Review: Captivate by Carrie Jones

The instant I finished reading Need, I knew I NEEDed to get my hands on Captivate, ASAP. So I did :).

 

Captivate by Carrie Jones

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. 

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Okay. I loved Need. Loved loved loved it. And while I also loved Captivate, there were a few issues I had with it. But let's start with the good stuff:

Nick. C'mon, it's NICK. I heard some people complaining that the first half of the book was too much mushy romance between Zara and Nick, but I didn't feel that way at all. But, to be fair, I adore the romance aspect of books, it's often one of my favorite parts. Nick was a little over-protective at points, but I still LOVE him so, so much.

Which is why I didn't like Astley. First off, he's a pixie. Dude. Have we learned nothing? Never trust a pixie. (Not to be confused with Will Herondale's mantra, "Never trust a duck." Totally different.) Secondly, unnecessary love triangles are one of my literary pet peeves. I can appreciate the fact that series like Twilight, Iron Fey and Matched center around the love triangles, but I feel like there were plenty of problems available for Nick and Zara to deal with without tossing another guy in there. 
 Moving along: Issie and Devyn. I LOVE THOSE GUYS. For real. Issie pretty much makes this series! Oh, and I liked the Pixie Tips at the beginnings of the chapters. I was a little disappointed the phobias weren't there anymore, but the Tips were hilarious.

*Update* Hmmm...I was just rereading a...certain extremely spoilery part of Captivate, and...Astley...hmm. Argh, things are getting so complicated! But I'm still Team Nick! Seriously. But I am very curious to see if my feelings change when I read Entice.

In any case, my overall rating for Captivate is: <*><*><*><*>

(:D)

~Mag