And our winner of an autographed Cinder is BETH!!!

*applause*

Check yo email

Thanks everyone for entering! (Hopefully next time it’ll be a Rafflecopter.) We have a TON more books to give away this summer, so keep checking back.

Cool pic, huh? Makes me wish I was on the beach somewhere, with a good book.

We’re super excited because this isn’t only our first hop, but our first giveaway EVER! *throws confetti* So here’s the deal.  We have an autographed copy of CINDER.  And we want to give it to you.

How cool is this cover?

Here’s the synopsis from Goodreads:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

How awesome does that sound?! And you can win your very own, shiny copy.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the last year and haven’t heard about how incredible CINDER is, head on over to Rachel’s Review to hear her gush.  Definitely on the list of favorite books.

What are you waiting for? There are a few ways to enter:

For 5 POINTS:  Subscribe to Bookcents! There’s a box for your email on the right side of the page. You’ll need to post your email in the comments section! But hang on a second, because there’s more….

For 1 POINT: Follow Bookcents on our Twitter and make sure to leave us your handle in your comment.

For EXTRA points (1 PT/DAY), you can tweet about the giveaway! (Sorry, Facebookers, we don’t have a page up yet! Maybe next time.)  We’ll only count one a day, but the contest runs until June 16th so you’ll have plenty of time!

Update 6/11 10pm: Don’t worry about putting the Tweet link in the comment for successive days! We’ll count ‘em up from our MT queue on Twitter–but that only works if you use @BookcentsBlog in your Tweet!

Which brings us to the next option! Comment down below, answering either: What’s your favorite fairy tale OR What are you most excited about in Cinder? Or both.  We aren’t picky, but it’ll still only be worth one point.

MAKE SURE your comment has your email in it so we can 1) contact you if you win and 2) check to see you subscribed.

Sorry this isn’t a Rafflecopter guys!!!  WordPress subdomains and Java script are in a fight. Winners will be chosen using Random.org on June 17th!

Thanks for stopping by! Here are some absolutely fantastic other bloggers who’re giving away things too! Free stuff! Go check it out.

 For those of you who haven’t heard of The Mephisto Covenant here’s the synopsis from Goodreads:

And you should definitely get that on your library list!  Now, onto what you actually clicked here for!

The mythology Faegen developed in The Mephisto Covenant is further developed into our world as the President’s daughter becomes Eryx’s next target. And now for a look at this gorgeous cover!

*applause* *throws confetti* *cheers*

Don’t you think it’ll look fantastic on the shelf next to TMC? I’m so excited to get my copy! And now for the synopsis:

Sounds awesome, right?  If you’ve read the first Mephisto book–or even if they’ve only just come on your literary radar–what are you looking forward to in The Mephisto Kiss?

Goddess Interrupted releases tomorrow, and Rachel and Emmy discuss it with each other and tell why you should go BUY IT!

*SPOILER FREE!*

Rachel: Goddess Interrupted was one of my most highly anticipated books of this year, and that comes with certain expectations. And with a whole year to brood on those expectations, they can get rather high…. Sometimes books don’t always live up. GI was not one of those. This book was everything I wanted and absolutely more.

Emmy: I mean, we have more of all the characters we love *coughHenrycough* and I absolutely adored the way Carter characterized all the gods this time around.  It goes way deeper into their theogony (the birth of the gods) which I think made me connect better to Walter and Ava and even Calliope. And of course, we’re introduced to Persephone, who added a whole new layer to the angst between Henry and Kate!

Rachel: Excellent word choice there: ANGST. You know how much I love angst, and there was plenty of it, beginning, middle, and end. Life (or whatever you’d call being an eternal entity based most importantly on belief in an idea) isn’t a cake walk for these two, and Kate and Henry’s relationship, after TGT, isn’t solid enough that a little bit of outside stress doesn’t put a strain on it. And stress can be spelled in many ways. I prefer P-E-R-S-E-P-H-O-N-E.

Emmy:  Haha! It’s so true! While I feel bad for Kate (OK, you got me.  I really don’t.), the entire Kate-Henry dynamic is defined by all this lack of communication.  And her pain was so much fun to read! *insert maniacal laughter*  It doesn’t help that no one will tell Kate what’s going on.  I mean, she’s new to the whole immortal-queen-of-the-underworld thing, but she’s not stupid. The gods are so used to taking care of themselves; they almost get themselves killed!

Rachel: *shakes head* Really, it can’t be that hard to figure out that they need to include Kate too, even if they have been doing things the same way for a couple millennia……….okay, maybe not. But hey, that’s the problem with being a god. Or something. Let’s switch topics. Can we talk about the underworld? Because I thought Aimée’s version was absolutely fantastic.

Emmy: The castle was especially gorgeous, but I absolutely loved the way she had each soul living in their own personal heaven. The way we saw them as Kate traveled was a lot of fun and created whole new worlds inside the kingdom she’ll be ruling.

Rachel: There really was a great variety, and it was of course an excellent way of addressing the inevitable questions that arise, such as “Oh hey, I’m a Christian/Buddhist/worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster, what will the underworld look like for me since I don’t believe in Henry?” Not that anyone could NOT believe in Henry, I mean really.

Emmy: It was a very well written section too.  Aimée does a lot of great description and exposition. My only critique was that there was a lot of Kate whining about Henry, instead of actually being with Henry.

Rachel: I concur. Luckily, it never got to the point where I wanted to throw Kate off a cliff (ignoring the fact that we’re in the underworld already). Overall, I think she acted pretty sensibly for someone stuck on a quest with her thousand-year-old husband’s very very old lover. A quest which people refuse to tell her anything about. Or, you know, show her how to actually do anything. Or really help her in any way at all.

Emmy: I think the uselessness was forced on her by the other characters completely, but I guess I can see why. I mean, she’s an infant in the grand scheme of things. But as a reader, who knows Kate’s an intelligent human bean, it got a bit rough.

Rachel: EXACTLY! I just got so angry on her behalf. I wanted her to go pick a fight with some immortal relatives. But that’s not Kate’s style.

Emmy: I feel like one of the few people who gave Kate enough credit was James.  But even he didn’t really let her live up to her divine potential. I did think his struggles helped me like him more. He wasn’t just a guy against Henry in this book or Kate’s best friend. He had more depth.

Rachel: You put that perfectly. It really was incredible to see all the way the characters evolved, even if just in our view of them, through further exposure and experience.  I loved that Kate wasn’t ever drawn into a love triangle, too.  James may want to be “the other guy,” but Kate loves Henry. It’s great to see proper love and devotion and not just a “oh my god who do I choose?!” sort of scenario.

Emmy: And then there’s the ENDING. *flails* Just after we think things are going okay.

Rachel: Oh god. The ending.

Emmy: She just literally knocked me over. I think I fell over when I was reading this book.

Rachel: I remember I was visiting my grandparents and was sitting in bed reading at approximately 2am and just collapsed. I didn’t quite fall out of the bed. But then I had that weird too-late-to-handle-this freak out, and ended up just bouncing up and down like a maniac at the pure energy of such a cruel ending. CRUEL, EVIL ENERGY.

Emmy: I can honestly say, I have NO IDEA where the next book is going to take me. And that’s a rare thing to be able to say.

Rachel: Ditto. But it’s absolutely wonderful and totally refreshing.

Emmy: So I think we can say that while Kate was borderline annoying, the angst was all worth it, but don’t read the end of it in public for fear of throwing it at innocent passers-by.

Rachel: Also, because the scene right before it is the best scene in the book. So first you’ll flail from excitement. And then two pages later you’ll flail from death. And it will all be very embarrassing and possibly cause injury to anyone within a 5 mile vicinity.
Emmy: But everyone should read it. And they should also look at the pretty cover of The Goddess Legacy which can’t come out soon enough!

Rachel: More gods!

Emmy: SO EXCITED!

Make sure to go buy Goddess Interrupted tomorrow, and if you haven’t read The Goddess Test, go buy that too!

Check out our interview with Aimée Carter HERE!

Today we have Aimée Carter chatting about her upcoming sequel to The Goddess Test–read our review here! She’s adorable, successful AND hilarious (I know, one person should not be so talented–try to contain your jealousy) so get excited! Goddess Interruptedwas phenomenal addition to Kate’s godly adventure (this time in the underworld!)–expect our review to be up closer to the release date. (Hint: We loved it!)

Bookcents: Here’s an ice breaker for you…literally. If two penguins are walking toward the South Pole, and one falls through, then how can I get myself a Henry?

Aimée:  Henrys are very rare, I’m afraid, and one must search high and low to find one. Henrys have never been spotted outside of captivity before, but while the rumors point to the South Pole, I have it on good authority that New Zealand is the place to look.

Bookcents:  We know what you write (at least so far!), but what do you like to read? Describe how your bookshelves are populated.

Aimée:   I buy a lot of books. I think just about everyone in the publishing industry does. I have four bookshelves, loosely organized by when I bought them, how many times I’ve read them (one of my bookshelves is devoted to my to be read pile), and a few of the shelves are organized alphabetically. It’s very odd.

I typically read YA, but I also have a few adult authors I enjoy as well. Mostly I read the stories that interest me – I like reading fresh stories I’ve never seen done before, or ones with protagonists whose fatal flaws are front and center. I’m a story person. I tend to be attracted to books regardless of the author or publishing house or genre. If the story piques my interest, I’ll buy it. And this happens a lot, hence the four full-to-bursting bookcases.

Bookcents: You often tweet about the plethora of TV shows you’re watching. Which show are you most dying for a new episode?

Aimée:  Revenge! I love that show much, much more than I thought I would, and I love good surprises. I’m also a huge fan of Parenthood, though the season finale aired this week, so it’s a very long wait for next year.

Bookcents:  What is the last great book you read?

Aimée:  I just reread The Hunger Games. Does that count? I haven’t had much time to read lately, between working on various projects and trying to still have some semblance of a social life. I almost always read during meals though, so that’s something. I really enjoyed Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side as well, which I read recently.

Bookcents:  What is one book you are really looking forward to being released?

Aimée:  I’m excited about Grave Mercy, for sure. I love stories about female assassins and protagonists who take charge.

Bookcents:  And for an actual Goddess Interrupted question! Your characters grew and became significantly more complex in Goddess Interrupted. Did it become harder or easier to write any particular one? Do your characters ever start to give you trouble?

Aimée:  I had a blast writing Goddess Interrupted, and a lot of that was having a chance to expand on the characters’ histories. I’ve had them in my head this whole time, but with the focus being on Kate so much, it was hard to find opportunities to do that, especially in the first. But as the series goes on, you learn a lot more about each of the characters and the world they live in.

My characters almost never give me trouble, but occasionally I write myself into corners with plots from book to book. I actually didn’t write a single Goddess Test story immediately after the other – I wrote at least one, sometimes even two manuscripts between them – so sometimes, when I go back to double check a plot or myth I want to work with in the next one, I’ll realize there’s a line or a paragraph that completely contradicts what I want to do. It’s frustrating sometimes, but it’s also forced me to grow creatively, and I love that. For me, it’s all about pushing the limits and figuring out how to write the best story I possibly can.

Thanks so much for doing this, guys!! You’re both rockstars. ;D

Bookcents: Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to visit our blog! Now feel free to go write more Henry for us. (This is a joke–but only a little bit.)

And that’s our interview with Aimée Carter, who is made of pure awesome as well as the author of the Goddess Test series! Goddess Interrupted is out March 27th and was a fantastic sequel to TGT, while The Goddess Hunt (Goddess Test 1.5!) is out today! *confetti* *balloons*

Rating: SKIP IT

This book, unfortunately, had two significant issues. Let’s talk about the easy one first:

Mismarketing.

Take a look at this description:

Kendra Hilferty is a witch. Yes, a witch–and she has been for hundreds of years. She might be known for the inventive curse she put on one beastly teen guy, but there is more to her story. Here, she chronicles her immortal existence, from first discovery of her powers. While always good intentioned, Kendra has found that her bewitching can backfire, and her magic turns versions of The Princess and the Pea and The Little Mermaid–set against the real-world backdrops of Versailles and the sinking of the Titanic–on their heads. Kendra’s reminiscences of her past are wrapped around a real-time Cinderella story in which she is trying to play fairy godmother… to the stepsister. With dark twists, hilarious turns, and unexpected endings, Bewitching is a contemporary read for fairy-tale lovers, fantasy fans, and anyone looking for more Alex Flinn.

What’s this? A book all about a kickass witch? Awesome!

…..wrong.

Bewitching, in fact, is barely Kendra’s story at all. Only the first 50 pages concern Kendra herself, and the rest is about other people’s stories, and narrated by other voices.

This was, as you might expect, rather a surprise.

The book actually flipped narrators throughout, and even the narrator of the main Cinderella story’s narration style changed midway through due to a time skip.

Marketing Bewitching as a book about Kendra is misleading (and downright wrong), and certainly disappointing for one who went in expecting an awesome witchy story.

Now for the other issue.

In Disney movies in recent years, we’ve seen a lot more independent, strong princesses who don’t need a Prince to save them, but get him anyway.

Bewitching does not follow that trend.

Actually, if there were any singular theme of the novel, it would be that a woman can’t be happy without a man, and if she doesn’t have one, she might as well kill herself.

I am most grieved to inform you that that is not an exaggeration.

This is especially sad to see in a book that could have had so much female power – Kendra is a totally badass powerful witch, after all – but Alex Flinn really let us females down here.

The princess mopes when she doesn’t end up with the prince, the mermaid can’t go on without her prince, and the girl in the main Cinderella arc only finds self-confidence as the result of getting her prince.

Even the happy endings in the book don’t feel happy, because they only come because of a man! Whatever happened to the idea that a girl doesn’t need a man (although it’s wonderful to have one)?! What happened to the idea of loving one’s self?! Are we women only allowed to be happy if we have our perfect prince?! As someone who is single and proud, I was distressed to learn that there was not a single bit of evidence for this in the book!

Honestly, it’s hard to find something I really liked about the book. I love fairy tales, and the book was still mildly entertaining, but Alex Flinn’s writing was far from impressive. The narration was weak, and often annoying.

Kendra’s portion of the book, despite her awesome witchy-ness, was just plain dull. Emma’s first narrative portion was obnoxious to the point of screaming. Just because she was only 13 years old does not mean you need to dumb down your writing! The use of casual speak/typing like “sooooooo” was sooooooo grating. This improved somewhat when Emma aged, but instead of being annoying she just because the stereotypical “not your normal high school girl.”  If I never see another weird girl who, despite being in Middle School, loves doing nothing but read classic novels again, it will be too soon.

I’m sorry, Alex Flinn, I really did enjoy Beastly for what it was, but you let us down with this one.

If you’re looking for more fairy tale adaptations, skip this one and go check out one of the other recent fairy tale releases instead. They’re hot these days, and you can find one that has a strong female character, stronger characters, and stronger writing. (If you haven’t already, check out our review of Cinder here!)

So In My Mailbox was started in November of 2008 by The Story Siren and basically allows us to montage our books in whatever form pleases us. As much as we would love to, there’s just no way to review every book we receive for review! IMM let’s us feature those titles on the blog so our readers can see what’s on our To Be Read list.  Because this is the first IMM bookcents has ever done, we’ll keep it short and sweet with a list of the books Emmy got this month to review!

FROI OF THE EXILES (Lumatere Chronicles #2) by Melina Marchetta

Blood sings to blood, Froi . . .
Those born last will make the first . . .
For Charyn will be barren no more.

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home… Or so he believes… 

Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been trained roughly and lovingly by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds. Here he encounters a damaged people who are not who they seem, and must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad Princess. 

And in this barren and mysterious place, he will discover that there is a song sleeping in his blood, and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen. 

Gripping and intense, complex and richly imagined, Froi of the Exiles is a dazzling sequel to Finnikin of the Rock, from the internationally best-selling and multi-award-winning author of Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca, On the Jellicoe Road and The Piper’s Son.

UNDER THE NEVER SKY (Under the Never Sky #1) by Veronica Rossi

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART. 

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER. 

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she’s never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim. 

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He’s searching for someone too. He’s also wild – a savage – but might be her best hope at staying alive. 

If they can survive, they are each other’s best hope for finding answers.

LIES BENEATH (Lies Beneath #1) by Anne Greenwood Brown

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy.

But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother’s death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family’s homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock’s daughter, Lily.

Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there’s more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

STARTERS (Starters #1) by Lissa Price

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man. 

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie’s head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator’s grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations’ plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

PARTIALS (Partials #1) by Dan Wells

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials–engineered organic beings identical to humans–has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out. 

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask. 

Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question–one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.

Not a bad list for our first IMM, huh? I can’t wait to crack open these books and fall into new worlds! To prep myself for Froi I’ve begun listening to the Finnikin of the Rock audiobook, which is mindblowingly amazing.  (If you haven’t read Finnikin, you should get on that immediately, it’s one of our favorite books of all time!) All of these but Under the Never Sky are ARCs sourtesy of incredibly generous publishers, who make blogs like Bookcents possible!

Excited for any of the books in my TBR pile? Comment below!

Happy reading!  –Emmy

Told from the perspective of Scarlet–otherwise known as Will Scarlet to keep her femininity a secret–we’re quickly pulled into the bloody conflict the sheriff is raging against Robin and his band.

Some aspects of the Robin Hood legend are different, like Sir Guy of Gisbourne taking on the role of a thief-taker hired to hunt down Robin Hood and his merry men.  Except there’s more to his hunt than meets the eye, and the one in the most danger isn’t Robin but Scarlet. 

In Scarlet we have a really dynamic heroine. She strong, while having weaknesses, and smart, but by no means a genius. She’s a brilliant thief and can climb like no one’s business. (As you can imagine, this is helpful not only in Sherwood, but when it comes to scaling, say, castle walls.)  I love reading this story from her perspective, because she’s just insightful enough to make it a great read but she also misses cues–especially romantic ones–that help add characterization and tension to the plots.

The plot in this novel doesn’t revolve around Gisbourne, though he is really important. It’s our favorite Sheriff up to no good, kidnapping children and threatening to kill them if the parents are late with their taxes again. Except the taxes are so high people are starving to try and pay them, and rarely actually can.  Robin, of course, is ready to jump into the fray and lie, cheat, and steal to get his people (for they’re rightfully his subjects) out from under the Sheriff’s thumb. Of course, they run into numerous problems along the way, but it’s the way these four solve their way around these obstacles shows not only  her character’s motivations but adds layers to their group.

Of course there’s a love story filled with angst and secrets–my favorite kind–that threatens to pull the band apart. It’s amazing, and you find yourself alternately cheering and moaning at Scarlet throughout the narrative. There’s the obvious love interest to be found in Robin Hood, whose character is so conflicted and angst filled about his past you can’t help but love him.  Except he’s the rightful Earl of Locksely and far out of Scarlet’s league.  He has to marry a lady, after all, since he’ll regain his title when Richard finally returns from the Crusades.

And then there’s John Little, whose family’s devastating death has left him with some serious commitment issues.  But while John seems ready to put those aside to try and be with Scarlet, she’s battling with a past of her own that’s left serious scars on her–both literally and figuratively.

While Scarlet tries to keep her gender a secret from the world, there are other secrets that threaten the stability of Robin’s band. As fractures in the band begin to grow, the tension in Nottingham and the surrounding villages is mounting too.

This is a book that will reveal something new every time you reread it.  It’s almost difficult to believe that Gaughen is a debut author–her writing is flawless, the voice of her narrator distinct and interesting, and her story is filled with deeper emotions that some people are used to reading in a YA novel. On the other hand, I’ve never read a story like Scarlet and I can’t wait until I get the chance to visit Gaughen’s world of Robin Hood again.

Jodi Meadows’s debut novel Incarnate came out last week and already has the world of YA talking.  She’s taken some time out of her super busy debut week schedule to answer some questions for us.  If you haven’t heard of it you must be living under a rock–I mean, how can you miss a cover as awesome as this one? Read Rachel’s review of Incarnate HERE!  We are so excited to have her on our blog today.  Thanks for stopping by Jodi!

Bookcents: Describe your main characters in three words–only using nouns.

Jodi:    Nouns??  Okay. Um.
Ana: Girl. Music. Issues.
Sam: Boy. Music. Issues.
Is that cheating? If not: Hurrah! If so: Muahaha!

Bookcents:  Do you have any other projects you’re working on you’d like to tell us about? *coughthesequel?cough*

Jodi:  You’ll be pleased to know that book 2 is already turned in and working its way through production. And I’m working on book 3.

Rating: BUY IT!

Incarnate was one of those books that I was honestly terrified to start, because I had heard so many fantastic things about it. I was afraid that it couldn’t possibly live up to my expectations.

I was wrong.

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?

As an enormous fan of fantasy, it was refreshing to be able to fully immerse myself in such a richly developed world and perspective.

Smooth, natural world-building is one of the most difficult yet most rewarding aspects of a novel. Even before truly knowing the characters, I was already in love with the world of Incarnate. We learned about Range and Heart, the dangers of the world, the reincarnations and past lives, and the terror of sylph, all through Ana’s interactions with the world.  As she experienced something, we did too.

Even better, Ana was experiencing most of life for the first time.  In many ways, her perspective was synchronized with the perspective of the reader.  As such, we got a fresh view on everything in the world, rather than an omniscient general description.

These bits of Incarnate were some of my favorite moments. Many common aspects of life and social interaction are entirely new to Ana, aspects that we readers, and all the other characters, take for granted. Have you ever thought about what it’s like to receive a hug for the first time? Jodi Meadows does a magnificent job of re-imagining these interactions, something that really helps Ana’s world to feel real.

Despite being new to the world, Ana is far from a weak female protagonist. Although sometimes I got upset at her for reacting poorly to people’s actions, I was thrilled that she wouldn’t take shit from anyone. She may be new, surrounded by people who have known each other for thousands of years, but she won’t let anyone tell her that she doesn’t deserve to be treated with respect. Go Ana!

Not all of the other souls were mean to Ana. Sam and Stef were both fantastic characters, and full of all the depth you’d expect from someone who has lived for 5000 years. One of the most interesting parts of characters is that they’ve been reincarnated as both male and female. There could be a huge analysis regarding gender psychology of here, but that’s not my area. I’ll just say that it made all the characters have much more complexity.

Incarnate is the beginning of a trilogy, but it was, in my opinion, how every first book should be. It had a proper climax and conclusion, and a satisfying ending, yet questions were left open and unanswered. Although we learn, generally, why Ana was born, even more questions are raised about how everyone else was born. Even the 5000-year-old souls don’t know their own origin story. They have a religious system, yet no full explanation, and many very important questions about how things came to be.

What we do know, however, is all that a million souls have seen over 5000 years, enough to show an essential overview of Earth-like evolution.  In fact, many Earthen situations are subtly woven into the world, not enough to feel stolen, but just enough to, again, have a thoroughly realistic world.

If you can’t tell, I really really like the world Jodi Meadows has crafted. I can’t wait to reread Incarnate and to learn more about the world in book two!

You can go buy Incarnate now at your local bookstore! (And who wouldn’t want this beautiful cover gracing their bookshelves?!)

And, as a special treat, we have an interview with Jodi Meadows herself, answering a few questions about books, writing, and Incarnate! Stay tuned to check it out!