Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
HarperTeen

Format: Paperback, 454 pages

RATING: 1 out of 5 Stars

SUMMARY

Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

I have a thing for drummers.

I have a thing for English boys. 

Kaidan Rowe is an English drummer boy. That alone is enough enticement for me.  With all the campaigns going around on Kai’s bid to beat every boy in the YA Tourney of Crushes, it was inevitable that I pulled this from the TBR pile just so I could check him out. After my first introduction to Kai, I must admit, I got the appeal. Unfortunately, this book isn’t all about him. And even if it was, Kai’s charms ended right there. He’s the son of the Duke of Lust, ergo; he needs to have gratuitous sex to survive. Uhm. No thanks.

There are 789 reviews posted for this book on Goodreads, with 3,491 ratings averaging 4.23 stars.  Everyone loves this; I mean, practically, everyone.

Kool-Aid, anyone? I Pass.

I had a hell of a time with this book; at some point, I got close to giving up on it. I am not a fan of the incredibly, unbelievably good, naive, innocent heroine. She wasn’t someone a lot of us mortals could relate to. And how could we? She’s a genetic mixture of angel and demon. The thing is I think everyone has a mixture of both; we just have to figure out for ourselves which side we would allow to win – the good side? Or the evil side? Apparently, it didn’t matter that she was partly spawned by a demon. She was more angel than anything else. And I get it; truly, I do. I just wish that she’d shown a glimmer of weakness by fighting off the side of daddy dearest that's within her.

Anna also cries a lot, which is one of the traits that I could never like from a character. She thinks herself as plain (eyeroll) and was annoyed by a freckle on her upper lip - all while the boys in school jonesed after her. 

The writing is juvenile  - and perhaps it was the author’s intention to do so. Maybe Ms. Higgins was trying to immortalized Anna Whitt’s sixteen year-old persona through her writing. But I couldn’t get through most of her inner ramblings. I rolled my eyes so much; I developed a headache. 


“Kai, like Thai only yummier.” (eyeroll)

“Good gracious, he was sexy—a word that had not existed in my personal vocabulary until that moment.” (eyeroll)

I’m sure there were more. But those two are the ones that just about did me in. By the way, does anyone know what the exact hue is of a honeymoon colour? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t in the colour wheel. FYI, That’s how she described his eyes. Oh man, her fascination with the rainbow...wow. Even my five year-old didn't show that much enthusiasm when he saw one.

Drug use. Alcohol. I’m not a fan; even if they’re essential to the story.

Patti, Anna’s adoptive mother. Boy, was she inconsistent, or what? First, she told Anna to stay away from the boy. Then, she told her that she should go with the boy on a road trip. Say, what? Never mind that these two teens are minors and had to fend for themselves with accommodations and such. Details. If she only knew how her precious Anna practically asked Kai to have his way with her…

VERDICT: Kai’s hawtness couldn’t save this book. I’m also inclined to include this on my review: JUDGE FOR YERSELF but I didn't like this at all.