Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil
by Wendy Higgins
Series: The Sweet Evil Trilogy #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

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

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

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 it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power 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?(synopsis from Goodreads)

Sweet Evil is the first novel in the Sweet Evil Trilogy and the debut novel of author Wendy Higgins. It is an urban fantasy, filled with angels and demons. The tale hints at an epic battle yet to come. I was immediately drawn to its beautiful cover and dark synopsis. Higgins writing style and world-building made this a fun, fast paced read and was a delightful start to this trilogy.

The tale begins with fifteen year old Anna Whitt. She is a good girl who struggles with a sixth sense that allows her to see the emotions of other people. Anna is unusual; she never gets sick, heals rapidly and remembers everything about her life from the time she spent in her mother’s womb. Anna knows she is different, but as her sixteenth birthday approaches she meets the dark and mysterious Kaidan Rowe. He is a drummer in a band and drop dead gorgeous. He is like her, only he knows what he is and what he was raised to do. She is immediately drawn to him despite his bad boy reputation. As the tale unfolds Kaidan and her adoptive mother Patti help her understand who she is. Now Anna must decide what she will do about it. Anna and Kaidan drive cross country so she can meet her father, who is currently serving time in jail. I loved the journey and getting to know the two of them. When Anna’s father meets her and learns that Kaidan’s Dad is aware of her existence, he immediately makes plans to be released. Anna also goes to visit the convent where she was born and is given a gift by the nun who was there at her birth. From here the tale becomes action-packed as we learn more about this world.

The characters were all unique in this novel and I immediately felt connections with them. Anna is all goodness and sweet, and watching her step out of her comfort zone was interesting. Kaidan oozes smexy and is definitely a bad boy. Despite his violent protests you quickly realize there is a warm, fuzzy compassionate side to him. Of course, their relationship is forbidden and watching these two play off each other was a blast. I am a sucker for romance and found myself rooting for them. The relationship is volatile and I am anxious to see how it develops. The one thing I am sure of is that Kaidan will be there for her. We meet some of Kaidan’s friends who are also special. All of them are unique and I enjoyed seeing the chaos they brought to the mix. Kopano was sweet, and I worried about a love triangle developing. Anna senses he would be the better relationship choice, but her heart belongs to Kaidan. It’s pretty clear he has feelings, but he hasn't yet made a move. Kaidan is extremely jealous even as he states they cannot be together. I am hoping Higgins avoids the whole triangle all together as I am already firmly team: Kaidan.  

The world-building is awesome and Higgins offers an interesting spin on how the devil influences humans. The tale is filled with demons, angels and all kinds of supernatural entities. Higgins has set the stage for an epic battle, not so much between good and evil, but on the issue of souls. The romance is steamy in this novel and there were a couple of intense scenes. I loved the scene where the council met, and I am flat out afraid of Kaidan’s father and the other Dukes. All of the children like Anna must do their fathers bidding, if they don’t the consequence are horrific. I am not talking about a grounding or loss of your cell phone. Disobedience brings punishments like torture and death. I loved how Higgins made Dukes out of the seven deadly sins, and the hierarchy she has set up. While she didn’t bog us down with a ton of back-history, she did adequately provide enough that I have a strong sense of this world and the path we are on. That’s not to say, she won’t provide twists along the way, but I am excited to take the next step in this journey and look forward to book two.

I recommend Sweet Evil to fans of urban fantasy, angels and demons. I am looking forward to continuing this tale and have added Higgins to my author’s to watch list. I will update you when news is released regarding book two, and plan to share its review with you as well. 

I gave this novel 4 coffee cups out of 5.

Wendy Higgins

Website