Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Book 1 in the Newsoul trilogy
Genre: YA fantasy
Pages: 374
Format: hardcover
Source: library
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plot: 15 out of 20
characters: 15 out of 20
setting: 20 out of 20
relationships: 15 out of 20
twists: 10 out of 20
75 out of 100

Incarnate definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but in some areas it felt like it was lacking a bit. 😐

the plot

The story is very unique. I’ve never read a book about a society based on the members’ reincarnation. It was clearly well-planned and made sense, and I liked reading about it. I think the issue was that it lacked any compelling elements. Because while it was enjoyable, I can’t go as far as to call it gripping. I read to finish it, not because I had to know what came next. 😐

the characters

Ana was a very odd lead, in my opinion. Throughout the story she was brave at some points and scared at others; mature and whiny, understanding and stubborn. I understand having mixed emotions and that feelings change based on certain situations, but she was more hot and cold than reasonable. I liked her, but that temperament sort of threw me off. Hopefully that makes sense.

Sam was kind of the same way. He was cold and then caring, gentle and then frustrated, off and on. I liked him and I thought he was a great lead, but again, that attitude was kind of off-putting. I rarely understood his mood swings, because they were either random or just never explained. Hopefully you can understand.

(For some reason I always overuse “hopefully,” and can never adequately explain my feelings.)

the setting

I loved the world of Range and the city of Heart. It was a unique, curious idea that I thought was personally very fun to explore. That applies especially to Heart; a pristine, living (but not breathing, luckily) maze of a city. Even without the compulsion other worlds have, this was a very interesting setting. 🙂

the relationships

Ana and Sam’s romance is as complicated as their personalities are. I love the idea of them together and want them to be together, but they don’t seem to work. I’m sure they want it as much as I do, but one pulls away whenever the other tries to advance or express themselves. It was kind of frustrating, honestly, but if I continue the trilogy I’m hopeful they’ll work everything out. 😉

the twists

Like I mentioned earlier, I feel like this story lacked any compelling elements. For me, that also affected the twists. What was clearly intended to shock readers didn’t faze me too much. I didn’t expect any of it, particularly not the events of the last 100 or so pages, but it didn’t wow me. 😐

overall

All in all, Incarnate was unique and good, but not much more than that. It had some redeeming qualities, but I’m not sure if I’ll read the other two books.

my rating: 3½ out of 5 stars

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Have you read this book? Is it on your TBR? If you have read it, what did you think? I’d love to know! Tell me in the comments! 🙂

I meant to get this up yesterday, but I didn’t plan well so instead I’m posting from a school laptop. *.* Anyway, I’m off to start Blood Promise by Richelle Mead (and finish school obviously). 🙂 I hope you all have a fabulous day/night! ❤

Until next time…

Come visit me! 😀