Review: Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

Walk the Edge
(Thunder Road #2)
Author: Katie McGarry
Release Date: March 29, 2016
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: NetGalley
Review by: Jenn

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds

Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life.

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don't belong. But when he learns she's being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it's time to step outside the rules.

And so they make a pact: he'll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she'll help him seek answers to the mystery that's haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they're both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they're going from here.

4 stars out of 5 stars

*I received an egalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. However, my review is not influence by it.*

I was super excited when I managed to get my hands on this book. I've read almost all of Katie's books for the exception of a few novellas, so I know that when I have a new one to read, I'm gonna love every word. And that was exactly the case with Walk the Edge.

Walk the Edge follows the story of Breanna and Razor. They both come two completely different world. Breanna is number five from nine(!) kids, she is a good girl and is super smart. Razor is part of a Reign of Terror motorcycle club, which everyone is afraid of. However, both of them hide who they truly are from their close ones. This is especially true when Breanna gets into some trouble with a classmate and has to enlist Razor's help and in doing so, she helps him with something as well.

I really enjoyed the relationship that Breanna and Razor shared. I think that they are a good influence for each other and they bring out best in themselves. Which is especially important for their character growth. Katie McGarry write books that are set in the real world that teens are currently living in. The cyberbullying and threats Breanna receives rings very realistic and scary. Aside from that, the motorcycle world Razor lives in, it still is a little scary to understand and live in. Like Razor, I had (and still do) a hard time giving them complete blind trust without knowing what they would do. Especially considering the secret that was hidden from Razor. And to be honest, I don't agree or like with some of the stuff they do and what a potential girlfriend or wife has to be okay with.

I really savored this book. I took my time reading it until I couldn't anymore and had to plow ahead and read to find out how it would end. Like with every Katie McGarry book, there is no perfect bow to end the story but I love it just the same. Breanna and Razor managed to deal with their choices and their repercussions but not in their ideal way. However, considering the trouble that they get themselves in, their ending is pretty good.

I can't wait to read Chevy and Violet's story. I've been curious about those two since we've met them in Nowhere But Here and I'm excited to learn about their history. And if you haven't read a Katie McGarry's book, I beg you to start. You can start with any of her books since they are all companions books. But seriously, go pick up or borrow a copy of Walk the Edge and see how good Katie's books are.

Review: Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Peril (Sweet Trilogy #2)
Author: Wendy Higgins
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Nahomi

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?

4 stars out of 5 stars

       Okay, So I had been procrastinating on reading Sweet Peril because I was afraid I would be disappointed with the story. Luckily that wasn't the case. Sweet Peril is the continuation of Anna's story in her quest to build an alliance in order to fight the dukes and gain freedom for herself and the rest of the Nephs. Basically what this means, is that she travels a lot and there is a lot of great descriptions of the different destinations she gets to travel to. The thing is that after a while I found myself speed-reading through said descriptions, just so I could get to the action part, and to Kaiden.

I already knew he wasn't a big part of Sweet Peril because Anna and him aren't supposed to be seeing each other, but I really missed his sense of humor throughout the majority of the story. I really enjoyed seeing how Ginger and Anna's relationship progressed as well as Anna's relationship with Belial. There was definitely more Kopano throughout the story and I was really upset at how Anna handled the situation with him. Anna was reacting to being hurt by Kaiden and used Kope in order to try and forget Kai. It was wrong on so many levels that even Anna was ashamed for acting the way she did.

All in all the plot kind of sagged in the middle but when the pace finally picked up towards the end there was a lot of suspense and heart ache going on. I was so happy when Anna and Kaiden where finally able to get together. Apart from the speed-reading through some of the excessive details I really enjoyed Sweet Peril.

Review: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy #1) 
By Wendy Higgins
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Personal Copy
Reviewed by: Jenn and Daisel T.
Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads / IndieBound

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Daisel's Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Summary:
Embrace the Forbidden.

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

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 discover 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?

Daisel:
           I absolutely love this book. I might fangirl throughout this post but with good reasons! The plot, the twists with the demons and the angels, Anna, Kaiden, the whole story. Sweet Evil really has it all. The storyline is great, the characters developed throughout the story and they are believable. The good girl and the bad boy don't change their personalities for the other. I found myself enjoying the secondary characters AND there's no love triangle! *pump fist in the air* The romance is really steamy, talk about sexual tension. I had to reach for something to fan myself with during some scenes from the book.

Anna was such an incredible female protagonist, a really wonderful character. I felt like hugging her sometimes for simply being herself. She is the sweetest and nicest girl you can ever imagine, there's nothing bad about herself. Kaiden, on the other hand, *fans self* is the complete opposite of Anna. He is thrilling, alluring, sexy and he is very, very, VERY seductive. Like this is JOB. Kaiden is the bad boy that daddy warned us about, yet we can't resist or stay away from him. He is not innocent, he uses girls and throws them away, yet he doesn't come off as an asshole.

"He was smokin' hot. As in H-O-T-T hott. I'd never understood until that moment why girls insisted on adding an extra T. This guy was extra- T worthy." - Anna

~B&S~

"What do you want from me, Kai?"
"For starters?" His voice lowered to sexy, dangerous depths. "I want to introduce myself to every freckle on your body."

The plot in this book is really interesting. When Anna meets Kaiden, she comes to a realization that her life is going to change forver. She learns about who she is and what her purpose on Earth is supposed to be. Good or Evil? What will she choose?

"The purpose of life is to find your way back to a spiritual way of thinking and living - to be able to get past the physical stuff."

Overall, this story has it all. Romance with some steamy scenes, action, some quick exchange of wits, and I experienced all sorts of emotions while reading: swoons, butterflies in my tummy, heartbreak and tears. The story is fast paced, and it's never boring or overwhelming; Sweet Evil is a highly seductive read. It's one of the best stories that I read in 20120 and I would recommend this book to anyone. 

Jenn:
          After a lot of pushing and prodding from Daisel, I finally decided to pick up Sweet Evil.  And after finishing, I went ahead and apologize to her for delaying in reading it. I won't go into a lot of details about the book since Daisel already said most of what needed to be said but I'll just explain why my rating is a little bit lower than hers.

I really like the story and the premise of Sweet Evil but I just couldn't find it in me to love it. I found the writing a little too...plain. There are some authors that just have a way with words that just makes you fall in love with their characters and the world they created. They create such a vivid and real world that you can't help but fall into the storytelling. But I just didn't feel that way about Ms. Higgins' writing. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book and I'll be reading the rest of the series because I need to know what happens next. Also stopping me from rating this higher is Anna, our heroine. She is just too much a good, religious, naive girl that is sort off putting. Her naivete sort of makes me a bit exasperated because it feels a bit forced and not real.

I can't wait until Sweet Peril comes out because, let's be real, I need me some Kaiden and I need to what he's up to. He can't be left alone for too long, so I hope Anna gets some answers.