Incarnate: 1 (Incarnate Trilogy)

As soon as I saw this book, I was in love with the cover. When I looked at the blurb, I knew I needed to read INCARNATE. I was on edge for weeks knowing it was so close, yet so far. I ordered it and waited in anticipation for it to be delivered. It wasn't until about the 6th of February that I received it. At which point it had already been out for nearly a week and I was itching for it to hurry up. Thankfully, I had just become free to read it when it got here. I have to say, Jodi Meadows is one of my new favourite authors. I love the way she expertly crafted this story. It was something that had me hooked immediately and I had to read it every spare moment I got. It took me longer to read than I had hoped. I had my son's birthday on Saturday so I had a few hours where I could not pick it up. But after he had gone to bed, I managed to finish it off. Now I am just dying for the next book. I don't want to give too much of this story away, for obvious reasons. You need to sit and read it yourself. But let me warn you, make sure you have a few hours spare because you will NOT want to put it down. There were things about INCARNATE that had me laughing. Then there were those that had me crying. Whilst other things made me so mad I wanted to punch someone in the face. Ana is our main character and without telling you too much about her, I want to point out that I am amazed at the kind of person she became. She went through a lot and came out better than a lot of people would have done. Her mother, Li (though I hardly think she deserves the title 'mother') is an awful woman who reminds me of my own mother, Li thought very little of Ana, as she believes she took Ciana's place - Ciana should have been reincarnated and Ana should not exist. So when Ana decides to leave home and head for Heart, Li doesn't stop her. She gives her a compass and tells her to be on her way. Only the compass is broken - it's just a good job Ana realises this before she gets too lost. The struggles Ana goes through with Li are similar to struggles I had with my mother growing up, so I really empathise with her character. But I think that pretty much like myself, if it weren't for Li's awful ways, Ana may not have ended up the person she is today. It's our experiences in life that shape us for the future. So she may hate Li - and indeed she has every right - but that which does not break you makes you stronger. On the whole this story was unique, intriguing and has you turning pages quickly because you are on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens next. The pace of the book itself, I would say it is fast-paced and full of exciting discoveries. Yet the pace of the world building and such is slow enough to give you the bigger picture. I found myself falling in love with the sweet Sam. The relationship between him and Ana - it wasn't a rushed 'girl meets boy and BAM they fall in love' - it was sweet and slow building. I thought Sam was an incredible character. There's more to that boy than meets the eye. There were some pretty great characters throughout this book. I liked a lot of them and hated a few of the others. Yet whether I liked or hated them, they were believable. What I mean to say is, it was as though they were real people. Not something an author creates, but someone you might come across in your everyday life. As if this wasn't all enough, there were dragons and sylph and other things to add to the excitement and adventure. So if you want something unique and refreshing, pick up INCARNATE. You won't be sorry you did.

This story is certainly one that draws the reader in to caring about the characters - always a good test of a readable book. I enjoyed it very much and have just pre-ordered the second one in the trilogy, ASUNDER. I hope Ana makes it through to find out what she really is.

I loved this book! It blew my mind but I have to be honest and say though that I did find the first few chapters quite confusing until about the fifth chapter! After that I couldn't put it down! The plot was so original and unique! I haven't read anything like it before and that is one of the reasons that I loved it! The plot focuses on reincarnation which I actually haven't read in a book before so I was a little optimistic about this book but I was soon shown that Incarnate is in a world of its own! There were some action scenes in this book which also left me on the edge of my seat as well! The characters were also amazing! Ana is sort of an outcast as she is a nosoul and this made me feel so sorry for her! I thought that she was brave and amazingly strong! Sam was the love interest of Ana and I loved that he treated her like he did everyone else! He was also so hot and protective of Ana! Sam and Ana as a couple were amazing!They protected each other and worked together! I cannot wait to read the next book in this series and the cover is perfect for the book! This review can also be found here:[...]

I feel quite sad to only give this book three stars because I thought going into it that it would definitely end up being a five star book given all the hype and the reviews and people I know who rave about it. But honestly, I don't see what all the fuss and hype was about. Yes its a good book, and has a unique premise, but I don't think its anything special and certainly not in the same league as other YA fantasy stories out there. The story is set in a world where everyone knows everyone because they are reincarnated souls who have continued to live over and over again for 5000 years. That is until Ana is born and when they scan her she doesn't register as anyone they know, she is in fact a newsoul. And unfortunately she has taken the place of another soul who should have been reincarnated but never was. And for this reason she is shunned, people hate and distrust her, she has changed the natural order of things and therefore spends the first 18 years of her life living in almost complete solitude with her mother (who hates her just as much as everyone else) far away from everyone else in the wilderness. The book begins when Ana decides to leave home to head for the big city to try and make a life for herself and also to try to discover why she exists and what happened to the soul who's place she took. I did really enjoy reading about this society, the perfect world. It was really well thought out and different and I really liked a lot of the characters in that world. The friends Ana makes in the city, Sam, Stef and the others help to show that not everyone hates Ana and that there is hope for her to integrate with society. There is a threat all the way through of a dragon attack which added a little suspense and there was a few secrets that needed to be discovered that also held my attention. However, Ana, the main character was really really lacking in growth and development and had a really bad personality in my opinion. When I'm reading a first person narrative I do feel its important to connect with that person, to feel like I agree with their actions or at least understand why do and say the things they do. But Ana was just so infuriating. She was petulant and childish. She had outbursts all the time that seemed to come out of nowhere and she constantly behaved ungratefully to the one person who treated her with respect - Sam. He saved her life over and over. He took her in when no one else wanted the responsibility and he genuinly liked her. But she took everything he said the wrong way and snapped at him, stormed off from him and just generally acted like a child. I wanted to reach in and shake her. The other problem I had with this book was the pacing. It began well and it ended well. But for about 300 pages in the middle, pretty much nothing happened other than Ana having lessons with various people in the city, moping about how she is a 'no soul' and generally behaving stupidly. So, to sum up, if this book wasn't so hyped before I picked it up I probably wouldn't have been as disappointed. As it is, I think its an ok story with a good premise and world building but with terrible pacing issues and a protagonist in need of a good punch in the face.

I tend to stick to contemporary fiction more recently so Incarnate was a refreshing and different read for me. It had dragons, mysterious creatures called sylph and romance too, which I feel was developed well throughout the book. The masquerade ball was probably one of my favourite scenes in the book and the most memorable for me too. A couple of things: Quite a few times in the book there would be dialogue between Ana and Sam and I couldn't work out who was talking, so had to read and go back again. Also, I would have liked a little more backstory and seen more of the dragons and descriptions of them. Incarnate was an interesting read and I'm pretty sure I will be picking up the next in the series which hopefully will build on the world created in Incarnate. I would say it's definitely worth picking up.

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life. This book was perfect, everything I expected and more, I fell in love with it from the first page. The plot took over my brain and had me thinking about it day and night. Who wouldn't want to read about a not-so-perfect girl trying to find her place in an all-too-complicated world, with an all-too-perfect guy? Ana, the main character, was a strong and passionate young woman, who took matters into her own hands. I found myself admiring her courage and creativity. She was a fun and interesting person to read about, and it was hard not to like her. Eventhough people were treating her like she wasn't human, it didn't keep her from trying to live a normal life. I'm sure anyone who reads this book will hate Li, Ana's mother, for how she treats Ana. She made a nice touch to the tension of the book. Sam was a charming and lovely character. He is everything a girl could ever want in a boy: caring, gentle and considerate. The extent he would go to for Ana is endless. I could have not wished for a better person for Ana to befriend. All the scenes between him and Ana had my heart racing and a grin on my face! I found myself laughing through their encounter! I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys fantasy, sweet romance with a side of action! I can't wait to see what Meadows has got instore for us in the sequel. :D

In a world where each soul has lived a thousand lives, each soul knows each other. Everyone has many talents and life is like a never-ending circle once one body dies the soul is reborn into the next. The people fight dragons and protected them self from the shadow sylph. Ana is the only new soul her body was meant for another soul but Ana's soul new and fresh was born. People hate her from being new going against what they believe in. Ana has sent the last 18 years with a mother who does not love her and in truth she makes Ana's life hell, and her dad went and left them when she was a baby. Now an adult Ana plains to leave and head for heart, she hopes to find answers to why she is different. Why was she born what happened to the other soul she has so many questions that need answers but things go horrible wrong? Sylph's come for her the day she leaves and ends up nearly drowning when Sam saves her, and together they make it safely to heart but the place is not welcoming people fear and hate Ana before she can find the truth someone tries to kill her and Ana and Sam are left in danger. Ana is the main character the book follows in a world where everyone knows each other Ana really is the outcast the new un-useful soul. Now I really loved getting to know Ana she started off as a very guarded and untrusting character fearing that everyone hated her like her mother did. I felt that watching and learning how abusive her birth mother is to Ana helps you understand why Ana was the way she was. In a world where no one helped or saved Ana from this woman who got pleasure out of Ana's loneliness and upset. Over the course of the book, you watch Ana grow into a more powerful character, and you saw a whole new side of her that made her more loveable to the reader. Now Sam is another character you follow in the book and from the very first time I meet him. I could not help but love him. He showed Ana that people do care, and he was so kind and something I felt even though he lived some many times he was just as lost as any new soul. The world the book was based in was like nothing I had read before the concept was brilliant with all the old souls and then introducing a fresh new soul really did suck the reading in. Then, there was the bonus of these wonderful creatures like dragons and sylphs that added this dark dangerous feel to the outside of heart. There was conflicted between some characters and the council of heart seemed to care more about keeping secrets than the well-being of their people the whole story was fantastic. . It was a beautiful world that the author thought up, but she added lots of danger and darkness that readers will love! A magnificent start to a new series.

I feel a little let down by Incarnate, given the hype surrounding this novel before its release. I enjoyed it a lot, but it's not one of my favourites and I had problems with a few things. Firstly, I absolutely loved the world it was set in. It was fascinating to read about, and there were so many new things to see and learn. I really hope we explore more of this world in the next book in the series, otherwise I'll be very disappointed! There were lots of questions that were brought up in this book, and by the end a lot of them had been answered but so many more had been discovered! I have mixed feelings about this, as it leaves a lot of room for the sequel, but I am dying to know what the heck is going on because I honestly have no clue! I liked the main character, Ana, and felt sorry for her because of the way Li had brought her up. I did get quite annoyed by her temper tantrums that happened not just in the beginning, but throughout the whole book. I'm confused about how I feel about Sam. He was really sweet at times, but he was also moody and annoyingly secretive. He was a 5000 year old bloke in an 18 year old body, and I have to admit that I had trouble with his and Ana's relationship because, come on, she was 4982 years younger than him. The writing style was good, but I wasn't a fan of how most of the dialogue was written. It was very wooden, and drawn out and I think there could have been a more simple way to say things that would have worked better. Overall, it was a good book, and I'll definitely be reading the sequel because I love the world and the soul concept in general. I'm not sure about Janan, or any of that, but I look forward to finding out more!

This book needs to be turned into a movie. This series is comparable to the same anxiety and investment that you feel when reading the Hunger Games... but with more of a romantic twist. The idea of reincarnation is so poetically explored, that no matter which religious background you have, you will think of reincarnation in a new way. This is SUCH a gripping book.

Consegna precisa, pacco impeccabile. Lettura davvero molto interessante, in lingua originale è anche meglio.

I can't remember ever reading a book like INCARNATE, where it speaks of reincarnation. I was curious about how the author would handle this topic and I was curious about how the beautiful cover would tie into the story, and I was thrilled with the result. Let's get right to the breakdown, shall we? Reasons to add INCARNATE to your To-Be-Read list ASAP: 1. Quest. Ana is the only person ever born that has not been reincarnated from one of a million souls that have been in existence for thousands of years. She is ostracized for this and treated as an outcast. She doesn't understand why she wasn't reincarnated, why people don't like her, and why life has to be this way for her. Ana is on a quest to find some answers, which leads her to the city of Heart, where the great library holds the answers to everything. To get there, she has to trek through the forests of the Range, heavy with deadly sylphs, and make it through the gates of Heart. Despite her determination, this journey is harder than she ever imagined, and Ana doesn't realize how lucky she is to run into Sam along the way. 2. Romance. I don't often put the romance aspect of a story this far up on my list because to me, it usually isn't the main point of a fantasy-type story. There is a romance that builds between Ana and Sam, but it builds slowly (one of my favorite slow burns ever) and I was all about this romance. It is very sweet and very tasteful, but friends, this romance is very present - and I finish this book with stars in my eyes for Sam. That boy made my heart pitter-patter, I won't lie. 3. World-building. I'm a sucker for excellence in world-building, and I know I'm not the only one. So when I find a book that has a wonderful world on the inside, I want to share it. This book is set mainly in the city of Heart (which actually has a pulse!) and the bordering area of Range. There are dragons (yes, dragons!), sylphs, and some other fantasy aspects that left this sci-fi/fantasy fan flailing with excitement. 4. Music. Sam is a musician. He's been a musician for all of his lives, for thousands of years. He's composed hundreds of beautiful pieces of music and he plays several instruments. He's basically this world's version of a rock star. ~ Ana shouldn't know about music - after all, her evil mother has done everything she can do to make sure Ana doesn't know any of the comforts of life, and music is one of them. But Ana has secretly taught herself how to sing and she has stolen a few moments away to listen to the music of her favorite composer, Dossam. Oh! how she loves his music - the sound of it, the way it makes her feel, the way it makes her heart swell...if only she could be allowed to study music for real. ~ Good gracious, the musical things that happen when Ana and Sam are together!... 5. Cover. This cover is stunning, yes? AND for those who want to know: this butterfly theme DOES exist as a scene in the book! Hooray for a cohesive theme for a YA book cover, right? Seriously, though, while I was reading, I kept closing the book to catch a glimpse of that pretty butterfly. Loved this. Y'all I could go on and on about my MAD LOVE for this book, but I'll just stop here. These reasons I've given you are justification enough that you should just put this on your wish list. This book is a super-fun fantasy complete with dragons and towers, but there is also digital equipment inside too. What a fun mix! I couldn't have been happier about the way music was handled in this book, as it was not as cheesy as music has been handled in other young adult books. In fact, the music was a super-hot foundation for the super-sweet but incredibly swoonworthy romance that builds as a slow burn between Ana and Sam. I honestly can't recommend this book enough to young adult fans and fans of fantasy alike, as long as they don't mind a little bit of a romance thrown in there. I'd also like to mention that this book is age-appropriate, meaning that it isn't overly smoldering. There is just enough romance, but it is not overly suggestive at all. This book is PERFECT. Everyone, read it as soon as possible! You will be SO GLAD you did.

Ana a 18 ans et est seule. Comprenez par là qu'elle est une "nouvelle âme" tandis que tous ses concitoyens se réincarnent depuis 5.000 ans. En naissant, une ancienne âme a disparu et Ana en est tenue pour responsable. Bizarrerie, accident...le fait de ne pas avoir vécu avant, et de ne pas avoir engrangé de connaissances, de ne pas avoir forgé d'amitiés qui traversent le temps fait d'Ana un mouton noir. Mais après 18 ans de solitude et de vie à l'écart des autres, Ana se rend dans la cité et doit se confronter aux réincarnés. Elle qui est si douce déchaîne peur et passions. Ana veut comprendre les raisons de sa naissance et va se trouver malgré tout des alliés, dont Sam, qui a son âge physique mais 5.000 ans d'existence. Le 1er tome présente ce monde sans entrer trop en avant dans la trame de l'histoire. Le rythme est paisible, la relation Ana/Sam très finement dessinée et j'ai beaucoup aimé. Les conséquences des réincarnations (les réincarnés gardant la mémoire de leurs vies passées et ce dès leur plus jeune âge et ils sont en outre identifiés dès leur naissance par "empreinte génétique"), le changement de sexe des réincarnés et tout ce qui va avec sont bien évoquées même si je pose la question de la débilitation génétique, les réincarnés se reproduisant entre eux-mêmes (population d'1 million de personnes mais certains ne sont pas autorisés à procréer) depuis des générations. Autre bémol: le fait que les réincarnés soient tous heureux de cet état de fait sans être confronté à la lassitude de vivre. J'ai terminé le 2e tome (Asunder) que j'ai trouvé un peu fouillis et bancal dans le déroulé de l'histoire et le grand mystère qui entoure la naissance d'Ana mais il m'a tout de même plu et je vais prochainement entamer la conclusion "Infinite".

Wie würde man sich fühlen, wenn man in einer Welt lebt, in der es 1 Million Menschen gibt, die seit 5 Millionen Jahren zusammen wiedergeboren werden und sich an alle vorangegangenen Leben erinnern können? Kriege sind spätestens dann sinnlos, wenn man sich 60 Jahre später wieder den gleichen Feinden gegenüber sieht. Und würde man wirklich mehrere Leben ein und der selben Sache widmen oder immer etwas Neues versuchen? Irgendwann kennt man alle anderen und weiß, wie sie reagieren - vielleicht nicht jeden der Million, aber wohl doch die meisten. In genau eine solche Welt wird Ana geboren - die erste Seele, die nicht seit 5 Millionen Jahren Wiedergeboren wird. Und das ist ein Problem. Sie hat eine der alten Seelen ersetzt und die meisten der anderen Wiedergeborenen sind ihr gegenüber mißtrauisch oder hasserfüllt. Daher lebt sie mit ihrer Mutter auch alleine im Wald. Allerdings ist die Mutter alles andere als liebevoll und Ana packt ihre Sachen an ihrem 18 Geburtstag und sucht lieber ihr Glück in dicksten Winter, als länger bei ihrer Mutter zu bleiben. Kaum ist sie unterwegs wird sie von einem schattenartigen Wesen, dass Brandwunden hinterlässt verfolgt und ihr einziger Ausweg ist der Sprung in einen See. Bevor sie ertrinken kann, wird sie von Sam gerettet. Sam ist der erste freundliche Mensch in ihrem Leben. Auch wenn sie mißtrauisch ist, hat sie kaum eine andere Wahl als ihm zu trauen. Sie ist verletzt und weiß nicht, wie sie in der Wildnis überleben soll. Sam pflegt sie und nimmt sie mit in die Hauptstadt, damit sie endlich mehr über ihre seltsame Geburt und das verschwinden der anderen Seele erfahren kann. Aber das Leben in Heart ist alles andere als einfach. Zwischen politischen Auseinandersetzungen, jemanden der sie töten möchte, ihren Gefühlen für Sam, dem merkwürdigen Tempel mit dem Herzschlag und den Drachenangriffen weiß Ana irgendwann nicht mehr, wem sie trauen kann. Die Welt ist faszinierend und wenn man das erste Kapitel hinter sich gebracht hat und Sam auftaucht, ist das Buch spannend und man kann nicht genug davon bekommen. Ich bin schon sehr auf den zweiten und dritten Teil gespannt.