Entice Blog Tour: Carrie Jones Writes Good Pixie

Book: ENTICE
Author: CARRIE JONES
Genre: YA PARANORMAL


Published: December 2010, BLOOMSBURY TEENS

I received this book, from the publisher, as a blog tour participant for free, in exchange for an honest review


From Good Reads:
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.


My Review
Oh my pixies! Carrie Jones has added another sensational novel to the NEED series with ENTICE. It starts off just after her transformation into a pixie by king, Astley, and snowballs into an action-packed drama that keeps rolling on to the last page. There were times that I didn't dare take my eyes off the page, or put the book down. I'll spare the sentence that incorporates the previous two series titles (NEED and CAPTIVATE), but yeah, I had to keep reading, and I was riveted to the page for the entire novel.

The problem that most novels in a series have, is that they have to do a capsule recap of the previous novels and the events that happened there. I understand the necessity, but usually it will pull me out of the current events from this book. Sometimes I have trouble re-connecting after that happens. But, Jones does a very good job of keeping the reader firmly in the present. Yes, there is some re-cap, but its not just dumped all in the beginning. Mostly it comes out naturally. I didn't feel like I needed to skip pages of explanation to stay connected to ENTICE. I didn't have any trouble at all staying connected to ENTICE!

One of the things that struck me about the book, was how fleshed out each character was. Perhaps, it could be said that, since this is the third novel in the series, characterization would certainly be strong, now that the author has had a chance to spread each person's wings. It's true, I expect more from the characters each outing, and there was never a doubt that Jones had mastered the skill, in this case.

Zara's goal in ENTICE is to find out if Nick is truly still alive, and somewhere in Valhalla. The journey that her and her friends, including Astley, go on to accomplish this, reveal so much about their interpersonal relationships. Of course, Zara has to struggle with her new self, and whether she will be accepted by those that she loves. But, the book also explores the relationship that Astley has with his mother, as well as with his pixies. Even with all of the action, there is still a deep emotional feel to the book. That's what pulled me in. The action was certainly exciting, but the emotional aspect kept me involved.

There is no question that ENTICE is not only a worthy addition to the NEED series, but also a worthy addition to the books that I loved in 2010.


4.5/5 for plot
4/5 for characters
4/5 for language

My Rating: 12.5/15 (4 stars)

Highly Recommend, if you liked:
Wicked Lovely (series) by Melissa Marr
Modern Faerie Tale series by Holly Black



Links for Carrie Jones and the NEED series:
Bloomsbury Teens Facebook Page
NEED series Facebook Page

Also, Carrie will be participating in a live chat on the Need Facebook page on December 14th where she will be happy to answer any and all of your questions.


Bloomsbury Teens has kindly agreed to give one lucky Read My Mind reader a copy of Entice.
Rules:
1. Must be a blog or Twitter (@AliseOnLife) follower. I don't do this for all contests, but for this one I want to reward my followers.

2. Must live in the U.S. or have access to a U.S. shipping address. Bloomsbury Teens cannot ship overseas, and the prize will be mailed through the publisher.

3. Please fill out the form completely ONCE. I reserve the right to discard all entries that seem like cheating.

4. The contest ends at 6pm on December 27th. Any entries received after will NOT be counted.


Good Luck! CLICK HERE to enter.