Number of Pgs.: 400

Publication date: May 28, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery

How I got the copy: Won from April

Rating:  3 Stars
  

From Goodreads:

Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away:
1. You will remember to water the azaleas.
2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.
3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong.
4. You and your best friend/bandmate Lukas will win Battle of the Bands.
5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.
Things that actually happen:
1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister.
2. He says he has her stuff.
3. What stuff? Her stuff.
4. You tell him your parents won’t be able to—
5. Sukey died five years ago; can’t he—
6. You pick up a pen.
7. You scribble down the address.
8. You get on your bike and go.
9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.*
*also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.

Plot: 3/10

Characters: 3/10

Setting: 6/10

Pacing: 7/10

Style: 8/10

Cover:  The orange stands out among all those blue, black, and white covers that seem to be gracing the shelves these days.  I like that the girls hair has fluidity and seems wild...like the title suggests.

27+50=77 (3 Stars)

    In the notes that I took while reading the first few chapters, I actually wrote "Wtf did I just get myself into?".  I think that pretty much sums up my experience with this book.  I was thoroughly confused by the main character, yet highly entertained and intrigued at what she'd do next.  The underlying mystery of how her sister died and then what Skunk was hiding kept me turning pages.  And author takes her time revealing pieces to the puzzle so that your curiosity is killing you by the time you find out.

     But I just couldn't get past my dislike for the main character.  She has no self-preservation at all.  And what's worse is what happens is not realistic.  She goes to the ghetto to a hotel and trusts random strangers, at night, and didn't tell anyone where she was going.  And yet she manages not to get raped and chopped up into pieces and thrown into a ditch.  I understood she needed answers about her sister's death, but it just seemed so unrealistic and out of character for her since the beginning of the book she's little miss perfect.  I also get that the truth "wakes her up" and she kind of loses her mind from being lied to for so long.   It did make for an entertaining book, but personally it didn't work for me.

     What I did enjoy was the character Skunk.  He was like a big teddy bear, or a love bison as I think Kiri refers to him.  He's quirky and kind.  I'd never read another character like him before--especially not a love interest.  I also liked the author's writing style.  I think this is what kept me from DNFing the book the most.  Her writing is so descriptive and flows so poetically.  She uses a lot of similes which helped me become part of the story instead of just being an observer.  However, there was a simile every other sentence it seemed.  It got a bit excessive after awhile.  I was reading an ARC though so maybe the final copy was different.  

      If you can get past all the cray cray, the writing is worth it.  It was hands down the weirdest book I have ever read, but it was somehow captivating, entertaining, and interesting.

Number of Pgs.: 371

Publication date: April 30, 2013

Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Supernatural

How I got the copy: Bought

Rating:  4 Stars
  

From Goodreads:

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?

Plot: 7/10

Characters: 8/10

Setting: 8/10

Pacing: 7/10

Style: 8/10

Cover:  I like her dress in this one better, but their pose is a little strange to me.  And that's not really what I pictured Kai to look like unfortunately.

38+50=88 (4 Stars)

    My first reaction to the first 100 pages or so is W.T.F..  Kaiden is nowhere in sight for those first few chapters and I was very upset by this.  He was my favorite part of book one!  But I pushed through because I really liked Sweet Evil and I didn't want to give up just yet.  I'm so glad I kept reading because once Kai comes back into the story it's amazing.  Let's just say there's a steamy scene that involves laundry and brownies...so ya it was worth the 100 page wait.

    Anna's character has changed since book one which was interesting to see.  Deep down she's still sweet, but since she's been having to work as a demon (push drugs/alcohol on teens) she's starting to enjoy it at times.  It was a nice break from her goodie goodie role in the first book.  Blake was the fun comic relief.  He kind of reminded me of Kenji from Shatter Me (one of my favorite characters ever).  He lightened the mood of the book immensely.  I liked the new characters, like Z, who had a really unique background story also.

       While I felt like not much happened in this book, I was kind of okay with that.  It was more character driven than plot driven.  And since I love connecting on an emotional level with characters it didn't bother me too much.  The ending was pretty suspenseful though and I'm already anticipating book three.