***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: the sweet trilogy

Title: Sweet Reckoning
Author: Wendy Higgins
Narrator(s): Erin Mallon
Series: The Sweet Trilogy
Length: 10 hrs 14 mins
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: April 29, 2014
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

It’s time.

Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive ways.

The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous—especially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna’s great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she’s prepared to risk.

In the most sensual and fast-paced installment yet, Sweet Reckoning brings all the beloved Neph together one last time to fight for their freedom.

After loving the first book in this series, I had high hopes for the end of it. But after the somewhat disappointing sequel last year, I was hesitant to finally get to my copy of this novel. Which is why I ended up borrowing the audiobook from my library a couple of weeks ago. And maybe that was also a mistake because this book was narrated by Erin Mallon, same as the others, and though she does a great job of making Anna sound all sweet and Southern, Anna shouldn't still sound so naive. She has a higher purpose, a calling, and yet I still found her so annoying at times.

And I know I'm going to get beat over head for this, but I much preferred when Kaidan was denying his feelings and acting a right arse toward Anna. I did like the genuine sense of togetherness in this final installment, with all the Neph working in tandem to defeat the Dukes, but I think because of that, the banter and general fun have gone out of the series in favor of the impending battle between Good and Evil. I get that that's where the series has always been headed, but the tone just changed so much between the three books.

There are some seriously shocking twists in this final book, and it's loaded with action and tension and everything that a series finale should include. But I just didn't connect with the story in the same way that I did Sweet Evil. I wanted to...I wanted to go back to loving the dynamic between Anna and Kai and the other Nephilim, but it felt a little forced to me. I also dislike when premarital sex is made into such an issue, and though I understand why in this particular instance, I'm still frowning at the result of the whole ordeal and why it was necessary to begin with.

The romance also seemed especially cheesy this time around, probably because of the aforementioned issues and how everyone else seemed to be coupling up, too. The stakes were high, too, in this last book, and yet it still didn't feel like enough. I can't really put my finger on it, but it just lacked that certain je ne sais quoi. Everyone else seems to have loved this final installment, though, so maybe it's just me that changed. Maybe the religious elements, especially the purity aspect, finally got to me. I don't know. I'm not opposed to reading the author's future work, but I'm honestly glad to be done with this series.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

After earning a bachelors in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford, Wendy taught high school English until becoming a mommy. Writing Young Adult (YA) stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal, daunting, and exciting years before adulthood.

She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, daughter, and son. Sweet Evil is her debut novel.

Find Wendy:

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