Monday, March 12, 2012

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Release Date: 31st January, 2012

Publisher: Katherine Tegen

Pages: 384pgs

The Story

New Soul

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.

No Soul

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from the 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 sylphs 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?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

The Review

Jodi Meadow's debut novel INCARNATE is a beautifully unique and compelling story about reincarnation, theology, romance, and is so much more than you first expect.

Before opening the pretty pages of this book (yes they have butterflies on the chapter pages and again yes I couldn't stop staring at them), sometimes you have to set your expectations lower than you want to especially when it comes to readers praising a particular book title to a point where it overwhelms you. Now I don't know about you guys . . . but I don't like feeling disappointed in a book and find myself questioning what people saw in them. It has happened to me on many accounts and I don't like it one bit. However in this case, I went into this book with no high-set expectations and surprisingly I came out with a great result. With the reincarnation element being overdone nowadays in young adult literature, that my friends had no real effect on this book whatsoever and it rather made the storyline stand all on its own.

One of the clear standouts INCARNATE gets right is the high fantasy world Meadow's has created. Reincarnation. Slyphs. Dragons. You name it. I mean, the complexity of it - while it can be disconcerting at times - was both intriguing and fascinating and exciting, and I desperately wanted to know more and more of the history behind the worlds of Heart and Range. However, the only problem I had was the whole gender-changing concept for the character's reincarnations. So for example, when a person reincarnates each and every time, apparently their soul can come back as either a boy or a girl which changes overtime of the reincarnation obviously, and sometimes I felt that was to be a little 'strange' through my eyes. While I accept reincarnation (at least from my understanding of it) can be pretty unpredictable but I don't know . . . I just got weirded out by it. Especially when it came to the present time boys in the book, who were girls beforehand and la-de-da . . . yeah you get the drift. I've found the boys less attractive that way.

Aside from the technical side of the storyline, I really enjoyed unfolding the layers of the sometimes-endearing and the sometimes-complicated love story between Ana and Sam. With Ana being shunned and forever known as the 'nosoul' - as she supposedly took the place of Ciana's soul whom was supposed to be born but instead Ana was - I truly understood why she acted the way she did when it came to Sam wanting to get to know her and with her always being the one to pull away from him. After all, for her whole life she was miserable and her whole society and even her abusive mother for heaven's sakes thought her to be worth nothing . . . and Ana was made to believe this. So while Ana may seem reclusive, defensive and unattached from the people trying to connect with her, she has her reasons and has a lot of things that she needs to resolve for herself, and I guess that's what made her such a believable and an enjoyable young heroine. But then of course we have Sam - the love interest and just about the only person whom is willing to put aside what Ana is and focus on their new friendship. I admit, at first it was a rocky road for Ana and Sam to admit their feelings for one another, but thank god for no insta-love being involved. I was kind of worried for that. But without explaining the whole ordeal between them, I'll just say . . . everything worked well for their relationship and it was written in a way that you could respect it. Again, thank god for no insta-love.

The romance and the world weren't the only things I loved about INCARNATE. It was the element of music that had truly moved me. The music featured in this book was what helped stitch this book together and added such a great depth to the storyline. I loved it so much but not because I love music myself but for the mere fact that it made us readers forget about what Ana went through in her past and rather brought out a whole new side to her that is secretly hidden beneath all that pain of hers. The idea that music can change someone's world forever . . . it was clearly shown through this novel and I loved it a lot.

Overall, this is a great start for a series. While I found some scenes happening too fast and were created for the sake of more action sequences (the main reason for why I'm given this book 3 1/2 stars), however I still enjoyed everything this debut novel had to offer. With a well-developed plot, a slow-burning romance and with plenty of things to keep you guessing until the final pages . . . INCARNATE is definitely something you don't want to miss out on. I mean, just look at the beautiful shining cover!

The Rating

3 1/2 / 5 stars

27 comments:

  1. Great honest review, Erin! This is on my wishlist. I'm still thinking of getting it. It sounds too intriguing for me to resist.

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    1. I definitely recommend this book. It surprised me considering the mixed reviews.

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  2. Glad you enjoyed this overall! I've seen a few mixed reviews, but I really am intrigued by the story (and the romance) so I think I'm definitely going to read it at some point. Fab review! :)

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    1. It had its up and downs, but overall a solid read.

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  3. Incredible review Erin! Dragons. Slyths. Sounds awesome. I'm actually not a big fan of reincarnation tales but I'm eager to read this one. Even if I just buy it to look pretty on my shelves, lol.

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    1. Thanks Rachel! I'm not a big fan of reincarnation . . . too many books on the genre . . . but surprisingly I really enjoyed this one.

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    2. Ditto. There's just so many of those kinds of books out there and they're just so similar.

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  4. Lovely review, Erin! I've read mixed reviews on Incarnate and I'm still a little unsure but like you said, maybe I should go in with low expectations and I might be pleasantly surprised!

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    1. Thanks! It's best nowadays to have low expectations on books until you actually read the book.

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  5. I don't appreciate music enough, and I hope to change that some day. But, anyway, I'm really excited for this book, despite the weird reincarnation aspect. I think I'll actually like it. I'm lovin' the mythology mention as well, because I dig dragons.

    But, of course, the truly hopeful romantic that I am, I'm so looking forward to the romance the most.

    Asher

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    1. Really? I love the music element if it's needed for a storyline and it clearly worked for this type of book. I like the weirdness too . . . for some reason.

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  6. Oh my goodness. Prettiest. Cover. EVER.

    Uh? "sometimes you have to set your expectations lower than you want to especially when it comes to readers praising a particular book title to a point where it overwhelms you." YES. But I'm so SO glad to see you pleasantly surprised! I don't know why, but I was really excited to read this, then when it arrived, I was like 'ooooh, pretty!... meh.' I'm excited to read it again now! Eeeeeee! *happy dance!* THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ERIN!

    Oh, the gender change thing? THANK YOU. The concept weirds me out, too, and I haven't ever read the bloody book, yet! Falling in love and procreating with someone who could be your mother in the next life? WEIRD.

    Seriously, you make this sound AMAZING! The fantasy elements, and a slow-building romance built on a real friendship? MAGIC. PLUS, the music? I had NO IDEA! NONE! AAAAAAAH! Music is like... water and air. necessary. I'm REALLY excited now! <3

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    1. It's a beautiful cover, isn't it? The main reason why I bought it in hardcover.

      Yeah the gender thing weirded me out but I got over it. But YES! The music was the best part. Anyway I hope you enjoy the book when you come to read it.

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    2. Oooh, and then other the dust jacket? The embossed butterfly? GORGEOUS!
      Sorry, just had to add that in. I'm seriously excited about reading it again! Thanks, Erin! ♥

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  7. Stunning cover, thanks for bringing this one to my attention. I love it when music is a feature in a novel whether in references or playlists. Music has been such an important part of my life I really appreciate when a novel embraces it.

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    1. Me too! Music is the best part for this book.

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  8. Erin, you and me are on such similar wavelengths! I don't like feeling disappointed in a book and finding myself questioning what people saw in them either -- I think that's one of the worst feelings! So I'm really happy to hear that you enjoyed this book overall! :) Some aspects of the reincarnations in this book felt strange to me, but I loved the part that music played in this too!

    Beautiful review, Erin! <3

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    1. I'm glad to hear that! It IS the worse feeling when you dislike a book when other loved it . . . you seem out of the group. Anyway, yes! I just LOVED the music element. It made the book have more magic in it.

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  9. Hmm, this seems like a mix up. The premise sounds interesting but people seem to only mildy like this book. Still not sure if I am going to read it. Great review though.

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    1. Don't get me wrong, it's still a fantastic book and I could see it appealing to everyone. Despite a small couple of flaws, I loved it and recommend it.

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  10. I loved this book so much and am glad you enjoyed it as well. I really like a lot of the points you brought up. I'm actually about to buckle down and review KATANA, and one of the things that was weird at first was the way someone was reincarnated as a female, but because I'd previously read INCARNATE, it wasn't as strange as it otherwise would have been!

    I'm really forward to the rest of the trilogy, since Jodi Meadows handles reincarnation in a way that feels very fresh!

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    1. Glad to hear! Katana was alright concerning the gender thing . . . but I still found it strange.

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  11. Weirdly, the gender thing doesn't really bother me haha. I guess because I've always been a believer of reincarnation (in real life) with our souls kinda being... genderless, so people would go through a mix of male/females. But I guess the idea of marrying your deceased great-grandmother as some super hot guy in your current life is a little... um... weird LOL.

    Curious to see how music plays a role throughout the book. And Ana and Sam sound like such amazing characters. I can't wait to see how their relationship develops! Brilliant review! *grabby hands at book*

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    1. It doesn't REALLY bother me . . . but when you want me to be attracted to a guy character . . . I would like him to be all male. haha. LOL.

      But overall, Ana and Sam were a great team.

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    2. LOL, it doesn't bother bother me either, but I admit it was a bit weird reading about it and imagining him as a girl when he's the man man in your eyes! I know I'd imagined Stef as a guy first, so before my mind got the fact that it was a girl right, I had a transvestite in my head. Hahahha, easily fixed, but just a tiny thing making it easy to be a bit confused. It bothered me more that he got a bit of parent role in the beginning!

      Anyways, awesome review Erin! I can see the points pulling it down for you, but I'm glad you enjoyed it overall. I can't wait to see how the sequel will be. I have many questions unanswered!

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  12. Only the cover is a reason to pick up this book. Add a fantastic summary to it and I'm hooked. I want to read this book. Thanks for this review!

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  13. Ah, I couldn't get through this despite the tempt of dragons. DUDE, DRAGONS. :/ Thinking of picking this up again! Great review!

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