I'd read quite a couple of negative reviews on Sweet Evil, and so I didn't expect too much from this book. After all, it's just YA fiction- plain and simple- so I think
3.5 stars for this book is a pretty reasonable rating.
Sweet Evil started out pretty predictably. Good girl protagonist Anna Whitt meets sexy bad boy Kaidan Rowe and discovers her shocking heritage (yeah, that
sure was a shocker), and embarks on a cross-country trip with Kaidan to find her dad and find out more about herself. During this trip, she spends most of her time in close proximity with Kaidan, and obviously they fall for each other. Only, the fact that both of them are Nephilim- Kaidan's father is the Duke of Lust and she, the daughter of the Duke of Substance- keep them apart, because it would be highly dangerous for them to be together. Of course. Aww, forbidden love!
Side note: The author isn't bad at writing angst.
Ah. The characters.
Some of them were pretty flat, like Anna's father, Jay, and Patti. I can't say Wendy Higgins didn't try to inject some life into their personalities, but...apologies, they're still rather two-dimensional.
Kaidan is your typical YA hottie, that kind of bad boy who actually is really vulnerable and has daddy issues. His nickname is cute. Kai. (kind of reminds me of the dragon from Garden of the Purple Dragon by Carole Wilkinson. Unbelievably cute haha okay I'm digressing stop)
Anna is a total good girl- too much of a good girl. She was
frustratingly passive at the beginning of the book. “Um, Senora Martinez?” I raised my hand and she nodded. “Are you going to collect the homework?” WHY would you do that. Why?! Social faux pas indeed. Couldn't stand how she was acting like such a doormat initially. Girl, if you want to appeal to readers, you've got to be bolder than that! I'm glad she became more of a daredevil towards the end. Not as daring as I would have wanted her to be, but at least it counts for something. Heh, I can't wait to see how she copes with becoming the school's "party girl" in Sweet Hope.
Yes, I'm going to read the sequel.
Overall, Sweet Evil was alright. To me, it's neither a book you want to fangirl about, nor is it the slam-worthy kind you want to set on fire. (Kidding. No book should ever be burnt. Except maybe a certain bestselling book with poorly written erotica.) The language was mediocre, but the book was paced relatively evenly throughout and the plot was captivating enough despite the cliches and the overused YA setup and characters.
It's worth the read, in a light, entertaining if-you-want-some-romance kind of way.