Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy #2) by Wendy Higgins
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 371
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased by Reviewer
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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?
Going into this book, there was a familiar apprehension associated with the second book in a series. I loved Sweet Evil, and the last thing I wanted was for the series to fall into a sophomore slump. It turns out there was never a need to worry, because Wendy Higgins managed to make me fall even more in love with these characters (especially Kaidan, but we'll come back to him).
The intrigue of the Dukes forcing their children (the Nephilim) to work within their sins is even more poignant in this book, as Anna, now that she's known to the world of the Neph and Dukes, is forced to work herself. I love Anna's character and the struggle she experiences with her lot in life is fascinating. Sweet, no-longer-so-innocent Anna is now spending her time pretending to be a good little worker, dodging whisperers, and missing Kaidan. I couldn't keep from talking about him for long.
Between the accent (I have a major weakness for a British accent), the fact that he's a drummer (oh, the arms...), and his being the Duke Lust's son, non of us ever really had a chance. Which is why the beginning of the book is a little tough - when we last saw these two, Kai had left Anna for California to keep them apart and safe. The lack of our boy lingers and is upsetting, but I certainly didn't love the story any less for it. Plus, it just makes it that much better when he reappears!
This book is the turning point for Anna and Kai together. Kai especially undergoes a lot in his struggle to ignore his feelings for Anna while keeping her safe. And still throughout, he struggles to better himself and become worthy of her. He's always willing to hurt himself in order to protect her. It's frustrating at times, but also sweet, swoony, and oh-so-melt-worthy!
Now I can't wait to get my hands on Sweet Reckoning! I tried to hold off on reading this book so the wait wouldn't seem so terribly long, but that didn't really happen like I'd hoped. But, hey, I tried.
Fr those who read Sweet Evil, this is a must-read. If you haven't, get on that soon. This is not a series to be missed for any YA paranormal or angel lore fan.
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 was her debut novel.
I'm so glad Sweet Peril wasn't a letdown. I loved Sweet Evil too and I'm really looking forward to getting reacquainted with these characters. :) Great review!
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