Review: Incarnate

Book: Incarnate
Author: Jodi Meadows
Series: New Soul #1
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Pages: 384
Source: publisher (Thank you so much, HC!)
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Website | Publisher
Stars: 4/5

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.

(summary taken by Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS:  

The gorgeous cover may have been the first thing that caught my eye, but I promise that it wasn't the only thing that kept my attention — Incarnate is more than just a pretty cover!  

My absolute favourite thing about this book has to be the world that Jodi Meadows created. Within the pages, there's a whole kingdom of souls who are reincarnated over and over again. I was constantly fascinated by how creative the author's mind was. Dragons? She's got them! Sylphs? They're in this book too! It was an endless cycle of creativity WOWs.

After being physically and mentally abused by her mother for 18 years (and shunned by her society for just as long), I adored Ana almost instantly! She's so strong for someone who's been through so much. Even though it's hard to connect with her at times because of her protective shell, Ana opens her heart a little more near the end and that's what makes me adore her even more.  

And that leads me to Sam, who is honestly the kind of sweet guy we're missing so much of in YA! He didn't care that some people called Ana a nosoul — he just loved her for being her, and I loved that about him. Their romance was so pure and sweet and "aww"-worthy.

Some things (like the fact that he'd been a girl in some previous lives!) felt strange and off at first, but it didn't bother me as much as I expected. Reincarnation is a tricky subject to approach and I thought that Jodi Meadows handled it gracefully!  

Beautifully written and wonderfully crafted, Incarnate is one outstandingly original utopian book that you won't want to miss! It ends a little rushed, but I can see so much potential in this series and I'm really excited to see where it goes! :)  

BUY or BORROW?: If you're looking for another breathtaking and unique book to add to your bookshelf (and 2012 is filled with them!), Incarnate is definitely one you need to get!  

-Mimi