Entice by Carrie Jones

The Need Series

Need, Captivate, Entice, Endure

Published: January 3rd 2011

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Website: Series website

Introduction

            Beginning right where the last book left off, Zara has become a full pixie to get to Valhalla and bring Nick back. Unfortunately, getting there is still a problem. Zara and friends have to chase down leads from unlikely sources to gather the information they need. During all this, people are still going missing in Bedford, and Zara has formed a bond with Astley, even though she loves Nick. As his queen, she also has to step-up to the responsibilities of the role.

Cover

             There are two possible covers for this book. This cover is the one I own. I think of touching between two people that creates a bond (mother/child, lovers, rulers). I think of intimacy and heightened physical sensation. It looks like she is touching her own face, and then I get a sense of loneliness, like she is longing for someone’s touch. 

This cover has a more “magical” feeling to me, and I like it the most. The blowing out of gold dust can symbolize speeches, in front of pixies, good and bad, and humans. It can also have connections to life and the concept of a soul, which comes up in this book and the last, Endure. From your mouth, lips, and breath can also bring words of love, or the opposite. In this book, I think this cover definitely relates to Zara, as she is now a pixie queen that exudes power, but not necessarily evil. She has to use her words and her strength to win her battles.

Story and Characters

            There is more plot here than in Entice. There are a lot more places that they travel to that make the story feel like an urban-fantasy, but then it switches to straight-up fantasy. The creepy factor is still gone, and I miss it.

            However, there are some touching moments in this book. Astley is developed here from many angles, and the reader gets to know him more than Nick. I was rooting for Astley to get Zara, though the way that he would risk his life to save her boyfriend is unrealistic. If you liked Astley from Captivate, read Entice.

            I really enjoyed how people are dealing with the fact that Zara has turned pixie. Not everyone is accepting of it, and Zara knows that Nick might not love her now, but she still continues on to save him. That takes guts.

            Someone’s mother is introduced. I won’t write her name or who they are a mother to, but she is amazing, because she is absolutely nuts. She is more interesting and detailed than most of the characters that were introduced in Need and onward. In Entice and Endure, she was a shining force of a character that I wanted to see more of.

Chapter Headings

            This book has social media status updates from people in Bedford/Sumner, News Reports, blog posts, and Tweets. Yes, some of these will date her book, and maybe in 30 years no one will know what a Tweet is, but unless the world goes ka-blewie, you’ll still be able to research it. People will probably always have similar forms of communication. We still know what Morse code is, or post cards, smoke signals, or floriography is because we have records of it and can research it. I enjoyed these chapter headings, though they didn’t add much to the book. I liked reading about what other people in Bedford/Sumner were thinking during this time, especially because the characters weren’t solely focused on saving everyone.

Character Deaths

            Some established characters die in this book. I’m alright with that; mildly sad about it, but ultimately ok. I was more moved by the reactions of the remaining characters. Some people (on the playground that is the internet) do not like that these characters died.

Did you know that people do, in fact, die? This is real life that I’m talking about. If a work of fiction is to emulate real life, it is reasonable that characters will die. Characters that you like are totally capable of dying, just like in real life. It isn’t only un-liked characters or people that die.

In fiction, characters die for plot, to get emotional reactions from the readers, or both.   

Gripes

            The anti-iron pills are very convenient. Too convenient. No one else had these in the last books? What about the pixies that drove and took the bus and were in the school surrounded by computers and cell phones and everything else that is metal?

            Saving Nick is too much of a focus for the group at this point. How many people have gone missing because of the evil pixies? And no one goes to look for them. Why?! In Need, it was imperative that the pixies be stopped and the kids saved, if they weren’t dead already. It’s unrealistic that they don’t focus more on saving the people of Bedford.

            There are a lot of descriptions, in Entice and Captivate, of people sucking in their lips and pressing their lips together. That is terribly repetitive. Also, people are constantly touching one another in this series. Constant hugging, hip bumping, rubbing, and elbowing abound. This isn’t a family-friendly television show from the 90s; no one touches their friends that much.

Final Verdict

            The third installment of the Need series is far better than the second installment, and this book gets plot done. They travel, solve mysteries, get into danger, overcome danger, and the plot thickens for the third book, Endure. During this, relationships build up and break down. The creepy atmosphere is still absent, becoming an urban-fantasy and fantasy book. If a reader liked the previous two books, then I advise that no one skip this book. This final book sets the stage for Entice, the finale.