5 Star Book Review | Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins

SWEET RECKONING (The Sweet Trilogy #3)
by Wendy Higgins
Published: April 29th, 2014
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Borrowed from the Library
Purchase: Amazon

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.

Cover Review:

The cover of Sweet Reckoning once again has Anna and Kaidan on the cover, but this time they are in front of backdrop that shows dawn breaking and the clouds clearing. This can symbolize the dawn after the battle and a new day and future beginning.

On this cover, Anna still looks confident and strong, but she also looks more at ease. Whereas Kaidan is no longer allowing distance between them, but looks like he plans on never letting Anna go. I love how he's touching her arm and looking at her like she's all he can see.

The cover of Sweet Evil showed Anna entering a mysterious and dark new world, Sweet Peril showed the ominous atmosphere of a coming storm, and Sweet Reckoning shows the light of a bright future on the horizon. Each cover perfectly and accurately symbolizes both the state of their world and the relationship of Anna and Kaidan.

Book Review:

Sweet Reckoning starts off on an ominous note with some of the Dukes conspiring against Belial, Anna, and the other Neph. They also discuss the validity of the prophecy telling of their defeat. And a new Summit is arranged. But what they don't realize is that Anna is more angry and determined to fulfill the prophecy and free her friend and the other Neph, as well as help her father return home. Anna's strength stems from her faith and her love. With her friends, her father, and Kaidan by her side, there's no way she can be defeated.

In this book, the Duke of Lust, Kaidan's father is determined to find something that proves Anna is working for the other side, for the angels. He uses demon whisperer to follow her and he even uses his own son to prove that she's not still a virgin. He even appears before her himself so he can see for himself if she's still pure. But I loved the solution Anna's father came up with to portect her from Pharzuph - marriage. It was the perfect solution to avoid Anna being found out as a traitor to the demons.

I was so happy that Anna and Kaidan officially got together in Sweet Peril, and they take the next step in Sweet Reckoning. Anna must remain pure of heart in order to use the Sword that will banish the demons from Earth, so her father came up with the idea that Anna and Kaidan marry. She can give her virginity to Kaidan, which will protect her from Pharzuph, and still remain pure of heart. But while marrying protects her from one Duke, the bond created between her and Kaidan puts them on the radar of Astaroth, the Duke of Adultery, who can see bonds between couples. Even though one problem was solved and another gained, I couldn't have been more happy that Anna and Kaidan were bonded forever. That was my favorite scene of the entire book. And I honestly cried.

The Dukes were just way too full of themselves at the Summit meeting. They honestly thought that they were in no danger, that they couldn't be defeated. The final battle was of epic proportions. You had the demons fighting Anna and her group of Neph, you had demons getting sucked down into Hell and those who chose Light rising to go home, and heartbreaking loses and farewells. It was just so freaking awesome! Then when it's all done, they literally pull themselves out of the rubble and are faced with a new hopeful future.

I liked how the epilogue shows us how everyone is six years late. The main focus is, of course, on Anna and Kaidan but there's also a good deal about Kopano and Zania. Even though this epilogue chapter shows us Anna and Kaidan taking another big step together and we see the good Kopano and Zania are doing in Malawi, I would have liked to see more about the others. I mean, we are given a very short rundown of what everyone else has been up to, but I would have liked to know more, especially about Ginger and Blake. But this chapter was a very lighthearted and heartwarming look into Anna and Kaidan's life together.

Rating:

I gave Sweet Reckoning a 5 STAR rating. Evil always thinks it's going to win, but their arrogance and pride was their downfall. Good triumped over Evil. Although there were some sad losses and farewells, the pure hope for a better and free future could be felt in every page. I absolutely loved this book!


Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Wendy Higgins is the USA Today and NYT bestselling author of the Sweet Evil series from HarperTeen and her independently published Irish fantasy, See Me. She is a former high school English teacher who now writes full time, and lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her veterinarian husband, daughter, son, and doggie Rue.

Wendy earned a bachelor's in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford. Writing Young Adult (YA) stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal, daunting, and exciting years before adulthood.