Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins + Author Interview!

Goodreads Blurb

What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences?
This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.

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 will-power 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?

If the beautiful cover and the blurb didn't catch your interest...you're crazy. 100% crazy, no doubt about it. This book was absolutely beautiful, enchanting, and dark at the same time. It captured my heart and kept breaking it over and over and over. There is no happy ending, let's just say that now. And I say that with 100% because Wendy Higgins herself said that! (Check the author interview below) I'm going to be cutting this review short, only about three paragraphs, including this, since I do have an author interview to add!

Anyways, I loved Anna so much and I'm thinking a lot of readers can relate to her. We're all pulled in both directions: good and evil. We never really know which to pick, balancing between the two. Anna's the perfect good girl, thanks to her light angel mom. She knows when enough is enough, when too much is too much. But she also has to deal with the pulls of sins from her father's side. Something that makes her almost exactly like your typical human. And that is the main reason I loved Anna so much. Kaidan was....wow. Just wow. HELLO!? You have to love him! He's enticing, alluring, and has that dangerous edge that you guys know I love! I really can't think about other characters with these two fresh on my mind. However, Wendy Higgins did fit each character to their role as the spawn of a Duke.

Sweet Evil had a wonderful plot that made me wiggle in my seat and scream out loud. It made me laugh, cry, and smile behind my tears! The pacing was quick enough that you never get bored, yet slow enough that nothing ever just dashes by without you noticing. The world was beautiful, complicated, and so, so, wonderful. Readers will definitely line up and fight over copies (if they haven't already) and will be drawn into Sweet Evil's world.

Ok, I lied. Four paragraphs because I need to rant about this book! I have absolutely no negative thoughts. Which honestly? Is surprising. Hold on. I just remembered one thing I absolutely hated with all my heart: Sweet Evil ended! It ended! I am outraged by that. Just...just...no. There has to be more Kaidan! And another sequel! But mainly more Kaidan...If you still aren't convinced, I dare you to read it and tell me you don't absolutely love it!

Pages: 464

Series: Sweet #1

Genre: Paranormal/Romance

Rating: ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'm making a new rating just for this book. An absolute 7 stars.

"He would never have the freedom to let himself be loved."

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

I got the opportunity to interview Wendy Higgins, author of the amazing debut Sweet Evil! Eek! Major fan girl moment!

Fiction Freak: What inspired Sweet Evil? (The inevitable question)

Wendy Higgins: I know it sounds corny, but I think my whole life lead up to writing this story. Every experience, heartbreak, family issue, friendship, book, my schooling, my time teaching...everything contributed to my mind being ready for this. Once I decided I was ready to write, the story came to me like a rush. It was a crazy, exhilarating time.

FF: There's no happy ending in Sweet Evil, is there?

WH: Nope. Sorry.  :(

FF: Did you plan for it to end that way, or did the story just pull you that way?

WH: Well, in my mind it’s not the end - it’s just the end of part 1. There is still much that will happen before the story really wraps up.  I hated not having a happy ending, but it wasn’t time for that - it just wouldn’t realistically work as is.

FF: Can you tell us a few things that were changed from the original Inkie version to the newly published version?

WH: The original Inkpop version, Angel Prophecy, was a stand-alone single story. I ended up cutting the story down the middle and extending it into a trilogy.

FF: Kaidan or Kopano?

WH: I love both my K-boys to pieces!!!  They’re both very different, but they both hold an intense allure for me.  I’ve spent more time in Kaidan’s head, so I do feel closest to him.

FF: How much of Sweet Evil was researched? How much was prior knowledge?

WH: I had to map out the cross country trip, and read a lot of fallen angel lore to see what other people were saying, but mostly I just made stuff up, lol.

FF: How did it feel to see your work go from online story to published book? (And HarperTeen no less!)

WH: It’s STILL sort of unbelievable, even after two years. When HarperTeen tweets about me I get all sorts of giddy. I feel like an inkpopper still - deep down I’ll always just be a writer who needs feedback and values the give & take partnership of critiquing that I came to love as an Inkie.

FF: What's one of your favorite debuts of 2012?

WH: Unraveling by Liz Norris

FF: What's one thing you love and hate about writing?

WH: I love, love, love when the story invades my mind and takes over my thoughts. Even though it turns me into a total ditz because I can’t concentrate on “real life,” there’s just no cooler feeling. What I hate is writer’s block - and for me it has more to do with feeling intimidated about moving forward, which sucks. I’m actually working through that right now.

FF: In Sweet Evil, a certain someone tells Anna the meaning of life; is that what you yourself think it is?

WH: Haha, well, kind of but not exactly.  I had to make it work for their particular story world. I am a spiritual person, so I do believe in a higher meaning and having a purpose and all that good stuff. But the way that certain someone breaks it down for Anna is extremely simplified.

FF: What's the funniest moment of your life?

WH: Hm...for some reason this is really hard for me. All the instances that come to mind are either too gross, too humiliating, or just plain inappropriate! Stuff about my parents keep coming to mind - like when my dad walked into the glass at a store in the mall and left a faceprint. Or when we scared my mom to death with these fake rattlesnake eggs in an envelope that “buzzed.” Both of those times about made me pee my pants.

Sweet Evil Blurb:

What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences?
This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.
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 will-power 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?

Short Author Bio:

After earning a Creative Writing degree from George Mason University and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, she taught high school English until becoming a mommy. She’s always had a heart for teens, and writing YA stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal years before adulthood.
She live in the D.C. area with my husband, daughter, and son.

Contact Info:

Sweet Evil Facebook

Wendy Higgins’s Blog

Wendy Higgins’s Goodreads

Wendy Higgins’s Twitter