Series Review: Sweet by Wendy Higgins

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Synopsis for Sweet Evil (from Goodreads):

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 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?

SERIESous’ Top Book Series: Best Reads of 2013, Sad to See Go Series 2014
Series: Sweet Trilogy
Author: Wendy Higgins
# of Books: 3 (Sweet Evil, Sweet Peril, Sweet Reckoning)

There is a Book #4: Sweet Temptation. It is an Alternate POV Novel to the series

Book Order: Chronological (Alternate POV: Sweet Temptation)
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult, Angels, Romance, Paranormal
Heat Rating: really warm *spicy YA*
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Dates: May 2012 – September 2015
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook

My Expectations:

When my library finally got these books in, I jumped for joy! Being a student, I can’t afford to buy every book that I desperately want to read (which is a lot if you could see the list I have) so I wait and wait until the library gets it. Thankfully, with eBook collections, the libraries my way seem to be getting more and more books at a faster rate and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Despite being really excited to read Sweet Evil, I was also really hesitant. Normally, I enjoy angel-themed young adult books but lately, I have read a few “duds” that seem to be rehashes of other books I have already read. However, after reading the summary for Sweet Evil, I was intrigued by the plot but I wasn’t sure what else to expect.

The Concept:

I have to say, Sweet Evil kind of blew me away! I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did and I literally devoured it in a day. Overall, the book was refreshing when it could have been very stale. The concept of Nephilim who have to do bad things was really neat and it kept me interested in what was happening. The world of guardian angels, demons and Nephilim was straightforward so it was easy to understand but had enough to it that kept me reading.

The Plot:

Each book starts a little slow but it isn’t long before you find yourself enraptured with the characters, plot and world. New twists and secrets are revealed as you go and help add to the story. By the time I was halfway through, I couldn’t put these books down!

I will say that the finale wasn’t as action packed as I had anticipated but it does a great job of bringing the series to a close so I can’t complain all that much!

The Characters:

I also genuinely liked Anna. It could have been really iffy because totally “virtuous” characters can get very annoying, very fast but I liked seeing her struggle with her true nature and feelings. I really admired and respected her when all was said and done which was great. I went into Sweet Peril (#2) with the worry that I would end up hating Anna by the end of it due to her “good-girl” character but I find she has enough relateable flaws that I only ended up loving her character more

The Romance:

And I really liked the relationship between Anna and Kaiden and how it develops throughout the story. To be truthful, I really love that relationship and it is a major reason why I loved these books so much.

–March 3, 2018– Book #4: Sweet Temptation DNF’d at 35%

Unfortunately, due to time constraints I had to DNF this book. I was enjoying getting Kaidan’s POV a lot. He’s one of my favourite male characters in YA ever. So it was cool to reminisce with him and see his perspective on the events of the previous novels.

That being said, I would have enjoyed this novel a lot more if I read it right after reading the original trilogy. It doesn’t get overly descriptive in terms of events and therefore it relies on the readers ability to remember what happened in the original novels. It’s been so long for me that I’m a little foggy on all the details (though I could have read this recap before) so I probably didn’t enjoy it (or appreciate it) as much as I could have. So I highly recommend reading Sweet Temptation right after finishing Sweet Reckoning.

Series Rating: 4/5

Sweet Evil 5/5 | Sweet Peril 4/5| Sweet Reckoning 4/5 | Sweet Temptation DNF

One of the best Young Adult series I have read in a long time. It isn’t a fluffy, teen soap-opera read. It’s a touch darker, a touch steamier and much more mature than most Young Adult reads out there. While it isn’t a fighting action-packed story, it has enough action and events at a great pace that entice you to keep reading. Filled with a great romance, awesome characters and a unique plotline, this is a must-read series for fans of paranormal YA reads! Be prepared to spend all day reading these!

Read if You Like: older YA stories, angels, romance
Avoid if You: dislike YA paranormal