Scan barcode
clockworkbook's review
4.0
So sad and a devastating ending, but I now need to read the series for more. Lol Even though this is a prequel I really wish I had read this after the series. It will definitely color the other books with a dynamic not seen originally.
violinknitter's review
How did Sam get to be... Sam? This book is like a sneaky backstage door to Jodi Meadows' INCARNATE trilogy, to see what the world was like long before Ana came along. Fair warning... this book *may* make you cry.
laughlinesandliterature's review
5.0
This was a unique look into Sam's life before Janan started the cycle of rebirth. I really enjoyed being able to get deeper into his head. It was really the first time we got to see things from Sam's perspective. I did feel bad for him through this story, and I thought it explained some of Sam's little quirks, especially as I got to the end. It was a great little bridge between books 2 and 3!
ravencourt23's review
3.0
I expected something very different for this book. I thought it would explain what actually happened inside of the tower that Janan was held in; I believe most of it was described in the last book of the series, but it's been a while since I've read it. Even so, I wanted to learn about the events of the reincarnation through Sam's point of view, and the reincarnation was only described in the last chapter. The first half is just describing Sam's life before the reincarnations started and how he met Stef, and the second half was the journey to find Janan in the tower. It wasn't what I expected, and it was just slow for me because I expected to read the events of everything that happened in the tower. It's a good book for people who love Sam and want to know about his past, but it just wasn't for me.
trisha_thomas's review
3.0
“See this as a second chance at life, this one unburdened by the pain and loss you’ve suffered. See this as a gift, a chance to pursue your dreams. " ~ Janan
This was interesting to read Janan's offer and Sam's life before. And the struggle of the community.
This was interesting to read Janan's offer and Sam's life before. And the struggle of the community.
valeriefm's review
5.0
Fan-freaking-tastic. PHOENIX OVERTURE will give INCARNATE series fans a nice appetizer to hold them until INFINITE.
wanderlustlover's review
3.0
While I love Sam as a character, and I do desperately want to know more about him and the civilization that brought about the world/series I so love -- this was not it.
This was a story about a little boy with the worst upbringing in the world, who was the only person who really ever knew what was or valued music. Who had almost no other talents, and did not/could not learn any for trying.
I wanted to know so much more. About the people around him, about why here weren't non-series people around him, about the Cataclysm and the world before that. About the world they journeyed through. About why dragons have an affinity for Sam.
I felt like what I got instead of a new, exciting story that would tell me more about this world and lifetimes our main character had never seen, was a pov rehash of the things we learned at the end of her last book. I hope the end of trilogy will bring me back to my excited, happy place because I never expected to be this disappointed with this one.
This was a story about a little boy with the worst upbringing in the world, who was the only person who really ever knew what was or valued music. Who had almost no other talents, and did not/could not learn any for trying.
I wanted to know so much more. About the people around him, about why here weren't non-series people around him, about the Cataclysm and the world before that. About the world they journeyed through. About why dragons have an affinity for Sam.
I felt like what I got instead of a new, exciting story that would tell me more about this world and lifetimes our main character had never seen, was a pov rehash of the things we learned at the end of her last book. I hope the end of trilogy will bring me back to my excited, happy place because I never expected to be this disappointed with this one.
silkcaramel's review
4.0
“There was music in me, but in this post-Cataclysm world, that didn't matter very much.”
I always like reading novellas, because they always bring something that adds to the world, the characters or the main plot and this one wasn't different. Actually, some things that happen here were really important to my understanding of some things that happened in book 2 of the main trilogy.
In this story, we meet the 'original' Sam, the one from before Heart. We know more of his backstory, how he met Stef and other well-know characters and we can better understand a bit how this world came to be like we see in Newsoul - a kind of post-apocalyptic world where magic is back, a bit like in The Shannara Chronicles. We also see where Sam first started out with his love of music, how the whole Janan/reincarnation thing came to pass and all that. But, as much as we get some much-needed context, it gave me more answers that I need to get from the final book in the trilogy and I'm not sure I'm gonna get. That is one of my problems with this series, the not as well developed world-building.
Sam is also a very meh protagonist - he doesn't have this presence, he just stands in the background for most of everything and I felt like it could be any number of characters narrating this story that it wouldn't have made a difference. I'm interested to see what will happen in the third book and how the author will finish this story.
savvyrosereads's review
3.0
Ridiculously good. I'm generally not a huge fan of spin off shorts (even though I always read them) but this is brilliantly told and adds depth and layers to the Newsoul trilogy that it was lacking before. I definitely recommend reading it if you are a fan of these books, or even if you haven't read them yet and you just want to get an easy and low-commitment introduction to a fascinating literary world.
wishesandpages's review
4.0
It added a lot to the world-building and I really enjoyed reading from Sam's perspective. It was so interesting seeing how he was then, before he lived for so long.