SURPRISE! NEED Series Review -- Carrie Jones

Dear Readers,
I lied.
SURPRISE! *confetti explosion*
I'm not actually going to be reviewing BITTEN by Kelley Armstrong, because I skimmed through it dazedly and didn't pay attention to it enough to write a coherent review for it. But, a series I've read recently is the NEED Series by Carrie Jones, a series about pixies, weres, an unexpected move, and a stalker.

OVERALL SERIES RATING:

NEED RATING:

I know now after reading NEED that I wouldn't want to know Zara in real life; she's just such an awkward spirit. If I had to choose one book thats narration is true first-person and every thought is the narrator's, this would be "the one." Everything Jones writes is in Zara's head, which is really fascinating. She relates every detail to things Zara has experienced. Jones is a master.
That being said, I was only truly "captivate"d (hahahahahaha! Get it?) during the second half of the book. The first half was just Zara's adaptation to Maine and her meeting new people (which really only should've taken 1/4 that long), and it was easily just like adaptations in other books. It wasn't unique. Only when the pixie myths started to interweave themselves into the plot was I truly satisfied, because I haven't really read any faerie/pixie books before, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Nick is perfect for Zara. I already know someone else is going to come into play later, but I'm going to try to keep my pro-Nick mindset, because he's everything she wants and more . . . literally. He's more. But you won't find out until about half way through.
Zara's discoveries about herself are extremely interesting as well. Her revelations had me gasping and getting wide-eyed right next to her, which I like in books because it really sucks me in and makes me feel engrossed in the plot. Jones' writing is a little choppy and unguarded at times, and since it's narrated by such an awkward girl it deserves to be that way, and although it's needed, it is a little unnerving.

CAPTIVATE RATING:

CAPTIVATE was better than NEED for a number of reasons:

1) Astley was introduced, and even though that may seem like a bad thing because it puts Zara into an inevitable love triangle, it's nice to get an insider pixie's perspective on things through Zara's eyes. It's nice to see that Zara puts a lot of trust into him while barely knowing him. It's nice to know she can trust him like that. Besides, Astley is awesome. And, him and Zara together make A and Z. :)

2) Nick started to really annoy me in the beginning of this book. I'm not even sure exactly what it is about him that did that to me, but I started to lose a lot of my preconceived interest in him when Astley was introduced. Zara's caring for Nick, however, made me begin to like him again, because everything Zara experiences, I feel like I experience it right along with her (which is what I was really getting at with this #2).

3) Zara loses a lot of her original awkwardness, which makes me glad, because that was what really turned me off of NEED. I'm glad I stuck with this series, because Zara really comes into her own in CAPTIVATE. Astley may bring some of that out of her, but it's out, nonetheless.

4) The action was a lot more prominent in CAPTIVATE. In NEED, I felt like it was just kind of there because it needed to be, but in CAPTIVATE it was a lot more natural, like it actually should've happened instead of just happening because what-the-heck.

What happened at the end of this book really surprised me. I thought it was going to take longer to happen, like maybe at the end of the third, or at the beginning of the fourth, but it's happened, and I can't change that.

CAPTIVATE was more captivating than NEED, and if I hadn't have had ENTICE right there to read, I would have been extremely angry with that cliffhanger. In fact, I probably would've thrown it out my window.

ENTICE RATING:

In saying that the NEED books get progressively better and that Ms. Carrie Jones has really come in to her own as a writer would be an understatement. Every thought in this book is coherent, and Zara is as interesting as ever. The challenges she face are completely heartbreaking and relatable. Her journeys in this book especially are engrossing, and I can happily say that I devoured this book in an hour.

The wait to the fourth and final book will be insufferably difficult. Everything that happens in this book I love, and I'm completely torn between Nick and Astley, right along with Zara. It almost feels like I have to choose who Zara will choose; that's how close I feel to the characters, how close to their world I feel, how much I'm going to miss them until the next book.

ENTICE starts very shortly after CAPTIVATE ends, and it feels like there's not even a gap (probably because the time lapse is about 6 hours at the most).

ENTICE was definitely my favorite of the NEED series so far, and I greatly await the fourth and currently untitled book.

-Hayden :)

The Next Book I'll Be Reviewing (and I'm Not Lying This Time):

DARKFEVER by Karen Marie Moning!