Need by Carrie Jones

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (December 23, 2008)
320 Pages
Synopsis:  
Zara's stepfather has died, her mother isn't capable of caring for her, and she has been sent to live with her grandmother in a small remote town in Maine. When her car spins out of control, she's rescued by sexy Nick, and something might be cooking with her overachieving classmate Ian. Too bad she's being followed by someone dark and dangerous—a pixie king. This pixie is no harmless sprite: when not mated with a queen for an unspecified amount of time, Zara learns, the pixie kings will demand... young human men, who they kill after using them for their blood-hungry pleasures. Will Zara sacrifice herself to this vampire stand-in or let him destroy everything she loves?

My Opinion: 
First off - the cover is gorgeous!!  Carrie Jones had me at gold glitter.  :)  Second, from the reviews I had read, I was made to assume that if I liked Twilight, that I would like Need.  They were right!  But not because Twilight is anything like Need, but because it has some of the same elements.  Yes, Zara leaves the "warmth" of South Carolina to move to "cold" Maine but because her mom thinks its best to overcome her depression of her father dieing. Yes, she meets a handsome boy or two and people in Maine act weird.  But no, there isn't a vampire in sight and no, the supernatural do not sparkle.  I felt there were some similar tactics, but did not feel this book was "just like" Twilight.  I really liked this story.  It was fun, made me feel like a kid again and taught me a LOT about phobias. My only pet peeve was Zara's character and her reaction to everything around her. She kind of took it all too easy and given her personality, I would have expected her to take it a bit more adversely.  The other characters in the book, from the cooky grandmother to the crushing triangle of Nick and Ian, were diverse and I hoping to learn more about how they all fit together with the sequel to come out in January.  I give this book 3 out of 5 stars for letting me chillax in the cold snowy days of Maine.  (this was really hard to review without revealing spoilers! - it was a good one - check it out!)

Want more NEED?  Here's a preview of the Sequel!!

Captivate, by Carrie Jones is the sequel to Need. Captivate is scheduled to be released on January 5, 2010.

Synopsis:

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.