Review: Sweet Evil, Sweet Series

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Series: The Sweet Series

Released: May 2012

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 447

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?

Everyone has their own opinion of Heaven, Hell, and God, and in Sweet Evil those topics are very close, if not exactly, how those who believe in them imagine them. Heaven is known as the place you go if you are good in your lifetime, it's paradise after death. Hell is where you go if you are bad in your lifetime, where you are a slave to Satan and most likely endure constant pain (ouch). But what about the angels and the demons? Do angels have wings and halos and demons horns with a matching pointy tail and a pitchfork? Not in these books. The Sweet series has a variety of guardian angels, Dutch's of sins, a "smoking' hot as in H-O-T-T hott" descendant of a Dutch of sin, but Anna is different. I mean yah, of course you know you're different when you can feel other people's emotions and see floating white clouds that are guardian angels that no one else sees. But even compared to people that are sons and daughters of fathers who are all only one social caste down from Satan she's different. Her being different is exactly why she is so important and also why Kaiden Rowe (btw Mr. "H-O-T-T hott") finds Anna so compelling in a way he has never been about a girl.
This series immediately drew me in from the moment I was recommended reading it. Everything from each character's story to the star-crossed love makes you not be able to put each book down. This book will make you laugh out loud and give you the feels multiple times in each chapter. I would say it's a "fun read", but it's not. It is so much MORE. You know when you read a book and sometimes depending on what's going on in the current chapter or how the main character is feeling at the moment triggers the mood you are in? I literally had this phase of withdrawal of life because I could not stand what was going on at one point. The Sweet series is not a "fun read" it's a MUST READ. I mean, unless you hate when the girl main character is super independent and has her priorities straight while also being super nice but stubborn and hot British dudes that give nicknames that are the biggest flirts. Yah, I didn't think so.
I don't have any cons about this series at all so I'll just share what I liked the most. I've already mentioned I love the main characters, Anna and Kai, but the supporting characters are just as important and lovable. I loved the pace of the book, too. Never did it feel rushed or slow at anytime. A big bonus to this series that I can't imagine living without is its' novella. Sweet Temptation is all three books out of Kai's POV. It is AMAZING. What I didn't realize until I read the novella was how much Anna really didn't know at times. Of course, reading a book out of only one person's POV means you never entirely get some of the other opinions or thoughts of the other characters, but not knowing Kai's, looking back, makes what opinion he does vocally share only a little bit of of what is shared in Sweet Temptation. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it to anyone who has read the whole series.
Obviously, I give this series 5/5 stars. Hands. Down.

Review: Cinder, The Lunar Chronicles

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Series: Lunar Chronicles, #1

Released: January 2012

Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Romance, Utopian/Dystopian

Pages: 390

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

If you're the kind of reader that is a hopeless romantic, loves classics with a twist, and the idea of the whole world being unearthly different in the far future this is your series. I've read the whole series (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Winter, and both novellas, Fairest (Levana's story) and Stars Above (nine mini stories that include new characters, main characters' pasts, and an "after Winter" chapter)). I'm a sucker for any Utopian/Dystopian series, but this series is different. As you can probably guess, Cinder is based on Cinderella, Scarlet on Little Red Riding Hood, Cress on Rapunzel, Winter on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Fairest on the Evil Queen. But in this millennium, filled with monarchies, "people" from the moon, cyborgs, a power called "glamour", and star-crossed love, these aren't your classic Grimm Brothers' story or even Disney movie. 

I know this review is supposed to be mainly based on the first book of the series, but i decided to base it more on all of the books in the Lunar Chronicles knowing that, like me, you wouldn't be able to stop after only Cinder. This series is also filled with multiple potential "ships" and "I ship it" moments with each book.

My opinion on this book and series, if you couldn't already tell, is that it is one of my ultimate favorites. Things I like about it the most have to be the characters and their diverse and lovable demeanors (Cress is my favorite!) and their relationships. I also must mention that I enjoyed how each book introduces new POV's when new characters are introduced. I admire how Marissa Meyer evolves original characters' backstories, presents, and futures. She even evolves the world and it into something that seems unimaginable. 

The only thing I didn't quite enjoy as much as the rest was a few of the mini stories in Stars Above. Most of the stories explain the main characters' backstories or stories that connect to the character from the past. But some stories introduced completely new characters that, honestly, I could not connect with. Possibly because of the fact that the stories are short stories and have minimal detail and opportunities to relate and love the characters. Although one or two stories from Stars Above were definitely not highlights of the series, the last chapter of this novella is. For those who know the love-hate feeling of finishing a series that you LOVE you know the feeling of just simply wanting more. More situations that would cause the series to go on, more from the characters, more, more, MORE. Well. The last chapter of this book will, if not satisfy your want for more, help you at least step in the right direction of satisfaction.

Overall, I give this series 5/5 stars. These books will forever be a set-in-stone favorite of mine.