Zara has been turned into a pixie, her boyfriend Nick is in Valhalla, and evil pixies are overrunning her town. And things get even worse in "Entice," Carrie Jones' third urban novel about a Maine town threatened by pixies -- there are some limp sections of the story, but also some compelling character development for Zara and Astley. 
 Ever since Nick's disappearance, Zara has been desperately trying to find a way to bring him back from Valhalla. She's also struggling to cope with her new life as a pixie, and the changed way that her friends and family may see her -- as well as her changed relationship with Astley, since she is now his queen. And, of course, he's in love with her. 
 But even as she struggles to find Nick, Bedford is being overrun by evil pixies that are attacking the local teenagers -- and who also make her quest a lot more dangerous. As she and her friends uncover possible leads to finding Valhalla, Zara finds that she may have to put her own life on the line to save Nick's. 
 "Entice" is a somewhat bleaker, darker story than the last two in Carrie Jones' series -- it's basically a prolonged Orpheus-style quest for Zara's dead love, spattered with kidnappings, public hysteria, deaths, shootings and sword fights. There is a dark shadow over Bedford, even when matters improve. 
 Carrie Jones' prose is still quirky and colorful (Zara still namedrops a lot of phobias), but she tackles some more serious material (such as the division within Zara's family) with equal care. The one problem with her plotting is that there is a clump of subplots that just sort of... sputter, including the death of a minor character who appears, dies, and never really accomplishes anything by it. 
 Far more skillful is Jones' characterization -- Zara and Astley are both given powerful, intricate development over the course of this book. Zara is struggling to deal with being part of a race that her friends and family hate, and to desperately embrace the concept that pixies are not inherently evil. And we learn more about Astley's past, his desire to be "perfect" for Zara, and his determination to help her find his romantic rival. 
 "Entice" has some flaws, mainly some plot points that don't go anywhere. But it has powerful characterization and a darker slant on the town of Bedford.