Sweet Peril

Title: Sweet Peril (Sweet #2)
Author: Wendy Higgins
Genre: YA
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 8/10

I literally pounced on Sweet Peril when it showed up on my doorstep today (yes today. And yes, it's 370 pages long. Don't judge me, please) because the end of Sweet Evil was just plain mean. I wasn't even sure what I wanted to do with Kai: throttle him, or kiss the living daylights out of him.
For those of you who haven't read Sweet Evil, here's what you need to know: young, sweet, innocent maid (in the old sense of the word, please) Anna, meets dark, dangerous boy, Kai. She finds out she's the daughter of a demon, and so is he. Kai is the son of the demon of lust. Need I say anymore? Stuff happens, it's a bit Romeo & Juliet-like, but without the deaths at the end. You should read it.

The good (or bad, because I missed him so much) thing was that he didn't show up till about halfway through the book, so by then, I was just so happy to see him again, I forgot all about wanting to kill him.
In all seriousness, though. What I really liked about Sweet Peril is that Anna and Zania are clearly shown as strong female leads. And yes, in Zania's case - and sometimes in Anna's, too - that means that they kick ass. But mostly, they are shown to be perfectly able to save themselves. They are damsels. They are frequently in distress. They can handle it.
Yes, the boys do get to swoop in every now and then and play the knights in shining armour to them, but Anna doesn't spend half the book wishing Kai was there to help her get out of the problems she gets herself into. Yes, she wants him there, but because she loves him, not because she wants him to save her. I also particularly enjoyed Blake calling Kai 'her man' instead of her always being 'his girl'. It was a refreshing change.
And even though the book starts out quite tame, boy oh boy, by the time we hit the halfway mark, the action has escalated so much, it's amazing. It skips a few months, which I thought would bother me, but really didn't, and didn't disrupt the narrative in any way, so don't get too freaked out about that. And a few chapters after the halfway mark, the heat gets turned on to a sizzle. After so long between books, and without Kaidan in this book for so long, I'd forgotten how those two got when they were around each other. All I can say is, hot damn baby.

Fans of Sweet Evil, definitely read. Kai doesn't disappoint (well... maybe a bit. At first. But he makes up for it later on, promise!). And if you're looking for an easy summer read, definitely pick this up. As mentioned previously, I finished it in one sitting, which I hand't been able to do in quite a while. It was wonderful to start doing it again with Anna and Kai and the rest of the gang.

Also, can I just say that I think it's fabulous that the winner of the cover contest was called Anna? That was so funny to read! :D

Finale

Title: Finale (Hush, Hush #4)
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Genre: YA
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 8/10 - Hush, Hush and Crescendo will always be my favourite covers of this series.


HOLY SHENANIGANS.
I almost threw the book across the room at a point near the end there, because holy bejeesus, my EMOTIONS!
As I understand, my head will roll if I let any spoilers slip, so this is a strictly spoiler-free review. Be prepared for emotional outbursts, however.

First of all, Nora. I can't express how much I admire her in this book. Sure, there was a moment about halfway through when I felt like strangling some sense into her, and I had to put the book down for an hour to calm down, but those were extenuating circumstances. On the whole, I really felt like she matured so, so much. Reading through her point of view was a pleasure, because (aside from those... circumstances I mentioned above), she has no sense of her own power and importance; she's the leader of the Nephilim, sure, and that gives her a hell of a lot of power, but she wants nothing to do with it. I loved seeing the hero (heroin, in this case) completely and most vehemently turn their back on their powerful task of saving the world that only they can do. It was so refreshing. I also felt that her relationship with Patch, which, let's face it, has always sizzled and sparked with sexual tension, and made me fan myself repeatedly, grew and expanded to so much more - without ever losing that inherent hotness that makes these books so addictive.
Patch... *dreamy sigh* what can I say about Patch that won't take me into an endless ramble about how amazing, hot and just all-around fan-freaking-tastic he is? Sure, I did say he was being an asshole. And he totally was. He was also being an asshole for all the right reasons - which doesn't excuse the asshole-ness, but it sure helps soften the blow. But I think the main thing about Patch is just how obvious his love for Nora is, and that makes me love him more than anything else. And while his protective streak might be a bit overwhelming, and controlling at times, he does know when to back down, and he trusts Nora enough to know that she can take care of herself, even though it's painfully clear he'd much rather she never had to even try fighting herself.
Vee... holy crap. That pretty much sums it all up. Just... holy crap. That came out of NOWHERE, and just hit me in the head and completely blindsided me. I knew Nora would eventually fess up to Vee, but I never, not in a million years, expected that sort of answer. I'm not sure what the deal was with that, exactly, though I get that it played a quite important part in the end (not the Epilogue, the end before that :P), though frankly, most of that could have been accomplished even without that little bomb dropped, so I'm really not sure. But hey, whatever. I also love her friendship with Nora. It's great that Nora has not only a real, steady (well... kind of) relationship, but also a true best friend.

A little quote from the book for my Patch ladies:
"'You dress to impress,' I said approvingly.
'No, Angel.' He leaned in, his teeth softly grazing my ear. 'I undress to impress.'"

You're most very welcome ;)

Cover Reveal: Wicked Kiss

Wicked Kiss, the second book in Michelle Rowen's Nightwatchers series that started with Dark Kiss, now has a cover, title, blurb and a release date!

MY KISS CAN KILL. 

I used to be ordinary Samantha Day, but that's changed. Now, after one dark kiss from a dangerous boy, I can steal someone's soul...or their life. If I give in to the constant hunger inside me, I hurt anyone I kiss. If I don't...I hurt myself. 

Bishop is the one whose kiss I crave most, but if I kiss him, I'll kill him. Then there's another boy, one I can't hurt. One whose kiss seems to miraculously quell my hunger. They're both part of a team of angels and demons that's joined forces in my city to fight a mysterious rising darkness, an evil that threatens everyone I know and love. I just wonder if I'll be able to help Bishop - or if I'm just another part of the darkness he's sworn to destroy.... 

Look for  Wicked Kiss in bookstores Feb. 26th 2013!

Cover Contest

So you like reading (and if you don't, then I have no earthly idea what you're doing here...). And let's face it: who wouldn't kill - or die - to have their name in their favourite book? Say, if you were a character in Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings. Well, sadly both of those series are over, so that won't be happening any time in the foreseeable future, especially not with the latter, seeing as Tolkien isn't among us anymore; maybe you can convince Rowling to edit the books and add you in, I mean hey, you never know.
But while that doesn't happen, I know how you can get the next best option: your name in print in the same book as sexy-as-all-get-out Kaidan, the son of the demon of lust. If you need a reminder of just how sexy he is (it's in his very genes to be sexy, after all! The guy can hardly help it, poor thing... *ahem*), you can find my review of Sweet Evil here.

As I was saying before Kaidan distracted me, you have the chance to be a character in the next book of the trilogy. Just head on over to Bewitched Bookworms and read up on their rules and regulations, get out your artistic little fingers, and get to work on those covers, girls! Plus, even if you don't get to be a character in Sweet Hope, you might still win some signed swag!

Sweet Evil

Title: Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy #1)
Author: Wendy Higgins
Genre: YA, paranormal
Rating: 5/5
Cover: 10/10

There are books, there are good books and then there are those books that get stuck in your mind, and you catch yourself thinking about them in the most random moments. Sweet Evil was the latter for me.
Breathtaking cover notwithstanding, the story of Sweet Evil is sweetly compelling with a most decidedly evil ending. Pun very much intended.

Be ready for the ride of your life. Anna Whitt is a good girl. She doesn't steal, she doesn't drink, and she most definitely does not do drugs. But Anna isn't normal. She remembers her entire life - right down to her own birth. Her mother died in labour, and her father was arrested soon after she was born. She has been living with her aunt ever since.
When Anna turns sixteen, very little of normal remains in her life. She can see people's auras, and now there are white things following everyone around, in addition to the auras. That is also when Anna meets Kaiden, who, instead of an aura, has no colour around him, and a most decided absence of the white figure - instead, he has a black shadow around him. It doesn't take Anna long to figure out that Kaiden is a lot like her, and to ask for answers, which is how she discovers that they are both fallen angels, sons of the great demons of sin. Kaiden is the demon of lust's son, so obviously the guy is smokin'. Anna, on the other hand, is the daughter of addiction. And she is expected to corrupt humans, following in her jailbait father's footsteps.
Anna and Kaiden are that kind of couple. You know the kind. The one that, when they kiss, it's not sparks flying; it's more like a nuclear bomb went off. Which is complicated, because Anna isn't a normal fallen angel; she's the daughter of a demon with an angel. With both good and bad in her, fighting for dominance, which side will win?

The ending, though. What is it with these stories with heartbreaking endings? As far as I'm concerned, this matter is not over, and they'd better sort it out in #2, or I will not be amused.