Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher

Summary

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? (courtesy of Goodreads.)

Review

The Sweet Trilogy and I got off to a rough start, because I didn't like the performance on the audio version of Sweet Evil. But I sensed the potential of the words, the plot, and the characters and promised to read the second book in print. What a difference! Sweet Peril is a great follow-up to Sweet Evil and cemented my attachment to this series.

Anna in print is a very likable character. She is still sweetness personified as she was in the first book, but she is now more layered. She now spends a lot of time "working" for her Duke father - leading vulnerable people to indulge in alcohol, drugs, partying, and chaos. She hates bringing negative energy into people's lives but knows it's necessary for the greater cause of bringing down the Dukes. Anna is a deceptively strong character. She'll go to great lengths to help other people; often putting herself at risk. She is not immune to making mistakes, but she recognizes her errors and does her best to make amends.

What about Kaidan the hottie? Also more pleasant on paper. He's not around for much of this book and when he is, he often comes off as a real jerk. It's for good reason, but still hard to see how he makes Anna suffer. I loved seeing Kai's hard, angry shell slowly chip away to reveal the kindhearted, loving guy beneath. We know from Sweet Evil that scenes between Kai and Anna can be boiling hot and that definitely shows up here. There's also a tenderness there as Kai lets down his guard.

The book covers a large amount of time - nearly an entire year - but it flows very well. The characters (mainly Anna and Kopano) go on journeys all over the world to find Nephilim allies to overthrow the Dukes. So there's a travel aspect to this action packed book too. Anna finds herself at the center of or on the fringes of the action again and again - whether it's a fight or getting up close and personal with a hot guy - there's nary a dull moment. It took me a few chapters to get into the book, but I soon found myself neglecting my afternoon plans and walking around the house with the book held up to my nose.

If Sweet Peril in print wasn't so much better than Sweet Evil in audio, I may not have liked it so much. I couldn't help noticing multiple "second book" characteristics. The male love interest is absent most of the book. There's a love triangle (sort of). The book has a place holder feel to it. These aren't necessarily bad things (these stereotypical characteristics generally work well) and certainly shouldn't keep anyone from reading the book, but I prefer second books that distinguish themselves from others of their ilk.

If you're an angel and demons fan, you should definitely read Sweet Evil and then Sweet Peril. If - like me - you're not an angel and demons fan, you should still read this. The romance is hotter than most YA paranormal series and makes the book utterly unputdownable. The mythological world is well developed and the stakes are high. You'll grow to care about Anna and swoon of Kai. I recommend picking up Sweet Evil and Sweet Peril!

Rating: 4 / 5 

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