Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Book:  Incarnate

Author:  Jodi Meadows

Publisher:  Katherine Tegan

Date:  January 31, 2012

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  A+

NEWSOUL
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.

NOSOUL
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 suspicious and 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.

My Review

This. Book. Was. Beautiful.

Seriously, I can’t remember the last time I read a book that touched me this much.  The story grabbed me from the first page and I had a hard time extracting myself from this world and from Sam and Ana.  I felt so much for Ana in this story and I was so sad to finish it.

I was a little worried when I decided that this was the next book I would read.  I had just read a pretty scathing review of this book and I was concerned that I wouldn’t like it.  Now I’m starting to wonder if I read the same book as that reviewer!

This book was so heartfelt and also heartbreaking.  Ana’s story is so sad, yet the book ends with so much hope that I can’t wait to see this story continue.

The plot is so fresh and original.  The idea of one new soul being born into this world of constantly reincarnated souls was very intriguing.  I really think that Jodi Meadows captured the reactions that people would have to this type of situation.  Some were excited, some were angry and resentful and some just didn’t care.  Even though this was a total fantasy world, I could relate so well to the people in the story and their reactions and lives felt very real to me.

I felt so sorry for Ana.  The way her mother treated her was just horrific.  So, when she found Sam, I was really rooting for them!  And Sam was such a fabulous character.  He was kind and gentle, yet mysterious at the same time.  I think that I am completely and madly in love with him now!

I loved the cover of this book.  The butterfly is perfect because of the references made to butterflies in the story, but also, the idea of a soul with wings is portrayed with the butterfly image.  This is a case where the beautiful cover leads to a beautiful tale inside.

This is a book that I cannot seem to get out of my head.  It keeps reappearing in my thoughts and I find that I don’t really want to let it go.  If I could, I think I would jump right into the pages of this book today so that I could keep this world and this story with me.  I feel so privileged to have been able to read this book and share it with others.

Giving this book a grade almost seems wrong, because I’m not sure I can place a numerical value on the pleasure I gained from reading this book.  Obviously, nothing less than an A+ will do, but really, how can you quantify a thing of such beauty.  You can’t.  All I can really do is encourage all of you to experience this book for yourself.