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Captivate Carrie Jones Books

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Captivate Carrie Jones Books

Captivate, the second book in the Need series by Carrie Jones, picks up right where Need left off . . . and heads off right into typical second-book-of-a-series territory. When Need ended the evil pixies headed by Zara's absentee father were trapped inside their woodland mansion with no way to feed the needs that were overpowering their control. The town appeared to be safe. Nick and Zara were happily enjoying their couplehood. No one appeared to be after Zara. All seemed well. But as often happens in the second book of a series such as this, soon the happily ever after they imagined for themselves comes crashing down in a big way. This is a story of Zara having much of the good in her life apparently ripped away from her. It is about her having to choose how to react to those losses and about what she is willing to give up to keep the people she loves safe and secure. This is definitely a story of transition for Zara's character.

While I won't go so far as to say that this book is a great one, I will say that it kept me very intrigued as I read. I found that I enjoyed many of the themes that were presented in this book, and they got me thinking about those issues outside of the confines of the action of the book, and for me that makes a very good story to read. This is my second time reading this story, and I have found that this series progressively gets more interesting and better the more that I continue reading it.

In this book Zara is forced to face an issue that she has skirted around in the previous book. But in Captivate Zara discovers that the black-and-white, good-versus-evil world that she believed she found in Need is not quite so cut and dried. Nick is a believer. He believes that all pixies are evil and that his side is the side for good. Zara wants to believe this as well. Things sure would be easier if that were the case. But situations within this story make her question that assumption. The big kink in that theory comes in the form of the once and future pixie king, Astley. Ohhhhh Astley! How I love this character! If I had to choose a character that takes this series from a good enough series to a great one, it is him. Astley is a pixie, but Astley is kind. He treats Zara with respect and kindness. He respects her fears and her wishes. He doesn't claim to be perfect. He acknowledges the natural bent of pixies, and yet he shows that pixies can choose to be on the side of good. Maybe this world isn't so black-and-white as Zara has believed it to be. And couldn't the same thing be said for humanity? There are parts of the world we could drop into and come to believe that humans are inherently evil. And yet that is not the case. There are some amazingly good humans and some amazingly evil, but most of us fall somewhere in between. Astley makes the same case for the pixie race. And that, along with the gallant way he treats Zara, makes him an amazing character to me.

I won't go into details, but in this book, like many second books in a series, Nick is torn away from Zara. The circumstances aren't pretty, and hope appears to be lost. But Zara is determined to find a way to bring Nick back to her. I know I should be rooting for this, but I'm afraid to say that although I am glad for the choices Zara makes in order to make this happen, I have switched teams in this series. Nick is good enough for Zara, but Astley's the one I root for! Nick's actions toward Zara always make me feel nice and maybe bring a smile or two to my face, but it is Astley who brings out the swoon in me. His actions have all of Nick's gallantry with an additional spark that is almost magical. It will be interesting to see how this entire situation works itself out by the end of the series. How will Nick deal with his prejudices against the pixies? How will that affect their relationship? It will be interesting to see.

I give high marks to this second book in the series for making me think about higher issues like prejudice in society and coming to terms with who we really are. What makes us into who we are? Is it our essential nature or is it the choices we make to rise above our natural tendencies and choose to be truly good in this world? Fascinating to think about, and I appreciated the story that led me to do so. I will happily be continuing on in this series to see how Zara will come to terms with a new understanding of her identity in this world and how she relates to it.


Tags : Amazon.com: Captivate (9781599903422): Carrie Jones: Books,Carrie Jones,Captivate,Bloomsbury USA Childrens,1599903423,6725790,Fantasy - General,Social Themes - Dating & Sex,Social Themes - Friendship,Kings, queens, rulers, etc,Maine,Metamorphosis,Metamorphosis;Fiction.,Pixies,Pixies;Fiction.,Supernatural,Supernatural;Fiction.,Valkyries (Norse mythology),101701 Bloomsbury US Childrens HC,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fantasy & Magic,Fiction,Fiction-Fantasy,JUVENILE,JUVENILE FICTION Fantasy & Magic,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,Monograph Series, any,Science fiction (Children's Teenage),Social Themes Friendship,TEEN'S FICTION FANTASY,TEEN'S FICTION ROMANCE,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Dating & Sex,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Friendship,Fantasy & Magic,JUVENILE FICTION Fantasy & Magic,Social Themes Friendship,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Dating & Sex,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Friendship,Fiction,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Science fiction (Children's Teenage)

Captivate Carrie Jones Books Reviews

What pleased me about Captivate

I remembered most of what'd happened in Need when I went into Captivate, but I also remembered that as much as Zara had made me laugh hysterically, sometimes the plot would simply halt for no reason so I could sit back and watch as characters bantered without getting anywhere.

I assure you that if you thought Zara (and her friends) were hilarious in Need, you will find them to be even funnier in Captivate. They joke and tease and banter and it always feels like their friendship is true, like these people whose lives you're reading about really connect with each other.

It was short.

What displeased me about Captivate

Remember when I said that sometimes, whole reading Need, it feels like you're sitting back and enjoying a bunch of friends snarking at each other while nothing important happens? Yeah, this sort of persists through Captivate, too.

Sometimes you feel like the whole book has halted so people can enjoy each other's funny retorts, and that breaks the action. It's like someone has just gotten their shoulder gashed by tiger claws and is oozing blood and while people despair, they also have the time to make fun of the whole situation. And it's not like "Oh, man, you are so dying omfg lawlz", no. There's like an ENTIRE page of people making fun of the situation, whatever it is, and that's kind of unusual in distress situations, at least where I come from.

Pacing issues (stuff that happens out of nowhere, people talking and then all of a sudden serious stuff happens, things like that).

In the end, I don't think I was Captivated enough to read the next book in the series.
After reading Carrie Jones' Need, I couldn't wait to get my hands on more with Captivate. I love when I find a book and the sequel is already out there! Saves me the agonizing wait! With Captivate, I was dying to know more about Zara, Nick, the pixies and the weres. What I didn't expect was a whole new element brought into the story!

Zara and her friends continue to keep her father's reign of pixies locked in the glamoured house, but with more and more pixies coming into town, the house is getting fuller and more dangerous. When a pixie King comes into town, Zara finds him wounded and tied to a tree and saves him from a Valkyrie who wants to take him to Valhalla. The new king, Astley, has some odd effects on Zara, in particular turning her blue! Astley tells Zara other pixie kings are coming into town and none are as understanding and non-violent as he is, but they all have one desire, including Astley taking Zara as their queen.

Zara is stuck between a rock and a hard place when her choices involve remaining human and risking the pixies killing Nick to get to her, or turning pixie to protect Nick and losing him forever. Astley seems sincere and kind, but if history has told Zara anything, it is that pixies can't be trusted. When Nick is mortally wounded and a Valkyrie takes him to Valhalla, Zara will do anything to save him from fighting the "final battle".

This was a surprising sequel to the first book, in that it broke from the original premise of weres and pixies and rolled into a whole new element with Norse mythology. Between the Valkyries, Valhalla, and the God Odin, there is another underlying story that could take on a life of its own. My only problem was that the Norse mythology was introduced, but never really explained. The little explanation that existed was superficial at best. When introducing such a huge piece to a story, I feel there should be a clear reason this is being introduced- especially when it is done so in the second installment of the story and never once mentioned in the first. One thing is for sure, there will be a third book to this series, as the second book does not have any closure. I hope the Norse influence will be better explained in the next book. Unfortunately, now I have to wait for that book to be released!
Captivate, the second book in the Need series by Carrie Jones, picks up right where Need left off . . . and heads off right into typical second-book-of-a-series territory. When Need ended the evil pixies headed by Zara's absentee father were trapped inside their woodland mansion with no way to feed the needs that were overpowering their control. The town appeared to be safe. Nick and Zara were happily enjoying their couplehood. No one appeared to be after Zara. All seemed well. But as often happens in the second book of a series such as this, soon the happily ever after they imagined for themselves comes crashing down in a big way. This is a story of Zara having much of the good in her life apparently ripped away from her. It is about her having to choose how to react to those losses and about what she is willing to give up to keep the people she loves safe and secure. This is definitely a story of transition for Zara's character.

While I won't go so far as to say that this book is a great one, I will say that it kept me very intrigued as I read. I found that I enjoyed many of the themes that were presented in this book, and they got me thinking about those issues outside of the confines of the action of the book, and for me that makes a very good story to read. This is my second time reading this story, and I have found that this series progressively gets more interesting and better the more that I continue reading it.

In this book Zara is forced to face an issue that she has skirted around in the previous book. But in Captivate Zara discovers that the black-and-white, good-versus-evil world that she believed she found in Need is not quite so cut and dried. Nick is a believer. He believes that all pixies are evil and that his side is the side for good. Zara wants to believe this as well. Things sure would be easier if that were the case. But situations within this story make her question that assumption. The big kink in that theory comes in the form of the once and future pixie king, Astley. Ohhhhh Astley! How I love this character! If I had to choose a character that takes this series from a good enough series to a great one, it is him. Astley is a pixie, but Astley is kind. He treats Zara with respect and kindness. He respects her fears and her wishes. He doesn't claim to be perfect. He acknowledges the natural bent of pixies, and yet he shows that pixies can choose to be on the side of good. Maybe this world isn't so black-and-white as Zara has believed it to be. And couldn't the same thing be said for humanity? There are parts of the world we could drop into and come to believe that humans are inherently evil. And yet that is not the case. There are some amazingly good humans and some amazingly evil, but most of us fall somewhere in between. Astley makes the same case for the pixie race. And that, along with the gallant way he treats Zara, makes him an amazing character to me.

I won't go into details, but in this book, like many second books in a series, Nick is torn away from Zara. The circumstances aren't pretty, and hope appears to be lost. But Zara is determined to find a way to bring Nick back to her. I know I should be rooting for this, but I'm afraid to say that although I am glad for the choices Zara makes in order to make this happen, I have switched teams in this series. Nick is good enough for Zara, but Astley's the one I root for! Nick's actions toward Zara always make me feel nice and maybe bring a smile or two to my face, but it is Astley who brings out the swoon in me. His actions have all of Nick's gallantry with an additional spark that is almost magical. It will be interesting to see how this entire situation works itself out by the end of the series. How will Nick deal with his prejudices against the pixies? How will that affect their relationship? It will be interesting to see.

I give high marks to this second book in the series for making me think about higher issues like prejudice in society and coming to terms with who we really are. What makes us into who we are? Is it our essential nature or is it the choices we make to rise above our natural tendencies and choose to be truly good in this world? Fascinating to think about, and I appreciated the story that led me to do so. I will happily be continuing on in this series to see how Zara will come to terms with a new understanding of her identity in this world and how she relates to it.