The Sweet Trilogy #2
Wendy Higgins
Paranormal Young Adult
374 pages
HarperTeen
Available April 30th
Received from publisher for review
THE STORY
Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.
Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.
When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?
MY THOUGHTS
Sweet Peril has a rather daunting task ahead of it from the beginning, following up a debut that was surprisingly intense emotionally, and while it is definitely a middle book in some ways, Ms. Higgins uses the slightly slower pace of this sequel beautifully, allowing readers time to really study the characters and walk away from them with a far deeper understanding than we had when we started. We begin with a rather brutal prologue – a harsh reminder of just what Kaidan and Anna risk should they try to be together – and it succeeds in planting a seed of tension in our guts from the onset, something that continues to grow and often forces us to hold our breath as our concern for Anna and Kaidan’s safety reaches an all time high.
Anna is both the girl we met at the beginning of Sweet Evil and yet drastically different at the same time, forced to split her personality in two in order to keep off the Dukes’ radar. She’s not the girl that can look at the world and see only the good anymore, instead her painful lessons in life as a Nephilim have given her a few sharp edges where before there were only smooth curves. She never resorts to melancholy or despairs of all the ways her life has changed since learning of her heritage though, instead she meets every challenge with a lift of her chin and an admirable confidence borne from the hope that one day her future will be free of its current confines. Her handling of the romantic drama in this sequel causes us to release a sigh of relief, a love triangle flickering briefly into place before Anna definitively shuts it down, embracing her feelings for Kaidan even though she knows he may never be able to return them.
Many readers may find themselves a touch antsy during the first half of this book as Kai is physically absent for the most part, but Ms. Higgins gives us a scene at the very beginning that acts as a branding iron, searing our skin and causing a sharp pain to flare before fading to a dull but persistent ache, leaving behind a permanent reminder of Kaidan that we keep with us until he and Anna join forces once again. What becomes hauntingly clear in this second installment is just how dark and unforgiving life for the children of the Dukes really is, Anna’s upbringing a stark contrast to the torment Kaidan and the others suffer daily; their fathers constantly seeking ruination rather than salvation and pain instead of love, all the while using their sons and daughters as the tools by which they cast a black mark on the soul of humanity.
Anna’s separation from Kaidan and the things she learns as she travels the world searching for allies among the Neph make their relationship all the more poignant when they finally work through some of their issues, Kaidan’s ability to express any kind of emotion at all shocking given the depravity his father requires of him, and our hearts beat to an erratic but pounding rhythm as Anna bleeds love into a man who knows nothing of it. Sweet Peril definitely sets readers up for what is sure to be an epic showdown in the final book, but the quieter nature of it gives us time to truly breathe these characters in before that breath will no doubt be expelled quickly as the Dukes bring fists to vulnerable flesh in book three.
Rating: 4.5/5
Find Sweet Peril:
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LASCIVIOUS TOUR POSTERS
For any of you who have yet to read this series (first of all, get a move on, Kaidan is waiting for you!), Kaidan Rowe is the drummer for a band called Lascivious. Those of you who follow this blog with any frequency know I'm scarily mildly obsessed with these books and Kaidan in particular, and given I find Mr. Rowe to be, ahem, inspiring, I thought it might be fun to design some promotional posters for Lascivious as though they were actually going out on tour.
Below are the three posters I created for Kaidan and his band as a token of my undying affection for them, Wendy Higgins, and this series as a whole :)
KAIDAN ROWE
LEAD ME INTO TEMPTATION
WHO MAKES YOUR HEART BEAT LOUDER?
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WENDY HIGGINS
After earning a bachelors in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, Wendy taught high school English until becoming a mommy. Writing Young Adult (YA) stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal, daunting, and exciting years before adulthood.
She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, daughter, and son. Sweet Evil is her debut novel.
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GIVEAWAY
The prizes:
1 Grand Prize Giveaway - engraved “Kaidan Rowe Sweet Peril” drumsticks, fruity scented lip balms, a paperback copy of Sweet Peril and a signed Sweet Peril bookplate.
5 Winners for - a paperback copy of Sweet Peril and a signed Sweet Peril bookplate.
Giveaway is US only and ends May 10th at 12:00 a.m. PDT. Only one entry per household and you must be 13 or older to enter. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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BLOG TOUR
Don't forget to check out all the other amazing tops on this tour for more interviews, guest posts and general Sweet Peril awesomeness! A huge thank you to Rockstar Book Tours for putting this tour together.
April 22nd - YA Sisterhood - Guest Post
April 23rd - Tater's Tall Tails - Kaiden Interview
April 24th - Supernatural Snark - Review + Artwork
April 25th - Books with Bite - Anna Interview
April 26th - Tales of a Ravenous Reader - Guest Post
April 23rd - Tater's Tall Tails - Kaiden Interview
April 24th - Supernatural Snark - Review + Artwork
April 25th - Books with Bite - Anna Interview
April 26th - Tales of a Ravenous Reader - Guest Post
April 29th - Bewitched Bookworms - Guest Post
April 30th - Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post
April 30th - Curling Up with a Good Book - Review
May 1st - Magical Urban Fantasy Reads - Guest Post
May 2nd - The Book Cellar - Guest Post
May 3rd - Fiktshun - Guest Post
April 30th - Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post
April 30th - Curling Up with a Good Book - Review
May 1st - Magical Urban Fantasy Reads - Guest Post
May 2nd - The Book Cellar - Guest Post
May 3rd - Fiktshun - Guest Post
