The Sweet Trilogy Review

        

Hey everyone! Happy Sunday. Today, I am going to be reviewing "The Sweet Trilogy" by Wendy Higgins. I was lucky enough this past week to meet Wendy in person at the launch of the final book in the trilogy, "Sweet Reckoning." It was my first ever author event and it was incredible! Wendy was lovely in person and went out of her way to answer questions and take photos. Before I start, I want to say I'm going to treat this review a little differently, mostly I'm going to be super vague about the plot. I want everyone to go and discover the Sweet Triology's awesomeness without any possible spoilers, and I loved them so much that if I start focusing on the plot to heavily I know I'll give stuff away. So, Imma be vague.

Let me start this review by saying that I am ashamed it took me this long to read the books. I've been reading YA since I can remember starting with "Harry Potter," so it's not like a skipped some time here and just missed "Sweet Evil." It's been on my radar for--well forever-- but for one reason or another I never picked it up. Now, I feel like someone should smack me in the face with it! How I could have missed something so amazing is beyond me. I'm notoriously picky about books. I'll read anything at least once but I dissect the crap out of them--both the writing mechanics part and the actual story telling. I majored in English and History in college and I get shady about certain things like grammar and continuity.

 I'm a big believer that there are two kinds of writers out there, ones who are fantastic story tellers and ones who have some magic powers with words--Wendy Higgins is one of the few that embodies both. (And I'm not just saying that because I met her.)

The Sweet Trilogy is beautifully written. Every page holds so much description that you feel as though you are right there with the characters. Her story and plot requires so much emotion and investment and she is talented enough to create that on the page. You really feel what her characters feel--the good and the bad.

Plus, her main character Anna is a great heroine. My favorite part about her and a majority of the characters is that she is not solely good. I feel like a lot of times, especially in YA, the heroine is this beacon of perfection and not someone who girls can actually strive to be like. The great thing about Anna is that she struggles and not just because she has to get her love interest to get his head out of his butt. The entire series is about her struggle with her faith, her love, and her family.

The plot that these three books are based around is fantastically different. Higgins, uses biblical lore to create a great foundation but really goes beyond and creates an imaginative and different story. The former English major in me loves how she handles the dichotomy between good and evil and relates that to moving from childhood to adulthood (that could  also be the English major in me inferring a lot of crap that's not there too). I mentioned the characters above but I can't stress enough how much I adored them. They reminded me of my friends (granted my friends aren't half demon--that I know of). Their struggles with sin (greed, lust, envy, wrath, substance abuse) are something everyone struggles with, especially in those early years when parental control starts to drift off and you have to figure it out for yourself. Higgins, really goes far and beyond in expressing the turmoils of what it's like to grow up and struggle with the good and the bad. And she's not one to judge you for giving into the bad. Her story centers around redemption and isn't a long lecture of how evil infects the good in you completely. Everyone's got a little of both and that's okay.

Seriously, someone get this woman on the NYT Best-Seller list and her books in English class!

Now, that I fangirled out. I do want to point out a few things I didn't like, because I have to be that person. There was a death in the last novel I kind of thought was unnecessary. There, I said it. I won't go further than that because I genuinely want people to read these books and fall in love and be DEVASTATED. I also felt that an unexpected...let's say surprise...one of our characters gets felt rushed. I liked the idea of rebirth and redemption in that way, but I got to say I had a WTF moment there.

Overall, buy these books! Drop everything right now and go get "Sweet Evil." If you don't like it you can complain in the comments section below and tell me I'm stupid...you won't.

Exciting News!!

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to give ya'll a heads up for some exciting things that will be happening this week. First off, it's my birthday. Yay, one year older. On the same day, the final installment in the Sweet Trilogy is hitting shelves (or you have already gotten it...and I hate you).

In celebration of all this, my good friend Alley from http://imabibliophobic.blogspot.com/ and I are heading over to author Wendy Higgins launch party. We are lucky enough to be local to where she will be hosting and are both very excited to go.

I can't wait to share pictures, reviews, and a special giveaway! Stay tuned for next Sunday's review and recap post.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

I really hate giving bad reviews. I'm a writer myself and have deep respect for people who are able to put pen to paper and actually have a finished project. But, I have to be honest about my thought and I just did not find this book to be very good. 

The novel follows former rich girl Violet White as she rents a piece of her families estate over to mysterious new-comer River. Violet is a bit of a weird chick. She's obsessed with her grandmother who passed away several years before the book starts. I generally like characters who are off the beaten path, but I couldn't really relate to Violet. Not only does she constantly harp on how she was previously rich, but her obsession with her dead grandmother was strange. 

The plot itself was engaging. I will say that I read the entire book in about a day, but I felt completely unsatisfied at the end. Nothing was really going on for a majority of the book. Sure people are dying. Sure River has a secret. But they all of those parts where kind of blah. Up until the end, which literally comes out of nowhere, nothing really compelling happens. The plot is just a bunch of random moments squashed together. 

Overall, I'd say, skip it. It's marketed as a Gothic horror story, but its not very horrific. 

Review: 2/10

Review: The Maze Runner

I'm not going to lie. I originally started reading this because I have a secret love affair with Teen Wolf and Dylan O'Brien and saw the preview for the movie. As in most things in life, I was skeptical. I'm generally not a fan of reading something from a male point-of-view, so I wasn't sure where this was going to go. 

It's hard to describe this book without giving it away. It's a pretty straight forward first novel that sets up for some very interesting plot twists to occur in the sequel (at least that's what I'm hoping). I have been marketing it to my fellow readers as Lord of Files, meets Hunger Games. It very much so follows the vain of the ever growing dystopian genre, but with a little more focus on the idea of social hierarchy and Darwinism. There was a definite scientific aspect happening. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I found the plot to be a tad predictable, but it was a quick and exciting read and I'm looking forward to exploring the sequel and seeing the movie. 

Rating 7.5/10

Wish List Wednesday

Out of boredom one day I decided to troll around Amazon.com while at work. I have the attention span of a small child so I constantly need to be doing about 3 things at once in order to stay focused. While browsing I came across this cover and was automatically intrigued. I love anything set in a different time period; there is simply something amazingly romantic about lords, ladies, corsets, and gloves. If the cover alone didn't capture my attention, than the summary did. 

Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.

After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams? 

I am super excited to begin reading this book. Only problem is, I currently have about 15 books in my que--damn my friends for loaning me things! So, I've added this to the new feature on the blog, Wish List Wednesdays. Books that I plan on reading and reviewing ! Feel free to leave comments about the books on your Wish List. I'm always looking for new suggestions. 

Unbreakable (The Legion, #1)Beautiful By Kami Garcia

I'm going to be honest. I was not a fan of Beautiful Creatures.  I liked the general idea of the book, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Normally, when I haven't enjoyed a previous piece from an author I avoid them. It's really important to impress me early on in your career, cause boy am I a YA snob. With that all said, when I read the excerpt from Unbreakable,  Garcia's solo project and the first book in The Legion series, I figured I would check it out.

A book about demon hunters, featuring a girl hunter, hand it over! When I did get an opportunity to sit down and read the book I was extremely excited. The reviews were great, the summary was good, and it was time for something a little bit different. Honestly, I cannot remember reading any recent YA about demon hunters, but I'm a big Supernatural  fan. 

The book itself was a very quick read and had enough adventure to keep it interesting. It follows main character Kennedy, as she learns that she is part of a secret-demon hunting society called The Legion of the Black Dove. I don't like Kennedy. She annoyed me. Personally, I like a strong, female character--one who kicks butt and possibly has a bow and arrow. Kennedy is a little too much of a baby for my taste. She did develop as the novel progressed and I'm hoping that as the series continues she will grow. 

The overall story was great. I anticipated every chapter. But, I also have some issues with the lore. Writing is difficult and I have great respect for people with the ability to create totally new worlds, and that kind of happened here. I get that you can only talk so much about demons and demon hunting techniques, but Garcia seemed to borrow a lot from the show Supernatural and their creators. It's not that it hurt the book, it'll definitely draw similar fans, it's just hard to lose yourself in the world Garcia created when you are waiting for Sam and Dean to make a guest appearance. 

Overall I give this 6/10 I'm exciting to see what the rest of the series brings for Kennedy especially but I was not blown away.  

Lauren Kate Splashes into the Tempid Tides

Hey everyone! Sorry for the super long delay in posts- I've had some computer issues recently which resulted in a brand spanking new laptop. Wooohoo.

Now onto my latest review. So from speaking with my fellow YA readers and trolling through Goodreads, I have come to the conclusion that people have mixed feelings about Lauren Kate and the Fallen series. Personally, I really enjoyed the series--well the first book and the last one. I came at Teardrop with some hesitation. I was BEYOND excited to start reading this, but it ended up taking me months to actually pick it up; reason being that the summary sucked. Really, really blew.

Finally, I decided to go ahead and give it a whirl and I have to say that I genuinely found myself engaged. These days between my fulltime job and all of my boring adult responsibilities, finding time to read is precious and difficult. With that said, I finished Teardrop in two days.

As I write this, I honestly am having trouble figuring out what exactly I enjoyed. Kate's writing has always been truly engaging. I adore her ability to take ideologies that are already engrained in common culture and create her own story line and cast of characters. So, let's start with what I did enjoy.

I enjoyed the writing. I enjoyed the story. I found both totally engaging, which explains why I finished in such a short time.

Things I didn't like. The characters. Seriously. There was not a single character in this book that I could relate. The main female character, Eureka, was unlikeable and selfish. Two traits I normally do not find appealing in my heroines. Ander, the love interest, was barely a spec in the story despite the fact that it begins from his point-of-view.

Overall, readers I would say that the story and the writing warrants a read, but if you aren't someone who generally enjoys Kate's work than you probably won't like this book either.

5.5/10