Book Review: Entice by Carrie Jones & Giveaway

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. (From Goodreads)

The focus on Entice felt a bit different from the first two books in the series. It starts right where the story left off in the previous book, Entice. Zara is trying to track down a way to get to Valhalla to bring Nick back, even though she is unsure of how he'll react once he finds out that she's been turned. With more and more kids disappearing, and families fleeing town, the situation seems much more urgent.

In the third book in the series, the reader gets to see just how much Zara has grown, and how strong her loyalty is. Zara is struggling to show her friends and family that simply because she's been changed doesn't mean that she's evil. Had this happened in the first book, I'm sure she would have been doubting herself. In this book, however, she's confident that simply because she's been turned doesn't mean that she's a different person (or pixie). What I really appreciate about Zara is that she doesn't play the damsel in distress, but she's willing to accept help when she needs it. There were a few scenes where my heart broke for her, but he love for the people around her never faltered.

This book features more Astley, which I appreciated. In my review for Captivate, I stated that I was suspicious of his intentions. Based on the behavior of the pixies in Book 1, I think that was pretty justified. After reading Entice, however, I find myself on his side. It's clear that he cares about Zara, and wants to help her find Nick. I also felt a bit of sympathy for him regarding his past, but I won't spoil the information that's revealed.

The only thing that I regret is not rereading Captivate before I started this one. It was almost a year between books, and there were some small details that I had forgotten about. Still, I thought that Jones did a good job of refreshing readers like me. It's fairly easy to figure out where this book will end, and how it will set up for the next book in the series. Still, the characters and smaller plot details kept me guessing. Overall, I feel that the series is getting stronger as it goes on, and I can't wait for the next book

Entice
By Carrie Jones
Published by Bloomsbury USA
264 Pages
Rating: B

Bloomsbury has offered to give away one copy of the book, so if you're in the US you can sign up below. Because it's being shipped straight from Bloomsbury, you need to have a US street address, and they can't ship it to P.O. boxes. It'll be open for one week, until December 28.

CONTEST CLOSED