Incarnate
Author: Jodi Meadows
Summary:
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 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?
Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.
Published 31 January 2012
Published 31 January 2012
*
Disappointing.
This was a book that I just could not focus on.
Imagine. God, I had to skip the first ten or so pages until I chanced upon a remotely exciting character, Sam. Yet, here comes another boring male lead who heroically saves a girl, falls in love, performs kind deeds out of no reason, lies then does some hasty actions to cover up. Oh, and it turns out that he never really lied and everything ends up as a happily-ever-after.
No mind-blowing plot, no in-depth characters, no wondrous world-building. It's all the more sad as Incarnate was one that I saw with lots of potential.
What a new and brilliant concept of a city of reincarnated souls!
The first two pages illustrated to me a resplendent setting full of possibilities. And it went downhill.
Jodi Meadows should have focused more on the world-building. Because, she had me confused as to what world it was.
Vehicles with dragons. Heat detectors with centaurs. Machines with cottages.
It could have come off as a fantastic piece if well-executed, but it was not.
I had to skip chunks in between to arrive at the scene when Li (the mother of Ana) takes her away from Sam, and then jump to a dragon war, then go all the way to the end when Sam talks about playing the piano with Ana.
I wanted to crack my head open. What's this thing about love nowadays?
We read YA fiction because they open up a horizon of prose that can be painfully alluring, beautifully inspiring, meticulously crafted and light and free and brimming with youth at the same time. We can accept love wild and uncontrolled, we can accept love shallow and instant, we can accept love beyond all sensibility and reason, but we cannot accept love that has no meaning and essence.
Give me a book that has more than just a simple-minded romance, give me a book with a setting and a tale that challenges our imagination and brims our capacity to love.
I would still give Incarnate a chance. It might just turn out into something more.
Give me a book that has more than just a simple-minded romance, give me a book with a setting and a tale that challenges our imagination and brims our capacity to love.
I would still give Incarnate a chance. It might just turn out into something more.
Source: EPUB
Finally someone who didn't like this book. I thought I was the only one here. ;)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about the characters - they felt rather flat. And I found Ana infuriating - there was no character development whatsoever, just those... jumps. Idk how to call them.
And did you like the deus ex machina thing that Jodi Meadows did at the end? The explanation to the reincarnation or whatever? Because I felt a bit betrayed, like it was too easy. :(
Agnieszka @ Nook of Books
Nope, I didn't like it but that was okay because it's really hard for authors to come up with plot twists nowadays. It was the love and relationships that I could not stand. Thanks! :)
DeleteThank you so much for being honest in your review, I love it when bloggers say it like it is.
ReplyDeleteHello, thank you for your kind comment on my blog. I love your blog, it's so well designed and your reviews are honest, professional and clear. Have a nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you, have a nice weekend too :)
DeleteOh how disappointing I brought this book because it sounded really good, I'll give it a go and see what it's like great blog, new follower
ReplyDeletewww.headstuckinabook.blogspot.com
I look forward to your review on this book, Sarah! Will check out your blog!
DeleteThe premise of this book sounds like it could have been really good... such a shame it fell flat! I really like your comment on why we read YA at the end, exactly! There are so many captivating, sweet, funny and heart-breaking couples in YA, it makes the books with flat, shoe-horned romances all the more disappointing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely reply! Precisely my sentiments :)
DeleteDrop by often!
Hi Sel, guess who! I thought the book sounded interesting but your review says otherwise, what a pity, I thought it would have made such a great story too! And yes I'm finally commenting I love your blog design! It's so cool!
ReplyDeleteGuess you! I'm grinning like mad >:D
DeleteThank you thank you!
Nice Review! I appreciate your honesty. When you get the chance, you may be interested in entering the giveaways taking place at my blog. I'm offering copies of the enchanting novel The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, and the coming of age story with a punk-rock twist, Banned for Life by D.R. Haney. I enjoyed reading both novels, and I think you would enjoy them to. Follow the link below to enter. I look forward to reading more reviews from you!
ReplyDelete-Ethan
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Thank you! Sure thing, will drop by later!
DeleteThank you for following my blog! It means a lot. I have returned the favour- you have an absolutely gorgeous blog. It's a shame you were disappointed in this book- I think I'll give it a miss! Anna x
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anna! Yeah, it was such a shame, I had high hopes for this book but it was dashed...
DeleteDrop by often! :)
Wow, here I was thinking I was the black sheep, apparently I'm not the only one who thought this book was lacking... and we gave exactly the same rating! If I still had the energy to write a review after being drained by this disappointing book, I think it would resonate with yours.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your lovely comments on my blog, I'm now following you back :)
Thank you! Haha, glad we feel the same way :) I would have rather not write this review too, but I felt so indignant about it that I just had to let my thoughts out!
DeleteLove that we gave the same ratings too ;)