Book Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Immortals seem to be the next big thing in YA literature. I remember reading "The Immortal" series by Alyson Noel a few years back, not to mention the exciting "The Archers of Avalon" series by Chelsea Fine more recently (check out my review for the final installment, "Avow"!). When I kept seeing Jodi Meadows's "Incarnate"popping up on my recommended list, I decided to give it a go--after all, who can't resist a stunning cover like that? I especially love the iridescent butterfly mask, which you'll see plays a symbolic role in the story!

Ana has always been told that she's a nosoul, a nothing. Even her own mother has kept her away from society, ashamed and disgusted by her daughter's abnormality. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from past lives. When Ana was born, a soul vanished forever, and no one knows why. Eighteen years later, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. Only Sam believes that Ana's new soul is good, but will the two alone be able to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life?

One of the major elements of "Incarnate" is the romance between Ana and Sam. In fact, the entire first half of the book--maybe even the first three-quarters--revolved around the development of their relationship. I don't know whether this is because I finished the book fairly quickly, but I felt like their romance happened a bit too suddenly, and stretched on for ages. It was literally at the moment Ana realized who Sam was that things immediately jumped from 'tentative, nice stranger who's actually nice to me' to 'wow he is one attractive fella, his lips, his touch!' This is not to say that their relationship was sweet--I definitely saw the connection between the two--it was just way too quick, and that made it seem a little unrealistic to me. I think if there was some more development of that connection, and maybe if the whole focus on their relationship didn't drag on unnecessarily for so long, the depths of their feelings for one another would be more believable and poignant.

Ana herself was a fairly interesting heroine to follow throughout the book, given her unique circumstances of being the only new soul among thousands of other people. Her emotional journey of finding confidence in herself despite being shunned by everyone else as a nosoul made her a strong, likable character, and she's generally brave and strong-willed. That being said, other than her strength in character, I didn't find Ana a particularly compelling character. I wish Ms. Meadows had brought us deeper into Ana's mind and thought process rather than using Ana as a means of narrating the story.

Likewise, there were a lot of redeeming qualities to Sam. He's kind, caring and passionate, yet he still has one fatal fear that makes him a little more of a three-dimensional and believable character. Despite this, to me, he wasn't an especially exciting character. He seemed more passive and besides from the beginning part when he first rescues Ana, Sam just kind of became a boring character. Even his fear wasn't something all too deep, I think. It was pretty simple and almost shallow. It's just a shame because he started off as a character who stood apart from the rest of society, but as the book progressed he kind of faded.

One of the biggest disappointments for me in "Incarnate" was the storyline. There's such huge, amazing potential for the plot to be incredibly exciting and engaging, with sylphs and dragons and reincarnations, but it just dragged on and on, and the climax, when it did come, wasn't very 'climaxy' at all. Like I mentioned before, a large portion of the book was based on Ana and Sam's romance that showed its buds way too suddenly and took a crazy long time to actually bloom; it was pretty unnecessary. As for the climax--just what?! It wasn't much of a climax at all. If the climax were a shark in the water, it literally surfaced for a breather, then submerged itself in the ocean again.

Overall, "Incarnate" wasn't such a big hit for me. While the two main characters were fairly likable, they weren't compelling enough to keep the story going in the face of a slow-paced plot. The book definitely has great potential, but it just fell flat. I probably wouldn't recommend it, though I may give the sequel, "Asunder", a shot to see if things pick up.

Rating: 2/5

Book Review: Avow by Chelsea Fine

When I first picked up the first book of the "The Archers of Avalon" trilogy, "Anew", I expected a modern retelling of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. I was wrong. Instead, I found myself sucked into a small town in Georgia called--you know it--Avalon, where a couple of hot immortal boys and an amnesiac blue-eyed girl named Scarlet live. "Avow" is the final installment in the trilogy, and, boy, it's really been a fun ride! There's something about the last book in any series--it's always bittersweet since you're closing the covers for good on characters you've followed throughout their journey. Now, before I jump right into the synopsis, for all those new readers of "The Archers of Avalon": spoiler alert!

Scarlet remembers everything. Her past lives, Tristan, Gabriel, Nate, everything--including how to get to the Fountain of Youth and save them all. But time is running out. Heather and Gabriel have been kidnapped by Raven, while the curse between Scarlet and Tristan has shifted, putting the star-crossed lovers in a dangerous new situation. Water from the Fountain of Youth can solve everything--but it comes at a price. The clock is ticking, and Scarlet leads her friends on a journey to the legendary Fountain, where eternal life is possible, but death is certain.

When I flipped to the first page of "Avow", I knew for certain that I was in for some seriously witty humour. And it didn't disappoint. The voices of the characters through the narrative were incredibly funny, and got me chuckling in many places. It's just filled with smart-alecky comments and smart remarks that really give life to the characters, and really sucks the reader in. The interaction between them, especially between Heather and Gabriel, is another place where Ms. Fine's humour trickles in, and I just loved reading anything said by Nate, who has got to be the embodiment of clownlike funnies. What's impressive is that despite the abundance of witty remarks in the narrative and dialogue, the humour never gets too overbearing or forced, which is a huge no-no in books with lots of wit. I bet you Ms. Fine is someone who'd be super fun to talk to, too!

The characters themselves were interesting and compelling, and I loved how Ms. Fine wove in each characters' backstory to make them more three-dimensional and realistic. Scarlet and Tristan, as always, are inextricably tied together throughout the novel, and the changed dynamic between the two that's brought around by the shift in their curse made things really interesting. Admittedly, I was a little skeptical by their seemingly 'star-crossed lovers' jibe, but after reading about their history way back in the 1800s in "Awry", the second book of the trilogy, the whole Scarlet-Tristan romance seemed natural and more believable. I also liked the twist in the relationship between Heather and Gabriel (c'mon, you saw it coming too), though I think it was a little too sudden and 'must-wrap-this-up-nicely' for my tastes. And Nate, beautiful, humorous Nate, I just love him to bits. He's such a dweeb with his Star Wars collectibles and Indiana Jones whip, but at the same time has layers to him that made him a tragic-comedic character. And Raven's just a raving (hah) witch...she's crazy.

As for the plot of "Avow", I think Ms. Fine did a good job with making sure all the loose ends were tied together nicely. The climax was definitely up there in terms of pace and tension--I felt my heart pounding as I rapidly skimmed over what was happening! One thing that irked me just a little bit was how there was just a huge section toward the middle where the chapters were set in the past. I liked reading about Scarlet and the boys' history, and how each of her deaths affected them, but it might've been nicer if the chapters were a little more spread out. It was a little sudden, like this huge block in the middle of the events happening in the present. Nevertheless, it was a fun storyline to follow throughout.

All in all, "Avow" is a great ending to a super fun trilogy. I love the humour present in the narration and the dialogue, and the dynamic characters made everything all the more exciting. I definitely recommend the "The Archers of Avalon" series to anyone who loves an action-packed, swoony-romance-filled adventure.

Rating: 5/5