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? (From Goodreads)
This wasn't a book I was even going to pick up - until so many people started raving about it. A lot of people seemed a little bowled over by how awesome this book turned out to be. And I think the hype actually got to be a little much because I was then expecting much more. Basically, I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but I was let down as well. It was good, but it didn't have that greatness to it that I came to hope for. There are a few things I love and a couple that could send me off on long rants.
So let's start with what I love. This really is a unique take on demons and angels. I didn't believe it when I heard people say this. It's kind of hard to believe in unique views anymore - they always seem to be derivative of something or following some kind of obvious pattern. But I really don't think I've read any kind of fallen angel novel like this before - and I've read a lot. Fallen angels are always super human and seem to have control. But these ones are complete slaves to this extra power they have. They have to answer to the higher powers - the actual demons - and their punishment is pretty intense. There's really no way out - their choices boil down to: be bad and lead others into temptation or be tortured for eternity. Which clearly sucks.
I also love that Wendy Higgins took the seven deadly sins - and a few other grave sins - amplified them, and gave each character their own sin that they were trained to tempt people with. But all these sins are things that teenagers either dabble in or carry around with them - lust, addiction, envy. If you're forced to indulge in these sins all the time, would they really be that attractive? It's an interesting twist on sin.
So the core principles of this story were great. The cast of characters were wonderful. But I had some issues with Kaidan. *gasp* I know. He's dreamy. I can see that. But seriously. He's the son of lust. He's never been loved a day in his life. He doesn't know what it means to love. He makes this very clear. The only thing I appreciated about him was that he answered all of Anna's questions and never claimed to do anything "for her own good." Well, maybe he did once - but that really was for her own good and it wasn't a situation where he took away Anna's control "for her own good." It's clear they have a connection, but really it's one of those situations where I can't see it ever working out. Especially because she'd basically have to put up with him hooking up with other girls all the time, just because of who he is. Nope. Can't get on the Kaidan fan wagon. SORRY.
There were moments in this book where I was wondering if the extraneous information was necessary. It's a long book and I definitely feel like it didn't need to be that long. There are some things I feel could have been cut or condensed. Particularly in the first 100 pages or so. But even with my few problems with this book, I definitely enjoyed reading it. I'm very excited for the next installment in the trilogy and I'm anxious to find out more about Anna and the other demon children.
