. Although at the beginning there were a few scenes that I wouldn't have minded if they'd been slowed down a bit.

Cook has wonderfully descriptive scenes, and fun sassy dialogue. I loved her main character Alexis. She is an introverted type, partly because of all the moving around she did as a kid. She never had time to make close friends. She also at times has low self-esteem, maybe again because she never had a chance to really connect with anyone, and maybe partly because of things she went through as a teen. Alexis has been an outcast, a freak, and rejected, and I found myself completely able to relate to her. And, she's got sass too. She's introverted but also independent and she channels her feelings into her writing. I liked that she had this talent; it made her feel like a very well rounded character. Also, she's not weak; she's a strong young woman. She just prefers to keep to herself.

There were times when I found Alexis a little too naive. I just wish she had explained better why she never looked deeper into what she was. Also, there were some things that were obvious to me, but she was completely oblivious to them. So, while I liked her character I felt she wasn't the most perceptive and that her lack of perception was somewhat unbelievable.

Tristan was also a wonderful character. From the very beginning I found him fascinating. He was confidant and very forward but also down-to-earth. However, he could be a little cheesy at times. For the most part I loved his character, but some of the things he said to Alexis, like constantly following up her name with "my love" was a little too much for me. I also hated that Alexis was always referring to Tristian as "yummy" or "delicious" as if she were eying up a candy bar. Despite these little annoyances however, their relationship really felt like it clicked to me. It felt real and felt like it truly grew. I believed Alexis when she said she was drawn to him and could feel that they were truly falling in love. I also liked that their relationship took time to develop.

This was a wonderful love story, and while there were also some unique ideas being used there were also defiantly some overdone plot devices as well. I can see why some people compared this to Twilight. Both Promise and Twilight are about this unyielding, forever love that two people experience, and they both involve supernatural creatures dealing with how to control and hide their powers. Because of this there are some similar themes between the books. But, I have to say, this book as a whole was very different from Twilight.

Also, I was bothered by the fact that some people didn't think this was YA, but that's mostly because I think a lot of people have a really screwed up definition of what YA stands for. YA - young ADULT. This book is not for kids. I would give it a 17+ rating because there are some really steamy scenes, but that's still YA for me. At 17 you're a young adult. And on that note, the romance in this was hot! (My thoughts on what it means to be a Young Adult)

One thing that was odd to me about this book was that Alexis wonders if her mother and Tristan will hook up. This just seems like a strange thing to wonder about your mother. Did her mother often date much younger men? Obviously as we learn more about the nature of just what Alexis, Tristan and Sophia are this question isn't as weird, but in the beginning before Alexis knows what she is I find this to be an odd thought for her to have. Later it's also clear that she and her mom are very close, they are almost more like sisters or friends then mother and daughter, but I think at first this really threw me off.

Where I had some problems with this book was at the end. I liked the way the plot went, but the story lost me a little. I didn't feel Tristan's sacrifice, and I'm not sure I entirely understood his decision. He seemed to go off and walk right into exactly what they were avoiding. I just wish the ending had sucked me in a little more, but for whatever reason it didn't. All together though this was a great read and after finishing it I immediately picked up its sequel Purpose.