A Need So Beautiful (A Need So Beautiful #1)

This book was pretty original for an angel book. The plot seemed really awesome and it had great potential, too bad it didn't live up to it. I admit when I checked this book out I didn't even read the description of the book, the cover drew me in right away. It's stunning so don't judge me, we all have done it.

This book really didn't pull me in until about the last 100 pages or so. The whole first half of the book I was contemplating putting the it down because you really don't find much of anything out and it's mainly Charlotte whining about what she discovers she really is. I wanted to love this book, I truly did but it ended up being more of a like.

I liked some of the characters like Harlin and Alex (The few times we actually see him) as well as Mercy. Harlin was the really cool bad boy type who drove a motorcycle and wore leather but was really just a big sweetheart who loved Charlotte. Alex was just hilarious every time we see him, he has witty comebacks for everything and is all around likeable I just wish he was in the book more. I did like Charlotte in the beginning. She seemed reasonable and confident but as the story slowly goes on she turns into a whiny character who complains about her problems non-stop. Her best friend Sarah is no better. She's stuck up, self centered and whiny as well. She complains about how everything goes wrong for her when she could just not put herself into those situations.

There were parts of this book that are really amazing, like the love between Charlotte and Harlin which is just completely adorable. They were just meant to be together and it was okay since they fell in love before the book takes place so it wasn't insta-love. Then there's the end. When Charlotte realizes everything isn't about her and what she wants.

I probably will be reading the next one in the series at some point especially with how this book ended.

A Need So Beautiful is an interesting story about a girl who literally feels a need to help people. The book is original and a good, fast read. There wasn't anything that really made me pine for a sequel, but yes, there is one out there. I thought it was decently good, but it wasn't my favorite.

SO. FREAKING. GOOD.

What, you need more? Seriously, though. I was a bit wary of A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young – angels, right? Borrrring – except for a few (Unearthly! Mercy! etc). But Suzanne Young’s “angels” aka the Forgotten – seriously badass and original concept.

Most angel books have main characters that are supposed to be extraordinarily beautiful, jaw-dropping, etc – but Suzanne Young isn’t satisfied with that. No, in A Need So Beautiful, what is UNDER the skin (literally) is the extraordinarily beautiful bit about about Charlotte. And the concept of the Forgotten? It hurts my head and my heart.

I wish I could say I was enamored with Harlin, but I didn’t really fall head-over-heels for him. Also, I don’t understand HOW anyone could put up with Charlotte disappearing as much as she did with no explanation. I appreciated him though – through the eyes of Charlotte, but I don’t know I want him to come to life and be my boyfriend or anything. Although I have spent more time talking about him than anything else in this review, so I don’t know what that says.

But I certainly like Charlotte a lot, and I really empathized with her indecision about fulfilling her destiny or choosing the people she loved. Definitely broke my heart towards the end. Like, legit cried.

Overall – I LOVED A Need So Beautiful Suzanne Young singlehandedly renewed my faith in books about angels (haha no pun intended). Such an original and awesome concept and I loved the characters and I need to know what happens next like ASAP. You NEED (hah pun) to pick up this book. It’s a quick read and it really sucks you in.

Review originally posted on my blog http://hobbitsies.net/2011/07/a-need-so-beautiful-by-suzanne-young-giveaway/

Wow. Just....yeah, wow. I've been trying to write this review for days, and I can't seem to find the right words to share with you how gorgeous A Need So Beautiful really is. See, it's unlike anything I've ever read in so many ways. Suzanne Young has written a story that entranced me, broke my heart, and made me believe in hope all at the same time. I'm being truly honest when I say that this book needs to go on your wish list.

Charlotte is an amazingly multifaceted character. On the surface she is a normal teenage girl. Hanging out with her best friend, sneaking out sometimes, and spending ample hours in the arms of her (extremely hot and swoon worthy) boyfriend Harlin. Just on this level alone I already connected with Charlotte. She was so easygoing, and sweet. However what really made her so fascinating was the heavenly duty with which she had been assigned. This is a girl who, while balancing everything a normal teenager must, has a heavenly duty. She doesn't like it, but it's there.

The Need is what really brought this story to life. Charlotte's sacrifices show the reader how deep of a person she really is. It isn't as though she can run away from it when the Need pulls her. Oh, she's tried. Still, watching Charlotte give up so many things that she really wanted, pulling away from people she loved just to fulfill this Need, is what really got me. I know that being a teenager is tough, and at times egocentric. I've been there. Watching Charlotte battle the two sides of herself was utterly engrossing. Would you be able to give up what was comfortable and easy to fulfill your destiny? I'm not sure I would.

In case you're still stuck up there at the name Harlin, yes there is a romance in this story. A Need So Beautiful provides one heck of a love story. If you aren't sobbing by the end, I'll be truly surprised. Harlin is such an amazing character. He's sweet, funny, and so in love with Charlotte that it's crazy. Rough on the outside and soft on the inside, the perfect boy. Even when everyone around her starts to fade away, it's Harlin that is always there in the foreground. The chemistry between these two made me swoon, and to anyone who says it isn't believable, does it matter? I really wish we all had love like these two do. I really do.

Yes, I'm rambling and I know it. It seems that the more I completely fall in love with a book, the harder it is for me to write a coherent review. The raw emotions that this book evoked for me are hard to explain, but I can say that it's one I won't forget. Plain and simple, you need to read A Need So Beautiful. A heartbreaking story of sacrifice, love, and hope, it's just too fantastic for words. My hope is that you fall in love with as much as I did. Make sure to grab a box of tissues before you read the ending, you'll need it.

That ending. So. Not. Fair.

Yes, I employed the one word sentences because it’s truly that serious.

As for the rest of the book? Amazing. Seriously, I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately and this was the splash of cold water I needed to wake me right up. This is 267 pages of awesomeness.

I love the Need. It’s a concept that doesn’t really compare to anything else I’ve read and it completely works. Too often I’ll find myself comparing a concept to something else that’s already out there or questioning whether this or that really makes sense, but that wasn’t the case with A Need So Beautiful at all. I accepted everything that Young threw my way and was begging for more.

This is one emotional read, you guys. I could never handle what Charlotte has to endure. It’s one thing to forget a memory or a moment in time, but to have your whole life slowly slip away? I’ve probably said too much though, I don’t want to be all lame and spoilery.

On the one hand, I'm sad I waited so long to read such an awesome book, but on the other, I'm glad I waited until the sequels release was so close :P If you haven't read it, don't wait any longer, though!

The Nutshell: Suffice it to say you need to read this book. Like, yesterday. If you haven’t read it yet, now is actually the perfect time with the next one on its way. A Need So Beautiful has it all: hot, sweet boyfriend, sassy friend, strong yet realistic lead girl, and just a touch of paranormal that’s such a new concept it doesn’t even feel like paranormal. Don’t turn this one away if you think you only read this or that genre. This is an emotional and spectacular read worthy of your time (especially since it’s only 267 pages).

I’m unsure what to think or feel about this book. To be perfectly honest, I feel like I’ve read a 267 page prequel. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good prequel...as long as it’s less than 100 pages! And for only being 267 pages, this book took me longer to read than it should have. I had an extremely hard time connecting with it. A Need So Beautiful is written in the first person point-of-view (Charlotte’s), but I still couldn’t connect with her character. As a matter of fact, I didn’t have a strong connection with any of the characters.

On a positive note, the premise to the story is unique! Charlotte has this uncontrollable “Need” to constantly help someone. So from pretty much the first page, she has Need after Need that she must fulfill, always drawn to someone she must help.

I'm happy that I have A Want So Wicked ready for me to pick up and start reading because if I didn't I don't think I would continue with this series.

See my full review on my blog Magical Urban Fantasy Reads.