Becky's View: Asunder by Jodi Meadows

Asunder by Jodi Meadows
♦publisher: HarperTeen
♦release date: January 29, 2013
♦hardcover, 416 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Newsoul,book 2
  review of book 1, Incarnate
♦source: from publisher for honest review

DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.

SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.

Warning! Review may have slight spoilers for Incarnate, book 1---if you haven't started the series yet, stop here.

Review:  Last year, I went into Jodi Meadows’ debut, Incarnate, not knowing what expect except for a book about incarnated souls.  I came away completely blown away by the wonder and fantasy that she filled the pages with.  It quickly achieved a spot in my top reads of the year.  So you can imagine my anticipation of Asunder!  While I found Asunder not quite as good as Incarnate, it definitely did not disappoint.

Asunder picks up right where Incarnate left off.  The people of heart are recovering from the horrible dragon attacks on the city, when the temple went dark and several souls were permanently lost after 5,000 years of being reincarnated.  It’s a day they now know as Templedark.  While they grieve, there is still growing wariness toward Ana as a newsoul, despite the fact that she saved so many lives during the attacks.  Things are getting worse; the brutish Merton is doing everything he can to rally the people of Heart against her, and suspicion grows as Ana discovers a strange connection to the sylph.  When another newsoul is born, things escalate into violence, and Ana is determined to become the defending voice and protector of all the newsouls.  Her character really grows in strength in this sequel, but she you can see the lasting effects of being raised by a heartless mother has had on her. It gives her a great complexity and vulnerability.  We get to see a different, very vulnerable side to Sam, too, in both the romance between them and in the ways he pays for protecting Ana.

I did feel like there were a few slow moments here and there, and I felt like the dilemma with Ana against the people was growing a little monotonous, like ground that had been covered in the last book, and then even more in this book.  There is a new mystery surrounding the sylphs and what they really are that was definitely intriguing, though not altogether hard to guess, but it was compelling watching the characters come to the conclusion.  

One thing new to this book was the gruesomeness of some the descriptions.  There are a few scenes that I literally had to stop reading for a moment because they completely turned my stomach.  We also get to meet a few new characters, some good, some bad, and some that remain a mystery until the very end.  There were definitely some gripping moments that will catapult this story into it's finale.

A great follow up to Incarnate, this series will definitely be one that I follow until the very end!

Find Jodi Meadows online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Asunder:  Amazon  •  BN.com  •  Bookdepository  •  Indiebound 

Thanksgiving-Away #15 - Win Asunder!

Time for giveaway #15!  This is another one that I ended up with a double of, so I'm passing it on to my lovely blog friends!

ARC of Asunder by Jodi Meadows

(see event kick-off post for more details!) 

•US mailing addresses only

• Must be 13 or older

• Last day to enter: December 9, 2012

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Debut Author GiveawayHop!

I'm thrilled to be a part of the Debut Author Hop!! There are so many great new YA authors making their debut in 2012 and I'm happy to put them in the spotlight for this event!

For my giveaway, I've chosen four of my favorite Debut Authors of 2012 so far!

One winner will get to chose from these titles as their prize!
Just fill out the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don't forget to visit the rest of the sites participating in the Debut Author Hop!

Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

release date: January 31st, 2012

hardcover, 384 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: Newsoul, book 1

rating:




source: from publisher for honest review

description:
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?

Review: From page one, Incarnate grabbed me and didn't let go. On many levels it surprised me and gave me more than I expected: more fantasy, more romance, and more depth. It was incredibly well-written and touched on things like appreciating life (how does a society that lives forever learn to appreciate anything?) and takes a uniquely twisted look at someone facing prejudices born of fear. When Ana was born, a soul that everyone had knows for 5000 years disappeared and no one knew why. Not only did they take that out on her, but they treated her like she'd had some control over what happened, or like if they let her in they might disappear and be replaced, too---like she was contagious or something. That alone, they way Ana was treated by the old souls and especially by her own mother, added a painful depth to her story and her character. Ana is definitely a character to admire,...throughout the story, she shows immense strength, determination, and passion despite being taught all her life that she is some sort of an abomination.

I loved the romance in this story. I've always been a sucker for chivalry---and Sam definitely had that down. He was the first one to see Ana as a person, and not as some sort of tainted soul. He stands up for her when her attempts to stand up for herself go unheard because of what she is. I love that they have a history and connection before they've even met. But then there is doubt and tension and uncertainty--- I thought it was a perfectly imperfect love story.

The costume ball scene!! *sigh* That's all I will say about that. ;)

I can't think of anything I disliked about this. At times there are a lot of characters to keep straight, and wrapping your mind around the whole reincarnation "timing", with characters coming in and out of each others lives at different ages and as different sexes and still remembering those past lives can be mind-boggling, but it was such a captivating and unique story---I absolutely loved every second!

A perfect quote to show what I mean:

Sine was on my side. I liked her even before I found out she'd been Sam's mother in their previous lives. She'd died during childbirth, and was reincarnated when he was three. As a result, he'd spent his teenage years being mothered by a girl younger than him. Then she'd outlived him, and when he was reborn into this body, she was old enough to be his grandmother. I found it endlessly amusing and confusing.

Definitely give this one a try! I'm so glad to hear this will be a series---there are still some mysteries that need solving here! I'm definitely on board for more!

Visit Jodi at www.jodimeadows.com.

Purchase Incarnate at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound