Jan 5, 2012

Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows


Title: Incarnate
Author: Jodi Meadows
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Publication Date: 1.31.12
Pages: 384
Genre: Fantasy, SciFi
Series: Yes (Incarnate #1)
Source: ARC from publisher

Rating: B+


Summary (from Goodreads):
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 suspicious and 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?

Review:
Not going to lie: It took me (what seemed like) forever to get into this book. I don’t know if it was my headspace or something else, but I just could not connect with this book for the first seven or so chapters. I would put it down and come back over and over, but finally around chapter 8 I felt like I hit a turning point and there was no going back. After that? I was well and truly hooked.

Let’s just address the obvious first, OK? The cover. It is, hands down, the prettiest cover I have seen in years. It’s just stunning.

Second, I was so completely intrigued by the plot line that Jodi Meadows came up with. Reincarnation isn’t a new idea, but the idea of a society built upon it where everyone has known each other for thousands of years? That is epic and a fantastic idea.

The world building in this novel blew my mind, as did the idea of how time was kept and years marked. I love the way each block of time is given a name based on what happened then. And all the creatures that Meadows created! Talk about incredible! There was so much going on in this novel—action, romance, drama … You name it and Jodi Meadows delivered it.

There is something about Ana that I just adore. Maybe it’s because she’s so new and fresh and such an outsider, that I feel like she needs to be protected (even if Ana doesn’t share my opinions of herself). I loved her interactions with Sam. They, to me, really drove the entire story. I loved their scenes and interactions. I also love that their love built up over time and wasn’t the formulaic insta-romance that seems to be everywhere.

Incarnate is a breathtaking, inspiring read. Meadows takes you on this incredible journey, and I was grateful to be along for the ride. I can’t wait to see what the next book in this series will bring.

Buy: Amazon

19 comments:

  1. I love fantasy - sounds like my kind of book. Good review.

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  2. I loved this book too because it was a great fantasy read! I agree about the world building, it was very well done!

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  3. Can't wait for this one!! Great review, glad you liked it :)

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  4. The way Jodi created the town based upon reincarnation blew my mind as well. All the new creatures were a nice addition but I found them confusing at first. Great read. Glad you liked it too!

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  5. I have a copy of this from NetGalley and I can't WAIT to start it! The world-building sounds absolutely fantastic. I've heard nothing but good things about this book!

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  6. I love the cover, it's so beautiful! The story sounds really interesting. Thank you for the review!

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  7. Sounds like a really interesting premise, and the cover is so beautiful! I'm looking forward to this one!

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  8. I love the cover and fantasy books so this sounds like a book I would like! TY for the review! :)

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  9. Thanks for the review. I've had this one sitting around for awhile. Good to know that I may have to plow through a few chapters before it grabs me. I tend to lose interest pretty quickly. I agree this cover is stunning!!

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  10. Sounds really good!! That cover is gorgeous! Definitely on my TBR list and hopefully I'll get a copy when the end of the month rolls around! :)
    thanks for the review!

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  11. I just started this last night and got about 50 pages in. I'm already at that point where I wish I was reading it instead of doing anything else. I'm glad to hear that it just keeps getting better!

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  12. I completely agree with you about the cover. It's so gorgeous! I've been hearing mixed reviews about this one, but I'm glad you turned out to enjoy it. Great world building is always a plus!

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  13. I have read good reviews for this book. This is another book that is going on my wish list. I like the cover too :)

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  14. I've been hearing a lot about this new book. I really want to get it to check it out! and I agree with you the cover is really pretty!

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  15. Thanks for the review! This has been on my wish list since it came out -- guess it's moving to my "shopping list" now!

    elizabeth @ booakttict . com

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  16. WOW! I loved the review! I love how you mention the world building! Can't wait to read it! <3

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  17. Great review, I have to agree with you about the cover, I love it!

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  18. I've seen so many reviews of this book .. I appreciate the truthfulness in your review that you had a hard time getting into the book at the beginning, but it's good to hear it's still worth the read in the long run. And I totally agree, that cover is spectacular!

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  19. I got an ARC for this book almost a year ago (like, December 2011), and have wanted to read it since, and never seem to pull myself into the story. I'm not sure if I want to finish it. I hate clichés and stupid heroines and predictable plotlines. While I should probably actually read the book, I can't seem to bring myself to it. But I’ve had this book since December, weeks before if came out. And I could not. That’s a huge red flag for me, because usually I can read through poorly created book. I’ll try really hard to read it. But chances are I probably won’t read Asunder. To each their own. I'm glad you liked it.
    Great review!

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