Monday, July 12, 2010

Need & Captivate by Carrie Jones Reviews

 

Product Details

  • Pub. Date: December 2009
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
  • Format: Paperback, 336pp


NEED 
Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life's been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother's pretty much checked out. Now Zara's living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays 'safe.' Zara doesn't think she's in danger; she thinks her mother can't deal.

Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn't a figment of her imagination. He's a pixie - and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He's the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he's trailing Zara.






 

Product Details

  • Pub. Date: December 07, 2010
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
  • Format: Paperback, 304pp
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CAPTIVATE
Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.
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Need is the first book in this series and it centers around Zara. Reading the back of the book, I thought she was going to be a freaky hypochondriac.(luckily she wasn't)  Zara chant's phobia's like a mantra. She thinks its easier to understand things if you name them. She also writes Urgent Action letters for Amnesty International to help wrongfully imprisoned people. She feels that she can't complain when there are people out there with problems bigger than hers.


So, Zara's been shipped off to her step-grandmother Betty's, in Maine,  because she hasn't been dealing with the death of her stepfather very well. She's almost been a Zombie for four months. Not smiling, or feeling.  She starts to feel again, with the help of Betty and some new friends at school. There's the (new) quirky best friend Issie, totally hot jock Nick, mean girl Megan, geeky guy Devyn, and Ian, who I can't really put a label to. They all may sound like cliches, but I never felt like I'd heard (or read) it all before. Mostly because some of them have a hidden secret, something I didn't really see coming. Even Betty isn't who she seems. Then there's the weirdo who seems to be stalking her and leaving gold dust everywhere. 
Zara finds out a few strange things about her new town and friends, and there's an even bigger shock with the stalker. Zara finds out a few things about herself too. I really liked Zara, Nick, Betty, Issie and Devyn. They make a great group and work well together. There are some people that you can get along with from the beginning, and they do. It never felt rushed, just that they were kind of meant to be.
 She even has a pretty great relationship with her grandmother. Then when Zara finds out their secrets she's a little overwhelmed, doesn't really believe them, but comes around in the end. Thanks to all the evidence she's presented with.  Both Zara and Nick seem to have 'white knight syndrome', always feeling the need to save people. Nick feels like he has to protect Zara, but Zara tells him that she's no damsel in distress, and can help herself. I liked watching their relationships grow, even with everything going on around them. 
In Captivate, things that began in Need begin to come to a head. There's a new addition in the form of Astley. He's trying to convince Zara that pixies are not all the same but she's not really buying it. Astley is trying to help Zara, but she's having trouble trusting him, since her last pixie problem nearly killed her. Nick and Zara are pretty much inseparable, and their relationship is going well. She's trying to play match maker with Issie and Devyn, when Cassie comes along and spoils things. I got frustrated with Devyn, not being able to see whats right in front of him, and bad for Issie because she is so full of life, and doesn't know why Devyn doesn't like her. Then Nick's life is threatened and Zara and her friends have to work together to save him. She even enlists Astley's help. Something bad happens to Nick and I felt so sorry for Zara. Everything was going so well, and then bam, it all went wrong. Zara has to make a life changing decision, but Issie and Devyn try to convince her not to do it. 
Zara is heartbroken, strong, stubborn, and seems so much older than she is. These books kept me reading, and I wasn't inundated with teenage slang, and I was able to relate to all the characters, especially Zara. 
 I can't wait for the next book Entice to see what happens.


Need & Captivate are dark, ominous, and a great read.


Rated:







1 comment:

  1. I have these 2 books and have not read them yet, I love the covers, they are so beautiful.

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