A Need So Beautiful [Paperback]

I was bored to death of angels. So much so that I've been deliberately avoiding any titles pertaining to them. However, I was drawn to A Need So Beautiful despite the blurb I'm glad that I was! I really enjoyed this audiobook.

Charlotte was a great character who I both loved and hated at times. I loved her strength and her commitment to her friends. I loved how hard she fought against a fate that was beyond her control. I loved her humour and her narrative voice.

I disliked the fact that she never just confided in her (rather drool-worthy) boyfriend, Harlin. You know when you watch a horror movie and the main character keeps making daft decisions and you sit on the edge of the couch, yelling, "Just go to the bloody police!"? This book was like that, except I was muttering "Just TELL him!" instead.

Now. Let us take a moment to consider Harlin properly: Cover him in chocolate sauce and let's not worry about using a spoon. That is all.

Charlotte's best friend, Sarah, was another matter. She played the role of the spoilt-little-rich-girl who kept trying to make daddy love her by acting like a complete and utter bint. I admired the fact that Charlotte stood by her best friend, despite her many, many flaws, but I got really annoyed that she put up with so much selfish crap from her. [Teeny Spoiler: At one point, Charlotte gets hit by a car and takes a deserved day of school. Sarah is annoyed at her for not being there for her as she's paying the price for giving a school loud-mouth oral! Sarah makes a lot of stupid boy-shaped mistakes that I simply could not respect or sympathise with.]

This book is a bit of a heartbreaker; I actually cried at the end! You will follow the story wishing and hoping and praying that Charlotte's inevitable fate is somehow not as inevitable as it seems. Even though the audiobook was less than eight hours long, I really felt for Charlotte. Suzanne Young's writing creates empathy and really drags you in to the conflicts of her narrative.

It took me a while to get used to the narrator of the audiobook, Hannah Smith. There was a bit to much upward-inflection going on for my liking? You know? When every sentence ends on a high note? As if everything is a question? See? Annoying isn't it? However, I got used to it and it didn't detract from my liking of the story.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. There was a bit of a cliffy at the end, which would usually annoy me or make me think an author had copped out. However, in this case, I was thrilled! A cliffy means a sequel and A Want So Wicked will be coming out next summer. Woop!

Let me start by saying that this book is like nothing I have ever encountered before and I am having a hard time putting my feelings about it into words. To say that it's a feel good book would be an injustice as it's so much more than that. While achieving the warm fuzzy feelings at the end it also completely broke my heart.

I will say that this story is achingly beautiful. The way in which Suzanne Young is able to take the concept of hope and give it an almost corporeal presence is a piece of breathtaking writing. The story takes the idea of angels and demons while giving these concepts a totally unique spin. I can't go into details about the plot without giving spoilers believe me I have written at least 3 paragraphs and had to erase them all.

Told in first person narrative, from Charlotte's point of view, now 16 she was found in a Health Clinic and fostered from a young age with no memories of her life before that day in the clinic. The way the story unfolds creates a deep connection to Charlotte. Through all her trials I felt an emotional connection to her. Charlotte's friends and family are individually characterized but ultimately it is their connection to Charlotte that is pivotal to the plot. Dash it this review is so hard to write without spoilers.

I have to just put this bit in: I LOVED Harlin, he is just so so so adorable. From the slight bad boy biker thing he has going on *sigh* to the way he is so protective and loving to Charlotte. He is perfectly damaged if you know what I mean *double sigh*

You probably already know that I have a thing for angels but this book took me completely by surprise and affected me a lot more than I was expecting. It is such a wonderful yet devastating and emotionally conflicting story. Personal sacrifice for a great good really does tug the heart-strings.

[...]

I LOVED this book! It was so different from all the YA books out there. No wolves, vampire, faeries, zombies etc. It was so refreshing to read about a concept which is unique but still really interesting.

I really liked the side characters in this book, especially Charlotte's boyfriend and Charlotte's best friend, Sarah. Sarah is really funny and does stupid things she regrets later, she kinda reminds me of my best friend which is maybe why I liked her so much.

The ending broke my heart a little bit, so if you're one of those people who loved a HEA, then this book is not for you! But you should read it anyway because it's a really good book!!!