Author: Jodi Meadows
Release Date: January 31st, 2012
Publisher: Harperteen
Pages: 384
Edition: Hardcover
Source: For Review
Goodreads: Link
NEWSOULAna 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.
NOSOULEven 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?
HEARTSam 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.
Oh this book, this book, this book. Incarnate is a beautiful and languid tale of a girl named Ana who is trying to find herself in a world that has been quite adamant about the fact they don't want her.
Incarnate takes place in an alternate world (High Fantasy, but not as 'in your face' about it as books like Graceling and The Demon King) where everyone is reincarnated over and over again into different bodies, so everyone has basically been around for 5,000 years. But then Ana shows up and she's a New Soul because this is the first time she's cycled into existence. The problem? For Ana to appear, Ciana, a girl who has been reincarnated, had to die. So everyone thinks she's evil and awful and so she goes to the capitol city of Heart to find her purpose and why everything that happened, happened.
Ana's got some guts and I totally respect her for it! She's lived with an evil mother who thinks she has no soul for all her life and she still has a big heart and a smart mind, so good on her! Even though she has little to no education, she learns through her own mistakes and actions and she's just a lovely heroine! And yes, sometimes she's confused or melodramatic but I was never annoyed because when you take in how she was raised, did you expect any different?
The plot was fascinating. Maybe it's my obsession with reincarnation but I just found the entire thing intriguing. Imagine living in a world where you know everyone because you've been living with them for 5,000 years, just with different appearances! Or the fact that you can be born one day and be in a guy's body even though you're a girl! The whole society reads like a dystopian and it was quite interesting to read about. I especially like the whole 'bonding' idea, because it sounds sweet and adorable and THAT MASQUERADE PARTY. We'll get to that.
All the characters in this book are either helping or hindering Ana but the point is? They have a purpose! Lee is a total douche-nugget, Stef was funny and smart, and all the other characters of Heart are well-rounded and interesting, even the bad ones! And the "bad ones" is an operative term! Everyone in this story has something to win or lose, so even the people like the Council have a point there.
And then we have Sam. Oh Sam. Sam is a kind and loving soul and I loved reading every minute of him. The minute him and Ana met, I knew I was going to love them together! Sometimes he was hot and cold, which was frustrating (and I like that Ana calls him out of it!) but I could see where he was coming from and the minute they come together was just beautiful. Their relationship has so many obstacles in the way even if they have resolved some but with that kind of connection, I know they can plow through it. Also, the masquerade bonding ball. Dear god, that scene. Just goes to show you don't have to be super sexual steamy to BE steamy.
Happy Reading!
