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brianne_k's review against another edition
3.0
3.25/5⭐
that ending though.. I will be finishing this trilogy!
that ending though.. I will be finishing this trilogy!
books4susie's review against another edition
5.0
“My life might have begun as a mistake, but I wouldn’t let it end as one.”
The residents of Heart have spent the spring preparing the Templedark Memorial for the eighty souls lost that night, those would not be reincarnated. That summer, the citizens spent days at the memorial honoring the lives of their friends. As summer concludes, the desolation of the community is smothering Ana. She and Sam go away for a while.
The two stop one night at the Purple Rose Cottage where Ana grew up. Sam surprises her with a picnic on the lawn and presents Ana with a beautiful flute. Trying it out, Ana is shocked to discover that her playing is attracting sylphs. Even more surprising is the fact that they seem to be dancing and imitating the sounds. Panicking, Sam rushes inside to gather traps while Ana attempts to keep them from attacking. When an oldsoul, Cris, stumbles along, he is startled by the scene. Continuing to play, Ana leads them from the cottage and they peacefully leave.
It turns out Cris is the original owner of the cottage and he and Sam do not seem to be on friendly terms. Cris is on his way to Heart to help in reorganizing the genealogies of the darksouls. The topic of Templedark comes up and Ana keeps quiet about her reasons for leaving Heart She is searching for the reasons Menehem chose to stop reincarnation. Was it to allow more newsouls to be born or could it have been his attempt to prove Jana’s existence?
Parting ways the next morning with Cris, Sam and Ana continue on to Menehem’s lab. There, they compare the information Ana brought with her from Heart to the small library of research Menehem left behind at the lab. Bouncing theories about the sylph’s behavior, Ana realizes that Sam cannot follow her line of questioning. It slowly dawns her that Janan purposely keeps secrets from the oldsouls about the true nature of the sylphs. Ana decides she needs to discover what secrets Jana keeps in the temple and how the sylphs are involved. Once she figures out the mystery, Ana realizes that she can use Janan’s secrets against him.
What will Ana discover from Menehem’s research? Can she uncover the secrets of the sylphs? Who is Cris and why are he and Sam acting strangely around each other? What is Jana trying to keep quiet? Will Ana learn she is capable of love? And what happens when more newsouls are born?
Jodi Meadows’ will conclude her trilogy with a third book in 2014.
The residents of Heart have spent the spring preparing the Templedark Memorial for the eighty souls lost that night, those would not be reincarnated. That summer, the citizens spent days at the memorial honoring the lives of their friends. As summer concludes, the desolation of the community is smothering Ana. She and Sam go away for a while.
The two stop one night at the Purple Rose Cottage where Ana grew up. Sam surprises her with a picnic on the lawn and presents Ana with a beautiful flute. Trying it out, Ana is shocked to discover that her playing is attracting sylphs. Even more surprising is the fact that they seem to be dancing and imitating the sounds. Panicking, Sam rushes inside to gather traps while Ana attempts to keep them from attacking. When an oldsoul, Cris, stumbles along, he is startled by the scene. Continuing to play, Ana leads them from the cottage and they peacefully leave.
It turns out Cris is the original owner of the cottage and he and Sam do not seem to be on friendly terms. Cris is on his way to Heart to help in reorganizing the genealogies of the darksouls. The topic of Templedark comes up and Ana keeps quiet about her reasons for leaving Heart She is searching for the reasons Menehem chose to stop reincarnation. Was it to allow more newsouls to be born or could it have been his attempt to prove Jana’s existence?
Parting ways the next morning with Cris, Sam and Ana continue on to Menehem’s lab. There, they compare the information Ana brought with her from Heart to the small library of research Menehem left behind at the lab. Bouncing theories about the sylph’s behavior, Ana realizes that Sam cannot follow her line of questioning. It slowly dawns her that Janan purposely keeps secrets from the oldsouls about the true nature of the sylphs. Ana decides she needs to discover what secrets Jana keeps in the temple and how the sylphs are involved. Once she figures out the mystery, Ana realizes that she can use Janan’s secrets against him.
What will Ana discover from Menehem’s research? Can she uncover the secrets of the sylphs? Who is Cris and why are he and Sam acting strangely around each other? What is Jana trying to keep quiet? Will Ana learn she is capable of love? And what happens when more newsouls are born?
Jodi Meadows’ will conclude her trilogy with a third book in 2014.
sdb27's review against another edition
5.0
Until Templedark, Ana was the only one—a newsoul. In a world where 1 million souls are reincarnated and no newsouls have ever existed before, Ana was also a thing to be feared, as many fear change in such a mortal form. But after the tragic and terrifying events of Templedark—when the dragons and sylphs descended on Heart and destroyed homes and lives—something else happened. Another newsoul was born shortly after. Ana is not alone, and more newsouls are coming, which sparks fear and anger in equal measure throughout Heart as people blame Ana for her role, imagined or not, in the matter. Ana, with the help of her love interest Dossam and their friends, must figure out what is causing the newsouls to appear and why Templedark destroyed so many old souls.
Finally, some answers! Admittedly, part of the appeal of Incarnate was the mystery behind the reincarnation of all the citizens of Heart and the origin of the various creatures of the wild like the fiery sylph, but getting some explanations on all these matters was excellent for the purposes of furthering the plot. Unlike most Big Reveals that happen, the reasons for Templedark and reincarnation were just as horrifying and spectacular as was hinted at in Incarnate. Meadows does an excellent job keeping the plot fresh and unexpected; never at any point did I know exactly what was going to happen next.
Asunder also raises important questions when it comes to civil rights. Even though Heart’s Council promised that Ana, as a newsoul, would be protected, she is not—she is still shunned by many, verbally and physically threatened or abused, and generally not given the welcome she was promised as an aspiring citizen of the city. However, when the newsoul baby is born, Ana strives to change that for the child’s sake. I found this to be one of the strongest and humanizing aspects of the book, and I really sympathized with all Ana was put through in her journey to find equal treatment.
Ana and Sam’s relationship hits some bumps and snags as Ana starts to peel back the layers of Sam’s past—namely his relationships with others—while Sam has difficulty coming to terms with Ana’s role in the future of Heart, regardless of how much danger that places her in. Of all the things that seem to go wrong in Asunder, Sam and Ana are the two people who seem organic and right for one another. I appreciated the sweetness and the devotion running between them, steadfast in a sea of troubles. I also appreciated that Ana was able to cultivate tentative friendships with several citizens of Heart, friendships that were independent of Sam in some respects. This showed that Ana is able to start fashioning her own identity, a crucial component of her personhood as a newsoul.
Asunder is just as breathlessly captivating as its predecessor, Incarnate, and serves as a creative expansion into the world that Jodi Meadows has so deftly painted for the reader in her first book. With a combination of fascinating world-building and character development, this book truly shines in its own right and proves that sometimes the sequel can live up to the much-hyped debut.
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
Finally, some answers! Admittedly, part of the appeal of Incarnate was the mystery behind the reincarnation of all the citizens of Heart and the origin of the various creatures of the wild like the fiery sylph, but getting some explanations on all these matters was excellent for the purposes of furthering the plot. Unlike most Big Reveals that happen, the reasons for Templedark and reincarnation were just as horrifying and spectacular as was hinted at in Incarnate. Meadows does an excellent job keeping the plot fresh and unexpected; never at any point did I know exactly what was going to happen next.
Asunder also raises important questions when it comes to civil rights. Even though Heart’s Council promised that Ana, as a newsoul, would be protected, she is not—she is still shunned by many, verbally and physically threatened or abused, and generally not given the welcome she was promised as an aspiring citizen of the city. However, when the newsoul baby is born, Ana strives to change that for the child’s sake. I found this to be one of the strongest and humanizing aspects of the book, and I really sympathized with all Ana was put through in her journey to find equal treatment.
Ana and Sam’s relationship hits some bumps and snags as Ana starts to peel back the layers of Sam’s past—namely his relationships with others—while Sam has difficulty coming to terms with Ana’s role in the future of Heart, regardless of how much danger that places her in. Of all the things that seem to go wrong in Asunder, Sam and Ana are the two people who seem organic and right for one another. I appreciated the sweetness and the devotion running between them, steadfast in a sea of troubles. I also appreciated that Ana was able to cultivate tentative friendships with several citizens of Heart, friendships that were independent of Sam in some respects. This showed that Ana is able to start fashioning her own identity, a crucial component of her personhood as a newsoul.
Asunder is just as breathlessly captivating as its predecessor, Incarnate, and serves as a creative expansion into the world that Jodi Meadows has so deftly painted for the reader in her first book. With a combination of fascinating world-building and character development, this book truly shines in its own right and proves that sometimes the sequel can live up to the much-hyped debut.
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
alanaleigh's review against another edition
5.0
First read: April 26-May 1, 2012
Second read: January 26, 2014
Second read: January 26, 2014
cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
3.0
These books make me think a bit of Stephenie Meyer: she and Jodi Meadows are great storytellers with great imaginations but not top-notch writers (Meyer has said that herself). The writing here is fine but the story is what grabs me. This society is made up of a million people who continue to be reincarnated, and they've been doing so for 5,000 years. No one knows why. But when a "newsoul" is born, her very presence inspires fear and hatred from many of the other "(old)souls." Ana manages to keep going in her quest to figure out why she was born and whether she will be reincarnated, and what she finds out in this book is frightening and dismaying, not just for her but for the whole society. She learns also that their society is facing a potentially calamitous event, but will she be able to do anything about it, especially when so many mistakenly blame her for continuing problems?
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/asunder-newsoul-clean-young-adult-book-review/
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/asunder-newsoul-clean-young-adult-book-review/
m_brooks's review against another edition
5.0
It was a bit of a slow start... but the end made me tear a little, oh how can the book end like that?!?!?
violinknitter's review against another edition
5.0
I love it when second-book-of-a-series actually live up to the first book. In this case, the world-building Meadows did in the first book is expanded and altered in fascinating ways. Loved this book even more than the first!
yousrabushehri's review against another edition
4.0
OH. MY. GOD
I honestly don't know how to express how much I loved this book. Jodi Meadows didn't just WOW me, she blew my mind! Seriously!!
I loved that we got to see more of Ana and Sam's relationship. I loved that we got to know Stef and Sarit and we get to meet new people and get to know more people better.
Character development was HUGE in this second book of the trilogy. There was also a lot of action (understatement of the year). It was fast paced and exciting. There wasn't a dull moment; even the moments where the characters did take a break and the plot slowed down a little, I personally needed the break too because so much happens. I think I've suffered whiplash five times over while reading this book.
I love that we get a lot of our questions answers, but not all of them. Which only makes me more excited for the third book.
I seriously don't know what else to say about this book other than Jodi Meadows did a bang up job with this book and I really enjoyed it.
The only reason I'm giving it a 4 (stars) is because I did sometimes find that the book didn't capture my attention enough, which is why it's taken me more than my usual one day a book time-length to read this book. I think I've read 5 different books while reading this one. But once I hit page 200, that's when I couldn't out it down anymore.
I honestly don't know how to express how much I loved this book. Jodi Meadows didn't just WOW me, she blew my mind! Seriously!!
I loved that we got to see more of Ana and Sam's relationship. I loved that we got to know Stef and Sarit and we get to meet new people and get to know more people better.
Character development was HUGE in this second book of the trilogy. There was also a lot of action (understatement of the year). It was fast paced and exciting. There wasn't a dull moment; even the moments where the characters did take a break and the plot slowed down a little, I personally needed the break too because so much happens. I think I've suffered whiplash five times over while reading this book.
I love that we get a lot of our questions answers, but not all of them. Which only makes me more excited for the third book.
I seriously don't know what else to say about this book other than Jodi Meadows did a bang up job with this book and I really enjoyed it.
The only reason I'm giving it a 4 (stars) is because I did sometimes find that the book didn't capture my attention enough, which is why it's taken me more than my usual one day a book time-length to read this book. I think I've read 5 different books while reading this one. But once I hit page 200, that's when I couldn't out it down anymore.
laughlinesandliterature's review against another edition
5.0
Asunder was a great follow-up to Incarnate, it really felt more focused. It was very clear from the beginning what the questions were that Ana wanted answered. I also really felt like the romance moved at a realistic pace, and it was wonderful because it never felt rushed.
Ana really grew into her own in this book, she began to realize that she had always deserved to have friends and a love of her own. It was difficult for her to come to that realization because her mother was so awful to her. I really liked that she became able to even stand up to Sam, it really wasn’t much but she became less afraid of expressing her opinion.
I even liked the drama with Stef, I saw it coming, but still I’m glad it was there. It was very obvious from the beginning about how she felt about Sam. It was good addition to the story because it does matter after 5,000 years. I did love how tenacious Ana was in this book. She was not going to rest until she figured it out.
I loved that there was the revelation in this book, and most of the questions were answered. I was heartbroken that Cris had to sacrifice himself, but I think what they gained was incredibly important. It was terrible what they found out, but I think the reaction of the rest of the old souls was just as bad. I can’t believe that they didn’t take into account their memories being tampered with. There were lots of justifications to keeping her in Heart.
This was a great follow up and really set the stage for the third and final book. I would give this 5 out of 5 stars because it sucked me in, and answered many questions and left me with even more!
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2014/03/asunder-infinite-by-jodi-meadows.html#comment-10914*
Ana really grew into her own in this book, she began to realize that she had always deserved to have friends and a love of her own. It was difficult for her to come to that realization because her mother was so awful to her. I really liked that she became able to even stand up to Sam, it really wasn’t much but she became less afraid of expressing her opinion.
I even liked the drama with Stef, I saw it coming, but still I’m glad it was there. It was very obvious from the beginning about how she felt about Sam. It was good addition to the story because it does matter after 5,000 years. I did love how tenacious Ana was in this book. She was not going to rest until she figured it out.
I loved that there was the revelation in this book, and most of the questions were answered. I was heartbroken that Cris had to sacrifice himself, but I think what they gained was incredibly important. It was terrible what they found out, but I think the reaction of the rest of the old souls was just as bad. I can’t believe that they didn’t take into account their memories being tampered with. There were lots of justifications to keeping her in Heart.
This was a great follow up and really set the stage for the third and final book. I would give this 5 out of 5 stars because it sucked me in, and answered many questions and left me with even more!
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2014/03/asunder-infinite-by-jodi-meadows.html#comment-10914*