Title: Entice
Author: Carrie Jones
Genre: YA Paranormal
Series: Need (Book 3)
Publication Date: December 14, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
ISBN-10: 1408810441
ISBN-13: 978-1408810446
Synopsis:
Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever.
But that’s not quite how things have worked out.
For starters, well, Nick is dead.
Supposedly, he’s been taken to a mythic place for warriors known as Valhalla, so Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. But it’s taking time, and meanwhile a group of evil pixies is devastating Bedford, with more teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent, and the good guys need all the warriors they can find. But how to get to Valhalla?
And even if Zara and her friends discover the way, there’s that other small problem: Zara’s been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to go with her? Especially since she hasn’t just turned…she’s Astley’s queen.
Quick & Dirty: Unfortunately, there is little depth to most of the characters, and not enough tension and action in this installment.
Opening Sentence: “Am I really not allowed to complain about being here?”
Excerpt: Here
The Review:
Entice continues right where Captivate ended. A dying and/or dead Nick has been taken to Valhalla. A mystical place that Zara knows little about. Desperate to get her boyfriend back, Zara sacrificed her humanity. When Astley, the pixie king, kissed Zara, her world changed forever. Zara has become the very thing that she fought against – a pixie. She is now Astley’s queen. With help from Astley, Zara and her friends try to keep Bedford’s denizens safe from rogue pixies and bring Nick back from Valhalla.
Entice is the third installment in the Need series by Carrie Jones. While I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, Need and Captivate, I can’t say the same about Entice. The pacing was slow and the plot lacked depth. Ms. Jones is a talented writer, but Entice isn’t as well written as the previous books in the series. The characters weren’t as interesting as they once were, the plot meanders, and the overall story arc seems to have been prolonged for the sake of continuing the series, and not the integrity of the story.
I was also a bit disappointed by Zara’s character in this book. Zara doesn’t have the character depth and development that should come with her recent experiences; her discovery of otherworldly creatures and her transformation into a pixie. It’s not that I always need Zara to be a strong character. It’s understandable that she’s still grappling with being a pixie queen and losing her identity, but her maturity and common sense are seriously lacking. Zara comes off as selfish, stubborn, immature and misguided. Her priorities seem to have completely shifted onto a single track – finding Nick. She often treats Astley poorly, and I’m starting to question why he believes that Zara was “meant” to be his queen.
Astley’s character has a lot of potential. I do have some concerns that he will not be a fully fleshed out character. For a pixie king, he’s not very powerful or regal. He plays the role of the selfless and affable king keeping his word to help Zara find Nick, with little regard for his needs, his people and the impending war. This aspect makes his desperate need and reasons to take Zara as his queen dubious.
This book lacks the excitement, intensity, suspense and atmospheric vibe that were once a staple of the series. Although the story doesn’t quite live up to my expectations, it has a few worth-while moments. Overall, Entice just isn’t that enticing.
Notable Scene:
I run up the bridge fueled by hope, ignoring the worry and the pain in my chest as the sound of fighting echoes beneath me, growing fainter and fainter the father I go. The muscles in my quads tense and flex and release as I sprint as fast as I can. I’ve always been a good runner, but this – this is insane. It’s like running on a steeply sloping sand beach. Colored dust flies behind me with every footfall.
Yes, I am running on a rainbow and, yes, I am no longer human, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is getting to Nick. A white bird circles in the sky over my head, leading my way as I leave behind the world of humans, leave behind the world of questions and wiggly lines between good and evil, leave behind all the mistakes I’ve made.
To my left are mounds of earth that look like fairy tombs; to my right is a meadow on a hill where suddenly it is spring. The air is warm and amazing, smelling of lilacs and thawing ground. On top of the hill wait large standing stones like at Stonehenge. They are in a circle reaching toward the sun.
The Need Series:
1. Need
2. Captivate
3. Entice
You can visit Carrie around the web here: Website | Blog | Facebook
FTC Advisory: Bloomsbury provided me with a copy of Entice. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. In addition, I don’t receive affiliate fees for anything purchased via links from my site.
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