Review: Need

Jul

2012

Summary: Zara White suspects there’s a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She’s also obsessed with phobias. And it’s true, she hasn’t exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane…but Zara’s pretty sure her mom just can’t deal with her right now.

She couldn’t be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara’s overactive imagination. In fact, he’s still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There’s something not right – not human – in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

My Thoughts: I’m struggling with how to rate this one. It’s a great, very good story. I can accurately say that I LOVED the story! It’s well-written, interesting, and even a bit creepy.

But …

It’s quite predictable.

Minor Spoilers

I knew pretty quickly that Ian is a pixie and Nate is a were. I couldn’t believe how long it took Zara to connect the dots – both with this and with her own parentage. It was pretty easy to figure out that she’s the child of the king, and that’s why they’ve been hiding. I suppose one could say she didn’t connect the dots simply because she didn’t want to. I don’t deny the power of denial. But, well, she comes across as a stupid, stupid girl.

And, honestly, I found Zara to be quite annoying at times. Her Amnesty International stuff was a little over the top. And, frankly, she got quite annoying about it the occasional times she’d rant about something. She calls herself a pacifist, but – of course – tosses that aside after a good scare. At least for herself. But, really, I was able to look past all of this to kinda connect with her – at least connect enough to enjoy her story (and her occasional wit).

My biggest problems were inconsistencies in the story. There were a few, but only 2 that I was able to mark in the book.

Pages 229-230:

We bundle up and head outside. We wipe the snow from Nick’s MINI. …

…

“Must’ve been a were.”

“Yeah, right,” I say, letting that additional piece of knowledge bounce around the room …

Nick grabs a brush out of the MINI and whisks off the fine remains of the snow, …

OK, so, if they’re outside, which they clearly are, how is anything bouncing around the room? And no, in between them leaving the house and things bouncing around the room, there is no mention of stepping inside for a moment – plus, it’s immediately followed by brushing snow off the car. How can an editor not catch that? (I’m sorry, but as an editor myself it just irks me to see such things in a finished copy – especially from one of the bigger publishers!)

On pages 297-299:

Nick appears at my side, wolf again. …

…

“Can you see him?” I ask Nick, as Devyn lands on his outstretched arm. …

Nick growls.

…

Nick thumps his tail against the ground.

If he’s in wolf form, how does Devyn land on his outstretched arm? Especially given that Nick is currently guarding Zara’s mother, which means he likely didn’t change back to human yet? And again, no, there is no mention of him switching back momentarily so Devyn can land.

Again, those aren’t the only ones. I know there was at least one more earlier in the book. I wasn’t able to mark them at the time – and honestly didn’t expect to keep finding such problems.

So, my rating of this book is conflicted. I loved the story, and generally I say that bad writing (although in this case, the writing isn’t bad; it’s the editing that sucks) can be forgiven in the face of an awesome story. But, it’s not the writing that’s bad. It’s the editing. And the problems are quite frustrating! Ugh. While I would like to give it 4 stars, I just can’t do that. I feel like I cannot in good conscience bump it up. Not with these inconsistencies – plus the somewhat predictable quality to much of the story AND Zara’s occasionally annoying personality (in my humble opinion).

Despite all of that, I definitely will continue with the series. In fact, I went to the library and got the other two ASAP after finishing. Hopefully there are fewer of those annoying inconsistencies – or better yet, NO MORE! Because, really, all problems aside, I very much enjoyed reading Need by Carrie Jones.

Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

Challenges: Counts for the 2012 Support Your Local Library Challenge.

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FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own. Any exceptions to this are clearly noted in the appropriate posts.

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