Sweet Evil (Sweet Evil #1) & Sweet Peril (Sweet Evil #2) by, Wendy Higgins

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 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? (Via Goodreads.com)

Pages: 453


Release Date: May 1st 2012



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Summary: 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? 
(Via Goodreads.com)

Pages: 371

Release Date: April 30th 2013


Reviews: 

I started reading Sweet Evil with my best friend, Kayla, on the bus ride for our school trip to Philadelphia on Friday. We were both halfway through the novel by the end of the day. It was a great experience to read the novel with her because we were able to immediately fan girl over something as we read the scene. The only problem occurred was when one of us was ahead of the other, but we were eventually at the same location in the text.
     
At Celebrate the Book, I bought Sweet Peril and I read through both Sweet Evil and Sweet Peril rather quickly. They are both super quick reads that are hard to put down. 

My opinion on several characters changed throughout both of the novels. For example, in Sweet Evil I was not a huge fan of Ginger, but when I learned more about her and her past in Sweet Peril, I sympathized for her and gained a better perspective of her. I sympathized with all of the Nephs at one point or another. I felt horrible that none of them, except Anna, had ever been loved by someone or had the ability to love someone. 

I have several predictions for the third and final book in the Sweet Evil trilogy Sweet Reckoning. I believe Kope will end up dying to protect Anna, like Scott did in the Hush, Hush Saga. I also think Anna's Dad will somehow betray them, I just get a bad impression from him. But, no matter what happens, Anna and Kaidan will end up together, lets face the facts, it always happens. But it will be well deserved. Among the obvious, they will also manage to kill all twelve Dukes. My wishful thinking also hopes Kope and Zania, Ginger and Blake, and Jay and Marna end up together as well. 

These novels show that money does not buy happiness. The Nephs have anything any person could want or imagine, but they are missing love. Like I stated before, they cannot love or be loved in return, it is rather depressing. They are all great kids, with minor flaws that are mostly their jobs, but they have no choice in their lives and are forced to do horrible tasks. I am hoping in the next book that all the Nephs get their wanted happily ever afters, unlike Flynn and Gerlinda. I am also hoping that they will go to heaven when they pass, instead of hell were they are sent because of no fault of their own. 

When I first started Sweet Evil and progressed to about halfway through the novel, I thought it was safe to say there would be no love triangle in the story, I was wrong. It was different than the typical love triangle, including the usual new bad boy and the close best guy friend. Jay, Anna's best guy friend, was no way involved in the love triangle, which was good. The other side of the love triangle was filled by Kope. I have nothing against Kope, but I think he is more suitable with Zania. Plus Kaidan and Anna make a great couple!

I loved Kaidan. He was a combination of several different male leads: Noah Shaw, Mara Dyer trilogy; Will Herondale, Infernal Devices trilogy; Daemon, Lux series; and Jace Wayland, The Mortal Instrument series. Kaidan is anything you could wish for in a guy.

Both Jennifer L. Armentrout and Wendy Higgins are very close friends and I think it would be brilliant if both of them would co-write a series together. Both of their series are amazing, but the combination of the two authors would be like Heaven on Earth.

I very much enjoyed the the romance between Anna and Kaidan, I felt like the romance was not at all overkill, I actually wanted more. The one romance I was sad about is Ginger and Blake. Since Blake is dating a human girl, Michelle. It is for show but that is one of the reasons I feel for Ginger and the others. All the Nephs should be able to live their lives the way they want, not what they are told to do.

Overall, Sweet Evil and Sweet Peril were quick, witty, intriguing, and totally swoon worthy. I am highly anticipating the release of Sweet Reckoning in April of 2014.

       

Celebrate the Book!

     On Saturday, October 19th I attended the Celebrate the Book event in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.   This was the first time I had attended this event, as well as went to a signing with different panels and multiple authors. I got to meet the lovely Jennifer L. Armentrout, Wendy Higgins, Brigid Kemmerer, Shannon Delany, Zoraida Cordova, Elizabeth Norris, Cyn Balog, and Jeri Smith-Ready! They were all so funny, personable, and intriguing. Here are some of the pictures from the event:

 (Zoraida Cordova, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Me, Wendy Higgins, Cyn Balog)

(Me)

 

(Me, Zoraida Cordova)

 

(Me, Elizabeth Norris)

 

(Me, Wendy Higgins)

 (Wendy Higgins)

(Me, Jennifer L. Armentrout)

      I also got the following books signed:

Cursed by, Jennifer L. Armentrout

Obsidian by, Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx by, Jennifer L. Armentrout

Opal by, Jennifer L. Armentrout

Origin by, Jennifer L. Armentrout

Sweet Evil by, Wendy Higgins

Sweet Peril by, Wendy Higgins

Unraveling by, Elizabeth Norris

Weather Witch by, Shannon Delany

Storm by, Brigid Kemmerer

The Vicious Deep by, Zoraida Cordova 

  As well as some bookmarks and swag

     I had a great time meeting all those authors and the event was also very organized. I am looking forward to next year's event, I hope there will be more. I always thought Pennsylvania had nothing going on but I have meet three of my favorite authors in the last month, I will definitely not take my state for granted anymore!

~Casey

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by, E. Lockhart

 

Summary: 

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.
Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way. (Via Goodreads.com)

 

Pages: 342

 

Release Date: March 25th 2008

Review:

     Going into this novel I had very high expectations:
           1) it is one my favorite authors, Ally Carter, favorite book of all time
           2) the novel has won a couple awards 
So, it came to my surprise when about a third way through the book, I was frustrated at the novel. I rate this book book 3 out of 5 stars, which is rather generous. 
     The major problem I had with this novel is its characters. A book with a bad plot is forgivable if it has great characters, but a book with an okay plot and horrible characters is not alright. I mostly read books to connect with characters and share experiences, I could not connect with any of these characters. Frankie is one of the most annoying female heroines there is. She was dependent on Matthew, her boyfriend.  She only did things because Matthew said it was okay and basically worshiped him. She doesn't seem able to connect with any other human being and verbally fights anyone that does not agree with her on the most stupidest things.
     I have never been in love but I have seen it before with my eyes, so when it came to Frankie and Matthew's relationship, I knew there was no spark. When it comes to Frankie describing him, all she says is that he is attractive and rich. I am able to picture him because his appearance is described but his personality is never described. All we learn is that he is rich, attractive, and how I perceive him, snobby. Matthew has no personality, arrogant, and points out every grammar mistake when someone talks. He is highly irritating.
    I still do not understand the point of the Basset Hound's society. Why was it formed in the first place? And what was the big deal with Frankie wanting to join? She was the one who came up with the prank plans, and, therefore, proved she was worthy of being a member. She should have just asked. The worst they could say was no.
    The one thing I liked about the book was that The Disreputable History, the old journal that recorded the history of some things the group did since founding, was hidden. That Frankie had to find it, even though I still do not believe it was hidden in a subtle place, or it could have logically fit there, but, at least it was hidden and she did not ask someone about it and automatically get the book.
    Overall, the novel was okay. It has its okay parts but I will mostly never reread this book. I would not recommend it, unless you want a really quick read that you may end up liking or completely hating.
~Casey

The Book Thief by, Markus Zusak

 

Summary:

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. (Via Goodreads.com)

 

Release Date: January 1st 2005

 

Pages: 552

 

Review:

      This will probably be one of my hardest book reviews that I will ever have to write. This novel is simply too amazing and brilliant to even know exactly what to say about it. One thing I know for sure is that this is the best book I have ever read and I can say nothing negative about it. After finishing it, I want to get all my friends to read it so we can discuss it and rave over it.  I can easily say that this is the most emotional book I have ever read. I used to think The Fault In Our Stars and Clockwork Princess were the most emotional books I had ever read, but this novel proved otherwise.
      The characters were all so fantastic, it was hard to hate any of them. In the beginning, I had a couple characters that I could absolutely not stand, but by the end I was bawling over their deaths.
      There were many unique elements to this book, but the one I found the most interesting was that the narrator was Death. It was also the smartest because we are able to see what is going on with certain people or places because Death has the insight on everything. Death is a narrator that does not mind spoiling the ending or any part of the story. When he spoiled the ending, I did not cry or anything. But when it came time to the actual ending I was crying. I grew so attached to the characters during the novel, even though I knew slightly what was going to happen.
      The cover has both literal and figurative meanings. It is figurative based on one of the many points of the story that everything is interconnected. It is literal because If one of the dominos are knocked down, they all fall. When the officers are at Rudy's house trying to get his parents to enroll him in that school, Rudy is playing dominos with his siblings.
       I have stated in earlier reviews that it seems I read about World War II quite a bit. Out of all those books, this one focuses more on the Nazis. Usually the books  I read have World War II as a back drop or the story is in the point of view of a Jewish person. It was interesting to see Liesel's point of view on Hitler change. It did not seem that at any point she loved or praised him at all. But the readers get to see that as the book goes along she understands that what he is doing is not right, not that she thought so in the beginning. The friendship between Max and Liesel is so inspiring. I loved when she sees him walking with other Jewish people to the concentration camp she runs up and hugs him. Even after she gets whipped by the guard she keeps trying to do it again.
       When the title of the first book she took, from her brothers burial, is revealed I could not help but laugh. It was the Grave Diggers Handbook. It is also funnier when you think about how the narrator is death and the book is about digging graves.
       From reading this book I have picked up on certain German word since some of the words are in German and then it is translated to English. According to the book German's are obsessed with calling one an others pigs, which is proven all the time during the book. On pages with dialogue I am almost positive that each of those pages each have the word pig on there in German at least once!
       During the last 50 pages, I was crying hysterically. Most of it was from tears of sadness but some were from happiness and joy. It was just so hard when Death was bringing up certain memories or habits that each of the character did when he was collecting the characters souls. I also cried when Liesel saw their bodies in the rubble. It was interesting that the only reason she survived was because she was writing in the basement. It was really depressing when Liesel saw Papa's body and Death was saying that she lived because she was writing what Papa hoped he would get to read one day. It was nice that Death was able to get the book and keep it. It was cute when Liesel died and Death gave it back to her.
       I was so glad when Max came back sometime after the booming because I really was not sure if he was still alive or not. It was great to have him survive after all the other character deaths we had to suffer through. I also liked that Ilsa Hermann, the Mayor's wife, took in Liesel after everything happened.
       I think it is interesting that Liesel 'stole' the books. Certain ones I would consider her stealing them like the one from the pile of burning books, and the one she took from the burial of her brother. But I would not consider the books she took from the Hermann's as stealing because Ilsa let her take or rather, she did not prevent Liesel from taking the books.
      The illustrations in the novel were interesting as well. I liked that they were not perfectly drawn, I could envision Max drawing them in the basement.
      Two questions I still have that were not answered are: 
           1) who did Liesel end up marrying? In the epilogue it stated she had a husband, children, and grandchildren, I just would like to know if it was someone from Australia, since she moved there, or was it someone from Germany. 
           2) What happens to Max? We only get to see Liesel's ending. I wonder if Max and her were still close or did they go there separate ways after Max got away form the concentration camps. 
      Liesel is now one of my favorite characters of all time, she is such an inspiring character. Not only does she have to cope with the deaths of her close family members and friends. But she evolves throughout the novel. When we first meet Liesel she can barely read a word and is scared to read in front of people. By the end of the novel she has read many books and all of them she has reread several times. As well as towards the end of the novel is able to write about her life, she has enough knowledge to do so. She is inspiring because she is able drastically change herself over a couple of years. She also only had a couple people helping and supporting her, but their help and support is what got her through.
      Overall, The Book Thief is brilliant, inspiring, funny, unique, and an emotional roller coaster. It is the best book I have ever read and has nothing to compare it to. I am really excited for the movie to come out November 8th of this year! I have seen the trailer and it looks promising to be a great adaptation of the book!
~Casey 

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine #1) by, Ransom Riggs

 

 Summary: 

A horrific family tragedy sends Jacob 16 to a remote island off Wales, to the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, where he finds unusual old photographs. The children, one his grandfather, were more than peculiar, perhaps dangerous, quarantined for good reason - and maybe still alive. (Via Goodread.com)

 

 Pages: 352

 

Release Date: January 1st 2011

 

Review:

     I had no idea what I was going into when I started the book.  All I knew was that a couple of my friends enjoyed the book, they told me it was also rather creepy, and they showed me the photographs right off the bat.  I am the type of person to read any genre, any length of book, and I also tend not to read the back of books, unless I am buying them instead of getting them from the library or from a friend because I want to know what I am going to spend my money on. 
    The novel was not quite as I expected.  It was mysterious and creepy but not as much as I expected.  It was really good though and at the beginning I was able to put it down.  But after about the first one-hundred pages it was difficult for me to stop reading it.
     I had not expected any romance but I ended up loving it!  I know that both Emma and Jacob like each other, but if Emma had not been in love with Grandpa Portman, I wonder if she would have any interest in Jacob.  Since it appears that she is into him because of his similarities with his Grandfather. 
     I liked that the mystery of what Grandpa Portman told Jacob was unraveled at different points, not just all at once.  That was one of the reasons that the novel was so interesting.  I was  invested in knowing weather what I assumed was right or completely off.
    The loop was very intriguing to me.  I found it interesting that the loop stayed on the same day, but outside of the loop life moved forward.  At first I thought it would be okay for Jacob to stay because he could just leave and time would resume from when he left the loop.  But it turned out that it was much more complex than that.
    The photos that were included in the novel were fascinating. It came to my attention that the author took them from other novels or collections of work, so I wonder how those photos were placed into the book or collection they came from. The photos were actually one of the reasons I picked up and wanted to read the book. They are creepy, strange, and some are just plain disturbing. The one question I still have about the photos is, who were dressed up as those two clowns?
    It was interesting the certain powers the children had. Some like Emma, she could create fire, had been seen before in other novels. Enoch for example could make dead bodies or dolls come alive by stuffing an animal heart in the body. I have read in other books that characters can heal or bring people back from the dead, but Enoch cannot do it by himself. He uses a heart and he cannot keep a human back from the dead for too long. It was just interesting to see the different powers the children had, some where weird and creepy, but others were fun and useful.
    I am not quite sure why but lately I have been reading many books based in the World War II time period. I am not sure if there are huge amount of books set during that time frame or if I just tend to like the era. Nonetheless, I liked that it was based during that time period.
    Lets talk about the ending. When a book ends and there is a planned sequel or series, I assume that it will have a major or some kind of cliff hanger. This is the first book that I have not actually expected a sequel. I am not saying that the ending answers all my questions at the end, but I could live without knowing the answer. That is probably the only time I will never say that. On the other hand, I am not implying that I will not read the sequel, Hollow City, at one point. I will read the novel because I would like to get my questions answered if they will be out there.
    Overall, the novel was intriguing, intertwined, odd, creepy, mysterious, and thrilling. The sequel, Hollow City will be released January 14th, 2014; and at some point in 2014, I will be picking it up and reading it. 
~Casey
      

The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) by, Alexandra Bracken

 

 

Summary:

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.



Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.


When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.


When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.
(Via Goodreads.com)

Pages: 488

 

Release Date: December 18th 2012

 

Review: 

     When I started The Darkest Minds I had very high expectations, I had heard nothing but great reviews of the novel.  After finishing the novel, I was surprised that  I was not completely wowed.  The plot, the world, most of the characters, and the writing was fantastic.  But, the one problem that I had about the book was the plot twists, if they could be even called that.  All the 'plot twists' were predictable to me, which made my reading experience not as fantastic as I had hoped and assumed it would be.  It was still a great book.  I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.  
     The world of The Darkest Minds definitely makes up for the loss of plot twists.  It is set in a dystopian version of the U.S, where kids between the ages of 10 and 14 either die from the disease IANN or survive and have powers.  Not many survive. Those that do receive one of the following powers and are catagorized into a color group:  super intellectual (green), the ability to create and wield fire (red) or electricity (yellow), able to manipulate people (orange), and have telekinesis (blue).  It would be amazing if these powers actually existed, I would just hope they would not fall into the wrong hands.
      The characters for the most part were fantastic.  Chub (blue) and Zu (yellow) are my favorite characters.  Chub is witty, sarcastic, a reader, and determined.  Zu, on the other hand, is sweet, kind, shy, mute, funny, intelligent, and innocent.  I think I love both of them because all of those  traits describe my best friends.  The reviews that I have seen of the book tend to like Liam (blue) and Ruby (orange) the best though.  I do not see all the great characteristics and personality of Liam.  Ruby has so much character development throughout the novel, but that  did not change my view on her.  She has gone through a difficult past, and her powers can get in her way.  I feel as if she throws herself a pity party every time the plot gets harder and she has challenges.  I admire characters that overcome their challenges, unlike Ruby.  She could still possibly improve over the next two books.   From my current perspective, she has not won my admiration.
      When Clancy (orange) was first mentioned in the novel, I was picturing a kid that would be in his mid to late 20's.  It turns out he is only 18 years old.  The perfect age for the other side of the love triangle which I don't think belongs in the story.
      The cover is beautiful.  Both the title and cover design draws you in.  The symbol on the front is actually the PSI and/or the kids that survived IANN's symbol. The symbol is considered either.  
     The two saddest moments in the book had to have been when Zu left for California, and when Ruby's parents forgot who Ruby was because she had accidentally erased their memories of her.  The only time that I completely felt sorry for Ruby was at that moment.  Ruby may not be may favorite character, but who would wish something like that onto someone.  I found out that there is an e-book, In Time, that follows a guy named Gabe and he meets Zu on the way to California, so I am excited to read that, since Zu is one of my favorite characters!
     The ending was rather dramatic.  I thought that Ruby was going to erase Liam's memory of her to save him and get him out of the League. From the reviews I had read, the reviews figured that she would not go through with it.  I, on the other hand, knew how stubborn she was.  I thought erasing Liam's memory was one of the smartest but also stupidest ideas and things she has done. It was smart because there was really no other way to insure Liam's safety.  It was one of the stupidest because it is pretty obvious that she is going to need something from him in the future.  Only it will be difficult because he will not know who she is.
     One of the other stupidest mistakes Ruby made was calling the League in the first place.  I do realize most likely that Chub would have died but who says that he is still alive now!  The League could be doing anything to him right now or even send him back to the camp he broke out from!  Ruby should have disposed of that help button in the beginning like she was meant to, otherwise, none of them would be in this mess! 
     The cutest moment in the book was when Liam and Ruby took Chub's letter and found out that it was blank.  Chub left it blank intentionally because he hoped that he would be alive.  It was so cuteb but also really sad that Chub might not live to tell the tales.   
     Overall, The Darkest Minds was set in a brilliant world, had interesting characters, was action-packed, and somewhat of an emotional roller coaster.  Even though I had stated in my introduction that The Darkest Minds was not exactly what I had hoped for.  I will still continue reading the trilogy because most likely the author will have more writing experience from writing the first novel and give me more of what I had hoped for in the next novel Never Fade which is released October 15th of this year. 
 ~Casey