Sweet Evil review

Title: Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy #1)

Author: Wendy Higgins

Published: May 1st 2012 by HarperTeen

My rating: 

My summary: 

One girl, one boy. One good, one evil.

What if your survival depended on you being a bad influence?

For some teens, this is their reality. Each born and raised by fallen angels, and to serve a different purpose - to deal drugs, to persuade kids to be alcoholic, or to get them in bed as soon as they meet them.

Southern girl Anna Whitt has always been blessed with the gift of seeing and feeling other's emotions, although sometimes it doesn't feel like such a gift. She can feel darkness pulling at her from within, but luckily for good girl Anna, she has her Angel part to balance it out.
It's not until she meets Kaiden Rowe, a son of a fallen angel, does she learn the truth about her terrifying heritage.

Now her balance of angel and devil is put to the test, and in the end... will Anna embrace the good, or the evil?

My thoughts:

It's not often when I can put a five-star-rating on a book without having to really think it through, to decide if I think it's worthy. Sweet Evil is one of those exceptions. As soon as I finished it, I knew I had to give it five stars.

The story brings out a roller coaster of emotions from the reader, and it flies over a long period of time, covering what most authors would cover in two books, but yet I didn't feel exhausted after reading it, I just wanted more.

The characters are well developed and likable  even Anna, who I originally thought would be one of those annoyingly goody-two-shoes no-faults kind of girl. She does come across like that in the beginning, although her character changes and evolves which I believe all good stories should have.

The ending was incredibly heartbreaking yet fulfilling at the same time and there was a massive cliffhanger, so I've already pre-ordered the sequel, Sweet Peril (set to be released April 30th 2013) because can't wait to read it.

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Finale review

Title: Finale (Hush, Hush #4)

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Published: October 23rd 2012 by Simon & Schuster for Young Readers

My rating: 

My Summary: 

This is the fourth and final book in the bestselling Hush, Hush series. In the previous book, Silence, Nora swore an oath that if Hank Miller (aka The Black Hand and her dad) died, she'd take his place as leader of the Nephilim race. And, naturally, he died so she became the leader. So in Finale Nora is to lead the Nephilim army to war against the fallen angels, which also means against Patch (aka fallen angel and love of her life).
Naturally, she doesn't want to do this, so she and Patch devise a plan: lead everyone to believe they are no longer together and while Nora tries to convince the Nephilim not to fight the fallen angels, Patch would be finding out as much as he can about the fallen angels' plans, stopping the war before it even begins.
But even the best of plans turn astray and when Nora finds herself with a supposed friend turned into unexpected enemy, and an troubling addiction to deal with, it leaves her unprepared for her most frightening journey yet...

My thoughts:

It's done. Patch and Nora's story is finished and I'm more than bit sad about that. Although, I must say it ends well and I don't find myself wishing there was another book so I guess that means it's completed.

Overall I enjoyed this book, yet it's not my favourite in the series.
Oh, and Nora totally changes. She goes from sweet protective Nora to manipulative ass-kicking Nora. I actually think I liked the earlier Nora more, it seemed more HER - just saying.

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Previous books in the Hush, Hush series:

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Hush, Hush review

Title: Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush #1)

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick


Published: October 13th 2009 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rating: 

What it's about:
Nora Grey has her future figured out. She'll go to summer school, get great grades, and go to the best college. Romance is definitely not part of the plan. She had never been interested when her best friend, Vee, encouraged her to date. All the guys seemed so ... boring. Well, at least until Patch comes along. With his knowing smile and darkly glittering eyes, it seems as though he can tell what she's thinking: that he's dangerous. Yet, at the same time, he seems to understand Nora, and she's drawn to him ... even though she doesn't want to be. But just when she begins to open up to Patch, terrifying things start to happen, and all clues lead back to him.

Suddenly, Nora doesn't know whether to trust Patch or not -- although she hopes she can. So, she decides to dig up some answers, and when she does, they're more frightening then she could ever have imagined.

She finds herself in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and the fallen. It's time for Nora to choose a side -- if she makes the wrong choice, it could cost her her life.

My thoughts:

There was a lot of hype about Hush, Hush when it was first published, but I didn't read it until the next book in the series, Crescendo, was released.

The first few chapters were a bit of a bore to be honest, and Patch didn't live up to his so-called sexy reputation he'd received from many reviews. Nora seemed like a bit of a snob; I liked her friend Vee much more. I was starting to feel disappointed, but then things suddenly changed.

Maybe it was Nora's near-death experience, or maybe the creepy and sinister Elliot, the friend of Vee's date, that swayed my decision about this book -- I'm not sure, but I was very glad I hadn't given up on it. Patch's arrogance and cockiness suddenly seemed more alluring, and the excitement and suspense went up several notches with Nora's few moments in danger. She then gave up being snobby, and her determination to find out Elliot's secret made me like her much more. Vee was comic relief throughout the book; she always had a witty comeback ready to be fired whenever appropriate.

Hush, Hush had me hooked. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, and the mystery had me turning every page excitedly. This book lived up to my expectations, and I couldn't put it down until I had finished the last page.

Mercy review

Title: Mercy (Mercy #1)

Author: Rebecca Lim

Published: November 1st 2010

My rating: 

What it’s about:

Mercy has lost herself. She can’t count how many times she’s ‘woken up’ in a new body, assumed a new life, only to move on to another body, again and again.

In Paradise, Mercy meets Ryan who’s still reeling from his sister going missing over two years ago, now presumed dead. Everyone gave up hope looking for her long ago, but Ryan still believes he can find her. And Mercy, using powers she didn’t even know she had, finds out he’s right—Ryan’s sister is still alive. And then, when another girl goes missing, Mercy and Ryan know they must act before their time runs out.

But why is the strange man who haunts Mercy’s dreams cautioning her not to interfere? And why is it that with every step closer to discovering the truth about the missing girls, a host of angels who are out for Mercy’s blood because of a crime she committed, loom closer? A crime Mercy can’t even remember.

My thoughts:

Mercy had me from the first page. Rebecca Lim’s way of getting across Mercy’s frustration and confusion is really well done.

Those who feel like they don’t know themselves or they’re unsure of what their ‘purpose’ is in life can probably relate to Mercy, who feels the same way. The plot really thickens just in the first few chapters, so it’s straight into the story.

It’s a great angels/murder mystery combination. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with those two things incorporated, so it was really interesting. Although, I did figure out the mystery about three quarters of the way in, and the whole time I was thinking, ‘How can you not know?’ about Mercy, who seemed oblivious and didn’t work it out.

A lot of people like the fact that Carmen—the girl Mercy inhabits in Ohio—isn’t very good looking, but still a good looking guy falls for her. I think it’s different, because usually the main character is absolutely gorgeous, which is pretty unrealistic considering they’re supposed to be average people. It’s great to see Mercy change as a person. Before, she was cold hearted and actually quite a ruthless person because the changing bodies made her a little more detached.  But through the book she turns into a warm-hearted passionate person who is very likeable. She in fact believes that she is supposed to help each person she inhabits live a better life after she’s gone. Before Carmen, she’s been a drug addict with a baby, an ignored rich brat, and several other women at many different ages, so she hasn’t always been a teenager in every lifetime, which I think is good.

The story features a lot of music, because it is set in a singing camp, and it’s rather mystical and enchanting. I like the idea that Mercy can’t remember what she did wrong to be exiled.

Mercy is different from anything I’ve ever read. Rebecca Lim is an Australian author with an amazing imagination, and I’ll be reading the others in the series, because this book is so intriguing.

Blue Bloods review

Title: Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods #1)

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Published: March 1st 2010

My rating: 

What it’s about:

In 1620, the Mayflower set sail, and it carried the men and women who would shape America: John Alden, Miles Standish, Constance Hopkins. But among the Pilgrims, some were not escaping religious persecution.  In fact, they weren’t human at all. They were vampires, who settled into the New World and rose to great power, wealth and influence. They were known as the blue bloods of American society.

The blue bloods had sworn to keep their kind a secret for centuries and, until now, it had been kept hidden. But, in New York City, it’s now finally beginning to seep out. Schuyler Van Alen, a sophomore at a prestigious private school where all her peers wear Prada heels and pearls, is a loner. She lives in a neglected mansion with her unsociable grandmother, and prefers wearing baggy vintage clothing to what everyone else wears. She’s happy with being a loner, and she doesn’t feel like she’s missing out on anything. But then suddenly, when she turns fifteen, things start to get strange. Rippling blue veins turn up along her arms, she starts craving raw meat, and she has flashbacks of herself in ancient times.

Then a popular girl at school turns up dead, fully drained of blood. Schuyler can’t help but hear what everyone’s saying: It’s not possible—she can’t be dead. And Jack Force, the most popular boy in school, believes it too. He thinks she was murdered, and he convinces Schuyler into helping him find the murderer, and uncover secrets they think the blue bloods are keeping. But what Jack and Schuyler don’t realise is that she herself is in danger …

My thoughts:

I first read this book just over a year ago and I loved it. But, reading it again recently, I’m not so enthusiastic. But still … Blue Bloods is an interesting take on vampires. Melissa de la Cruz’s ideas about vampires being an elite society is intriguing, although she writes more about what the students are wearing than deepening the plot and building the characters. The book is written in third person, from the point of view of three main characters: Schuyler, Bliss, and Mimi.

Schuyler (despite being the main character in the book) is the hardest to figure out of the three. Mimi is an unpleasant and jealous person, whereas Bliss is a kind girl with a little sass, who wishes she could be more. At times throughout the novel, Schuyler seems to despise the blue bloods and not want anything to do with the elites, yet at other times she seems as though she wishes she was part of them—she gets into modelling and befriends Bliss, the most popular girl’s best friend.

There are some strange ideas in Blue Bloods, though, like the fact that vampires are not only vampires but also angels. What the … ?

Having said that, Melissa de la Cruz writes well, and (despite its couple of oddities), I’ll be following the series.