Author Website: http://www.jodimeadows.com/
Publisher: Katherine
Tegen Books (an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers)
Published in: January,
2012
Pages: 374
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Let me begin by thanking
Rachel of My Reading Pile for hosting an awesome giveaway, where I was among
the lucky winners! *Whoopie* That’s where Incarnate came from! Apart from the
fantastic and colourful cover, the idea of souls being re-born and the story of
a new soul succeeded in capturing my attention till the end of the book.
Summary
There have always been a
million souls, being reincarnated again and again in different bodies. However,
Ana is new. She wasn’t reborn like the other million minus one souls and that’s
enough to make her an outcast. For all the others, she’s a ‘Nosoul’. Her mother,
Li raised her away from the city of Heart, didn’t treat her well, her father
abandoned them when she was born, too humiliated to stay. When an old soul,
Ciana died, she went way beyond the usual time limit to be reborn and when the
Soul Tellers declared Ana as a new soul, people thought she had taken Ciana’s
place and didn’t fit in with them in Heart.
Heart is a walled city with an
empty, closed temple, immaculate houses and a marketplace to trade for things.
Ana leaves her home as she turns eighteen and sets off towards Heart to find
out the truth about herself. However, with a faulty compass and the deadly
Slyph lingering in the forests in Range, it’s difficult for her to get to Heart
without too much trouble. In an encounter with Slyph, Ana is saved by Sam, who
doesn’t care if Ana is the new soul
they talked about.
They reach Heart where the
people unwillingly accept her and Ana starts a new life. But, there are problems- dragon and Slyph attacks, Sam’s mysterious
behaviour, Li’s appearance in Heart, the magical temple and some attackers who
corner Ana and Sam! What’s the mystery of Ana’s birth? Why didn’t Ciana get
reincarnated? Who is behind the
mystery?
What do I think?
The storyline was definitely
unique and new for me, so the book was quite refreshing, a break from the usual
fantasy stuff. I mean, how often do you read about reincarnation as a story? I
quite liked the plot, the setting and the action, especially where Ana’s bound
for Heart and travels through the murky forest, meeting dangers now and then.
Heart seems like a city that’s been built around a lot of rules, with a city
council to oversee everything and make sure the citizens don’t step out of
line. Sam, Ana’s love interest, was likeable in the beginning, with his
kindness towards the nosoul, strength and bravery. But there are parts when the
events themselves question his past claims/dialogues and leave the reader
confused, just like Ana. He does a lot
to help Ana get accepted in Heart, helps her make friends, teaches her music
that she absolutely loves and even saves her life- twice. However, there are
parts where he seems to be keeping things from her and I couldn’t help getting
distrustful of his behaviour. Anyway, Ana doesn’t question it and it becomes
clear at the end, so it was okay. Besides, I loved the way Sam seemed to make Ana believe in herself, to make
her realize she belonged. My
favourite lines from the book, which moved me somehow:
‘I let go of my wings. Not a
nosoul, not a butterfly. A thousand years from now, even if I was never reborn,
people would remember me: Ana Incarnate’
Even though the mystery was
shown as something so strong that every soul had a view on it, the solution
seemed to be unsatisfactory. I mean, we’ve been through more than half of the
book learning about the characters, the problems, the mystery, the exciting and
intriguing thing with the closed temple, fights and love, we need some solid
ending! The mystery of Ana’s ‘newness’ was solved (though only a couple of
people knew), it’s clear who was behind Ciana’s permanent death, but the reason
seemed mediocre. I felt it should have been something truly heart-wrenching,
but it wasn’t. Still, there’s the next book in the series to look forward to
(in 2013). I will definitely be going for it to get details on the reasons and all!!!
PS- I loved the cover! Not
just because it’s so beautiful, but it visually gives a hint of the theme of
the book. A butterfly: that’s what Ana feels like all the time. One time here,
another time there! *Applause* for the designing team!
My rating: 4/5
Recommended for: Fantasy, YA, Dystopian lovers.
Wow, Incarnate seems good. The idea of reincarnation is so interesting to me, but whenever I catch sight of it in a book, reincarnation has to do with, I don't know, love interests' missing each other during each life they lived and finally being able to fall in love with each other at the right time. It can be too focused on romance!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a Nosoul... and the fact that the book is part of the fantasy genre, yet a bit like mystery, makes me happy. I feel like I want to read it, if only to see what will happen! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Ashna; I'll definitely keep an eye out for Incarnate from now on! Lovely review! (:
Yes! There's mystery behind Ana's 'newness' and the book's filled with Ana trying to 'find' herself. Though there's Sam, her love interest, but it isn't like lost souls and all. Like I said, it's different! :D
DeleteAnd I'm so looking forward to Asunder, I've been thinking since I saw the cover- THIS is going to have lots of amazing things! :)
I have to read this!! I won a HC of this book too :) I think i'll start it tomorrow
ReplyDeleteBTW have you checked out the cover of Asunder, the next book in the series? It's gorgeous, i think i love that cover more!
Oh yes I have! It's such a beauty! I thought Incarnate had one of the best covers yet, but Asunder's even better! And I love how they're similar yet show the prime areas of focus of the books on the covers! I love the roses and purple and I have a feeling it's going to be even better than Incarnate! :)
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