Captivate by Carrie Jones

Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: Need 2
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 273
Book Source: Allen & Unwin Australia

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.

I enjoyed Captivate just as much as Need but for different reasons; where I found Need a little slow, Captivate was intense from start to finish, where not a lot seemed to happen in the first half of Need, Captivate had action aplenty. Familiar faces, new characters, a splash of romance, some high school angst, a good helping of amusing dialogue and a little lame stuff too, a few laughs and tears, some Norse mythology, lashings of blood and gore makes for a really entertaining read.

Pixie Tip

A pixie's true skin color is blue. Cookie Monster, Grover and other lovable Muppets are also blue. Do not confuse the two, Muppets don't kill you. Usually.

I enjoyed Zara's growth in this book, she's gutsy and protective of her family and friends and her relationship with Nick is sweet to read. The addition of the pixie king, Astley, adds a whole new level of intrigue to the story as Zara and the reader are challenged on the view that pixies should never be trusted. The door also opens on a possible love triangle between Zara, Nick and Astley but obviously more will be revealed in the 3rd book, Entice.

The ending of Captivate leaves the reader hanging by the fingernails. Really there should be a law against all these cliffhangers, they could be considered 'cruel and unusual punishment'. Well, we might have to suffer but we don't have to suffer in silence :-)

Entice will be out 3rd January 2011 and there will be a 4th book!

Check out Carrie Jones's website for lots of cool info about the author and her work. The pixies of Need have their very own website too, you can visit it here.

Thanks to Jess from Allen & Unwin for my copy of Captivate :-)

Click on the title to see my review of the first book in this series, Need

This month on The Eclectic Reader one lucky reader can win The Sky Is Everywhere OR Mockingjay OR By Fire, By Water. Check this blog post for details. International entrants welcome.