A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

Published: June 21, 2011 by Harper Collins
Received: bought from Barnes & Noble

We all want to be remembered. Charlotte's destiny is to be Forgotten...

Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth, who feels the Need—a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger.

But Charlotte never wanted this responsibility. What she wants is to help her best friend, whose life is spiraling out of control. She wants to lie in her boyfriend's arms forever. But as the Need grows stronger, it begins to take a dangerous toll on Charlotte. And who she was, is, and will become--her mark on this earth, her very existence--is in jeopardy of disappearing completely.

Charlotte will be forced to choose: Should she embrace her fate as a Forgotten, a fate that promises to rip her from the lives of those she loves forever? Or is she willing to fight against her destiny--no matter how dark the consequences. {taken from goodreads.com}

I am usually never a fan of faces on book covers.  When I first saw this one I thought nothing much of the cover, but once it arrived in my hands I was totally taken back by it.  The colors are simply breathtaking!  The gold definitely has a strong significance to the story, so that made it much more intriguing as well.  A Need So Beautiful has been high on my list of reads for 2011.  Once the book became available to me and I sat down to read it, I was sucked in.  Suzanne Young has the ability to write words that grip you and pull you in to the story.  I kept turning the pages, eager to know what would happen next.  Only to be caught off guard and sucked back in all over again.

Charlotte can't remember her life before the age of 6, where she was placed in the foster care of a loving mother and foster brother that soon became her family.  Her teenage years were spent attending school, hanging out with her best friend Sarah, and spending as much time as possible with her hot boyfriend Harlin.  Everything appears to be normal, yet Charlotte can't help this nagging feeling festering inside her gut that's telling her everything is far beyond normal.  She seeks answers in a family friend who works as a doctor at the clinic.  After all, he was the one who helped place Charlotte in her foster family's home.  But does this doctor know more about her past than he's letting on?

The Need begins to take over Charlotte's life.  It's when her body is compelled to physically approach strangers and help them during a difficult period of their life.  Charlotte's purpose may be to help them see the wrong and make the right, or simply by guiding them in a different direction.  As soon as her work is done, the stranger forgets she helped them and life goes back to what it was.  Charlotte's pull to The Need is progressing more and more, her body is starting to change, and slowly she isn't able to hide this strange ability she's kept secret for so long.

I was intrigued by the story line immediately.  I had never read something of this sort before.  The paranormal elements were casually thrown in to every day life, which in turn makes it feel more real to the reader.  Do these occurrences actually exist?  I was also intrigued by Charlotte's boyfriend Harlin.  The chemistry between these two characters was insane.  Suzanne Young definitely knows how to bring the sexytimes!  Their moments felt so intimate to me some times, that I felt like I needed to excuse myself and let them have their privacy.  Yeah, it was that intense.  Aside from the physical attraction between these two, there was also a strong emotional connection as well.  This bond forced me to become more invested in them as well, as certain elements played out in the story.

I highly recommend this book if you're looking for something of the paranormal realm, with a bit of reality thrown in.  With that cliffhanger ending, I will for sure be reading A Want So Wicked when it is released.