School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Newly turned pixie queen Zara faces a dilemma. She changed from a human in order to rescue her boyfriend from Valhalla, where mythical warriors such as Nick are taken at death to prepare for the upcoming war among the faerie races. However, in order to change to a pixie, Zara bound herself to the pixie king. Astley's moral behavior leads her to question everything she's learned about pixies-are they really all evil? She feels warmly toward him, but cannot allow herself to forget Nick. Meanwhile, she must also face disapproval and hostility from her friends and family, particularly her mother, who was seduced and betrayed by Zara's pixie father. Tensions between rival groups of pixies in the area are mounting, and Zara and her supporters cannot find the route to Valhalla. Two costly failures make it plain that someone is acting in opposition to the group and will stop at nothing to keep them from achieving their goal. This book, a strong successor to Need (2008) and Captivate (2010, both Bloomsbury), is as full of action and romance as those earlier volumes, and readers will want to start with them in order to understand what has already happened to these characters. Zara is a strong and believable heroine, and though the touches of Norse mythology seem superficially imposed on the plot, this series will still hold a great deal of appeal for fans of urban fantasy and paranormal romance.-Misti Tidman, formerly at Boyd County Public Library, Ashland, KY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
With the help of her king, new pixie queen Zara attempts to bring her werewolf boyfriend back from Valhalla. Conspiracy within the pixie court undermines their efforts, while malevolent pixies at home pose additional danger. Zara's grief and guilt over lost loved ones, plus the weaving of Norse lore into the series's mythos, make this a deeper, more emotional novel than previous installments. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
