Endure by Carrie Jones

For Review: Bloomsbury
Published: 10 May 2012

From Goodreads: 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.

I have been super excited to read this one. I've really loved the series and have been dying to find out how it all ends.

The story picks up from where we left it in Entice. Zara is coming to terms with being Pixified, things are strained between her and Nick and the Apocalypse seems closer than ever...

Again I loved all the characters - Issie, Devyn, Betty,  Astley(!) - but Nick kind of disappointed me. Don't get me wrong - I still love him and his alpha-maleness but I just thought he should have been there more for Zara.

I fell in love with Astley in Entice and if possible I fell even more in love with him here. I know many people love Nick but I just found Astley treats her better, he's there for her when she needs him and he treats her as more of an equal.

There were quite a few surprises in this one and I wasn't sure how it was going to end.  There are some great action scenes and some really good moments between the characters.  I would have preferred it to be slightly longer - the ending is so fast paced it almost feels rushed but I loved how it all ended. How everything is tied up.  I don't want to give too much away but there was one point near the end when I thought my heart had stopped!  I may have even shouted NOOOOOO!  It was all very exciting (if slightly panic inducing!)

I really looking forward to reading more by Carrie Jones. I really love this series (so much so I am now the proud owner of the first three on audio so I can listen to them in the car!) and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Cover to Covet (25 )

I LOVE book covers. Love, love love them. So I decided to make it a regular post - each post featuring a cover I love.



Endure by Carrie Jones

I love the covers for this series - I think it's the black and gold.  This time I LOVE the eye.

What do you think?

Endure is published by Bloomsbury 8 May 2012

Entice by Carrie Jones

Warning: Contains spoilers for the previous books in the series.

For Review: Bloomsbury.  Published 4 January 2010
From Goodreads:  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.

Continuing straight on from the events in Captivate Zara is determined to find Valhalla and get Nick back.  At the same time more and more teens are going missing, more pixies are turning up and not all are as good as Astley, and Zara has to come to terms with her decision to turn...

First of all:  I Love love love Astley!  I am definitely Team Astley!  I adored that he sees Zara as an equal - someone he wants to protect but also as someone he wants to stand and fight by his side.  They had so many great (and emotional ) scenes together in this - I'm very interested to see how this will all play out in the next book.  There is a strength and vulnerability to Astley that I just adore.  And his speech towards the end?  Made me want to reach into the book and hug him! 

I really enjoyed seeing how Zara progressed now that she's pixified. She is still the same in many ways (impulsive!) but I also got the sense that she's going to gain a lot from her decision.  It really felt as if she was coming into her own in Entice.   She was very determined to find Nick and although some may see this as selfish I think she felt responsible for what happened to him and, on top of that, I don't think she could cope with losing someone else so close to her losing her dad.  I think this made her determination to find Valhalla and Nick understandable.

Cassidy proved to be a great addition - I now see her as part of the family.  Again I loved Issie, Devyn, and Betty.  I kind of wanted to slap Zara's mother but I'll reserve judgement until next time.  I'm really enjoying their dynamic and am really excited to see what will happen between them all.

This is definitely my favourite of the series so far.  I love what the author is doing and cant wait for more!  So ... should I say it one more time?  TEAM ASTLEY!

Captivate by Carrie Jones

From Goodreads:  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.

Having really enjoyed Need I was looking forward to this and seeing what happened next.  But I have to say this wasn't quite what I was expecting. Instead, it seemed to go in a completely different direction that totally surprised me!

I wasn't sure about the introduction of Astley at first.  I loved the dynamic between Zara and Nick and the rest of the group and I was concerned his presence might change that.  However, I found that Astley really grew on me and by the end of the story I couldn't imagine it without him in it.  I do hope he is as 'good' as he currently seems.

Again I loved all the supporting characters (Issie, Devyn, Nick, Betty etc) and Cassidy was an interesting addition.  I'm really keen to see how she progresses in future installments. 

One thing I really must mention is that I LOVED how Carrie Jones took risks with this.  As I said at the beginning this did not go in the direction that I thought it would - instead in went in a whole different direction that I would never have considered and I applaud the author's decision to do so.  I have the feeling it will really pay off in the next book and I can't wait to see how this all turns out.

Sneak Peek: Entice by Carrie Jones

From Goodreads: 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.

I don't know about you but I can't wait to read this one! It's published by Bloomsbury on 4 January 2011.

 For those of you that can't wait that long here's a sneak peak:

Entice Sneak Peek

You can also find Carrie Jones on her Website and Facebook

Thanks to Bloomsbury for providing the chapter:)

Need by Carrie Jones

From Amazon: Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect Facebook friends. It's little wonder, since she's had a fairly rough life. Her father left when she was a baby, her stepfather just died and her mother's almost given up - in fact, she's sent her to live with her grandmother in cold and sleepy Maine to 'keep Zara safe'. Zara doesn't think she's in danger; she thinks her mother just can't cope. Zara's wrong. The man she sees everywhere - the tall, creepy guy who points at her from the side of the road - is not a figment of her imagination. He's a pixie. But not the cute, sweet kind with little wings. Maine's got a whole assortment of unbelievable creatures. And they seem to need something - something from Zara...

I really, really enjoyed this. The writing was really easy to fall into and I loved the main character Zara. She came across as very likable and while you could really feel her loss at the beginning of the story you gradually got to see her strength shine through. The other characters were also great, especially her grandmother Betty and her friend Issie. Nick was also rather gorgeous in a very alpha male kind of way and I really enjoyed his interactions with Zara.

The mythology was excellent. It felt really fresh and I loved the whole concept of the Pixies. Yes, it was a bit predicable in places and at times I found myself frustrated that the characters didn’t work out the things I found glaringly obvious. But I find this happens often in this type of novel and I do think the characters need to have a certain amount of denial for it to feel realistic.

The ending is really good – the action really picks up towards the end and I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know what would happen! I am really looking forward to the next book Captivate. Need has really set a high standard for me and if the series continues to be as good as this it has the potential to be one of my favourite series.