Demons | tiffanylovesbooks

Blurb: 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 Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. 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?

My Review: Sweet Evil is one of those books where a lot happens. With today’s YA I’ve gotten used to novels like from the Marked series where you are given enough of a story line for it to be called a novel. You know the kind, protagonist has a problem and resolves a fraction of it then the book ends. The ridiculous example I’ve come up with for those of you who have not read Marked is: a girl who is in desperate need of a tampon and is going mad trying to find a store selling them in the middle of the night. After countlessly following false leads and getting lost a few times she finally finds a 24hr pharmacy. End of book one. Read the sequel to see if the pharmacy had any in stock. 😉 Lol… YA novels have truly turned into this. I’ve gotten so used to this that when I’m reading a novel and the character gets over a major hurdle I keep expecting the novel to come to an end. Ok, enough of my rant- Sweet Evil is nothing like this. A lot happened and the story just keeps going. I loved that about it!

Things I really enjoyed about this novel are Anna’s strength, her honesty about her feelings, her father, Kopano and her mom. Since I’ve mentioned her parents, they are amazing. The overprotective mom who tries her hardest to protect her and backs down to no one when it comes to her child. Her father is amazing. His love for her is heartwarming and he truly kept me looking for him and when I was reading about him, I enjoyed the book so much more!

Higgins does a great job of easing us into this novel. Admittedly, the way the story starts I got a flashback of reading City of Bones. I’m not sure if the both start the exact same way, it has been a few years since I read it. But here I am reading a scene about a girl standing in line with her best friend, which is a guy, waiting to get into a club…. It took me a minute to remember the novel I was reading and a few pages in there was no need for a reminder. It was interesting and different. With Higgins’ explanations of niphilim it’s clear that a lot of thought went into this novel. So yeah, back to the easing: Higgins easily hooks us into the story yet she gradually reveals the truth about Anna and its done in a great way.

The way everyone is always raving about Kaiden on Goodreads, it’s clear that he is the star of this novel. Yet I have mixed feelings about him. It was pretty clear to me that he had feelings for Anna despite how he acted. My problem is that I don’t think he would be good for her. In the sense that I believe that not only can she do better but she deserves better. Not that he’s that terrible, it’s just that I prefer someone else for her. The ideal guy? Kopano. He’s also a niphilim and because of his story they understand each other and he’s honest about his feelings. They are similar in so many ways and I truly think that they would be great together. Now I just have to wait around for Sweet Peril to see if Higgins is going to try my dream couple out for size. Also, with everything I’ve said, I just want to point out that I don’t get why Kaiden is one of Goodreads favorite love interests. Is there something about him that I’m simply not getting?

Update: According to this there will be no love triangle for Anna…

You guys are aware of my stalking tendencies right? After reading this novel I was checking Higgins out and found that on her website she has a tab just for extras. In particular she offers two chapters from Sweet Evil in Kaiden’s point of view. I would definitely say to check them out. While reading Sweet Evil I wasn’t exactly a Kaiden fan, in fact I’m still not but these chapters lessened my dislike of him. They are an enjoyable read. Here is a direct link to them: Chapter 1 from Kai’s POV and Chapter 26 from Kai’s POV.

Title: Soul’s Child

Author: Dianne Gray

Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Blurb: Aurora Jones dreams in pictures that depict tragedy and death. After the death of her mother and sister, Aurora’s father, Merv, moves them across the world from Australia to LA, where he forges a new career as a celebrity ghost hunter, thanks to Aurora’s dreams. But Aurora sees her father changing into a character she doesn’t recognize – his alter ego – Clive Soul.

My Review: After a car accident that took her mother and sister from her, Aurora and her father Merv Jones were all that were left of the family. However, this accident not only gave Aurora the (gift or curse?) of precognitive dreams it also gave her the ability to sense her dead mother and sister. Merv recognizes what these dreams are and acts on them. By the third time he saves lives, his “gifts” as he has everyone believe, earn him a Hollywood career. At which point he has already lost himself to the fame and riches and becomes his alter ego Clive Soul. His lies and deceit lead to an ultimate showdown of good versus evil.

Soul’s Child is an absolutely brilliant novel and I loved it. Aurora is a strong character that I grew to easily love. Her father on the other hand, you learn to hate him. He is a liar and manipulative and I hated what he stood for and the way he treated Aurora.

I was so engrossed in this novel- you know the type where I said I would only read a few chapters then three hours later I’ve finished it and realized I completely devoured the novel. I am known for being a speedy reader but even so, Soul’s Child was a quick read.

I once again loved Gray’s narrative style. Gray does a great job of spoon feeding the reader Aurora’s story and leaving us wanting for more. Before I even finished the first chapter Gray had me in the palm of her hands. Mind you I started reading this in early morning and it seemed to have become a battle of wills by the time I was half way through the novel. ‘I’m really hungry but I can’t just stop here. I’ll read until the end of this chapter.’ Then when my stomach would growl again I would realize that I already read another two chapters. Suffice it to say this novel is extremely captivating and addictive. Good thing it is not a long novel as my curiosity was stronger than my hunger. 🙂

I truly loved this amazing novel- The battle of good vs evil, Aurora’s strength and the idea that amid even the worst situations there is a silver lining. Dianne, you’ve done it again… Another great novel and you’ve truly made a fan out of me.

*I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Now, for a chance to see why I’ve fallen head over heels for this novel, be sure to enter the giveaway below. Dianne Gray is generously giving away an ebook copy of Soul’s Child to one lucky person. The giveaway ends Nov 29th 2012. Good luck!