Need (Need #1)

I read Need a couple years ago and decided to read it again because I couldnt remember it. I guess there was a reason why I couldnt remember it.

The writing is very choppy, there are a lot of single word sentences. Sometimes it reads more like notes then an actual book. Details are a bit iffy, somethings are very well described while other times the details are extremely vague. I find that some of the highly detailed scenes could have done with less and then some of the more important scenes could have been expanded on. Transitions between scenes could also use some work.

The characters are not very likeable. Zara is all over the place. She is all about being kind, helping others, standing up for human rights; then she makes snarky or sarcastic comments, grabs a girl by the arm, and then in the end she makes the decision to trap the pixies, knowing they will fight and kill each other. She does this to rescue her mother from the pixie king. Zara even comments that the pixie king can change his nature and not attack boys and do without claiming his queen, that its called being a martyr. However, the one thing that could bring control back to the pixie king and stop the attacks would be to reunite him with his mate, Zaras mother. I just find it funny that Zara wants the king to change his nature, but in all actuality her mom could just be the martyr and save everyone. I guess it would only be right if the outcome was exactly what Zara wants, she expects others to change their nature so she can keep her mother.

Nick is a character with a hero complex. Some of the things he does comes off as controlling and borderline abusive. He grabs Zaras arm several times in the book before easing his grip. Throughout the book he also comes across as arrogant and cocky.

Grams, Issie, and Devyn are the three most likable characters. They are the most real characters in my opinion. Their reactions to situations seem the most reasonable.

Overall, the writing is average, storyline is just ok, and the main characters are not memorable or likable. I would honestly choose the pixie king over Zara.

Need by Carrie Jones was intriguing it kept me wondering who was actually there to help and who was out for their own agenda. That is what kept the pages turning. You knew everyone was hiding something from the start and Jones kept your wheels turning until the very end. I first picked up the sample to decide if I wanted to invest time and money into this and though the sample did leave me with a sense of wanting to know if I had all the characters figured out it was a tad slow and took some time to pick up any speed and then it did it cruised at a low intensity. Need is a decent read with lovable characters but does leave you feeling like you wanted a little more. I am on the fence about buying the next book because the ending left you with a few question but not enough to think there would be a whole other book. I gave it 4/5 stars it was an intriguing enough stories with enough characters secrets to keep you going.

Meet Zara her biological father left when she was a baby, she just lost her step-father, she collects phobias to deal with her fears, her mother has checked out since the death of her step father and has sent Zara off from warm Charleston to bitter cold Bedford, Maine that has is hiding a big secret. Zara has been seeing this tall creepy guy who points at her. She saw him when her father died, she saw him in Charleston and now he’s followed her here to Maine. Go read Need by Carrie Jones and see what actually going on in the sleepy town of Bedford Maine. There is more to is residents than meets the eye and they seem to be in need of something only Zara can help them acquire.

Please check out my blog called a Nurse, her cats and a book to see my other reviews

Need tells the story of Zara, who comes to live with her grandmother in Maine after witnessing the sudden death of her step-father due to a heart attack. Her mother sends her away to live with her grandmother because Zara has gone into a depression, and hopefully the change of scenery will bring her out of her funk. This isn’t the first book to begin with a teenage girl flying in to meet a relative for a new life in a new place. Twilight comes to mind, but there are lots of others. It’s a common theme in young adult paranormal literature. And as is likely to occur in these books, Zara discovers that her world is much different than she originally believed. Zara arrives on the scene and discovers that there is a strange man who she first saw when her father died, and who is now showing up all over the place, giving her a major case of the heebie-jeebies. To add anxiety to the situation, there is also a voice calling Zara’s name, enticing her to come into the woods. Zara finds herself surrounded by new and supportive friends and events of the beginning of the novel seem to show that there is something sinister is in the middle of this small area of Maine. Figuring out exactly what this is takes up a good portion of the novel, although Zara seems to be the only major character who is not in the know. Eventually things get so dangerous for Zara that the rest of the cast of characters decide to let her in on exactly who she is and how she relates to the events that are surrounding her wherever she goes.

This is a book about pixies. Pixies? You mean those tiny little bug-like things that flutter around, leaving gold dust in their wake? Cute, adorable pixies? Well, not so much. These pixies are drama queens/kings/commoners. They are not kind to humans, and they aren’t exactly kind to one another, stabbing each other in the back whenever they get the chance. Zara is being pursued by the pixie king, and in order to avoid spoiling things I won’t go into details about the reasons for this. It is enough to know that he wants to have Zara with him. The “Need” of the story title refers to the need that the pixie king has to have his queen with him (and, no, Zara is not this guy’s queen). The need is intense, and when the queen does not join him he has to find other ways to feed this need. Unfortunately the best way to do this is to kidnap a teenage boy and slowly torture him to death in a very pixie way. Obviously, that doesn’t fly with the local human population or the merry band of were (as in werewolf) protectors who patrol the area, trying to protect Zara and rid the area of their local pixie infestation.

Head alpha male of the group is Nick, local high school hottie and future love interest for Zara. As romantic lead for this story Nick is okay. There’s nothing fantastic about him, but there isn’t much wrong with him. He’s a good match for Zara, and he protects her admirably throughout the novel. His hatred for all things pixie becomes apparent later on in the book, and this will become important to events later on in the series. That’s right. I’ve already read the first three books of this series, so this is my second time reading through this book. I’ll admit that knowing the events of the following books in the series does influence my reading of this book a bit. I see subtleties in the story that were not as important to me as I read through the book the first time around. But moving on with the Nick/Zara relationship . . . it isn’t developed very much in this first book of the series, so they aren’t my favorite of all book couples, but they are nice enough. Normally the relationships in these novels are what drives me to continue reading, but that is not the case in this book. I will say that relationships matter more to me as the story progresses, so this is not an overall flaw in the book.

I liked the heading of each chapter being an obscure phobia, hinting at the events of the coming chapter. That was interesting, and in some ways I wish that Zara’s phobia obsession was explored even more. I also enjoyed the beginning of what will be an important issue later on in the series. As Zara comes face to face with Mystery Man and discovers what his motivation is, the black and white world that existed in the minds of the heroes surrounding Zara is not so black and white. There are elements of gray all around. This is only introduced toward the end of this first book in the series, but this theme is one of the things that I love about this series as a whole. This first book in the series is good. It hasn’t quite reached the level of great in my opinion, but it is good enough for me to continue reading this series — a series that I have come to love a lot.

I wasn’t quite sure how many stars to give this as it has good and bad points. I did like this book but I don’t know if I liked it enough to invest in the series. The plot and everything else was there however, the pace was really too slow. Nothing really happened until the last quarter of the book and there wasn’t really much suspence about it. I did go through the book not having a clue what was about to happen but it didn’t really excite me. I also think Zara is emotionally stunted or lacking much personality. She doesn’t ever overreact about anything, believes things way too easily and doesn’t seem to care if people are treating her badly. If someone told you pixies are real, would you just believe it? Even with proof (and that word is pushing it) anyone would have a meltdown. Apart from all that, I did enjoy reading it and wouldn’t call it a waste of time.

Need is about a girl called Zara White who after her step-dad’s death is sent to Maine to see whether living with her grandmother will help with her depression. However there is a sinister man seems to be following her around and may be linked to her step-father’s death.

Need is an interesting YA paranormal book which is full of suspense, romance and action, in a world filled with weres (were-tigers, werewolves) and pixies. But what I really love about this book are the characters, the four friends Zara, Nick, Issie and Devyn work really well together and have a good chemistry. Also the romance is a part of the story line but does not take it over like some YA paranormal books.

The baddies are really creepy and I would not want to meet them in a dark alley. But they are really fascinating and it is easy to understand and empathise with the main baddy. There is a lot of twists in the book and I could not guess what would happen next.

Need is a brilliant series and you really NEED to read this, I would recommend this to anyone who likes YA paranormal romance with a twist.
P.S. I love the phobias

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