Captivate

Zara and her friends may have succeeded in trapping the killer pixies preying on young boys in Need, but now they find themselves facing bigger problems. Pixies from all over the world are flocking to Maine, sensing Zara's father's weakness and hoping to become the new pixie king. They are bringing plenty of trouble with them, especially a certain pixie king, Astley. He insists that Zara must become his queen, and as much as she loathes the thought, she can't help but want to believe certain things he tells her. And then when things veer wildly out of control, it turns out everyone must face challenges they never dreamed of.

All the lovable and dynamic characters from Need return in Carrie Jones' Captivate, making for a witty, suspenseful, and absorbing read. Despite its rather serious elements, Captivate stays witty and cute through the light romance between Nick and Zara and the fun supporting characters that often provide comic relief throughout the story. Zara still remains a strong, admirable heroine with her passion to help people, from oppressed people in third world countries to her own friends and family. Though she is very noble and protective, her very real fear of what might come keeps her grounded and human.

A few new characters are also introduced, which keeps things interesting. Astley's appearance in the series will most like inspire many Team Nick vs. Team Astley debates among fans, and it will be most interesting to see how the relationships between Nick, Astley, and Zara develop, especially as it is the dynamics between the three that provide plenty of tension that propels Captivate's plot. Though the book itself feels more like a continuation of a story in general rather than its own entity with a beginning, middle, and end like Need, the surprising turn of events and the cliffhanger ending will have everyone eager for a sequel. Captivate is a wonderfully entertaining book, one that girls will continue to flock towards thanks to its gutsy and relatable heroine and the constant action and suspense throughout.

Picking up shortly after the events of [[ASIN:1599904535 Need]], [[ASIN:1599903423 Captivate]] takes us back to Maine and to Zara and her close circle of friends. The pixies remain contained, but their needs grow greater each day as their king loses power. Very soon, rival kings start infiltrating the territory in an attempt to take it over, and the entire town's safety becomes at risk. Zara must make big decisions about whom to trust, how to protect those she loves, and what her role should be.

Compared to NEED, I didn't enjoy this book as much. NEED was a light read with both strong moments and weak ones. However, CAPTIVATE didn't grab my interest until the last 100 pages when a new character took center stage. There was a story arc, but its completion hinges on the next book. The writing had a cheesy "teen" voice for the first two-thirds of the book that felt rough and unrealistic. Smart teens don't talk like that. Despite give and take in their relationship, Zara puts up with some controlling treatment from Nick. (This may be intended to show character faults, which I appreciate Jones does, or it may be a set-up for things to come in book three.) Some secondary characters, especially Betty, were less important and were missed.

On the good side, CAPTIVATE continues the story set up in NEED with the same characters and a few new ones. The plot was less predictable than that in NEED, and Jones wasn't afraid to make things darker and sadder (but not too dark or sad) to move along plot and character development. Zara remains a strong female character, with passion and dedication towards family, friends, and human rights. Her character grows when she realizes her rash choices, though well-intentioned, have hurt others. Instead of being defeated by this, she commits even more fully to protecting those she loves. The introduction of a new character, Astley, adds new tension to the story, romantic and otherwise, and makes the reader eager to see what happens in future books. Nick and Zara's relationship seemed to have the sweet spark of first love, and there was a bit of give and take about their faults. There were also some good moments with secondary characters.

I still enjoyed CAPTIVATE as an easy read but not as much as I had hoped. In future books, I hope Jones makes the dialogue more realistic and continues the character development she has started.

One of the reasons I enjoyed Need (the first book in this series) so much was because of the honest and thoughtful voice of the protagonist, Zara. She was understandably melancholy (read my review HERE), but completely lacking in self pity. She was a realistic teenager without any of the CW-esque superficiality. In Captivate, after surviving a series of earth shattering experiences, and nearly loosing her life, I expected Zara to be even more grounded and serious about the new direction her life had taken. Unfortunately the older and wiser Zara is notably absent this time out.

**Spoilers if you haven't read Need**

Captivate begins with Zara and Co. still hunting stray pixies and trapping them inside the iron enforced hidden mansion with her pixie king father. Zara is increasingly anxious about her werewolf boyfriend Nick's solo missions, while he is equally upset by her sudden softening towards one particular pixie, Astley. Astley, a pixie king himself, challenges Zara's long held belief that all pixies are evil. He makes no secret of his desires to have her as his pixie queen, but he does not force her either. He encourages her to consider the fate of the humans she loves as they are in danger once again with more and more pixies arriving and the reality of the temporary `pixie prison' inevitable collapse, not to mention another king whose evil surpasses any that Zara has imagined.

Captivate introduces some new mythology into the Need universe, specifically Norse mythology. Valhalla, valkyries, the great battle of Ragnarök, and the god Odin. We don't get a full explanation of how this added mythology will impact the already established world building. That information seems to be reserved for the as yet untitled Need book 3.

The basic plot is a fun continuation of the original premise of Zara trying to come to terms with both her human and pixie heritage and the nature of good and evil within all of us, but because of the lack of depth with the main characters, this sequel seems somewhat shallow. Zara and her friends are now inordinately consumed with junior high-ish angst over their respective crushes. The dialogue (which was so smart and snappy in Need) is now bogged down with plenty freaking 's and cool 's etc. And Zara makes several TSTL (To stupid to live) choices that really grated. I did enjoy the love triangle that was created with the introduction of Astley (I predict a Team Nick vs Team Astley war will be ensuing, and for the record: I'm going with Team Astley).

Despite some significant flaws, Captivate is still a good read though no where near as captivating as Need. Carrie Jones proved her talent to me with the first book in this series, and while the second effort was a bit of a stumble, I'm hoping the third book will more than make up for it.

Sexual Content: Kissing

I was so excited to read Captivate I began reading it almost as soon as it arrived at my house. Luckily I was not disappointed. Picking up soon after Need left off I was once again sucked into Zara's world. There was a lot of action in Captivate that kept me reading and I couldn't stop until the last page. Carrie Jones has a terrific writing style and I liked how she didn't spend a lot of time reminiscing from the last book. The action began right away and there were tons of new twists in the plot. New pixies are introduced- both good and evil, and some other creatures as well. The fight scenes had me at the edge of my seat and I liked not being able to guess what was going to happen next. A lot of secrets were revealed in Captivate as well. Secrets about Nick, Devyn, and Zara's father. Although it seemed like nothing more could happen, the ending was a real cliff hanger and left me dying for the next book in the series. There was excitement on every page and some unexpected things happened that made me unable to put the book down.

Another great thing about Captivate was the characters were more developed and some new likable characters were introduced. Astley was really likable and I couldn't help liking him more than Nick. Nick treated Zara like a child most of the time, he took his protection to the next level. He also couldn't go a sentence without calling her "baby". That really bugged me. I understand he felt it was his job to protect her, but I think he needed to let Zara take care of herself more. Astley was nice and honest and I think he made Zara realize how controlling Nick was. I'm hoping in the next book to find out even more about Astley.

In the end, Captivate did captivate me just as the title said it would and I've added this series as one of my favorites. I've already bought a hardcover copy to add to my collection. If you haven't read Need yet, you should. This series is fantastic and I'm counting down the days until Carrie Jones releases any info about the third book in the series.

Rating;

Plot: 10/10

Characters: 9.5/10

Ending: 9.5/10

Enjoyment: 10/10

Cover: 10/10

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Overall: 49/50= 98%

I enjoyed Need (the first book in the series,) and was eager to get my hands on Captivate. As soon as it was available at my library I snatched it up! I devoured it in just a couple of days and was not disappointed. I love the direction the story is taking and the Norse mythology surrounding the fairies added an interesting depth to Jones' fictional world.

Captivate is full of action - from page one - and has fantastic plot twists that kept this reader on the edge of her seat. The introduction of fascinating new characters as well as further development of favorite characters from Need, combine to make Captivate an exciting and well-written addition to this delightful series.

Love this series. I must say that I enjoyed Captivate more than Need. I think the romantic tension Astley brings into this book is tantalizing. While I love Nick and Zara, there is something about Astley that makes one weak in the knees. I am a huge Twilight fan (Team Edward) and find that Astley's mannerisms and actions very much remind me of Edward - lusty in a sweet, romantic kind of way. His uncertainty makes him vulnerable and lovable. Zara is great and, as someone else mentioned, her wide range of emotions is so real and grounded you can really feel for her. It was much more fast-paced than Need and I too found it hard to find a spot where I could put it down. With this kind of ending I hope that book three is not far off. Also have to say that the cover art on both books is just gorgeous. While you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, it's what first caught my eye. If you're looking for similar reading, I would recommend [[ASIN:0738713708 Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception]] & [[ASIN:0738714844 Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie]] by Maggie Stiefvater as well as [[ASIN:1606840576 The Dark Divine]] by Bree Despain.

I Need more! I was completely Captivate-d..... I devoured this novel. This is such a fun and entertaining series, I absolutely loved it.

Zara, my favorite phobic is back, and even more entangled in a pixie web. I did not see the story developing this way at all. The introduction of Valhalla, took the story to a whole new level and I can not wait to see what Jones has in store for us next.

The plot was an emotional roller coaster, I was up, I was down, I was thrown for a loop and it came screeching to a stop all too quickly. I mean really! How could you do this to me Carrie Jones, you KNOW what I am talking about!

Loved the new character of Astley. I still don't have him figured out and I think that is exactly where Jones wants readers to be. Is he good, is he bad? Is he playing Zara for a fool, or is he really there to give a helping hand? I DON'T KNOW! And I can't stand it.

Overall Captivate is a fantastic read! Intriguing characters, engrossing plot, blood thirsty pixies... can it get any better?

After reading this book, I was left wondering what the heck happened. The writing went down a notch, the characters morphed into one-dimensional fillers, and the romance was not that believable. There was a drastic change from Need to Captivate, one I absolutely didn't like.

Captivate picks up a few months after where we're left off with Need. Captivate didn't transition well from its predecessor - we're pretty much thrust back into the story without character descriptions or at least a little synopsis of what happened before. I couldn't even remember how Zara's, Devyn's, or Issie's appearances looked like.

The writing style was just atrocious. Sentences were short and fragmented, and there were barely any worthwhile descriptions. Sometimes even mundane aspects would be written into the book - do we really need to know that Devyn grabs a drink of water, or that Zara goes pee? What does that really bring to the storyline other than filler? All of the characters sounded the same - if there hadn't been "Zara said" or "Issie said", etc, I wouldn't have even been able to tell who was talking. Even their personalities were inconsistent - Astley has a certain way of talking, and after a while Zara started talking the same way. Uhh, I was pretty sure she had never spoken the way Astley did throughout any of the novels.

I think Carrie was trying to portray "out-casts" and minorities in this novel. Everyone had dreadlocks or cornrow's or hair dyed green in Mohawks. Okay, I get that she wants diversity in her town, but it was never like that in the previous novel. I had to roll my eyes after yet another person was introduced that had dreadlocks.

Zara pissed me off this time. Every time she spoke, I wanted to either strangle her or throw the book across the room. I mentioned this in my review of Need, but good GOD is she stupid. She gets so many warnings from the pixie kings but she ignores them. If she had only paid heed to them, none of the stuff that happened would have happened, and a bunch of people wouldn't have gotten killed just because of her sheer stupidity. The best part? She has the gall to blame the pixies for what happened, but hot damn was it her fault. She's so dang self-absorbed and whiny; if she could have sacrificed one person or herself, none of the innocents would have died. She's all about protecting people from the pixies, but what she did endangered them. She never thinks about her actions. All she does is "research" that comes up inconclusive or just gets solved by Devyn. I couldn't even feel sorry for her after what happened to Nick. And her reaction to losing Nick? Oh, I'll just grab a sword and try to take out as many pixies as I can, but get swarmed in the process and only really inflict ONE minor injury and then have to get rescued. URGH.

The other characters pissed me off too. It was like Carrie had a list: Nick - protective, "macho"; Devyn - "nerdy guy who researches a lot"; Issie - "eccentric who loves bunnies but is clumsy and weak". They were so one-dimensional this time. What happened to my vivacious Issie from Need? The only two characters I liked were new: Cassidy and Astley. I couldn't not like Astley, but if I say why I might spoil something. Same with Cassidy. But in both cases, they were refreshing next to the gang of four.

I was definitely not emotionally connected to any of the characters this time around, aside from Astley.

The plot was okay, but sort of dull. Nothing too twisty this time - the only "twist" happened with Cassidy. Need was suspenseful - Captivate just wasn't. Pacing was alright - not too action-packed, and only lagged in the beginning. I have to admit that the read got better after Zara finally agrees to Astley's suggestions, so I'm still holding on to hope that the third novel will be better than this one.

I loved Need and gave it a 5 star rating. Captivate does not have the same quality, and I don't like the direction the author has taken this series.

*Somewhat spoilers* At one point when things have become very bad for everyone, and one character is in really bad shape, Zara and friends think it is a good idea to go to the school dance. WHAT? The town is going to heck in a hand basket and instead of doing something about it, the group decides to go to the high school dance. It doesn't make sense and what's worst, Zara has most likely altered her relationship with Nick forever.

I will not read the next book in this series. Need should have been just a stand alone book.

I enjoyed the first book of this series; Need, but when I started reading Captivate. I was struggling from the first chapter on. Many things did not settle right when me in this book. I was having trouble feeling the relationship between Zara and Nick, and I was struggling with the fantasy direction that this book took. In Need the fantasy aspect of the story was coincided with reality, but in this book it seems as though this story is taking on more fantasy and I am having trouble enjoying the read. I don't see myself reading any other books that may come from this series. Sorry no words of literary wisdom here.