Blog Tour: Review: After Obsession by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel

AFTER OBSESSSION by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel

Pub. Date: September 2011

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Format: Hardcover , 320pp

Age Range: Young Adult
Source: Publisher ARC

Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can't stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something-or someone- is haunting them. They're wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it's neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It's Alan's cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life-and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.

Filled with heart-pounding romance, paranormal activity, and rich teen characters to love-and introducing an exciting new YA voice, Steven Wedel-this novel is exactly what Carrie Jones fans have been waiting for. Meet your next obsession.

The cover caught my attention and the summary lured me into wanting to read the about the mystery of what happens in After Obsession. Told in alternating POVs from Aimee and Alan, who both have abilities that manifest in relation to their dreams, their dreams set the stage for the creepy factor. What could they mean and how will everyone survive the aftermath? These are the questions that continued to nag me.

We get to see what goes on inside the characters’ heads and I thought it was interesting seeing how their abilities affected each one of them differently. Aimee's experiences were more frightening and I found myself wanting to get to her POV more so than Alan's. The one thing that gave me a few pauses while reading this book, stemmed from a bit of disjoinment in linking the character's POVs together. This was more evident in Alan's POV to me. There were also quite a few scenes that jumped around in both POVs to the point that, to me, it would have been better if the scenes were left out completely.

AFTER OBSESSION, Intriguing in mystery and the plot surrounding demon possession was overall, a satisfying read. I think that the little things that bothered me weren't big enough to distract me from the overall plot. I think readers will be pleased in the end.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

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Blog Tour: Entice by Carrie Jones

ENTICE (Need, #3) by Carrie Jones

Pub. Date: December 2010

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Format: Hardcover , 272pp
Age Range: Young Adult

Source: Publisher

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 turned into just any pixie. . . She's Astley's queen.

ENTICE picks up where CAPTIVATE left off with Zara & friends attending the winter ball while patrolling for evil pixies who were freed by the pixie king, Frank. In this installment, Zara is adjusting to her new abilities. She's stronger, faster & her senses are sharper - All part of being a pixie queen. As exciting as those abilities sound, Zara has a lot on her plate. With kids continuing to come up missing in her town, Zara has plenty to worry about. On top of protecting the students in her town from the bad pixies, she's still trying to find out how to get to Valhalla to free Nick and unfortunately that's with the help of her new king Astley, whom Zara still doesn't trust fully. Plus, she has to deal with the possible fallout of her were grandmother finding out that she's a pixie now. What is a girl to do?

I enjoyed Zara's fierceness in this installment. She was kicking pixie butt left & right. She was determined to do whatever it took to keep her town safe while trying to save Nick, even though she still had doubts about being a pixie & who to trust. What I found interesting in this installment was how Nick wasn't a concern for me. I can only blame that on the Hotness that is Astley. Don't get me wrong now, I loved Nick in the earlier installments but Astley has this mysteriousness about him. Just like Zara, I didn't know what his motives were. I do love the whole regal persona he throws off. Plus, he seemed to sincerely care about Zara and put her needs and safety above all.

This installment took Zara through the ringer. Danger was always one step behind her and the ones she cared about. She had to face so much for one so young. But she stayed true to her character through it all. I’m curious to see what will happen in the next installment. Carrie Jones continues to pull me deeper into this series with her twists and turns. I’m just glad I can look forward to reading more about Zara and the gang.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

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