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    Incarnate
    Incarnate
    Incarnate
    Audiobook9 hours

    Incarnate

    Written by Jodi Meadows

    Narrated by Katherine Taub

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    New soul

    Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

    No soul

    Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

    Heart

    Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

    Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKatherine Tegen Books
    Release dateJan 31, 2012
    ISBN9780062120687
    Author

    Jodi Meadows

    The Lady Janies are made up of New York Times bestselling authors Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows. They first met in 2012, when their publishers sent them on a book tour together, and they hit it off so well they decided to write My Lady Jane so they could go on book tours together all the time. Between the three of them they’ve written more than twenty published novels, a bunch of novellas, a handful of short stories, and a couple of really bad poems. They’re friends. They’re writers. They’re fixing history by rewriting one sad story at a time. Learn more at ladyjanies.com. 

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    Reviews for Incarnate

    3.5/5

    330 ratings72 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I'll write a full review later but I will say that while it started off with a promising premise, the characterization was beyond weak and this book had some of the WORST dialog I have read all year. Seriously. It was bad, painful to read. The story arc was more of a flatline, the plot just went nowhere in several directions. Ugh.....
    • 3/5
      Book Nook — Young Adult book reviewsIncarnate was really conflicting for me. There are parts I enjoyed, and parts I really didn't like. I was nervous going into it because I have friends who ABSOLUTELY FREAKING LOVE it, and I have friends who ABSOLUTELY FREAKING DESPISE it. Crazy, huh? I happen to fall somewhere in the middle.I quickly realized that I did not like Ana as a character. I tried to force myself to remember and understand that she was kind of emotionally abused as a child. Her mother raised her to believe that she was a worthless piece of crap. But even so, it bugged me to see Ana being so self-critical, even when all the evidence was pointing to the contrary. Every single time she opened her mouth, it was to say things like:"Everybody hates me!" "I'm a nosoul, I can't love." "People don't want to greet me, they want to gawk at me." "Maybe you're just my friend because you pity me."That's some major paraphrasing, but you get the point. Even though she obviously wasn't a nosoul (she had a soul, it was just brand new, so that made her a newsoul), she insisted that she was. Even though she obviously felt love, joy, and even hatred, she insisted that she was incapable of loving (because that's what her mother said). Even though I knew where this attitude was coming from—and could understand it to a certain degree—I started getting really annoying and frustrated when it continued throughout the ENTIRE book. I just wanted Ana to grow up and quit doubting anyone and everyone around her. I honestly thought she acted more like a hormonal 13/14 year old than an 18 year old.I'll talk about one thing I did like: the story. I LOVE the idea of reincarnation. I love the world they live in. I love the dragons. I love the histroy. All of it! I was really interested to learn more about their society and their lives and how it all works. It was pretty fascinating! For me, it was all in the unique fantasy details: the pulsing walls of Heart, the dragons that mysteriously attack the same place, the strange religious undertones.. However, I did start to have some problems with the idea of reincarnation when romance got involved...When people are reincarnated, sometimes they are male and sometimes they are female. I thought it was really sweet we learned about these two people who were soulmates. Every time they were reincarnated, they found one another and could be together. At first they kept killing each other until they were reincarnated as different genders and the same age, but eventually their love overcame that and they just lived together despite it all. I thought it was really sweet and romantic! But for some reason, I got a little creeped out by Ana and Sam's situation. A romance develops between Ana and Sam. When Sam brings her to his house for the first time and puts her in a room clearly intended for a girl, she asks why he had that room prepared for a visitor. He replied stating that it's his bedroom for when he gets reincarnated as a girl. Ana then proceeded to wear his female clothes (but not the underwear, thank goodness). I just couldn't help but constantly be reminded that sometimes Sam is a girl, sometimes he's a guy, sometimes people are his parents, sometimes they're his playmates, sometimes he dates them... it all just got too weird for me.I was also never sold on Ana and Sam's relationship in general. I tried to put the whole male/female/etc. thing aside, but even so, I never fell in love with their romance. There was a really obvious point in the story where their romance started..abruptly. Up until that point I only saw friendship, then suddenly the room was loaded with sexual tension. I was just like...where the heck did that come from?? Did I miss something? Overall, I think Sam seemed like a really shallow character. I would read chapters where Ana was totally swooning over him, but I felt absolutely nothing. I also felt like there was no chemistry between Sam and Ana. That's kind of a big problem for me when looking at the series overall, because I feel like soulmates will play a huge role in future books (it was only introduced in this one). If I'm not really feeling their romance, I feel like I won't even be able to enjoy that at all.There were a few other parts of the story that felt extremely abrupt. Sometimes I literally felt like I was missing big transitioning parts of the story because I just had no idea where they were coming from. For example, at one point there is a dragon attack. Everyone is scrambling around, finding shelter, or attacking the dragons. Ana kind of rescues Sam at one point and he's like, "I'm sorry! I wanted to be brave for you!" Then suddenly, at least an entire chapter later, he's majorly depressed. Ana seems to know exactly what the problem is (a little PTSD dragon attack kind of thing) but I felt like I didn't catch onto it AT ALL. After the attack I thought he seemed fine. But then later he was freaking out so I didn't even make the connection with the dragons. It's almost like I just wasn't following along with the train of thought.I think the second half of this story is what resulted in me giving Incarnate an extra star. The second half has some really interesting plot developments, so even though I wasn't a fan of Ana, Sam, or their romance, I was still able to enjoy the story. I will be reading the second book because I happen to have a copy already. Maybe I'll end up enjoying it a bit more!
    • 4/5
      I first came across Jodi Meadows young adult fantasy debut Incarnate early last year as part of the 2012 Debut Author Challenge, but didn’t sit down to read it until mid-December. After devouring the story within 24 hours (I couldn’t put it down!) I found myself conflicted; on one hand, I realized I had been missing out on a truly wonderful tale that I could have read at least a couple of times last year, but on the other was the comfort of knowing that I didn’t need to wait a whole year hungering for a sequel. Let's take a closer look.

      What I Loved

      Cover Love: Let me just get this out of the way – this cover is gorgeous! In fact, one of the most beautiful book covers of 2012. The colors, the butterfly, even the font, all work to make this book stand out in website photos and on the store bookshelf. With so many dark covers on young adult books these days, Incarnate’s cover art is refreshing to see.

      A Fiery Female Lead: Ana is beyond “spunky;” she is fierce, determined, and blasts off the page with energy. I connected with her almost immediately, as she set off on her own to discover who she is and her purpose in life. Her love of music was wonderful to see, and the way it drew her and Sam together was beautifully done. The only thing that made her shiver was her mother, Li, and with the emotional abuse that was dished out on a daily basis, this was perfectly understandable.

      The Mythology: The idea of a million souls constantly being “recycled” to the point that they remember every life they have lived, every skill they have learned, every person they have loved, hated or were indifferent to, is both fascinating and a little creepy. Then to have one of those souls disappear and a completely new one – with no history or knowledge to fall back on – return in its place is a creative concept executed with skill and detail by author Jodi Meadows. Even as I immersed myself in the story, I found it a bit disturbing to envision such a world where I knew every other soul and could recognize them even as their physical forms changed with each incarnation. Don’t you think it could get monotonous to know absolutely everyone and remember everything? To be years younger – or older – than a soul you might have loved in a previous life? Jodi Meadows brings up all kinds of scenarios such as these, and provides answers for them, as well.

      Serious Undertones: Discrimination is an underlying them of Incarnate. Ana’s difference is soul-deep, and when she settles into the city of Heart she encounters all kinds of reactions to that difference. The emotional abuse she received from her mother all her life is due to the fear and hate Li feels about Ana’s soul. Sam is in the minority, as he sees her new soul as a good thing and his friends follow his lead, but the majority of citizens see Ana as a threat just like Li. At times Ana is harassed or ignored, but eventually events take a more dangerous turn as attempts are made on her life. For most of Range, different does NOT equal good.

      What I Liked

      The Romance: There is a bit of a spark between Sam and Ana when they first meet, but Meadows takes her time building the relationship between these two. The romance grows naturally from initial attraction to all-out romance. It is never rushed, but feels organic to the story. There is NO love triangle, which is a nice change of pace these days.

      Dangerous Creatures: Sylphs and dragons add some danger to the tale, with the sylphs able to burn with a touch and the dragons with their fiery breath. Attacks from these creatures are used judiciously to add some excitement and action, but Meadows is not shy bringing them into the story – Ana’s encounter with sylph occurs in the very first chapter! This starts things off with a bang, and had me invested in Ana’s fate within minutes.

      What I Didn’t Like

      The Answers: Ana sets off on a quest to Heart to find answers to all the questions she has about her soul and purpose in life. While it’s nice that she does discover some of the answers, I got a bit confused by everything that came to light in the climax of the story. This may be due to the fact that it was around 1:30-2:00 am in the morning when I finished Incarnate (as I said above, I couldn’t put it down) and my thinking had grown a bit dull, but I felt a little unsatisfied with the explanation of how Ana’s new soul came to be. The answers do lead to a lot of questions for book two, Asunder, so I will be looking to see how everything plays out.

      Conclusion

      Jodi Meadows has made an impressive dive into the young adult fantasy genre with her debut novel Incarnate. With a fiery heroine, a fascinating (if slightly creepy) mythology, moments of danger, and a romance that builds naturally throughout the story, Incarnate drew me right into the tale and wouldn’t let me go. While I was a tad bit lost as answers came to light, I am definitely looking forward to where they may lead in book two of this soul-stirring series.
    • 1/5
      Literally the WORST audiobook narrator ever. Made me hate this book. Thanks.....
    • 2/5
      I will preface this entire review with the statement: I am looking forward to the second book. With that said, I am only going to talk about what I did and did not like about this book, while trying to convey my thoughts in a coherent way. [NOTE: I realize that SO MANY PEOPLE loved loved loved this book, so I was really concerned/confused as to why I did not.] What I liked 1. As I have seen about a zillion people say is that they loved the cover…which it is difficult to deny how vibrant the colors are and the model (whether real or computer generated) is truly beautiful. 2. The setting — Range & Heart — they both had a lot of potential to be a fantastical place for a strong female protagonist. 3. Sam. He’s caring, gifted, and mysterious. 4. The premise of reincarnation and the idea that souls have been reincarnated for thousands of years due to a god-like figure who created them & provided for them, a city already built. 5. The ending – how it ended (surprising & cliffhanger-ish) and the fact that it ended (whew.) 6. Conspiracy theories & the unknown. It was nice not to be able to guess anything, but that may have been because everything seemed really random to me. What I did not like 1. The writing. I know that’s quite an important thing to dislike about a book, but the sentence structure, word choice, and flow of the character’s monologues and dialogues were bumbling and awkward for almost the entire book. 2. The pacing of the book — I could have done without (literally) 46% of the book. I could have started in the middle and not have missed a single thing and probably would have given this book one more star [instead of of just 2]. The ending was fast paced and had a lot of action, but the beginning of the book was something I just could have done without. 3. The characters. To me…these characters were just not well fleshed-out. Ana was entirely too self-deprecating and defensive (even when I understand her background and experiences). Reading Ana’s paranoid thoughts almost drove me crazy! Sam was almost TOO nice to the point where I just wanted to scream at him to move on to someone else. Li was a complete nightmare, but seriously someone needs to reign her in. The other souls, residents of Heart, ranged from DEranged to super sweet…which was just…too much. 4. Too much going on in one single book. Okay, so if you haven’t read this book, this won’t spoil it for you, but it will let you know what you’re in for: *dragons, sylphs, centaurs, (etc.), futuristic/medievil times (?..confused? Yeah, me too.), evil mom, absent father, magic, religious parallels/symbolism/god-like beings (Janan), reincarnation, adventure, romance, masquerade ball, supposed “utopian” society…I could go on all day, but I’d rather not. 5. Futuristic stuff COMBINED with medieval stuff. I could not picture Heart or Range; the time setting was all over the place. 6. I can’t tell you what Ana, Sam, or any other characters looked like. The best description of anything I got from the entire book was the piano keys, the houses in Heart, the eggs that Sam burned at breakfast, and Ana’s masquerade outfit (and that might be because of the cover). 7. THE BUTTERFLY. Goodness…I understand that there will be a comparison or metaphor going on at some point, but it was just TOO repetitive. 8. I usually don’t like seeing the title of the book blatantly thrown out there in a way that is: “HA THAT’S WHERE THE TITLE CAME FROM!”. I’d rather the author develop the story in a way where, upon finishing, I think, “Wow…I cannot think of a better name for this book…it is its name incarnate…(pun initially unintended).” 9. More backstory — I just don’t feel like I had enough information about anyone or anything having to do with the citizens of Heart to properly conjure up an image of what I was reading about. Sash didn’t care too much for this book either but we know plenty of people who absolutely LOVED it. Check out their reviews here: HD at Reading Writing Breathing Anna at Literary Exploration If you’ve read the book, leave a comment and tell us what you thought!
    • 2/5
      The concept was good and the4e were parts I enjoyed, but the narrator is terrible. For some reason the narrators solution for voicing characters other than the main character was to make them sound whiney. Aside from that the characters aren't really proactive. There are apparently all these questions they have but all their efforts to seek answers are half heartes at best. Things happen to them rather than them doing things themselves. Disappointing over all.
    • 5/5
      See, Laura said, "She writes like you, you're going to love her," but I'd been in the middle of other books, and in other things, and sort of took it as a note, but sort of just let it slide, and I think it took a whole month to get back to this book she kept trying to wave in front of my nose.




      Then? Now howdy. It's month later and I can still remember devouring this book in less than two days, wanting to suck the marrow from every word and world detail. How much I hated the page count getting lower and lower and lower. The way I fell in love with the main characters. The way I want to know the answers, the mystery, love the set up of the universe. How different and interesting it is.

      Definitely in the top handful of favorite books for this year.
    • 4/5
      Beautifully written fantasy story, about Ana, a newsoul, born into a world, where you died and were immediately reincarnated.I loved the character of Ana, because she had such a lovely character, and Sam was such a romantic.I can't wait to read the second book.
    • 2/5
      The narrator's villains all oozed with squeaky condescension, and the story and world both felt underdeveloped, particularly, elements sprung up as needed making the reader feel ungrounded in the world.
    • 3/5
      The concept of this story was a good one and I really had high expectations for it. Unfortunately I felt as though it lacked focus on certain areas. To begin with the beginning felt way too rushed almost as if the author wanted to "get to the good stuff." Although most of the time it is what all readers want, I feel like in this situation it had a negative effect as it didn't allow me personally to connect to the main character. In turn I was more focused on the secondary character and ended up finding the main character annoying and way too needy. I also felt like not a lot of time was spent on explaining/exploring the world and its various inhabitants which is something I hope will be further explored in the continuing books. That aside i found it to be an enjoyable read.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book, the concept was great and I liked the characters, but the meandering plot kind of bothered me. Also the whole vibe of the book just... wasn't necessarily so much my thing. But! I'm interested enough to finish out the trilogy.
    • 4/5
      First off, to get it over with, oh! the cover! the cover!

      Alright, now that we're done with that, my favorite things about this novel included the world building and the fact that it felt much more unique then a lot of the YA I've read lately. Meadow's really makes me want to learn every single thing about Heart and the world the inhabitants live in.The Range and Heart are magical (dragons, sylphs and centaurs, oh my!) and it holds enough intrigue to keep me interested.

      However, I didn't learn as much as I would have liked, which was disappointing. I think this goes along with Ana learning basically nothing about herself or reincarnation while in Heart which was her original goal. I think all of these disappointments occur because the author is setting up the sequels. If the author had found a way to give the reader and Ana more answers while still setting up the next books I would have given this book five stars.

      The romance built steadily and wasn't instant infatuation which was also refreshing, but at times I felt like it sidetracked the plot. Also no love triangle! Yay! I also liked that Sam wasn't a jerk. It seems like every YA novel lately has a "bad boy" love interest who is a horrible example for relationships and so finding a genuinely nice guy was great.

      Though there was a few problems with this book, overall it pulls you in and leaves you to awaiting the sequel in order to discover the answers the reader, and Ana, need to find.
    • 5/5
      Ana lives in a world where everyone is a reincarnation of a soul that has existed for thousands of years. That is, everyone except her. When Ana was born, her soul was entirely new, and the soul that should have been reincarnated into her body simply ceased to exist. To some, that makes her a No Soul, and to others a New Soul. This book follows Ana as she attempts to unravel the mystery behind her own existence with a little help from a kind old soul known to her as Sam. The aspect that intrigued me most about this book was that I have never seen something written about reincarnation that was so believable. From the very first page you want Ana to find some assurance of her existence and you want to defend her against every evil that crosses her path. Your heart truly beat and bleeds for Ana. I get attached to characters, but this sort of attachment was on a whole other level and I will stick by her until Meadows brings the trilogy to the very end.
    • 4/5
      This didn't really hook me until about 3/4 of the way through, but then I couldn't put it down. I liked the way this handled romance - in a sweet way, with minimal angst. The premise was really cool with most people being reborn for thousands of years until the main character, a "newsoul," replaces another soul. The society doesn't know how to react to her because of this. There are dragons, sylph, something that might be a deity - but we're not sure if it's benevolent or not. Overall, I thought it was a quick, enjoyable read. I'm looking forward reading the next in the series, Asunder.
    • 2/5
      I'll write a full review later but I will say that while it started off with a promising premise, the characterization was beyond weak and this book had some of the WORST dialog I have read all year. Seriously. It was bad, painful to read. The story arc was more of a flatline, the plot just went nowhere in several directions. Ugh.....
    • 1/5
      I really wanted to like this book and I just didn't. I even read the whole thing, hoping that it would improve. Ana is cynical, defensive, depressed, angry, and self-centered. She's only marginally kind to Sam, who has done everything he can think of to be kind to her. I didn't enjoy her company, nor could I understand what Sam saw in her. That and the pervasive anti-God sentiment made this book feel like a slow drip of poison. Not for me.
    • 3/5
      What can I possibly say about this book?

      Well, it was, Interesting...

      For me personally, it was a new concept from my normal Angels & Vampires in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi genre...As far as the New Soul/Reincarnation thing goes...

      It for me was a little TOO detailed in descriptions of buildings & surroundings sometimes...Just a bit too descriptive in a lot of areas... period...for ME personally.

      But, I can say that it kept me intrigued just enough to want to know what happened...Some parts, I wasn't quite expecting, which was a good thing..I like thinking its going to go one way and it doesnt..Or even if Im not sure, I still like being knocked for a loop in books..It keeps it much more interesting and keeps you wanting more...

      Now, the only reason that I only gave it a 3 over a 5 is because it was too descriptive for my personal tastes, BUT I do realize that with this being the first book in the series, there needs to be a lot more detail so that we can get to know the characters, their surroundings, etc...

      Now, this book isnt getting a lower score because I LOVE Sam...He is AMAZING to me..And his patience for Ana and her self loathing and her trust issues...Although I do understand her trust issues because of what she has been through..But it still can be annoying..But I also saw a lot of me in her...The mistrust of people because of your past, etc...But you see her growth through out the book...

      Now, I can say that it is very much worth the read...I think this is a book that you either like, love or hate...I didn't hate it, because I am willing to try the second in the series, but I didnt love it either...Because I found myself getting bored a lot..For me, there wasn't enough action....This is a true romance in bloom kind of book...I am not into romance like that anymore {but who knows, I may get back into it later}...But from time to time, I will see a book in the romance genre, read it and love it...

      But I have gone off topic...

      And I am telling too much, so I will stop here! :-)
    • 4/5
      audiobook review:Ana has always know that everyone - everyone - knows more than her, is more learned and wise. It's not just her personal belief, but a fact. The million souls of Range have been reincarnated for thousands of years, living lives again and again, with each other. Only, something happened eighteen years ago and instead of one of the expected souls being born again, it was Ana. The newsoul. The nosoul.No one knows why she happened. Nor are they happy about it.Though we don't see that much of the other characters, it's easy to see how some of them, while viewing Ana as not only mortal but also potentially dangerous could want to treat her as they do. Her life would seem like only a drop in the bucket compared to all of the time, the lives they have. Though life expectancy is never really discussed in Incarnate, with dragons, the sylph and all of the other creatures, it doesn't seem too many are living to be senior citizens.Yet, the way the danger and the insularity of Heart is so apparent, also helps in understanding Sam's opposition to that way of thinking. Though a million people is not 'small,' exactly, after lifetimes upon lifetimes, the way everyone knows everyone (and their past, has opinions of them, etc) is apparent.I do wish we were able to see more of some of the characters who made only the smallest of appearances - some just a sentence or two - because they really gave an interesting glimpse into other parts of Heart. Incarnate had a lot that needed to happen and be explained though with Ana's story and with Heart, however, and the focus seemed to be kept where it was necessary.There were places where the emotional connection created between Sam and Ana (and the reader) was just superb. Their tension was fantastic and kept at a great level. The emotion, the tension between other characters didn't seem click nearly as well but I think that was, at least partially due to my listening to the audiobook.While I recommend reading Incarnate, I really cannot recommend the audio version. The first fifteen seconds were enough to tur me off to it, but I needed a book to listen to and really wanted to read Incarnate. The narrator, Katherine Taub,has some sort of suhper dihfferent, almost Valley Girl voice going on (where i feel like there are a lot of extra 'h's thrown in?). It may be intended to sound teenage, but it . . . doesn't really work. Farther into the book, things either even out or become less noticeable. There are two characters (sometimes in the scene together, sometimes not) who of different age and gender, who sounded exactly the same to me. It was very distracting. Particularly in a scene I wish it hadn't been.I'm really looking forward to the second book in this series, Asunder and to reading it.Rating: 8/10 for the book; 4.5/10 for narration
    • 4/5
      I really did not know what I was getting myself into when I started this book. All I knew was that it involved reincarnation. I did NOT know it involved dragons, sylphs, some creepy wall with a heart beat, and a relationship with a 5,000 year age difference.For the most part, I really did like Incarnate. It was very unique and strange. I felt like the book focused a lot on Ana and Sam's relationship, which I don't know how I feel about. Physically, Sam and Ana are the same age, but Sam's soul is 5,000 years old. He been around the block a time or two with many different people, were as Ana has no idea what sex is or what in entails.I really just don't know how to wrap my head around this idea. A million souls constantly being reincarnated, sometimes being a man one life, then being a woman another life. How does one's soul deal with this change? I'm sure after 5,000 years you would get used to it and get to know everyone and learn who your friend's and enemies are, but that is lightly touched on in the story. Most of the time it's about people hating on Ana and Ana trying to figure out why she was born in the first place.Incarnate is written beautifully. Sometimes I felt like the writing made the story move a little slower, but then it would pick up again and get kind of exciting. Sometimes it felt like I had to push myself to read, but once I got into it, I was good to go.I did enjoy Incarnate, with it's very strange world. I would say the world was what kept me reading. I kept wanting to know more about the world and all it's creatures, even though that wasn't the main focus of the story. Overall, I enjoyed it enough to read the second book in the series.
    • 2/5
      I'll write a full review later but I will say that while it started off with a promising premise, the characterization was beyond weak and this book had some of the WORST dialog I have read all year. Seriously. It was bad, painful to read. The story arc was more of a flatline, the plot just went nowhere in several directions. Ugh.....
    • 4/5
      Holy crap. I don't even know where to begin with this one.

      I told myself I won't get sucked into another dystopian series, so what do I do? Get myself sucked into another dystopian series.

      If you ever imagined what happens to your soul once you die, and took some of the theories that are out there into consideration, you MUST have thought about reincarnation. This is what the Newsoul series is about.

      Ana is a newsoul or a nosoul, depending on who's defining her. Her mother, Li, despises her. Ana was born a a non-reincarnated soul, she has no past and an unknown future. Since everyone's soul in Heart has been living for the past few thousands of years, Ana is an anomaly.

      When she turns 18, Ana leaves to find answers. Why was she born? Is she a mistake? Why is she not loved? What will happen to her soul when she dies? Only she is attacked by Sylphs, a shadowy creatures that inflict burns. Ana is saved by Sam, a (seemingly) 18 year old boy, who decides to help her find the answers she seeks.

      There are infinite turns and twists in this first book in the series, and considering normally first books "new world" series are not as packed and eventful, this one is very refreshing. The world is revealed throughout the story. There's a good amount of dialogue, but that doesn't shadow Ana's thoughts as we learn about everything. There's originality and flow, and holy smokes is there UST.

      I can't wait to start Asunder.
    • 4/5
      Really liked this one. Utopians are something I really need to start looking into.
    • 2/5
      For all the hype and publicity that publishers and bloggers have thrown behind the dystopian YA craze that I'm convinced never really happened, few books released during this period exceeded expectations, or even met them. Many had strong initial premises that quickly fell apart or began to rely on well worn tropes to keep momentum. With Jodi Meadows's debut, the first in a planned trilogy, we are given a glimpse into a slightly different world, a utopia, with another promising premise. Does she beat the curse? Yes and no.

      For much of the book, Meadows falls foul of the exposition-dump method of storytelling, especially in the beginning where we are given a quick soap-opera style recap of proceedings before being thrown into the action. Much of the information we receive about the world and the reincarnation element comes from this method, and the lack of solid development becomes grating very quickly. The intriguing premise is given several interesting moments but never enough to feel like a fully constructed concept that stands up to scrutiny. There is plenty of room given for further explanation in the sequels but this feels more frustrating than anything else. For example, since one million souls are reborn over and over again, and it's established very early on that the vast majority, if not all of the people Ana interacts with know each other from many lifetimes, yet issues of possible incest are never explained. What happens if your mother in one lifetime is your lover in another? Each soul can born male or female in different lifetimes but there is a moment where it is insinuated that they are always born heterosexual. One couple are revealed to have been lovers in each of their lifetimes but it is also mentioned that they couldn't bare it if they were born of the same gender and would kill themselves to be reborn the appropriate way. The couple in question are revealed to both be women but one of the characters said their love overcame this, which is all well and good but I found the idea that one million souls are continually born straight a little hard to believe. This may not be the case and may just be an awkwardly worded section that needs correcting, since this is from the ARC, but several points like this emphasised the occasionally sloppy world-building. Like many hyped books of the past few months, the world of “Incarnate” rests on a singular premise rather than a fully developed set of rules. While there are strengths to this world and attention is given to a few key areas, one never fully gauges why this world is governed in the way it is, or the impact a small pool of constant reincarnations has on a society, or how a sudden drastic change to this system – the birth of a new soul, Ana – impacts their beliefs. A god of this world is mentioned occasionally but once again, to no real impact.

      The summary of the book promises something more akin to a journey of self-discovery, yet this is mostly shoved aside in favour of the romantic element. Although I appreciated the romance getting at least some level of development beyond instantaneous true love, it does follow a very stock pattern, with the romantic hero Sam serving as the typical super-sweet and understanding guy who somehow also manages to be a bit of a jerk, but in a way Ana can't resist. Ana herself would have been much more sympathetic if the book hadn't been told from her point-of-view. Since so much time is dedicated to her growing feelings for Sam, we never fully understand her beyond the brief questions over her origin that are repeated several times throughout the story. While I can understand her passivity to a point, it becomes tiring so quickly. There's also a serious lack of a strong antagonist, with Li, Ana's vindictive mother, never acting as a true threat, seeming more like a de-clawed Lady Tremaine from Cinderella. The supporting cast is equally weak, which makes the story's final few chapters a real disappointment that felt more like a rushed ending and cut-off for the sequel than a true ending.

      There are enjoyable moments throughout the book but overall it feels like “Incarnate” has no idea what sort of book it wants to be. There's a swirling stew of romance, fantasy, utopia, mystery and a little science-fiction that becomes something of an indistinguishable mush. In many ways, it feels like a first draft, one with huge potential but also in dire need of some tightening up. If you're looking for a romance, you could do a lot worse than “Incarnate”, which at least seems to have genuine affection for its romantic pairing, but the lack of substance beyond the pairing and the resulting barrage of questions I had after finishing the book force me to knock a star off the rating.

      2/5.

      “Incarnate” will be released on 31st January 2012. I received my ARC from NetGalley.com.
    • 4/5
      Incarnate (Newsoul #1) by Jodi Meadows

      Incarnate is a very different type of story, it’s based around souls, most souls have lived thousands of lives, and every soul has talents so when the body dies their soul gets reborn into another body. The great thing is their souls can remember all their past life’s if they forgot some details they have like journals they keep. In this world they have very little discrimination because each soul can be born a woman or a man so the tolerance is there. I loved this concept.
      In this world there is still a dark side there are people fighting dragon and sylphs and danger is around the corner, which of course intrigues us the readers.

      Ana the main character in this book is born a new soul with no past lives, and is an outcast, Ana’s mother is very abusive and this has caused Ana not to trust anyone. It was like her mother enjoyed the fact that Ana feared her and enjoyed seeing Ana upset. Ana spent 18 years with her abusive mother and now that she has reached adult hood she plans on leaving and going to Heart to find out why she is different she has so many questions. As the story unfolds Ana does become stronger and it’s great to see her character develop into a more confident young woman.

      Sam is another character in the book that you fall in love with, he shows Ana that people do care and Sam cares a lot. Sam’s sensitive and caring and the friendship that develops between him and Ana is great and of course we the reader love to watch this relationship develop. Ana’s life was hell with her mom and really believed that all the other people would treat her the exact same way so it’s hard for Ana to trust Sam.

      Jodi Meadows does a terrific job creating this world and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. The description and the music form images in your head while you’re reading this book and it’s fantastic.

      I would recommend this book to anyone who loves UF/PNR books.
    • 4/5
      In a world where everyone has been reincarnated for the past 5000 years, and remember past lives, a new soul with no memories is odd. This is her struggle to figure out who she is on the inside.
    • 4/5
      I did find myself deeply engrossed in this book. The premise is one that I found rather fascinating, and Ana is a great character. She is learning, and we are learning alongside her. I found her learning to love the first time to be the greatest of all lessons.

      There are many questions to be answered and I am looking forward to the second book. This is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a unique story.
    • 5/5
      It started right with action and by connecting me to the main character. I liked Ana because she is different, that she questions instead of blindly accepting things, and also because I felt for her because of the way that her mom treated her. I like that Ana doesn't just blindly accept anything. She digs and finds the answers for herself. She is also relatable though because she is a good person but she's not perfect. She has her insecurities and lashes out at Sam some. It is understandable because of how she grew up that she wouldn't easily trust. It was quite an adventure to watch her discover her passions, and how that connected her with Sam and brought out his emotions and realized what was beneath the layers. Sam is a mystery right off the bat, because I wanted to know why he was in the middle of nowhere, how he rescued her in the freezing cold water, and just because he is elusive. He is kind of course helping Ana, and encouraging her. He was just another hook that got me within the first three chapters. There is also the great premise, and it got going right away. I was so curious why a soul would disappear instead of coming back again, and what made Ana special that a new soul or a no soul would show up. I loved the twists and how the people have such personalities, how their pasts factor into who they are now. Especially about Sam, the things that Ana didn't realize right away, I just thought it was amazing going full circle like that. The Heart, the town where they live is well thought out. It adds to the awesomeness of the world building and the setting. I enjoyed the mythical creatures involved and their powers even if they were usually on the "bad" side. It shows so much creativity and added action and adventure. Another thing I absolutely loved was the slow build of the romance. It is so satisfying to read about. The friendship and the back and forth, the flirting and the uncertainty. It is beautiful to watch play out and just what I love. There is a wonderful cast of secondary characters. Steph and her take charge, no-nonsense attitude really made me like her a lot. I like that she told Sam how it was and stood up for Ana even when she didn't know her. She is very perceptive and I like that. And holy twist of doom. You feel the storm building, and then the unthinkable happens. Or does it? But we realize so much all at once and some of it is good and some bad. It ended at a pretty good place, but I am still super anxious to get the next one. So if anyone has a kindle or epub I can borrow, I will be your friend forever :). Bottom Line: Great start to a series I can't wait to keep reading. Action, romance and a courageous main character.
    • 3/5
      Originally reviewed on A Reader of Fictions.

      Ever since Presenting Lenore first featured this book in a prior dystopian month, I have been incredibly curious about Incarnate. Denied on NetGalley, I did not find time to read this until now. What I was expecting and what I got were entirely different things. It really kind of amazes me how little I know about books that I somehow still manage to be excited for.

      Yet again, I'm deeming this not really a dystopia. Sad day. With the popularity of the genre lots of books are getting mislabeled. Actually, if anything, this seems much more like a utopian society, though one fraught with some issues. There is some amount of corruption in their governing council, but I don't think they try to control their average citizens enough to make them dystopian, though from Ana's perspective maybe they are.

      The world building in this novel is straight up crazy, which I don't necessarily mean in a bad way. It's just way odder than I was anticipating. For example, I had no clue that there were going to be dragons and sylphs in this. There was also reference to trolls and centaurs, so I imagine those will show up in later installments, because why mention them if they're not going to serve a purpose in the plot? Even weirder than that, though, is the city of Heart, which the people of this world found built and waiting for them, walls, homes, temple and everything just empty and ready for them. They didn't question it; they just moved in, thank Janan. WHAT?

      In this world, apparently, precisely one million humans live. Each of these souls reincarnates upon death, coming back in a couple of years to a new form and a new biological body and family. Everyone in Heart has been alive for five thousand years at this point. All of them have been both men and women. New experiences are few; everyone knows everyone.

      Then, everything changes. Ciana dies, but she is not reborn. Instead, Ana emerges into the world, a shiny newsoul. Everyone flips out, because they fear this spells the end of their lives. Despite the fact that Ana clearly has no control over her birth, everyone blames and hates her, especially her mother, Li, who takes her to live in a rural cottage to escape from judgment. Also, being far away enables Li to mentally and physically abuse Ana without anyone knowing.

      At the outset of Incarnate, 18 year old Ana has finally run away from Li, determined to learn the truth about herself in Heart. Misled by her evil old bat of a mother, Ana goes the wrong way, is attacked by sylph and nearly drowns. Thankfully, Sam happens upon her and rescues her. They form a bond and she discovers, for the first time, that people are capable of treating her well, of caring about her.

      Ana made a rather indifferent heroine for me. She comes across as fairly weak, definitely depending more on Sam than is probably healthy. Then again, she basically has imprinted on him forever, since he was the first person to ever be nice to her. I do appreciate that she is at least a little bit bothered by the gap in their ages and experience; that has at least been acknowledged. Pretty much the only quality that really endeared Ana to me was her love for music. Otherwise, she didn't really stand out, much less clever and fascinating than I think I was supposed to think.

      For the most part, my difficulties with Ana stem from her self-hatred. I totally get why she feels that way and, believe me, I understand what that's like. She's been torn down all of her life, so it would be impossible for her to be otherwise. Still, it's painful and annoying to sit through so many chapters of her self-doubt. Even with Sam's insistence on her awesomeness, she continues to think of herself as a nosoul for ages.

      Sam, though, I actually really do like. He saved the book for me. He's nice and dependable. Aside from falling for Ana, something he seemed hesitant to do, but, thankfully, didn't brood over, he is completely non-creepy. My mental picture of him is super attractive, but he declared himself not to be, which is interesting. I wonder how reliable Ana's portrayal of him really is, considering that she, again, is biased since he was the first person in her entire life to ever be kind to her or to tell her that she has value. Their relationship strikes me as VERY unhealthy in all sorts of ways, even though I like Sam and want him to be happy. Still, finding your sense of self-worth only because of a guy isn't exactly ideal, neither for Audrey and Seymour or for Ana and Sam.

      Reading through what I've written so far, I can't see too many things that particularly bothered me about Incarnate. Still, I feel like there was something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. For me, this turned out to be an entertaining but not especially impressive read. The concept intrigues me greatly, but I didn't really bond with most of the characters or the execution of the idea.
    • 2/5
      Plot: 2 stars
      Characters: 2 1/2 stars
      Style: 2 stars
      Pace: 2 1/2 stars

      It took me far longer to read this book than it usually does. I kept getting bored, setting it aside, and reading something else. A short road trip yesterday made me finally get around to finishing it.
      The plot seemed rather tacked on as an after thought, this was a heavily character driven story. That in itself would have been fine, except they seemed to struggle under the weight of carrying the story. There wasn't anything horrid about it, just nothing that was wonderful to me either.
    • 2/5
      Read this review and more like it at Written Permission

      I really wanted to like Incarnate. And for a while, I did. I mean, just look at that cover. It is absolutely stunning. But the cover is not the only thing that matters.

      The blurb is deceiving. About 75% of Incarnate is Ana and Sam and their romance. 15% is music related. And then there is a mere 10% that is related to plot, worldbuilding, Ana trying to find out who she is, etc.

      The romance read a lot like Twilight to me. Ana and Sam are so in love, but there is something keeping them apart. Yet we are never really sure what it is. He seems to like her well enough from the start, as in he doesn't treat her like garbage because of what she is. And then he completely backs away from most romantic advances. For no real reason. It was very frustrating.

      I felt like Incarnate had so much potential, but focused too much on the romance, and therefore left too many holes. Why do the dragons go for the temple every time? Why does Sam leave the house every night? What happened to Ciana? Why was Ana born? These are all questions that go unanswered for the sake of awkward teen romance.

      For that matter, Ana and Sam are both eighteen. Should their romance not be a little less awkward? Especially in a society where kids are considered grown at fifteen?

      I found Ana to be very angsty for an eighteen year old, and every time Meadows wrote a reminder of her age, I was taken aback. I thought I was reading about a sixteen year old a lot of the time. She is impulse driven, she is angsty, and she didn't read like someone who would be desperate to show she knew how to take care of herself at three years past the "normal" age for striking out.

      If Ana was the first of her kind, where did the term "nosoul" come from? This was a big sticking point for me throughout the entirety of Incarnate. I can see coining the term "newsoul" for Ana, because she is new. But what about "nosoul"? Where did it come from and why? There is no precedent for the term "nosoul".

      The ending showed promise, and then descended into wtf-ery. I just, don't know.

      Bottom Line: I would be interested in seeing some of the questions answered, but I am not confident that they will be. So I may read book two, but I won't be rushing out for it. This book didn't deliver what I hoped it would.