Review: Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy, #2) by Wendy Higgins

Yesterday I reviewed Sweet Evil, the first book in The Sweet Trilogy, and today I'm going to dive into Sweet Peril. I may or may not have read all 3 books in the span of a few days, but you can hardly blame me when these books are addicting and so so sweet.


I don't want to give too much of a synopsis for fear of giving anything away, but I will tell you that Sweet Peril picks up right where Sweet Evil left off.

There is so much at stake for our characters in this awesome sequel. Our league of Nephelium must travel the world to recruit others to stand with them. We get a lot more about the different Neph children and their sins as we're introduced to a few new key characters. I like what Higgins is setting up here... we're sure to have an epic finally with all of her build up!

You still see the same lovable Anna but this time, she's got a little bit more of a dark side. She's having to struggle with her inner voice that's reminds her to do good and be honest. Her dark side, on the other hand, urges her to abuse the substances that she craves and to enjoy the work she's doing to corrupt Atlanta's youth. Needless to say, she's got a lot going on.

Kaiden, our lovable bad-boy brit, is still in the picture but he's giving Anna the cold shoulder and keeping his distance... which leads to an excellent love-triangle that's done right. I've read both YA and Adult Romance stories that have a love-triangle and it's always disappointing and frustrating. Now I know love-triangles are meant to create a little frustration, after all that's what they're for, but most make me lose my interest in the story. In Sweet Peril, Higgins creates a love-triangle that has you pulling for Anna because she makes all the right choices and does what's right by the hunky men in her life.

Fans of Kaiden, don't fret too much. He comes back into he picture about halfway through and has moments that will make you laugh out loud and melt into a puddle on the floor. There are a whole lot of swoon worthy moments that make you question whether Anna is really part angel. It is in those moments that made me really like book two, dare I say more than book one?

Overall, this is one of my favorite sequels and is a story that sets up our finale to be pretty damn epic. This series is a must read!!!

9 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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Review: Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy, #1) by Wendy Higgins

As I said in my update yesterday, I've really gotten away from reading YA books as of late. For some reason, only romance novels have been holding my interest and even though I have shelves and shelves of YA books that have yet to be read, I couldn't get myself to read them.

I have been lending YA books to a friend (and fellow blogger) at work and I gave her Sweet Evil last week. She immediately fell in love and told me that I absolutely had to start reading. She also told me that I was stupid for having this one collect dust on my shelf for a year.

It's her birthday this week and she found Wendy Higgins's release party event for Sweet Surrender will be in D.C. and we plan on attending so I knew I had to get reading.


Sweet Evil tells the story of Anna, a seemingly ordinary and innocent southern girl who can see emotions. Everywhere she goes, she see's the colors of auras surrounding people. There's pink for love, orange for excitement, green for envy, and red for lust. She and her adoptive mother seem to live a quiet, albeit strange, life in Atlanta but all of that changes when she meets Kaiden Rowe. The sexy drummer of a local band about to make it big. He's got a reputation for being a total bad boy and heavenly in the sack and Anna can't seem to get him out of her head. As she finds herself drawn to him more and more, Anna learns that not only is she only half human, but the weight of the moral world's future may be on her shoulders.

Now I will preface this review by saying that books about angels and I don't normally get along... for proof see my abysmal review for Fallen by Lauren Kate. I don't know if it's the fact that I'd rather read about bad boy vampires and werewolf's than half angels and demons, but this sub-genre of YA has never really called to me.

Sweet Evil is different than any other angel themed YA I've read. You fall for our leading lady, Anna, almost instantaneously. She's innocent, pure, and good but she's got a side of her that we all have: part of her wants to give into the sins that tempt her. You can't help but pull for her good girl trying not to go bad persona. She's definitely climbing her way to the top of my list of favorite YA heroines.

Kaiden on the other hand is the bad boy of every girls dreams. Not only is he stunningly attractive, charismatic, cheeky, and a drummer... he's also got an English accent. Higgins pulled out all the stops to bring us the lust-worthy Kaiden Rowe and I couldn't picture a better devil for our angelic Anna.

I truly love the characters the Higgins created, but they would be nothing without her superb writing, on point pacing, and a plot filled with moments that will make you swoon, laugh, and cry all at once. The only thing that I would change would be to have maybe one more Kaiden and Anna interaction before the climactic ending. If we had had one more meeting between our lovers before the story comes to it's final scene, I think it would of felt a little less rushed and a little more believable.

Even with that said, Sweet Evil is absolutely fantastic and if you haven't read it before, it's definitely one to pick up.  Look out for my reviews to come this week for Sweet Peril and Sweet Surrender... yes I got the final book early. Sometimes it pays to have your local book store not know anything about books because they put them out 4 days too early!

8 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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Waiting on Wednesday (21): Allegiant (Divergent, #3) by Veronica Roth

It's Wednesday again! Today, we're featuring a book that majority of the blogosphere is clamoring to get their hands on this October and I know Jess and I are right along with them...

Allegiant (Divergent, #3) by Veronica Roth

One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?

What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?

What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent

This much anticipated finale to the Divergent trilogy is all I can think about reading. After recently rereading the first two in the series myself, Jess  took off on the YA train and read both Divergent and Insurgent in about 2 days. All this movie news doesn't make it any easier to be less excited, but it gives us even more to look forward to in the meantime.

What are you waiting on?

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Starcrossed (Starcrossed, #1) by Josephine Angelini - Review

I am a huge fan of Greek Mythology retellings in the YA genre. I'll read almost anything from Percy Jackson to the Goddess Test and I've had Starcrossed for a while now. For some reason, I had read some really bad reviews for this book so I wanted to make sure I was in the right mood to read it. And I was! I waited until I was unbelievably sick, home from work and it was raining. For me, that is the perfect combination for reading and I devoured this book... in one day.

Starcrossed tells the tale of a young and beautiful, Helen who lives on the island of Nantucket. Living alone with her father, she's always known that she was different and her best friend, spunky and outrageously outgoing, never ceases to miss a chance to remind her. Helens life of living in the shadows changes when a new family moves to town. Everyone gossips about how attractive the Delos family is and when she finally sees Lucas, the youngest of the family... she definitely has strong feelings. Helen feels the unrelenting urge to kill Lucas. From the moment when Helen tries to strangle Lucas in the crowded hallway at school, her life spirals out of control in this tale of action, adventure and star-crossed lovers.

Like I said before, I was super nervous about this book. I had heard some very bad things and so I was very hesitant and as a result, I didn't have very high expectations going in. My low/nonexistent expectations I think were very good things for my enjoyment of the book. I liked it! It was a sort of Percy Jackson for hopeless romantic girls, if you will. Was it the best book I've ever read? No. Will I be reading the other books in the series? Definitely.

Angelini took Demigod myth, Greek history and mythology and brought it out in a new way. I loved reading the Iliad and the Odyssey and all of those other wonderful Greek tragedies and stories of Gods gone awry. This story really took those old stories and made them modern.

Demigods hale from different houses and because of what happened during the Trojan War, they are bred to loathe (and try to kill) one another. I think my favorite aspect of Angelini’s mythology is that history repeats itself throughout history with different generations. I love it. I'm a publically acknowledged hopeless romantic and so reading a sort of do-over of the Helen of Troy myth was so wonderful and extremely inventive on Angelini's part.

If you're a Greek mythology fan or if you love reading about star-crossed lovers, then this book is for you!

7 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy, #1) by Kiersten White - Review

I want to start this review off to explain a little bit more about where I got this book. If you're a blogger (and even if you're not) and you haven’t heard about the YA Book Exchange yet, you're sorely missing out. This new site is a trading post for YA books. Essentially, you add books to the site and communicate with other traders to trade for books you want! I traded Wake by Amanda Hocking for this little gem and I've done a lot of other trades on the site as well. It's a great place to get to know others in the blogging community and trade your books for ones you've been dying to get your hands on! 

Paranormalcy follows the saucy Evie. She's just your average teenager who loves watching sappy high school dramas and of course has boy trouble, except for the fact that she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. Along with her trusty pink and rhinestoned taser, Evie helps to keep paranormal creatures out of human’s way. She longs to be a normal teenage girl who goes to high school and has a locker... but things start to change as her faerie ex-boyfriend begins popping up in her life and a new shape shifter in town warns of paranormals being murdered all across the world. It seems the fate of the world may just be weighing on Evie's little sassy shoulders.

This book got me from page one. It was a quick and fun read that had me literally laughing out loud. There are some pretty serious parts in Paranormalcy, but Evie's cute personality shines through the hard parts.

I think Evie really made the story for me. Not only is she obsessed with trashy TV, shopping for outlandish clothes and boys, but she finds things like having a locker at school to be fantastically awesome, because she's never had one. She's also got a mouth on her and I know that after reading this story, Evie and I would be best friends in real life.

I always like reading new ideas in the paranormal genre. I feel like we're constantly seeing sparkly, sweet vampires and werewolves who learn to control their turning. In this story, Evie can see through the vampire's glamour’s and sees their old, wizened bodies through their sparkly exterior. It was fun to see a new take on paranormals!

Overall, the story had great pacing, maybe a few slow spots in the middle where the story was building, but I really enjoyed reading Paranormalcy. I'll probably pick up book two on a lazy Sunday when I'm looking for something to brighten my day. In a genre where dark and deep seem to be the norm, it was refreshing to read a paranormal romance that stayed with the themes, but had a lighthearted flare.

8 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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Firelight (Firelight, #1) by Sophie Jordan - Review

Now, I'm not sure where to start with this review. I don't think I can say enough about how much I truly enjoyed reading this book. Firelight restored my recently fading faith in YA books and I couldn't get enough of Jordan's characters and the unique world she build around them.


Firelight tells the tale of Jacinda, who happens to be a descendant of dragons. Being part of the Draki, turning into dragons and soaring over the world is all that Jacinda has ever wanted. Even after losing her father, she still takes joy in soaring high in the air in her true form. When her life is threatened, her mother moves her into hiding in Arizona of all places. Jacinda not only hates the dry, arid heat of the desert, but she's losing her Draki... until she meets Will. Will ignites a fire in Jacinda that she thought was lost after moving from her mountainous home. But everything may not be as it seems as Will may be her saving grace, or the one that destroys her.

This story was so beautifully written. Her way with words and the descriptive language that Sophie Jordan uses in her story will knock you off your feet. Readers will feel the passion that Jacinda has for being a Draki and the longing she feels to be herself. It is very rarely that you read a book that  tugs on your heartstrings and makes you splay a hand across your chest while fighting tears and this was one of them. I could not stop reading this wonderful story and I quickly fell in love with all of Jordan's characters.

Jacinda is not your typical YA heroine. Yes, she has the supernatural ability to turn into a dragon and she also catches the eye of the school bad boy, but she's a lot more than that. Jacinda is not bad ass because she fights demons or a war. She is fierce because she believes in the deep history of her people and the heritage that she must uphold. Through out the story, she sacrifices her own happiness for the safety of her family and when it's time, she willingly sacrifices herself to save her kind. I found Jacinda to be an interestingly different YA leading lady and I can't wait to see how she will surprise me in books to come. Will too is one of my favorites. He is a troubled soul that found as much solitude in Jacinda as she found in him. Their relationship has an almost Romeo and Juliet feel to it and I could not help but pull for these star-crossed lovers.

Jordan's story had great pacing and just the right amount of twists and turns. While I picked out the big twist in the story from the beginning, I still almost cried when I got to the end. Jordan has a way of weaving a story to keep you begging for more, while you're falling in love at the same time. I've been having problems getting into YA fiction lately and this story renewed my faith. This unique and stunning book will remain in my mind for weeks to come and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. If you want a book that will leave you breathless and warm your heart, please pick Firelight off of the shelf. You will most definitely not be disappointed.

10 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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Everneath (Everneath, #1) by Brodi Ashton - Review

Lately, I 've been in a sort of reading slump. Everything I pick up turns out to be exactly what I'm not looking for at that moment. I decided to give Everneath a try because I was definitely in the mood for a tragic love story and that's exactly what I got.


After leaving the Underworld called Everneath just six months ago, Nikki Beckett is thrown back into the life of the living with one goal: to say goodbye to those she loves most. But will these six months be enough time for her to find the words to say goodbye to her father, her brother, her friends and her boyfriend? To ready herself for what's coming next when the Everneath comes to claim her? Will she be able to part with the surface to live an eternal life in hell?

I know, dramatic right? I can't help it, this book made me feel like I do when I read Romeo and Juliet: sad, mushy, happy and excited. Everneath is a retelling of the Persephone myth and as always, I'm a little weary to start books that retell this story in particular. I'm a huge fan of the Goddess Test series by Aime Carter, another Persephone retelling and I'm very into Percy Jackson, which covers Greek Mythology in general. Last month, however, I picked up Abandon by Meg Cabot and completely hated it. So, when I began reading this story, I was somewhat apprehensive, but I ended up falling in love with Everneath.

Ashton set a beautifully dark tone throughout this novel and it was such a joy to read. I loved how much of the story explained the Everneath. Her own personal Underworld is very different from the traditional tellings in Greek Mythology and is quite unique. Her way of explaining Everneath was so powerful and terrifying and  it was great reading her creative explanation of the realm of the dead.

Our main character Nikki is one of the best parts of this book. She works the entire novel to be unselfish and to give her family a happy ending when she leaves to go back to the Everneath. She grapples with her own feelings, wants and needs and struggles to put the needs of her loved ones before her own. Of course, she wasn't perfect and I was glad. The story would have been pretty boring if all she did was act like a saint on her road trip to hell.

I really liked the male characters as well. Jack, her boyfriend, is a rarity in YA fiction. He isn't a pompous, arrogant jerk who lives to annoy the living daylights out of Nikki. He is a wonderfully loving and giving person who cares for Nikki's wellbeing above all else. Our dark night, Cole is mysterious and darkly sexy, but Ashton does a fabulous job making you want to punch him in his sexy face most of the time.

Overall, I loved this tragic story of star crossed lovers and it was exactly what I needed to recover from my book slump. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Ashton brings to the table in her novella and her book two, Everbound.

9 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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The Selection by Kiera Cass - Review

I picked this book up after my roommate stole it from my shelves and read it herself. She couldn't stop talking about the book and so I caved and dove in! After starting, I finished in two days and was cursing Kiera Cass for not writing book two fast enough!

We begin our story in the future country that came out of a ruined United States, now called Illea, where an 8 leveled caste system is upheld. Our main character, America, is in the 5th caste and her family members are artists and singers by trade.Within the Royal family, it is custom for the Prince to find his wife through the process of Selection. Girls in the country of Illea can put their names in a drawing to be one of the 35 girls selected to compete for Prince Maxon's hand in marriage and the crown. While America wouldn't dream of entering because she is far too in love with another man named Aspen, through a series of events she finds herself entering, and of course is chosen. The Selection takes us through the trials and tribulations of America and her competitors as she finds that the Prince may not be as horrible as she had once thought and she begins to question all of her carefully made plans for her future.

The Selection is what I like to think of as a good blend of The Hunger Games, The Bachelor and Cinderella, in a very, very good way! I was a little wary of this book because of it's slight similarity to The Hunger Games. The distopian future theme, the drawing of names and a few other parts of the book felt eerily similar to THG. I ended up having to check myself. Books, of course, have similarities. Just because Suzanne Collins is brilliant and came up with a cool idea, doesn't mean that other people don't have similar, yet very awesome ideas.

I really couldn't put this book down. I think the best way to describe this book is subtly addictive. While I've been reading books like City of Lost Souls and Insurgent, that are very fast paced and full of action and violence, this book was such a relief because it wasn't intense the whole time. I felt comforted reading this book and I felt I could relate to the characters.

I love our main character, America. She is strong in her own right and really fights for her beliefs. Gotta love a heroine who is strong at heart. I also loved the charming Prince Maxon, but I really didn't like her other love interest, Aspen. I thought that he was a little too selfish and I found myself wanting to kick some sense into him a few times. While he professes to be thinking only of America and her well being, it's clear that he's selfishly thinking of his pride the entire relationship.His selfishness really bugged me, but didn't stop me from falling in love with The Selection.

Well done Kiera Cass! I can't wait for book two!

Also, check out my post on The Selection coming to CW soon!

8 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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Insurgent by Veronica Roth - Review

What can I really say about reading Insurgent? Well before you dive further into my review, let me say that I will not be spoiling one single detail for those who haven't devoured Insurgent yet!

Quite honestly, I'm not even going to put up a synopsis for you. All you need to know is that this book takes up a little after Divergent has ended. I'm just going to explain a little bit about how I felt while reading this book rather than review it in my typical fashion. Here goes!


I always know that a book is great, when I feel like I come out of a fog after reading it. It took me a few minutes to come back to reality and stop feeling like I was in Chicago and part of a faction in the future. I really had to get my head cleared because I was so completely and utterly wrapped up in this book and this world that Veronica Roth created for her readers. She has such an exceptional talent for world building and how she presents said world to her readers. You will never feel like you're getting too much description or too much analysis of the world surrounding the main characters.

One of the most awesome parts of this book is that we get to see deeper into all of the factions (Amity, Dauntless, Erudite, Candor and Abnegation). In this story, we get to visit with each faction and not only learn about their traditions and ways of life, but we learn about their flaws and really the flaws in society as a whole. It's not hard to imagine yourself into the world that Roth has created and to see what troubles a society organized in this way would pose.

In Insurgent, Roth takes a look at the human condition. We get to see what blind power does when it's handed to one individual and how when you get rid of one crazy person, there is always another crazier person waiting to be brought forth. I loved how Tris in this novel had to figure out what it meant to be Divergent and she had to struggle with right and wrong. She had to deal with the loss of her parents and to try and figure out what it meant for herself and her future when they sacrificed themselves for her well being. It's a position that no one hopes to be in, but one can relate to her struggles and her sacrifices.

Don't worry, you'll be seing plenty of Four (or Tobias as he is interchangeably called through out the story) as he has to battle his own demons as well. Tobias and Tris as a dynamic couple were so great to see in that they had to figure out how to be together while balancing secrets and betrayal. They're one of my favorite couples to watch.

Let me say that this was one of the hardest reviews I've written. It took me a while to get my thoughts straightened out and I apologize if this review is a tad erratic or confusing. Think of it as a book worms ramblings after finishing one of the best books they've ever read all year.

9 out of 10

Happy reading :)

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