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A review by sdb27
Infinite by Jodi Meadows
5.0
There are very few trilogies that I consider complete, and even fewer whose books get progressively better as the series goes on. Infinite by Jodi Meadows manages to accomplish these things with a stunning, fresh clarity that makes it one of the most enjoyable YA reads of its time. With resounding success, Jodi Meadows manages to bring her epic, fantastic series to a close, leaving readers satisfied with the outcome.
Infinite is a book that is just as beautiful as the cover which houses it. Meadows’ compelling prose comes in the form of our compelling heroine, Ana, who is a newsoul: someone who has not been reincarnated like all who previously came before her. Because of her unusual status, she is treated fearfully by many in the city of Heart as an outcast and a threat. However, the events of the last book revealed to Ana the terrible, frightening truth behind everyone’s reincarnations: they are reincarnated by a power-hungry man-turned-god, Janan, who feeds off the new souls in order to provide himself this immortality.
The premise of this series has always intrigued me, but in Meadow’s capable hands, a truly epic tale takes shape. Ana, as the first newsoul and the other newsouls’ only hope of being saved from Janan’s hunger, is banished from Heart; it is up to her and her few friends, as well as the man she loves, Sam, to find a way to stop Janan from completing his ritual and rising from incorporeality to assume an immortal physical form. The stakes are so high, and through Ana’s perspective we can really feel the urgency in what she needs to accomplish before it’s too late. I love the questions that were raised in this book in particular, especially regarding reincarnation and immortality, and the costs associated with them.
Infinite also finally expands beyond the walls of Heart into the vast lands of the unknown wilderness surrounding, full of the magical, mythical creatures of lore, such as dragons, phoenixes, and centaurs. Whereas in the previous books, most of the action took place inside Heart, a majority of this book took place in the wilderness, which was a great chance for Meadows to do some quality worldbuilding. We learn through Ana’s discoveries what kind of creatures and geography surrounds Heart, and a little bit of history is supplied as to how Heart’s inhabitants arrived there hundreds of years ago and from where Janan derived his powers. All potential questions are wrapped up quite neatly in this book, but also in answering these questions many more are raised. I hope that this means Meadows will return to this world that she has created, because I feel like there is quite a bit of potential story left.
The characters in this book felt like the weak point for me, to be honest. Aside from Ana, and on most (but not all!) occasions, Dossam, all the other characters seemed to only serve as background noise. I couldn’t care enough to be bothered if they lived or died because I simply didn’t get enough information about them. I don’t think Meadows described many of these secondary characters physically, or if she did, it was nondescript. At the very least, I would have liked to have pictured these characters mentally when Ana was interacting with them.
Come to think of it, aside from the occasional offhand hair color description, I don’t have any clue what Sam or Ana look like. That being said, that didn’t detract at all from the wonderfulness of Sam and Ana’s interactions. We see a lot more friction between these two in this book, which I honestly felt more compelling than when they got along. About time Sam showed some emotions other than levelheadedness! I loved the sweetness that they nurtured between them, but I also liked the hints at possessiveness and tension that underlay their interactions. I think you can write sexy without the sex, per se, and Meadows nailed it here.
Lastly, I want to profess my admiration for Ana as a character. I think that she is quite a sympathetic, compassionate character that I identified with and rooted for with unwavering loyalty throughout this series. Faced with insurmountable odds, Ana did what she thought was right, not what was easy. I love protagonists who go through the wringer because it shows their strength of character… Ana went through the wringer in this book, and she didn’t let me down as a strong heroine. And, I’m happy to say, she got the ending she deserved.
Infinite was an enjoyable read from start to finish, and turned out to be the strongest book of the trilogy. The main character was easy to identify and sympathize with, and even though I didn’t get a good picture of many of the secondary characters, the relationship between Ana and Dossam felt organic and heartfelt. I also greatly appreciated the expansion of the book’s world into the wilderness beyond the walls of Heart. There’s a lot of potential there, and I do hope that Jodi Meadows returns to it some day. I highly recommend this book and this series, because there really is nothing else like it.
Infinite is a book that is just as beautiful as the cover which houses it. Meadows’ compelling prose comes in the form of our compelling heroine, Ana, who is a newsoul: someone who has not been reincarnated like all who previously came before her. Because of her unusual status, she is treated fearfully by many in the city of Heart as an outcast and a threat. However, the events of the last book revealed to Ana the terrible, frightening truth behind everyone’s reincarnations: they are reincarnated by a power-hungry man-turned-god, Janan, who feeds off the new souls in order to provide himself this immortality.
The premise of this series has always intrigued me, but in Meadow’s capable hands, a truly epic tale takes shape. Ana, as the first newsoul and the other newsouls’ only hope of being saved from Janan’s hunger, is banished from Heart; it is up to her and her few friends, as well as the man she loves, Sam, to find a way to stop Janan from completing his ritual and rising from incorporeality to assume an immortal physical form. The stakes are so high, and through Ana’s perspective we can really feel the urgency in what she needs to accomplish before it’s too late. I love the questions that were raised in this book in particular, especially regarding reincarnation and immortality, and the costs associated with them.
Infinite also finally expands beyond the walls of Heart into the vast lands of the unknown wilderness surrounding, full of the magical, mythical creatures of lore, such as dragons, phoenixes, and centaurs. Whereas in the previous books, most of the action took place inside Heart, a majority of this book took place in the wilderness, which was a great chance for Meadows to do some quality worldbuilding. We learn through Ana’s discoveries what kind of creatures and geography surrounds Heart, and a little bit of history is supplied as to how Heart’s inhabitants arrived there hundreds of years ago and from where Janan derived his powers. All potential questions are wrapped up quite neatly in this book, but also in answering these questions many more are raised. I hope that this means Meadows will return to this world that she has created, because I feel like there is quite a bit of potential story left.
The characters in this book felt like the weak point for me, to be honest. Aside from Ana, and on most (but not all!) occasions, Dossam, all the other characters seemed to only serve as background noise. I couldn’t care enough to be bothered if they lived or died because I simply didn’t get enough information about them. I don’t think Meadows described many of these secondary characters physically, or if she did, it was nondescript. At the very least, I would have liked to have pictured these characters mentally when Ana was interacting with them.
Come to think of it, aside from the occasional offhand hair color description, I don’t have any clue what Sam or Ana look like. That being said, that didn’t detract at all from the wonderfulness of Sam and Ana’s interactions. We see a lot more friction between these two in this book, which I honestly felt more compelling than when they got along. About time Sam showed some emotions other than levelheadedness! I loved the sweetness that they nurtured between them, but I also liked the hints at possessiveness and tension that underlay their interactions. I think you can write sexy without the sex, per se, and Meadows nailed it here.
Lastly, I want to profess my admiration for Ana as a character. I think that she is quite a sympathetic, compassionate character that I identified with and rooted for with unwavering loyalty throughout this series. Faced with insurmountable odds, Ana did what she thought was right, not what was easy. I love protagonists who go through the wringer because it shows their strength of character… Ana went through the wringer in this book, and she didn’t let me down as a strong heroine. And, I’m happy to say, she got the ending she deserved.
Infinite was an enjoyable read from start to finish, and turned out to be the strongest book of the trilogy. The main character was easy to identify and sympathize with, and even though I didn’t get a good picture of many of the secondary characters, the relationship between Ana and Dossam felt organic and heartfelt. I also greatly appreciated the expansion of the book’s world into the wilderness beyond the walls of Heart. There’s a lot of potential there, and I do hope that Jodi Meadows returns to it some day. I highly recommend this book and this series, because there really is nothing else like it.