Endure by Carrie Jones

Publisher’s summary: It’s all-out war (and no-holds-barred romance) in the climactic conclusion to Carrie Jones’s bestselling series.

Zara is at the center of an impending apocalypse. True, she’s successfully rescued Nick from Valhalla, but it simply isn’t enough. Evil pixies are ravaging Bedford, and they need much more than one great warrior; they need an army. Zara isn’t sure what her role is anymore. She’s not just fighting for her friends; she’s also a pixie queen. And to align her team of pixies with the humans she loves will be one of her greatest battles yet. Especially since she can’t even reconcile her growing feelings for her pixie king . . .

Unexpected turns, surprising revelations, and one utterly satisfying romantic finale make Endure a thrilling end to this series of bestsellers.

My take: I was quite upset when I heard that Endure was the last book in the Need series! I thoroughly enjoyed these books, and Carrie Jones couldn’t have ended the series any better than she did with Endure.

However, I have to admit that I was worried about how this book would turn out. There were a lot of things that happened in Entice (Need #3), and a lot of loose ends that needed to be tied up. So I wasn’t sure how Carrie was going to pull all that off in only one book! But even though there was a lot of craziness in this final book, amongst all of that craziness the loose ends were nicely tied up throughout the whole book.

As for the love triangle? It does get resolved, and I’m happy with how it got resolved, but I’m also a little disappointed with how easily it was resolved. I mean, I really love a good drama-filled struggle when it comes to a love triangle!!! But when it came to this love triangle, it was as if the other guy just no longer needed to be in the picture anymore! It actually irritated me quite a bit how he was pretty much pushed off to the side. I guess that probably was the only way for everyone to be truly satisfied with the decision.

There is something that happens to Zara about midway through the book that totally threw me off, but what happened was perfect! And then the end is just pure craziness and totally hectic! At one point near the end, there is this really crazy twist, and I was thinking, “What the…? Seriously?”

What I loved most about this series is how much I grew to adore the characters. Issie is my favorite! She is such a sweet, quirky, funny girl. Everything she would say had me giggling. Also, throughout the series, I genuinely grew to admire Zara. She became a remarkably strong heroine, and she deserves the title 100% because she always stuck to her beliefs in choosing to save the world over her own needs and desires.

If you are looking for a series with books that are both fun and quick to read, then you should definitely check these out! We need some more evil pixie books because they are awesome!

Entice by Carrie Jones

Publisher’s Summary: Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever. But that's not exactly how things have worked out. Nick is dead-supposedly taken to some mythic place for warriors called Valhalla, where Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. Bedford needs its warriors more than ever, since a group of evil pixies is devastating the place. But even if Zara and her friends can reach Valhalla, there's that other small problem: Zara's been pixie kissed. Will Nick even want to return with her? Especially since she's not just any pixie . . . She's Astley's queen.

My Take: Entice again reminds me why I love this series. I love the world Carrie Jones has created that’s inhabited by all kinds of exotic “weres” (all kinds of were-animals!) and, most importantly, evil pixies. But are all of these evil pixies really evil? I hope not, since Zara (the heroine and main character) is now a pixie queen!

In my previous review of Captivate, I mentioned my biggest irritation with Zara, but luckily this irritating character trait didn’t play a very big part in Entice, and I was relieved!

Nick is missing and Zara is doing everything in her power to save him. She even accepted getting turned into an evil pixie at the end of Entice (the one thing she was most terrified to become) in hopes this will help save him. I loved how, in the beginning of the book, Zara is still not quite comfortable in her new pixie skin, so when she’s put in a situation where she must fight another pixie, she still has trouble being comfortable with committing violence. But throughout Entice, she grows into a strong and confident pixie queen while still holding on to her human personality and goodness. There is one especially kick-butt scene that had me dumbfounded…because Zara, the ultra-dependent girl who always had to be protected and rescued in Need, has now become this super, kick-butt heroine in Entice!

There’s a lot of destruction, war and death in this book. Because of this, Zara has some pretty devastating and heartbreaking losses. I caught myself several times getting all choked up!

A lot of the characters in this book have to learn to accept Zara as a pixie. They have always feared and hated pixies, so accepting Zara as a pixie is hard for all of them! In particularly, it’s Zara’s mother who pisses me off the most. I wanted to reach through the book and slap her silly for treating her own daughter the way she’s now treating her in Entice. I think I will have a hard time liking her mother in future books. Hmm…but I guess she wasn’t really all that great of a mom anyway, since she just pawned Zara off to her mother-in-law. Zara is better off with her grandma and her friends!

And then there is Astley! Ahhhhh…I love Astley! This is one of those dang books where I’m totally torn between what “Team” I’m on. I’ve always had love and the hots for Lucas, but now I have this totally hotpixie king (Astley) to choose from?! Grrrrr! I think I will be sad if she chooses either! I want her to have them both!

Each book in the Need series is a quick read, with action, suspense and very likable characters.

Captivate by Carrie Jones

Goodreads Summary: Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.
A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

***Spoiler Review***

My Take: I really like this series. To read about pixies and the battle Zara has to choose if someone is good or evil is a nice change for me.

First off, as an FYI...I am going to do a lot of complaining in this review but it is not because I didn't like the book because I LOVED it! SO here I go.

My problem with the book is Zara's personality. I don't mind the obsession with phobias but her obsession with Amnesty International and spending all her free time writing letters to protest for prisoners really bugs me. Doesn't she have other things to worry about? I mean really!
#1 - She has a crazy father that is determined to turn her mother into the pixie queen.
#2 - There are 2 kings that are after HER to turn her into the new pixie queen.
#3 - She is half pixie so she turns blue whenever she is near a pixie king but she does not want to be a pixie she wants to be full human.
#4 - The pixies she trapped in a house are pissed off at her and they are determined to make her pay. (OH and she is still thinking..."isn't it the same that I have trapped pixies in a home when they haven't proven that they are all guilty of evil?" OH PLEASE!
#5 - Her boyfriend is in danger because he is a threat to the 2 pixie kings.
#6 - Her boyfriend is a were-wolf, her grandma is a were-tiger and her friend is a were-eagle...OH AND DID I MENTION that she is half pixie? (LOL)
#7 - Her father is in NEED so the pixies are going to run wild and go after teen boys for blood.
#8 - All pixies are gathering together in her town to start a war.

All that and she is still giving herself carpal tunnel writing for Amnesty International and creating her own Amnesty International at her school! GAG!

Please leave politics out of UF books!

Need by Carrie Jones

Goodreads Summary: Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.

My Take:  Zara’s stepfather dies of a heart attack and she is heart broken. Her mother is concerned about her so she is sent live with her step grandmother in Maine.

A strange man keeps stocking Zara. She sees him in Charleston before she leaves and she is now seeing him in Maine. Young men are now coming up missing, she is wondering what this guy wants with her and if there is a connection to the disappearances.

I really liked this story. My predictions early on were pretty close but I would say it was still intense and I was a little scared at points in the story.

Another really good Romance Fantasy book that I would recommend!