Book Review: Incarnate

Incarnate

"NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?"

Author: Jodi Meadows

Year of Release: 2012
Genre: Fantasy
Sequel(s): Asunder & Infinite in the series & one novella, Phoenix Overture

What motivated you to read this book?: I cannot remember when I first saw this book, but I believe it was on Goodreads. The cover was very captivating & gorgeous, plus the summary was very interesting. I never read it until I watched Epic Read's Tea Time when they mentioned having an ARC of the newest book in the series, and I thought "I still need to read the first book in that series."
Book Version: Hardcover
Where did you get the book?: Local Library
Favorite Character: Sam
Least Favorite Character: Li

Thoughts on Cover: Stunning! Very beautiful! I still am not a big fan of having faces on the cover of books, but the amazingness of it makes up for it!
Recommended to: Fantansy & Romance Lovers

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Review:  This story is very unique & has such an interesting (and not to mention eerie) premise! I'm not sure what I expected when I started reading, but it didn't captivate me right away. The beginning isn't what I would call boring or slow, but it seemed as though Meadows jumped right into the action as soon as the novel began when Ana leaves her mother (who hates her) and starts off on an adventure to Heart, a city where most humans who are reincarnated again and again, to find out about her existence. Although I didn't really like the first two or three chapters, once Sam was introduced I enjoyed it from there on out.

Like I mentioned, this story is very unique and definitely a little eerie. Ana is a newsoul and is only 18 years old, while everybody else is approximately five thousand years old and have lived hundreds and hundreds of lives. I can't imagine her situation of being so young and new in the world while everyone is so experienced, knowledgeable, and knows everyone. Not only that, but having almost everybody else despise you due to the fact that they believe you replaced somebody else. On top of that, not knowing whether or not you'll be reborn after you die like everyone else.

The whole concept of reincarnation and living hundreds of lives triggered me into thinking about life. Everybody in the story (except Ana) has lived on earth for thousands of years and think that one life time is very short compared to the thousands of years they've lived. In real life, that one life time is short, but we have to make the most of the short period of time we do have here on earth before passing on. I really don't think I would have any interest in living over and over again for thousands of years in the same city. That would just get boring.

Although the writing wasn't the most descriptive as many novels are and many of the same words were used to describe things, I still enjoyed the story. The writing actually reminded my own writing style and gave me hope that I will one day be able to publish a novel as well.

I was truly shocked at how much I could relate to Ana. She always assumes that people think the worse about her, and I am the exact same way! (I've gotten better.) However Ana is a lot braver than I am and lets her emotions control her at times especially when she's angry, upset, or embarrassed, she always just wanted to flee. Sometimes she did. That got annoying at times, but I can understand her position. I don't believe I am like that, but at times I let my emotions get the better of me, like her.

The other protagonist, Sam, was very likable! He was definitely the character that made me want to keep reading! He is so sweet, kind, and caring. Not to mention attractive! He's definitely the type of guy I would want to date. I really liked how he didn't cast Ana off the way she thought he would when she revealed her true identity to him. I also liked how he was so willing to help her and take her into his house to live with him.

The story as a whole was great! I really enjoyed reading it. The plot kept me reading and the unanswered questions kept me curious and wanting to know the answers. I also enjoyed the unexpected plot twist. I always like it when unexpected things occur. I think the only parts I didn't like were the first few chapters and a few parts towards the end when Sam wasn't there. I would definitely recommend this book & I look forward to reading the sequels and the novella!