Title: A Want So Wicked (A Need So Beautiful #2)
Author: Suzanne Young
Release Date: June 26, 2012 (hardcover)
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 288
Source: ARC won thanks to Angie from Beneath The Jacket

Overall: 4.5 Stars

Summary:

Elise is a normal seventeen-year-old girl until the day she wakes up in a desert park with no idea who she is. 

After that episode, her life takes a bizarre turn. She's experiencing unexpected flashes of insight into people's lives—people she's never met before. Strangers frighten her with warnings about the approaching Shadows. And although Elise has never had a boyfriend, she sudde nly finds herself torn between two handsome but very different young men: Abe, the charming bad boy whose effect on her both seduces and frightens her, and the mysterious Harlin, who's new to town but with whom Elise feels an urgent, elemental connection—almost as if they are soul mates.

Now Elise begins to question everything about her life. Why do these guys both want her so desperately? What are the Shadows? Why does the name Charlotte inspire a terrifying familiarity? And who is Elise, really?

My Thoughts:
After a heart-pounding, shocking finish to A Need So Beautiful, I was left desperately waiting to discover what would happen next in the follow-up novel, A Want So Wicked. Once again, I was addicted to Suzanne Young's poignant writing which made it oh so easy for the words to flow seamlessly off the pages.

Elise Landon opens her eyes and finds herself in a desert park, completely disoriented. Stumbling to get a sense of direction, she stares at her reflection in a car window, unable to recognize the face staring back at her with blonde hair and school-girl clothes nothing like what she's wearing. In the blink of an eye, the reflection fades away and everything seems like nothing but a strange dream...

Suddenly, Elise is getting flashes of insight into stranger's lives and a certain need to help them, and memories that don't belong to Elise keep overwhelming her. As she tries to make sense of the puzzle her life has become, her older sister, Lucy, slips further away and she finds herself caught between the attentions of two very handsome boys: Abe and Harlin. All the while, whispers of a girl named Charlotte and a woman who embraced the Shadows, Onika, haunt her.

The mere mention of Harlin still induces a happy sigh. I loved him in A Need So Beautiful, and I fell in love with him all over again in A Want So Wicked. There's just something about Harlin that makes me swoon! Elise may regard Abe as nothing more than a friend and coworker, but there's no question it's the mysterious Harlin who has captured her heart and awakened part of her soul. 

What's interesting about A Want So Wicked is right from the start, readers can already recognize the signs which indicate what's happening to Elise; it's more than she understands herself. Nevertheless, as Elise learns more about the Forgotten, the Shadows, and her own role to play, you'll be admiring the compelling way Suzanne Young allows the events to unfold.  

Both A Need So Beautiful and A Want So Wicked completely stand out for their very unique take on the angel genre, and I have a feeling it will remain that way for quite some time. While this is only a two-part series for now, I would definitely be open to reading a third novel because I'm not quite sure if I'm willing to part with the characters just yet!