Charlotte Shines in A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL by Suzanne Young

So I want to gush and tell you about how beautiful this book is, but I have this strict No-Spolier policy.  Actually it's more of a moral-code than a policy, but still.  The ending is one of my favorite parts of this story, but I'm not going to tell you about it, except to say I loved how Suzanne Young didn't wimp out in A Need So Beautiful.  She set up a battle between light and dark and followed her own rules.  I might have already said too much. I'll stop.

Ok, so since I'm not going to talk about the ending, I'll tell you about my other favorite part of A Need So Beautiful-- Harlin.  See what I did there?  We just switched from a meaningful spiritual ending to a hot guy on a motorcycle.  I'm not the type to usually develop crushes on fictional characters. First, it makes me feel pervy to crush on minors, and second, even though I'm still waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance letter, I DO remember they're not real. Most of the time.

But Harlin? It's hard not to crush on the bad boy with a good heart.  Charlotte and Harlin's romance is so perfect because not only is it hot, but I beleived they're truly in love.  So often YA romances are either about two people who fall in love and know each other well but never touch, or two people who get hot and heavy but never talk.  Charlotte and Harlin's relationship is a realistic blend.  They care about each other and share hopes and fears, but also share some smokin's scenes.

Young started out as a contemporary writer and her strength there shines through.  Although I liked the unique paranormal element, the realtionships are the strength of this story.  And not just between Chralotte and Harlin.  Charlotte's relationship with her troubled best-friend is both heart-breaking and inspiring.  I also might have gotten a little choked up at the scenes with Charlotte's foster family.

I'll definitely be reading the sequel, A Want so Wicked when it comes out this summer.

Give Away!
Oh, and I haven't blogged for two weeks, so to make good on my promise, I'm giving away a copy of A Need So Beautiful.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post before 12pm Central time on Friday 11/4/11 saying you want a book  and I'll randonly pick one lucky winner to receive a copy.

Winner!  Random.org chose #1, so that means Karen is our winner!  Congratulations, Karen!