Sweet Evil, by Wendy Higgins (The Sweet Trilogy #1)

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?

Anna is the epitome of a sweet southern girl, until she meets Kaidan. That sounds all dramatic, like love at first sight or something, but besides for her incredibly obvious immediate crush on him, meeting him leads to her discovery of who she really is-a Neph (I hate that word!!! Stop trying to be cool and just say Nephilim!!), a child of one of the twelve dukes who walk around the Earth trying to get humans to sin. Anna's dad has been in prison since the day Anna was born (which she actually remembers-one of the odd perks of being a Neph) for drug trafficking and Kaidan, who is also a Neph (AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!), is the son of the duke of .......I don't really want to discuss that but let me tell you-what Kaidan has to do for his dad is messed up. Almost as messed up as what the twins have to do. Anyhow, back to my not-so-short synopsis, Anna is an extra-special Neph because she's also half angel, which means she is literally torn between good and evil. The dukes, demons, and Neph all expect her to try to get poor mortals (I never got why humans are called mortals in some books when the supernaturals are also mortal) to sin, while the other side of her is trying to stay the innocent little good girl. And trying to resist Kaidan's many charms.

SPOILERS AHEAD
What was up with Anna's dad? I get the whole good guy pretending he's bad thing but it felt like he was too forthcoming with Anna about it. What if she had been turned totally evil or, even more probable, someone was listening in? Kaidan could have been spying for his dad, but instead Anna trusted him completely while for all she knew it could have been an act because Kaidan is very good at manipulating girls.

As much as I've been complaining about Kaidan and his ahem talents, the romance between him and Anna was adorable, tragic, tragicly adorable, and adorably tragic. The sucker for romance hidden right under my totally translucent surface thinks it is so perfect (and typical, but still perfect) that someone as dangerous as Kaidan should fall for someone as genuine, innocent, and honest as Anna. (I used the word "sweet" to describe her once and didn't want to use it again.)

The only real problem I had with this book was that despite the riveting storyline and sudden plot-twists, there were times when I felt as if the writing itself was too juvenile for the story it was telling at some points. However, because I was so focused on the story, once the magic started (not literal magic, don't get excited) I didn't care about sophistication (not that I'm one to talk) and just wanted to read and read and read and read and read and I think you got the point.

I used a lot of parentheses in this post. There should be a duke of parentheses. Or bad grammar. He could go around to schools teaching kids bad English and convincing them that it's ok to send professional emails as if they were text messages.

5 stars. Watch out-the events in the last bit are totally unexpected and may make you weep a little. Poor Gerlinda.

Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause

Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf?

Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would.

Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really--human or beast? Which tastes sweeter--blood or chocolate?

** spoiler alert ** Before opening up Blood and Chocolate, I was prepared for another cheesy (and sometimes addictive-like blood to werewolves and chocolate to me!!) novel about a boy and girl who fall in love and can't be together because one of them is some magical being. Blood and Chocolate--totally NOT cheesy, but rather dark and almost realistic. Vivian is a beautiful teenage werewolf who has men falling at her feet, but she chooses Aiden, a human boy who is interested in the occult. As she falls for him she must decide whether she trusts him enough to tell him her secret, and must deal with neither her family nor his approving of them together. There have also been some werewolf murders of humans lately, which is forbidden, and no one knows who the killer is.

For once, the supernatural-human love story did not come true. I was relieved when Vivian finally gave up on her Aiden obsession and got with Gabriel, who somehow went from being really creepy to really hot in the course of the book. I loved Gabriel and not Aiden since the beginning, but that may have been because I read the last page about 5 minutes in. Although I will be the first to admit that the fact that Vivian's mother tried to snag Gabriel for the first 3/4 of the book and that he later ends up with her daughter is pretty nasty. Vivian's relationship with her mother was a little odd. They treat each other as equals and show little affection, but when it comes down to it, Vivian would do anything for her mother. Like attack the wolf (Astrid) that was trying to kill her, even though her mother gave her almost no recognition for it. Speaking of Astrid, why was Vivian the only one who noticed that something was up with that woman? After the way she tried to kill Esme, when if she hadn't gone for the kill Esme probably would have given up anyway, I would keep both my eyes on that she-wolf. It was also cool how the story was told from Vivian's point of view because of how natural she made it all seem. Instead of crazy prophecies and apocalypses happening, it's as if Blood and Chocolate is just a quick snapshot of the most exciting, dangerous, and reckless part of Vivian's life.

5 stars.