Review: Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Peril
The Sweet Trilogy #2

Author: Wendy Higgins

Publication Date: April 30, 2013

Publisher: Harper Teen

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology (Angels/Demons)

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Synopsis:

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?

My Thoughts: I have been waiting for this book since I read the last one, which was on it's release date.  I can't say how happy I was to finally have it in my hands and wasted no time jumping into the book.  Safe to say, once this one was open it was one that was not put down until it was finished.

Anna is a lot different than when we met her in the first book.  After discovering her true heritage, she is now monitored by demon whisperers - things that report to her father and all of the other dukes whether or not she is doing her job.  So, Anna is forced to adapt.  No longer is she the goody-two-shoes from the beginning of Sweet Evil; however, even with the noticeable changes the reader can still find so much of the old Anna.  I found myself torn between the new Anna and the old Anna a lot but as she came to a happy medium I think I did with her as well.

Kaiden is just as infuriatingly sexy, mysterious and bad-boyish.  I just love him to pieces  especially as this book hit the middle and towards the end.  Just thinking about him makes me all giggly, despite my rocky start with him at the beginning of this book (he is just infuriating to me [and Anna] at the beginning).

I almost liked the plot of Sweet Peril more than I did Sweet Evil.  It was full of action, romance, heartbreak and all of the things that make up good books and good movies.  This was one that I could not put down for even a second and I am already looking forward to the next novel in this series.

Review: Darkest Light by Hiromoi Goto

Darkest Light

Author: Hiromi Goto

Publication Date: January 31st, 2012

Publisher: Razorbill

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Horror

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Synopsis:

Adopted as an infant, Gee has been kept ignorant of his troubled past. Now, at sixteen, he is a loner both despised and feared by his classmates. Dark feelings slowly grow inside him, but as he struggles to control them, his past catches up with him. Abandoning his adoptive grandmother and the place he has called home, Gee is compelled to travel to Half World, one of the Three Realms all living things must pass through. Fractured at one time, the Realms of the Flesh, Spirit and Half World have been reunited, but they are at risk: their fate rests on Gee's own journey of self-discovery. With two unlikely companions, a heartless cat and a self-destructive Neo Goth girl, Gee must fight the monstrous and the horrific and, most difficult of all, he must overcome his own propensity for evil.

My Thoughts: The struggle to keep the balance between the three realms continues in this sequel to Half World. For which you can find my review here. This time though we see little to none of Melanie. She is out of the picture pretty much and instead, this time around we are following Baby G.

Only, Baby G isn't a baby anymore, he's a teenage boy. Gee knows there is some dark mystery behind where he came from, but has not even the slightest clue just how dark it is. His "Popo" or pseudo grandmother has raised him and taken care of him and has kept many deep and dark secrets. But the secrets are forced out when beings from the Half World enter the Flesh World to reclaim him and bring him back home. That's when Gee realizes that nothing is as it seems. And there are reasons he has always felt like an outsider and never fit in or ever had any friends. Gee has a past that downright terrifies him, but he has no choice to but to face it head on if things are to be set right and the balance between the three realms restored.

I enjoyed following Gee much more so than I did Melanie. He had a lot more character depth. He was a lot more cynical, brave and forthright. Where as at times I found Melanie to be whiny and a little too childish. The evil and shadows that Gee has to conquer are astounding, and the strength required to  get through is almost unattainable. He luckily managed to make a friend just before his epic journey into the Half World began. But at times she is more than a burden than an aid. But I loved her as well. She was not afraid to kick some serious butt and to tell it like she sees it. She was very independent and courageous. Together they made quite a pair, ravaging there way through the Half World.

The visuals in this story are so vivid and bright. Even though Half World itself is supposed to be all grey tones, the imagery still shines through and  I think I would do some pretty terrible things to see this made into a graphic novel. There are a few random illustrations throughout, but they never pick the really gory and scary things that I wanted to see. They were easy enough to imagine in my own mind, enough to give me shivers and goosebumps.

I would recommend this story to any and all fantasy fans, or fans of Asian culture or Asian style story telling. But if you have never given that kind of thing a try, I think this series is an excellent place to start! But I will warn you in advance, this book is not afraid to get disgusting, evil and twisted. But it also creates hope and light among this dark moments. It's a fantastic, adventurous, terrifying read and I definitely think you should give it a try!

Waiting on Wednesday (67)

Waiting on Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly awaiting.

Mortal

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Expected Publication Date: 2015

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Synopsis:

All that changes when a ferocious beast barges into their cottage, demanding that Feyre come live with him as payment for plucking an ordinary forest rose. Dragged off into the night, the beast brings her to a beautiful manor located in Faerie, the mysterious and deadly lands bordering the mortal world. There, he sheds his animal skin, and reveals himself to be Tamlin, a young, handsome Faerie Lord. But the estate is overshadowed by a curse: each of its inhabitants wears a mask permanently attached to their face, and Tamlin is no exception. Despite her initial desire to loathe Tamlin and his world, Feyre soon finds herself attracted to the Faerie Lord by more than her curiosity. Just when Feyre accepts the depth of her feelings for Tamlin, they’re torn apart by forces so dark that there’s little hope of standing against them. But Feyre has endured hardship before, and she refuses to accept that her happiness could be forever stolen from her. Resolving to save her beloved and discover a way to break his curse, Feyre sets out into Faerie, where unknown challenges and dangers await, and where her love and strength will be tested in ways she never imagined. A retelling of ”Beauty and the Beast,” “Tam-Lin,” and ”East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” A Court of Thorns and Roses tells the story of a young woman growing into herself, learning to love, and understanding the true nature of sacrifice.

My Thoughts: So obviously this book isn't due to come out for quite a while. But it just sounds so good! I have really enjoyed all the re-tellings I have read so far, and Beauty & the Beast just happens to be my favorite so I am really excited about this!

Teaser Tuesday (62)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by  MizB at Should Be Reading

To Participate you:

-Grab your current read

-Open to a random page

-Share two 'teaser' sentences from somewhere on that page

-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS

This week's teaser comes from:

The Monsters of Templeton

Author: Lauren Groff

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Teaser:

I yawned and stretched, then told the ghost in my room that I needed a little break. It was lilac colored, had seemed to be pulsating quickly all night, like a rabbit-heart bared, still beating. When I tried to look directly at it, it made itself invisible.

My Thoughts: I picked this book up at  a second hand store firstly because the unique and beautiful cover really caught my eye. Then I found a quote from Stephen King on the back boasting about how great this book was. And that was enough for me haha, I was sold. It's been sitting on my shelf for a while and I'm glad to finally be reading it because I'm really really enjoying it! Gotta love random finds :)

Review: Icons by Margaret Stohl

Icons

Author: Margaret Stohl

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia

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Synopsis:

Your heart beats only with their permission.

Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting.

Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside -- safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid.

She's different. She survived. Why?

When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence. It's a conspiracy.

Within the Icon's reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions -- which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses -- may actually be their greatest strengths.

My Thoughts: I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book, it sounded really good and I wasn't disappointed. I've had a bit of a thing for dystopia for the past year. Add in science fiction and I'm going to probably read the book. I've also read and enjoyed Beautiful Creatures, so to read something by just Margaret was nice.

The main protagonist is Dol, she was only a baby on The Day, she knows she's different from others, but doesn't know why. She's captured by the Embassy and they study her and the other three teens that are known as Icon Children. All four have strange abilities, but no one will tell them anything. Their world has basically been taken over by a race of aliens that they have never seen. The aliens are very deadly though, as they showed on The Day. Giving a demonstration of their power, instantly killing everyone in an area. The only hope against them might be the teens and their abilities.

Icons is a very amusing read, there were a few places where the story got a bit slow, but I still really enjoyed it. It just took a bit longer to get past those parts. I liked Dol and Ro, how they wanted to help free everyone, even at the cost of their own lives. Tima was a great character, very brave and would do anything for Lucas. Lucas was kind of a jerk though, he was the only one with any sort of privileges. But the characters were likable. The world was easy to imagine, which was good, it helped me get sucked into the story even more.The writing was good, there only being the few slower parts. Overall,  I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

*A copy was provided by the publisher for review.*