"While a bit of a let down after "Need," "Captivate" surpasses it's predecessor in regards to plot and with an added "drool-worthy" male protagonist (or antagonist)." — Miss Remmers
Book Description:
"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."
Why I read this: I enjoyed the first novel in the series, "Need, " and wanted to continue with it.
Plot: I much more enjoyed the plot of "Captivate" than the plot of "Need." With "Need" I felt left out of the loop, constantly curious about what I had missed. "Captivate" was just as fast paced and captivating (no pun intended), but I didn't feel lost in all the mystery. I still love the idea of evil pixies, but I'm not even more in love GOOD pixies! I'm definitely Team Astley (if there were such a team).
Characters: If you look at my review of "Need, " you'll notice a significant decrease in my love (or lack there of) for these two books. "Need," despite the overly mysterious plot, was fantastic. "Captivate," at times, made me cringe and I feel like a lot of it has to do with characters and dialogue. The dialogue felt forced, overly dramatic and self-righteous; I really struggled with the tone and voice of this novel. To me, because it sounded so forced, it sounded fake and weak when the characters were meant to be real and strong. The monologues of self-righteousness just killed me as well as the monologues filled with Buffy pop-culture. While the plot line of Buffy and these novels are extremely similar, I would have never recognized it without the character constantly bringing it up. Now that I'm aware of the similarities it is all I can think of.
All is not lost, however, because of the fantastic character that is Astley. He is the reason I will continue to read this series. Fantastically mysterious and potentially dangerous at the same time, I can't wait to find out what happens next (and I pray that Zara doesn't break his heart)!
Cover: Again, isn't this cover fantastic!!
Random Thoughts: I think I covered most of my random thoughts about dialogue and monologues when talking about characters.
Final Thoughts: While a bit of a let down after "Need," "Captivate" surpasses it's predecessor in regards to plot and with an added "drool-worthy" male protagonist (or antagonist).
Originality: 10/10
Ending: 8/10
Characters: 5/10
Plot: 10/10
My reaction/enjoyment: 8/10
Theme: 10/10
Imagery: 10/10
Setting: 5/5
Voice: 3/5
Style: 3/5
Tone: 3/5
Cover: 10/10 (I LOVED this cover!)
Overall: 85/100 B
To the FTC, with love: Bought
The third NEED novel, Entice, will be released on December 14th, 2010.