CAPTIVATE: Book Review

Carrie Jones' CAPTIVATE, the highly-anticipated sequel to NEED.

SYNOPSIS:

Zara and her friends thought they’d solved the pixie problem. And they did — sort of. The pixies are all locked away, deep in the woods. But the king’s needs grow stronger each day that he is in captivity, while his control over his people weakens. And it’s enough to draw a new king into town. Astley claims he is different. He claims there are pixies who can live peacefully with humans, that it doesn’t have to be all violence and nastiness all the time. Zara wants to believe him . . . until Astley also claims that she is fated to be his queen.

There is no way Zara would ever turn pixie. And she’s got good friends who will make sure of that. Besides, she and Nick are so in love they’re practically inseparable. But when the very thing Zara wants to protect most is exactly what’s at risk, she is forced to make choices she never imagined. 

If you haven't read NEED, click the link to read the synopsis for it.  I put off reading NEED for quite awhile because it just didn't sound all that great to me.  Boy, was I wrong!  Despite having TWILIGHT in its DNA(as Publishers Weekly said), and being about pixies (which sounded kind of silly), I was drawn in almost immediately and couldn't wait for CAPTIVATE to finally hit the shelves.

Unfortunately, I was not as "captivated"by this book -- for multiple reasons.  

First, the whole "fated to be his pixie queen" thing just screamed WICKED LOVELY to me.  I really adored the WL series and no one can pull it off like Melissa Marr.  It'd be like trying to sing Whitney Houston on American Idol.  You just can't compare.

Second, the first half of the book had sort of an "any day now" feel to it.  Like come on, any day now we can start with the action. Not that things didn't happen in the first half, but they didn't particularly move me to turn the page.  Somehow I knew the real crux of the action hadn't started yet and waiting for that to happen got a little frustrating.

Third, the foreshadowing seemed a little like overkill.  Now, this is a little hard to explain because I do not want to give any spoilers.  There was a definite twist that I did NOT see coming, but because of the foreshadowing I sort of knew it would work out anyway, if that makes sense.

Last, CAPTIVATE feels like a total setup to ENTICE, book 3 - which is looking to be action-packed and drama-filled based on where this one left off.  My problem is that I wasn't all that grabbed by the first half and wondering if the author was struggling to stretch what should have been just two books into three.

All of that being said, once the surprise twist hit, the pace really picked up.  At that point, it became a total page-turner and I did stay up too late to finish it. The characters are just the same as on the ones we came to love in NEED.  Zara has such a great voice and is easy to relate to.  Plus, Jones adds a couple new faces to the mix as well.  I happen to like the new pixie king Astley, but then again I liked Keenan in WL.  (I must fall for the brooding supernatural types.) 

Bonus: all of the chapters start with a humorous pixie tip, like: "Pixies can be annoyingly cryptic.  Don't talk to them.  They'll confuse you and then laugh about it later like movie villains and physics teachers." 

  

Overall, I give CAPTIVATE 2.5 out of 4 coins.  It was better than "ICBW" but not as good as "URA*."  Whether you like it or not though, any NEED fan is going to have to pick up CAPTIVATE in order to get to what promises to be a pins-and-needle third book (ENTICE).  But you might consider saving your pennies and waiting until it's out in paperback (December 7th).  If you're like I was though and simply can't wait, you can get your copy at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

That's me.  Anyone agree or disagree?  If you think I missed something - tell me!  I'd love to know your thoughts.