Sweet Peril

4.5 stars — Well howdy! I need that next book like NOW. I’m still LOVING Erin Mallon as the narrator. She brings SO MUCH to this story, I couldn’t imagine not listening to it. I love her portrayal of Anna — she brings so many subtle nuances to her character: emotional, sensitive, naive but becoming less so. And I love her voices for all the different characters. Yet again, I can’t speak to the authenticity of her accents, but they all hit for me. Anna goes through a pretty big transformation from the previous book to this one. I appreciated her absolute dread and resignation about working. I found the portrayal of her pull to addiction to be alarming and knot-in-the-tummy-inducing. Honestly, it’s supposed to be an exaggeration of the normal feelings of addiction, and it was just so…real. I could imagine it. And she really goes through another emotional rollercoaster in this book, but I didn’t feel like her journey was just a repeat. It was growth and realization of what her purpose is, where her path will lead her, and what she’ll need to do to get there. I mean, in some ways the back and forth with Kaidan was a bit like the first book, but not so much that I got frustrated with her. I mean, I did in some ways…the fact she could not seem to grasp the danger their relationship brought to themselves was hard to take, but at the same time, with the way she grew up, I got it. And she learns throughout the book…boy does she learn. I appreciated that the romance, while a big part of Anna’s story, was not the major part of the story. In the meantime there is so much else going on. And seriously, this book is completely unlike what I had been expecting all along. I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe just a rehash of other series I’ve read in this vein? But it wasn’t. It’s so much darker in so many ways, and the struggles definitely aren’t PG. While it can sometimes be frustrating to read another “chosen one” story, I didn’t mind it in this case. I just want to know what’s going to happen!! I’m clamouring for that last book to find out how it’s all going to end. I appreciated the advancements that were made on allies and such, and I’m nervous about all of their safety (especially now). The only thing I missed was her friendship with Jay…but I understand how it could became a victim of her new circumstances. So yeah, this one is still surprising me in the best ways. I’m engaged, I’m intrigued, my emotions are involved…it’s been a fun ride so far.

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