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?

A million souls exist in Range. Each year, these same souls are reborn into different bodies. Until the year Ana is born. No one knows Ana and she has never lived before. And her existence means someone has stopped existing: Ciana. The other souls resent Ana for taking the place of one of their friends, someone they’ve known for thousands of years, and they’re wary of Ana. Will she be reborn after this life? Is there any point in getting close to her without knowing for sure if she’ll remain a permanent fixture in their lives? Sam seems to think so, but in a world where every seems to hate her, Ana’s not sure she can trust Sam.

Incarnate is an incredibly interesting and unique idea. After reading it, I’m surprised reincarnation hasn’t been further explored. Meadows creates a fascinating world, but as fascinating as it is, I thought she could have taken it further. She raises so many questions throughout the novel and some of the big reveals feel kind of disappointing and rushed. Everything about Incarnate is so new and the entire world is especially new to Ana, making her a perfectly relatable protagonist. She’s insanely curious, which should be beneficial for the reader. But as Ana searches for answers she doesn’t find until the very end, the suspense and sense of mystery keep building and building, leading up to a huge revelation. While the revelation is unpredictable, I just expected more from it.

One thing I really appreciate about Incarnate is the way Meadows makes you question everything and everyone. Ana is a naturally distrustful character, for good reasons, so it takes a lot for her to open up to people. Sam and his friends work hard to really earn Ana’s and our trust. Then Meadows manages to sweep the carpet out from under all of us, making us doubt everything we learn about the characters. It’s so rare that I feel that unsure, that I have no idea where the plot is going, and I commend Meadows for being able to surprise me so much.

There’s a lot to like about Incarnate. Every aspect of the novel is refreshing. The world of Range, and specifically the city of Heart, is a breath of fresh air, with it’s new traditions, customs, and overall different way of life. The mystery surrounding sylph still plagues my mind and the small portion of science behind the reincarnation piques my curiosity. The story incorporates its own new religion and raises questions about faith and belief. Basically, its a book that really makes you think, even after you finish it. If you’re growing wearing of vampires, angels, and the typical paranormal romances, then don’t hesitate to pick up Incarnate, as it’ll offer something you probably haven’t seen before.

Pages: 384
Publication Date : January 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Challenge: Debut Author
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “I desperately wanted to be someone else for a while, and for no one to know who I was. What I was. Nosoul.”

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she’s returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld… this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she’s forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s…

Nikki Beckett spent one hundred years with Cole in the Everneath, the equivalent of six months in the real world. At the end of her hundred-year sentence, Nikki chooses to return to the surface for her remaining six months, at the end of which she will either be swallowed by the Tunnels, which will siphon her emotions for the rest of her life, or she can choose to return to Cole and become an Everliving, meaning she’ll have to Feed off of others the way Cole Fed off of her to survive.

Nikki has accepted her fate in the Tunnels. She only returns to the surface to make things right with her family and see, for one last time, the face of the boy who kept her alive while she was in the Everneath: her ex-boyfriend, Jack. But Nikki soon realizes that simply seeing him isn’t enough, especially since Jack’s so desperate to hang on to Nikki now that she’s back in his life.

I surprised myself by loving Everneath. This book provides a love triangle that makes me remember why I love love triangles. Jack is the boy every girl dreams about for her first boyfriend. He and Nikki have been friends since they were little and it took Nikki a long time to realize she might like him as more than a friend. It took Jack even longer, as he was known as sort of a player throughout their high school. But when they finally end up together, they’re obviously a perfect fit. Everneath is told from alternating chapters of the past and present, before and after Nikki’s time spent in the Everneath. Though we catch glimpses of Nikki and Jack’s friendship before their relationship, I wish we had seen more. But what we do see is adorable and completely “aww”-worthy. It’s so refreshing to see two characters that know each other so well and that bring out the better qualities in each other — you know, like in a real, natural, positive relationship.

Speaking of real and natural, all the characters in Everneath are supremely realistic. Nikki is the protagonist I’ve been waiting for — intelligent, flawed, conflicted, strong. I can’t stop thinking about how realistic all of her actions are and how I’d probably make a lot of the same decisions as her if I were in her place (not always the best decisions, but the ones that seem to be right at the time). She stands up for herself and tries to make the best of her circumstances, despite the fact that doing the right thing is always the hardest, in her case. She’s also a genuinely good person, with pure intentions and a clear moral compass. Basically, she’s a really likable person and an admirable heroine.

Everneath‘s plot is both unique and familiar. A lot of ancient myths are incorporated, specifically the myth of Persephone and Hades, as well as Orpheus and Eurydice. For mythology lovers like myself, it’s always fun to see myths included with a modern spin. But then Brodi Ashton goes even farther, providing us with the intriguing plot of the Everneath, the Everliving, and the Tunnels. Ashton reveals clues about this world she’s created sparingly, ratcheting up the senses of suspense and mystery. Most of Everneath is completely unpredictable, which meant the closer I came to the ending, the more anxious I felt. I couldn’t tell how things were going to play out and the ending left me heartbroken, though hopeful and pacified enough to wait for the sequel. As long as it’s not too long of a wait.

Everneath is a book that will make you feel, that will leave you conflicted…in the best possible ways. Cole is the villain and at times, you’ll hate him, but there are also some moments you’ll feel twinges of sympathy for him. You’ll want Jack and Nikki to be together, but you’ll also want what’s best for Jack, and that just might be staying away from Nikki. But even though Nikki made one supremely bad decision, she’s still a good person and she deserves happiness too, right? If you’re looking for a lovable, complicated, paranormal page-turner, don’t hesitate to dive right into Everneath. You won’t regret it.

Pages: 370
Publication Date : January 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins
Challenge: N/A
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “I closed my eyes and pictured the boy with the brown hair, and as I took in my first really deep breath of Surface air, a name to match the face came to me. A name I’d been trying to cling to for a century.“

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life…

For fans of Maria V. Snyder, especially her Study series, Touch of Power is a must read. Avry is one of the last remaining Healers in the Territories — perhaps, even, the very last. Healers, once respected and revered, are now hunted as they are blamed for the inception of the plague the has left so many dead. But there are some who still need Healers, like Kerrick and his merry band of rogues. Kerrick needs Avry to heal Prince Ryne, who is being kept in a magically induced stasis to prevent the prince from dying from the plague. But there are many who will do anything to stop Avry from healing Ryne. Little do they know, Avry doesn’t even want to heal Ryne and she makes it absolutely clear that who she heals is completely her own decision. With such high stakes, it is imperative that Kerrick convince Avry that Ryne is worth saving, which proves difficult as Avry and Kerrick hate each other.

Snyder transports us to yet another new world in Touch of Power. Her descriptions are crisp and powerful so that her words really bring this world to life. This book covers a long period of time, which means Snyder has plenty of time to explore the Territories and the politics surrounding each aspiring ruler. Each persons’ motivations behind wanting to rule is fascinating. The would-be rulers all have flaws. Major flaws. This makes it easy to sympathize with Avry’s conflicting thoughts and emotions. She doesn’t know what the right thing to do is, but she feels pressure from so many forces to do something. I admire that she refuses to compromise her beliefs throughout the entire novel. A huge burden rests on her shoulders and she takes it very, very seriously, despite some chances at an easy way out.

This book is full of intrigue and suspense. The mystery of the plague gripped me from the very beginning and I was dying for answers up until the very last page. Then there’s the mystery of Kerrick — why does he so wholeheartedly believe Prince Ryne is the best hope for the future and what secret is Avry hiding that sets her so against healing Ryne? Even as questions are answered, more and more crop up, leaving you frantically flipping pages until you reach the last one, at which point you want to shake the book up and down, hoping for more pages to fall out. That’s how powerful this plot is. There’s just so much to it — you’ll get so caught up in the intrigue of this world that the characters’ problems start to feel like your own. You won’t want answers, you’ll need answers. Luckily, this book provides just enough that you won’t feel jilted at the end, though you will be dying for the sequel.

As far as protagonists go, Avry is supremely likable. She’s such a genuinely good person, stubborn, sassy, and uncompromising in her beliefs, though still willing to listen to reason. As a Healer, she puts others’ lives before her own, which is why she refuses to be coerced into healing anyone. When she heals, it’s her decision because it affects her life. I also love her stubborn streak. She isn’t afraid to stand up to literally anyone, which often gets her in trouble, but also works in her favor. Half the time. Maybe. She’s a heroine I respect immensely and probably my favorite of Snyder’s characters to date.

The supporting cast is absolutely amazing. Kerrick is a complicated, captivating character. His relationship with Avry is tumultuous and unpredictable. Every conversation between the two of them held my complete attention. Kerrick’s best friend, Belen, is instantly lovable and completely deserving of Avry’s nickname of “Poppa Bear.” He’ll defend his friends, or “cubs,” until his dying breath. Flea, Quain, and Vinn make up the rest of Kerrick’s group of rogues, and their charming and hysterical in their own ways. Each distinct personality brings something new to the table and makes you feel as if you’re becoming part of a family the entire time you’re reading. The light campfire conversations will bring an unconscious smile to your face.

Touch of Power is full of action, mysterious, intricate plots, and exciting new characters. It’s a wonderful addition to Snyder’s repertoire and, in my opinion, one of her best books so far. I can’t wait to see where this series goes.

Pages: 392
Publication Date : December 2011
Publisher: Mira
Challenge: N/A
Rating :

Teaser Quote: Kerrick flung me at him. “Watch her. Quain, you’re with me.” He pulled his sword and left with Quain right behind him.

In the tense silence, Vinn studied me. “I’m watching. Are you going to do any tricks?”