Sweet Peril, by Wendy Higgins (Sweet Evil #2)

After the tragic events of the Summit at the end of Sweet Evil, Anna Whitt knows that the Dukes mean business, and she also knows that they must be stopped once and for all. Together with her father, Belial, the duke of substance abuse (I know, it's a little far-fetched, but just go with it), who is not quite as evil as his fellow dukey counterparts, Anna is trying to recruit other Nephilim to her cause. Throughout Anna's junior and senior years of high school, Belial is doing research on which Neph are likely to betray their fathers, and sending Anna and Kopano, son of the duke of wrath (a lot more typical, thank goodness), to go fetch potential allies to their cause. As Anna and Kope start getting closer, Anna can't stop thinking about Kaiden (stupid name, but again, just go with it), son of the duke of lust, but Kaiden has been impossible to reach since the Summit in New York. Anna has to decide whether to settle with the good guy or hold out for the bad guy with the potential to make her heart explode. Gee, I wonder who she chooses.

Sweet Evil sucked me in with the idea of a good girl stuck on the bad side, but in Sweet Peril that idea seemed kind of old. I found it a lot more cliche and emotional than Sweet Evil, with a little too much complaining about Kaiden, but still very good. I got so annoyed with her pining for Kaiden that at some point I was transferred to Team Kope. Despite my complaints about Anna's lovesickness, the way that all the Neph's emotions were being toyed with and how they all twisted up into a giant spiderweb was very cool. A little overdone, but cool nonetheless. It made certain parts that would have been a lot more boring intriguing.

My last note will seem sort of odd, but I still think it's valid. The dukes are just too nasty. I know they are supposed to be demons/devils/really really bad fallen angels, but the nastiness of the evil ones is so extreme that it takes away any character from them and makes them simply bad things. The supreme level of evilness that they have risen to has taken away any semblance of personality they may have had and makes them characters who can solidly be relied on to be cruel and bad. I would have loved to see a soft side to several of the dukes who have been declared as purely evil, but I doubt that will happen.

4.2 stars

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?