Book Review: Entice by Carrie Jones

Goodreads Summary

Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever. But that's not quite how things have worked out. For starters, well, Nick is dead. Supposedly, he's been taken to a mythic place for warriors known as Valhalla, so Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. But it's taking time, and meanwhile a group of evil pixies is devastating Bedford, with more teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent, and the good guys need all the warriors they can find. But how to get to Valhalla?
And even if Zara and her friends discover the way, there's that other small problem: Zara's been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to go with her? Especially since she hasn't just turned. She's Astley's queen.
 
Thank you very much to Bloomsbury UK for providing me a copy of Entice for review. If it hadn't been for that I would probably never have read this series!
 
I really enjoyed the first two books of this series but Entice took it up a whole step- I *loved it!*
Right from the beginning, it's action packed but Carrie Jones manages to include a lot of character development too.

Zara would do anything to save her boyfriend Nick, who has been sent to Valhalla, a a mythical place for warriors whatever the consequences.  The only problem is, she has no idea how to get there and even has doubts about whether Nick is even still alive. At the end of Captivate, she turns into a pixie when she finds out that it is the only way she can save him. Yet, she knew that taking the plunge into becoming one of the race she hates could mean that her family and friends turn against her. She even wonders if Nick will still love her and accept her as a pixie when she is one of the very race he despises. In Entice, I began to see the effects of what she has done and Zara is scared of what she is and might become.  She also has to deal with conflicting emotions over love and difficulties as those closest to her find it difficult to accept her as a pixie. Throughout, she remains grounded as she is determined to use her pixie powers for good to protect her town and those closest to her. I admire Zara for what she has to cope with and how she still remains strong.
Astley, the pixie who turned Zara made a different impression on me this time than in the last book, where he was very mysterious.  He is the pixie King of a group of pixies fighting for good in Maine and Zara is now his Queen. However, he has trouble convincing Zara that he can be trusted and will not betray her people despite the negative experiences she has had of pixies so far. Throughout most of the book, I felt the same as Zara; feeling trust in my heart but knowing in my head that there could be something suspicious about. Although, he could have forced Zara into things or done something to prove he is right but he lets Zara make decisions and form opinions in her own time without control or interference and this made me respect him as a character. What swings the balance for Astley is that he goes out of his way to protect Zara and is always kind, understanding, gentlemanly and brave. He also understands her desire to bring Nick back from Valhalla and tries his best to help her with this whilst sacrificing any chance he might have of her loving him. I was glad to see Zara growing closer to him but I still haven't decided who I want her to end up with in the end.

Towards the end, I did begin to wonder if getting Nick back would be worth the many sacrifices along the way but this didn't ruin the book for me at all.

For me, the best part of Entice was the ending because it was so full of suspense and has left the story very open for what happens next. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait for the fourth book in the series now!
I think that all those who loved Need but were disappointed by Captivate should give the series another chance as Entice surpasses it.

A Quick Question: Are you Team Nick or Team Astley?