The final book of the tetralogy, Endure is about avoiding Ragnarok and
driving the evil pixies out of Bedford. Betty is still missing and the pixies
are even hunting girls now. Some interesting gods become involved and Zara has
to rise to the occasion and become a leader. But now that Nick is back with
them, he complicates everything by detesting what Zara has become to save him:
a pixie.
Zara
has to decide who her heart wants, but he might not love her anymore.
Cover
The other covers are beautiful and
relate to the story; the cover of Endure just
seems lazy to me. Instead of gold glitter, there is a single gold eye on a face
that is horizontal. Aside from battles when girls are knocked down, when is
anyone ever laying down? At some point Zara jumps into something, but as far as I know, she didn’t just jump and position
herself horizontally midair like in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Is the gold eye
supposed to resemble pixie-dom? Because I don’t recall pixies having unusual
eye colours.
Isla
The pixie queen of crazy came back
to mess everything up. I wish she was in more of the series, as she is powerful
and nuts. Jones should write a tetralogy on her life and shenanigans. She is
only in this book for a few pages and then gone forever, but she has a lot of
knowledge and strength that could be used for other books.
Zara
For the protagonist, there was a lot
of character growth in this book. She has to step up as a leader, not just as a
pixie queen, but as a leader of an army against Frank and Isla. The last time,
in Entice, when she tried to give a
speech to her own pixies she ran away. In Endure,
she has to convince beings she doesn’t know to help protect Bedford and the
rest of the world. It seems like the last three books had her changing and
leading up to this point.
Hel
Hel, as the place and the goddess,
is very cool and handled in a way that is accurate enough, even with the
artistic liberties that Jones took. Not a bad place, not glorified like
Valhalla, not a good goddess, but not evil or malicious either. It is a place
where the dead go if you don’t die in battle, ruled by someone who just has to,
who didn’t make the rules. This is another character that I wish received more
presence.
Nick
Spoilers Ahead!
Who could still be team Nick by this
book? He says he can’t stand Zara’s smell, she has no soul, etc. How is
choosing between Astley and Nick difficult? Yes, I’d be heartbroken that Nick
decided to be bigoted and forget what Zara did for him and that she’s getting
stronger to protect everyone. Of course, Zara goes through another change and
Nick is right there to tell her that he loves her.
I also detest that he doesn’t like
that she has gotten stronger and, yes, killed pixies. But he kills pixies to protect people too. He is so hypocritical it is
mind-boggling. I’ve said it before, but everyone grows and changes. People who
can’t accept change should be avoided in the long-run, because change is a part
of life.
So, after all this, who is still
team Nick? Show of hands, please. Anyone who raised their hands needs a crash
course about what an abusive relationship looks like, because that’s what Zara
would be getting if she ended up with Nick.
Ending
Spoilers Ahead!
Loki’s, “Oh, my wife and I forgot that I could have escaped centuries ago,
derp.” and Astley’s betrayal and then not-betrayal was asinine and seen a
mile away (though it still infuriates me).
Then Zara jumps into the Hellmouth
like it’s an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to stop the apocalypse. The
book can’t decide what Zara is at this point, or what she’s becoming as she
jumps in. But apparently getting pixie-kissed is more like getting friend-kissed,
I guess, because the end is love is magic,
and by extension, platonic love
(friendship) is magic.
Then it is three or four months
later and everyone is sitting on the grass, talking about mundane stuff. Astley
is taking high-school classes, which seems pointless. Wouldn’t he have a
post-secondary education by now, or at the very least have already graduated
high school? What bothers me the most is that Nick and Zara talk about their
relationship right in front of Astley
and everyone, including Astley, is ok with it. This doesn’t happen in real life.
Your new partner does not want to hear about the details of your past
relationship. I’m not saying that you can’t explain stuff (example: an ex
didn’t let you have a credit card, drive, go to school, or have a job, all the
scary stuff that can affect you now that needs an explanation), but don’t talk
about the good times. Most people don’t want to hear it. Maybe if they ask
about it, then sure, if you want to talk about it. Otherwise, no one is that
cool that they can listen to their partner talk with their ex about their
relationship in a positive light.
Final Verdict
The Need series has come to a close
and I will still say that my favourite was the first book, Need, followed by the last book, Endure. I still find the introduction of Norse mythology to be
strange and unneeded. A saving grace for me is Astley, who is a gentleman and
patient with Zara, though he is a glutton for punishment for taking on the task
of saving Zara’s dead boyfriend when she is in love with him. Betty and Isla
were also strong and likable characters that held my attention, and Zara is a
protagonist that is stronger than most, though she is driven so strongly she
might be called selfish by some. Overall, the series took a turn after the
first book, so if people stop reading after the first one, I wouldn’t blame
them, though I think the series is highly enjoyable either way.
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