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emilymahar's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely LOVED Incarnate! From the beginning I found myself loving the main character, Ana. I loved her personality. From the moment that she meets Sam I loved her even more because she showed her stubborn side. Ana went through a TON in Incarnate and she really is a fighter. I also really liked Sam, of course. But who wouldn't? He's funny, smart, adorable, etc.
Along with all of the amazing characters, the story was so unique and so many different aspects that I loved, too. First there were sylphs - dark shadow things that can kill you with their burns. (For some reason I just kept picturing the dementors from Harry Potter...). Then there were DRAGONS! I loved how they were introduced into the story, and they added the danger aspect along with the sylphs! And of course there are the souls, who are really the main characters. I really liked how they were reincarnated into different bodies in different lives each time. It made it interesting when you learn about the different romances and relationships between the characters due to different physical appearances not going along with their real ages.
Overall, Incarnate was amazing and I couldn't put it down! I loved every bit of it, and can't wait to read Asunder!!
+ The cover is spectacular!
Along with all of the amazing characters, the story was so unique and so many different aspects that I loved, too. First there were sylphs - dark shadow things that can kill you with their burns. (For some reason I just kept picturing the dementors from Harry Potter...). Then there were DRAGONS! I loved how they were introduced into the story, and they added the danger aspect along with the sylphs! And of course there are the souls, who are really the main characters. I really liked how they were reincarnated into different bodies in different lives each time. It made it interesting when you learn about the different romances and relationships between the characters due to different physical appearances not going along with their real ages.
Overall, Incarnate was amazing and I couldn't put it down! I loved every bit of it, and can't wait to read Asunder!!
+ The cover is spectacular!
lizbethandthelifeinbetween's review against another edition
4.0
Remind me to write a review if I don't come back to this.
tiareleine's review against another edition
3.0
This book was... Interesting. I really can't decide if I liked it a lot. Maybe it's because I've been reading a lot of more serious books, and this one is a little more light-hearted, it didn't leave me with the same kind of impacted feeling as the last book I read (The Darkest Minds) but I still enjoyed it.
What I liked:
- Original plot. This is a good break from the usual YA fantasy plots. I'm getting real tired of fairies and angels and witches and etc. this book focused on people who were technically humans, but their souls were reincarnated whenever they died.
- Ana. She was a good character. I loved her curiosity, and that she didn't let the way her mom treated her crush her spirit.
- No love-triangle! I think that speaks for itself.
What I didn't like:
- the world building. It wasn't terrible, but I was a little bit confused sometimes. I had thought that they were some sort of fantasy creature, since the whole thing takes place in basically another world, but it turns out they're human.
- Lack of description. I like it when the author gives the reader some liberty on what the character looks like, but with this book I really had a hard time picturing any of them, because there wasn't much to go off of. Ana has red hair and was shorter than Sam... I'd imagined her as pretty tall until they said that. I don't remember anything about any other characters appearances. And I don't really understand what Sylph rare supposed to look like.
I do think that I liked it more than I dislike it, and am looking forward to the rest of the series.
What I liked:
- Original plot. This is a good break from the usual YA fantasy plots. I'm getting real tired of fairies and angels and witches and etc. this book focused on people who were technically humans, but their souls were reincarnated whenever they died.
- Ana. She was a good character. I loved her curiosity, and that she didn't let the way her mom treated her crush her spirit.
- No love-triangle! I think that speaks for itself.
What I didn't like:
- the world building. It wasn't terrible, but I was a little bit confused sometimes. I had thought that they were some sort of fantasy creature, since the whole thing takes place in basically another world, but it turns out they're human.
- Lack of description. I like it when the author gives the reader some liberty on what the character looks like, but with this book I really had a hard time picturing any of them, because there wasn't much to go off of. Ana has red hair and was shorter than Sam... I'd imagined her as pretty tall until they said that. I don't remember anything about any other characters appearances. And I don't really understand what Sylph rare supposed to look like.
I do think that I liked it more than I dislike it, and am looking forward to the rest of the series.
hannahsophialin's review
2.0
I forgot all about Incarnate until I decided I was going to go through my TBR list on Goodreads and see if the book was available at the county library's ebook loan. My results of many failures?
Strange Angels wasn't available. But they have all the other books in the series.
1. I'm still waiting for 4 others to read Dorothy Must Die
2. I wasn't in the mood to read the sequel to Paranormalcy, but Mind Games wasn't available and I prefer jumping on one hold at a time. Apparently the same goes for Dualed.
3. Some of the books don't even EXIST in the ebook loan, and especially indie books. Unless, of course, you're a local author and you're recommended enough. Lucky you, Indie Missourians.
4. I was actually warned about Incarnate by Lupe, but let me just clarify she didn't have any influence whatsoever. Aside from predicting if I would like the book or not, and it's so accurate, it's really creepy.
I originally thought I would get Incarnate out of the way. After all, it was on my TBR, the ebook library had it available currently – unlike some peeps who just DON'T RETURN BOOKS – and it just seemed interesting.
Immortality and reincarnation for over 5000 years? If that were true, perhaps Bookwyrming Thoughts would be around for thousands of years! Passing from different hand to different hand... sort of. The ability to check who you were in your past lives? That would be awesome technology. Wouldn't it be weird if Hitler was reborn as someone really nice? Or maybe if Lupe and I were really siblings who were addicted to reading in our past lives? That would actually be cool. It'll explain why she's so intuitive about the books I read. Oddball who's apparently born as a new soul but accused of not having a soul and therefore YOLO? Interesting... wonder how that plays out.
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Thus the last rhetorical question goes by the name of Ana, who's apparently shunned and ignored by the rest of the world because she doesn't have any awesome past memories to talk about. When she turns eighteen, she decides to leave and go to the City of Heart – really, that's what the city is named. Heart. – to find out WHY she didn't have a past life.
Sounds interesting, right? Wrong. The book was quite dull. Or maybe I was just tired, but that doesn't explain why I managed to finish up Remembrance by Michelle Madow and really enjoyed it. Or perhaps I just wasn't in the mood and Incarnate took the blunt of the blow, which isn't exactly true because I actually cherish the not inkly printed word (aka ebooks).
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It honestly was boring. What I read in a nutshell, which was actually just a fifth of the book:
~ Ana leaves – great!
~ She jumps into a lake to get away from these evil air spirits called sylphs and gets rescued by this guy named Sam – okay?
~ He welcomes her and they travel together. Then she gets attacked by sylphs again and her whole hand gets burned – fantastic baby. And I mean the kpop song by BigBang.
~ She can't do much with her hands, so Sam has to assist her. Apparently they run out of painkillers and gauze,so the dude has to go to her old home just to get some. He returns with honey and they sit around to enjoy the sweet treat – way too sweet for me if I get a lot. FYI, I don't like vanilla frosting, but I like chocolate frosting. Why? – while telling stories.
~ Ana's basically depressed all the time – "OMG, I had this sucky life! And now it sucks even more!" She's so depressing, even I became depressed.
That was just a snooze fest for me. I mean, sure, she's trying to find out what happened to Ciana, which is what everyone expects her to be, but she isn't. The thing is, if there's anything interesting going on, it certainly hasn't caught my attention. Or it's later in the book, which I am obviously not planning on going to because I returned this book as soon as I was able to.
Incarnate certainly seemed promising though – I just think Jodi Meadows should work on Ana a bit more and the plot development. There needs to be more spice. The cover, on the other hand, needs no spice. It's GORGEOUS!
------------------
Original Review posted over at Bookwyrming Thoughts
Strange Angels wasn't available. But they have all the other books in the series.
1. I'm still waiting for 4 others to read Dorothy Must Die
2. I wasn't in the mood to read the sequel to Paranormalcy, but Mind Games wasn't available and I prefer jumping on one hold at a time. Apparently the same goes for Dualed.
3. Some of the books don't even EXIST in the ebook loan, and especially indie books. Unless, of course, you're a local author and you're recommended enough. Lucky you, Indie Missourians.
4. I was actually warned about Incarnate by Lupe, but let me just clarify she didn't have any influence whatsoever. Aside from predicting if I would like the book or not, and it's so accurate, it's really creepy.
I originally thought I would get Incarnate out of the way. After all, it was on my TBR, the ebook library had it available currently – unlike some peeps who just DON'T RETURN BOOKS – and it just seemed interesting.
Immortality and reincarnation for over 5000 years? If that were true, perhaps Bookwyrming Thoughts would be around for thousands of years! Passing from different hand to different hand... sort of. The ability to check who you were in your past lives? That would be awesome technology. Wouldn't it be weird if Hitler was reborn as someone really nice? Or maybe if Lupe and I were really siblings who were addicted to reading in our past lives? That would actually be cool. It'll explain why she's so intuitive about the books I read. Oddball who's apparently born as a new soul but accused of not having a soul and therefore YOLO? Interesting... wonder how that plays out.
Thus the last rhetorical question goes by the name of Ana, who's apparently shunned and ignored by the rest of the world because she doesn't have any awesome past memories to talk about. When she turns eighteen, she decides to leave and go to the City of Heart – really, that's what the city is named. Heart. – to find out WHY she didn't have a past life.
Sounds interesting, right? Wrong. The book was quite dull. Or maybe I was just tired, but that doesn't explain why I managed to finish up Remembrance by Michelle Madow and really enjoyed it. Or perhaps I just wasn't in the mood and Incarnate took the blunt of the blow, which isn't exactly true because I actually cherish the not inkly printed word (aka ebooks).
It honestly was boring. What I read in a nutshell, which was actually just a fifth of the book:
~ Ana leaves – great!
~ She jumps into a lake to get away from these evil air spirits called sylphs and gets rescued by this guy named Sam – okay?
~ He welcomes her and they travel together. Then she gets attacked by sylphs again and her whole hand gets burned – fantastic baby. And I mean the kpop song by BigBang.
~ She can't do much with her hands, so Sam has to assist her. Apparently they run out of painkillers and gauze,so the dude has to go to her old home just to get some. He returns with honey and they sit around to enjoy the sweet treat – way too sweet for me if I get a lot. FYI, I don't like vanilla frosting, but I like chocolate frosting. Why? – while telling stories.
~ Ana's basically depressed all the time – "OMG, I had this sucky life! And now it sucks even more!" She's so depressing, even I became depressed.
That was just a snooze fest for me. I mean, sure, she's trying to find out what happened to Ciana, which is what everyone expects her to be, but she isn't. The thing is, if there's anything interesting going on, it certainly hasn't caught my attention. Or it's later in the book, which I am obviously not planning on going to because I returned this book as soon as I was able to.
Incarnate certainly seemed promising though – I just think Jodi Meadows should work on Ana a bit more and the plot development. There needs to be more spice. The cover, on the other hand, needs no spice. It's GORGEOUS!
------------------
Original Review posted over at Bookwyrming Thoughts
the_cover_contessa's review against another edition
4.0
When I first started reading this book, I was sure that I would not like it. I found it a bit confusing and couldn't understand what was happening. But by the third or fourth chapter I was hooked. I really enjoyed how the author intermingled the sci-fi/urban fiction/dystopian genre with the mythological genre. It was so different. The main female character was very well developed, although I do wish she was stronger. I can see that this might be something the author continues to develop with the next book. I didn't want to put it down, so it must have been at least likeable! LOL! I do recommend it to anyone who enjoys these types of genres, again, not sure exactly where it falls. I do look forward to the next book in this series.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, loved rereading this book! So good, so amazing, yeah, can't wait to reread more!!!
*First read April 11th, 2012*
Oh, awesome book! It was a mystery of why Ana was born, and what happened to the soul that she might have replaced, and a romance that was so good, and a great plot and characters! Loved it! Can't wait for book 2!
*First read April 11th, 2012*
Oh, awesome book! It was a mystery of why Ana was born, and what happened to the soul that she might have replaced, and a romance that was so good, and a great plot and characters! Loved it! Can't wait for book 2!
mercyblue's review against another edition
3.0
Star rating: 3.5 stars
As the first Newsoul born in 5,000 years, Ana has always felt like a complete outcast. Raised on the fringes of society by a horrendous mother, Ana has only ever known cruelty and derision. Millions of souls have been reborn generation after generation, why is she new? What is so special about her? Or was she just a huge mistake? Ana only knows one thing: She must travel from the only home shes ever known to the capital of Heart to try and make sense of her existence.
This novel constantly tore me in opposing directions with each chapter. The meat of this story is just so fascinating. What would society be like if our souls were reincarnated after we died? Not just reincarnated but capable of remembering our past lives vividly. Would the same mistakes be made over and over still... Or would society become more peaceful? Aside from the infatuating story line, this novel had more then it's fair share of flaws. First off the main character could be endlessly frustrating. I understand she had a traumatizing childhood but her childish behavior constantly rubbed me the wrong way. Her relationship with Sam was one of the best parts of this novel. Their easy camaraderie and burgeoning love made the book a more entertaining read. Another problem I had with this novel was it's laborious plot line that culminated in an ending that left me utterly flummoxed (and not in a good way). I do think I'll read the next in this series, I just don't know when.
As the first Newsoul born in 5,000 years, Ana has always felt like a complete outcast. Raised on the fringes of society by a horrendous mother, Ana has only ever known cruelty and derision. Millions of souls have been reborn generation after generation, why is she new? What is so special about her? Or was she just a huge mistake? Ana only knows one thing: She must travel from the only home shes ever known to the capital of Heart to try and make sense of her existence.
This novel constantly tore me in opposing directions with each chapter. The meat of this story is just so fascinating. What would society be like if our souls were reincarnated after we died? Not just reincarnated but capable of remembering our past lives vividly. Would the same mistakes be made over and over still... Or would society become more peaceful? Aside from the infatuating story line, this novel had more then it's fair share of flaws. First off the main character could be endlessly frustrating. I understand she had a traumatizing childhood but her childish behavior constantly rubbed me the wrong way. Her relationship with Sam was one of the best parts of this novel. Their easy camaraderie and burgeoning love made the book a more entertaining read. Another problem I had with this novel was it's laborious plot line that culminated in an ending that left me utterly flummoxed (and not in a good way). I do think I'll read the next in this series, I just don't know when.
ireadthebooks's review against another edition
4.0
It’s not often that you read a book synopsis and think, “Huh … that’s new.” Incarnate provides a welcome breath of fresh air in the YA community, creating a unique world that contains elements of fantasy, science fiction, and romance. There are one million souls, and each time they die, the same souls are reincarnated. Because they’ve lived for thousands of years, these souls have made remarkable advancements in science, technology, architecture, etc. Think about how prolific someone like Ben Franklin could have been if instead of living for 84 years, he came back and just kept tinkering throughout multiple lives! That’s the world that Meadows has created. Yet there are also mythical creatures like dragons and slyphs, and the reincarnation is controlled by their (silent) deity, Janan, suggesting more fantastic themes.
Ana’s journey to self-discovery tugs at the readers’ heartstrings. She’s constantly addressing universal themes: “What is my purpose? Why am I here? Who put me here?” Everyone else has been alive for so long and when they’re reborn, they don’t need to relearn how to take care of themselves. (The babies are totally self-aware, as intelligent as the day they died and they don’t resort to crying to address their needs. WOW.) Ana is a newsoul, and her mother Li hated her too much to teach her anything useful, so Ana isn’t used to people treating her well or letting her touch their possessions freely. She meets Sam, and they travel to Heart where Ana hopes to use the library and find out why she was born instead of Ciana, the soul who died and didn’t come back. Sam likens Ana to a butterfly, a comparison that she takes to heart, and we get the lovely tie-in to the butterfly mask on the cover.
Sam: “Honestly? I think people aren’t sure it’s worth getting to know you. It would be like you deciding if it was worth befriending a butterfly, even though it wouldn’t be there in the morning.”
Ana: “I’ll be around my whole life,” I whispered, not quite under the breeze in the forest, the pounding of my heart, and the beating of my invisible and incorporeal wings. “That’s a long time to me.”
Characterization-wise, it’s easy to like Ana and want her to overcome all the obstacles she faces. It’s not her fault that she was incarnated instead of Ciana, yet people treat her as if her mere presence will infect them and cause them to not be incarnated too. I watched Ana treated poorly by Li and many citizens of Heart, and I wanted to shout, “Leave her alone! It’s not like she could help it!” Sam treats her like something precious and sacred. After Ana finds out that Sam is Dossam, the composer whose music was her only solace, she loves him even more. Their relationship developed rather quickly, and I would’ve enjoyed a slower pace, especially since Sam is over 5000 years old, but then again, everyone except Ana is old in spirit, so it’s not like she has better options. Ana is cautious about her relationship with Sam, and it was Sam’s instant infatuation with her that I found myself cautious of. I kept waiting to find out he was evil, or thinking he was going to betray her, just because he seemed too good to be true. I’m glad that Ana has someone who loves her and protects her in a world where people actively resent her very existence, but it would’ve been more powerful if the relationship had developed more slowly.
The book ended a bit abruptly. One minute they’re being attacked by dragons and the next it’s all over, Ana has some startling information about her incarnation and then we’re done. There’s very little discussion of what happened and the potential ramifications it will have, and I actually went back and reread the last few chapters to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I’m eager to start the next book and see where Ana goes from here! Like I said before, reading something different and original was SO refreshing AND there’s no love triangle!
Ana’s journey to self-discovery tugs at the readers’ heartstrings. She’s constantly addressing universal themes: “What is my purpose? Why am I here? Who put me here?” Everyone else has been alive for so long and when they’re reborn, they don’t need to relearn how to take care of themselves. (The babies are totally self-aware, as intelligent as the day they died and they don’t resort to crying to address their needs. WOW.) Ana is a newsoul, and her mother Li hated her too much to teach her anything useful, so Ana isn’t used to people treating her well or letting her touch their possessions freely. She meets Sam, and they travel to Heart where Ana hopes to use the library and find out why she was born instead of Ciana, the soul who died and didn’t come back. Sam likens Ana to a butterfly, a comparison that she takes to heart, and we get the lovely tie-in to the butterfly mask on the cover.
Sam: “Honestly? I think people aren’t sure it’s worth getting to know you. It would be like you deciding if it was worth befriending a butterfly, even though it wouldn’t be there in the morning.”
Ana: “I’ll be around my whole life,” I whispered, not quite under the breeze in the forest, the pounding of my heart, and the beating of my invisible and incorporeal wings. “That’s a long time to me.”
Characterization-wise, it’s easy to like Ana and want her to overcome all the obstacles she faces. It’s not her fault that she was incarnated instead of Ciana, yet people treat her as if her mere presence will infect them and cause them to not be incarnated too. I watched Ana treated poorly by Li and many citizens of Heart, and I wanted to shout, “Leave her alone! It’s not like she could help it!” Sam treats her like something precious and sacred. After Ana finds out that Sam is Dossam, the composer whose music was her only solace, she loves him even more. Their relationship developed rather quickly, and I would’ve enjoyed a slower pace, especially since Sam is over 5000 years old, but then again, everyone except Ana is old in spirit, so it’s not like she has better options. Ana is cautious about her relationship with Sam, and it was Sam’s instant infatuation with her that I found myself cautious of. I kept waiting to find out he was evil, or thinking he was going to betray her, just because he seemed too good to be true. I’m glad that Ana has someone who loves her and protects her in a world where people actively resent her very existence, but it would’ve been more powerful if the relationship had developed more slowly.
The book ended a bit abruptly. One minute they’re being attacked by dragons and the next it’s all over, Ana has some startling information about her incarnation and then we’re done.
Spoiler
Dragons attack the city, Ana hides in the Temple that has no doors, has a confrontation with Meuric, and escapes back to Sam's house. She encounters Menehem, her absentee father, who says he has poisoned Janan and anyone who dies that night won't be reincarnated. He was angry about those that followed Janan, and he wanted to prove whether or not Janan was real and all-powerful. This subtle element of faith vs science was very well-done, and since it was near the end of the novel, I'm wondering what implications it will have in the rest of the series.paulinrr's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 stars
So after reading the goodreads synopsis, it seemed this book held promise. A world different from ours, romance, and a soul searching protagonist. And based off this synopsis, I thought Ana would actually, oh I don't know, look for clues about why she's the first new soul? That seems logical right? I thought so too.
The real summary should be: Ana is a newsoul; the first in five thousand years. Finally free from her traumatizing mother Li, Ana sets out on her own to discover why she is what she is. But then she meets Sam, and suddenly her priorities change. Now all she wants is to be taken care of by this alluring, five thousand year old in a eighteen year old's body.
Much different, right?
So for the first tenish pages, Ana reminded me of Juliette from Shatter Me . I mean, her parents cause extreme traumatic feelings and she was different from everyone else, marked as an unnatural being. But after those ten pages, Ana goes from a strong, finally independent woman to a sniveling wimp who needs someone to take care of her burns and kiss them to make them better. I honestly don't get how someone cannot manage a 5 day walk when their hands are burned! So within the first twenty pages, I already hated Ana.
My next problem was lack of explanation. What exactly are sylphs? Why are there dragons? Are they on Earth? How technologically advanced is this civilization? And so many more. Ana asks so many freaking questions, but none of them build any depth to how this world came to be.
The romance in this book was so forced it is unbearable. Ana really only likes Sam because he's nice to her. And what she doesn't consider is that even though he has a teenagers body, Sam is five thousand years old! Would she love him if he looked like that? Um..ya, no! And then Sam's side makes it seem like he's in love with a little kid. He treats her like a little kid and never truly treats her as an equal. In fact, he uses her in a way. He uses her physical attraction to him as a way to make her forgive and forget all the lying and sneaking behind her back. And Ana never for a second doubts that he actually cares for her when all evidence points otherwise. Sam never apologizes to her and all Ana does is apologize.
One more thing that adds confusion to the book is Ana's upbringing. Because Liv lied so often, most facts she originally gave us were wrong. So basically everything she says after halfway through the book contradicts what she said before.
The only reason I finished this book is because I paid for it and felt obligated to. There was nothing about this book I liked, and feel like I wasted my time.
So after reading the goodreads synopsis, it seemed this book held promise. A world different from ours, romance, and a soul searching protagonist. And based off this synopsis, I thought Ana would actually, oh I don't know, look for clues about why she's the first new soul? That seems logical right? I thought so too.
The real summary should be: Ana is a newsoul; the first in five thousand years. Finally free from her traumatizing mother Li, Ana sets out on her own to discover why she is what she is. But then she meets Sam, and suddenly her priorities change. Now all she wants is to be taken care of by this alluring, five thousand year old in a eighteen year old's body.
Much different, right?
So for the first tenish pages, Ana reminded me of Juliette from Shatter Me . I mean, her parents cause extreme traumatic feelings and she was different from everyone else, marked as an unnatural being. But after those ten pages, Ana goes from a strong, finally independent woman to a sniveling wimp who needs someone to take care of her burns and kiss them to make them better. I honestly don't get how someone cannot manage a 5 day walk when their hands are burned! So within the first twenty pages, I already hated Ana.
My next problem was lack of explanation. What exactly are sylphs? Why are there dragons? Are they on Earth? How technologically advanced is this civilization? And so many more. Ana asks so many freaking questions, but none of them build any depth to how this world came to be.
The romance in this book was so forced it is unbearable. Ana really only likes Sam because he's nice to her. And what she doesn't consider is that even though he has a teenagers body, Sam is five thousand years old! Would she love him if he looked like that? Um..ya, no! And then Sam's side makes it seem like he's in love with a little kid. He treats her like a little kid and never truly treats her as an equal. In fact, he uses her in a way. He uses her physical attraction to him as a way to make her forgive and forget all the lying and sneaking behind her back. And Ana never for a second doubts that he actually cares for her when all evidence points otherwise. Sam never apologizes to her and all Ana does is apologize.
One more thing that adds confusion to the book is Ana's upbringing. Because Liv lied so often, most facts she originally gave us were wrong. So basically everything she says after halfway through the book contradicts what she said before.
The only reason I finished this book is because I paid for it and felt obligated to. There was nothing about this book I liked, and feel like I wasted my time.