Review: Need by Carrie Jones

Book Blurb from Goodreads: 

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.

In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Review in a paragraph: This story has a great premise to get going on and it balances along the line for the whole book. The book has a cute story and the characters are fun to read about. At times it seemed to me that there were chunks of the story taken out; these parts were not crucial to the story but rather just bits and pieces that were missing from the story. It was an okay read.

Full Review: Let's start by looking at that pretty cover! I hate to be shallow but this cover is one of the reasons this book intrigued me. Moving on to the pages... The book itself was not my favorite, but I didn't hate it either. I thought that the characters were interesting and the story sounded intriguing. Although it did sound familiar to Twilight, with the girl moving away from her sunny home to a dreary small town to live with another family member, it was not at all similar outside of this small detail.

I felt that while reading the book there were missing parts of the story, like there were paragraphs missing here and there. For example, when one of the characters is meeting Zara, there is no introduction of the character, Zara just starts using her name. There are a few other instances similar to this one throughout the book. These instances were not crucial parts of the story line that you would be missing, but rather minor annoyances.

I liked the freshness of the story. The world created in this book is one that I haven't read anything similar to before. I liked that each chapter started with a new phobia. I like the twists and turns and characters turning out to be what you didn't see coming. I am on the fence about continuing the series but I might give it a shot to see where the story continues.

Here are some quotes I liked:

People are always looking into the dark, Zara. we're afraid of what we might see. It might be dark outside, it might be the dark of our own souls, but I figure it's better to get caught looking than to never know.

There is something about libraries, old libraries, that makes them seem almost sacred. There's a smell of paper and must and binding stuff. It's like all the books are fighting against decay, against turning into dust, and at the same time fighting for attention.

Then he smiles at me and my heart starts beating harder, which I'm ashamed to admit, but its true. Hearts betray you like that. This is why it's perfectly acceptable to be cardiophobic, afraid of hearts.