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.”

You should never judge a book by its cover.

Sure…but they never said we couldn’t admire them. Cover of the Week pays homage to the beautiful and eye catching graphics that grace the covers of our young adult titles.

This week’s cover of the week goes to Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter.

Release Date: March 2012

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.“

“Katherine has moved away from her shattered family to start afresh in Sydney. There she keeps her head down until she is befriended by the charismatic, party-loving Alice, who brings her out of her shell. But there is a dark side to Alice, something seductive yet threatening. And as Katherine learns the truth about Alice, their tangled destinies spiral to an explosive and devastating finale.”

———————–

If you have read the hype regarding this novel , you would believe that Rebecca James is going to be the next JK Rowling. That is a big call, and not really fair to the author. Flattering? Yes. Fair? No. I too, knew sketchily of the details surrounding ‘Beautiful Malice’ – a bidding war at a book fair in Germany – or somewhere. I wasn’t really paying attention because I was, as most wannabe writers often are, too busy being insanely jealous. So of course when I picked up the novel I was expecting to be blown away.

I wasn’t. But what I did get was a solid read that kept me interested, if not utterly engrossed and up reading past 2am. But I must stress, that even though I didn’t love and adore this book, I can see the appeal and why many others would rate it very, very highly.

In this part romance, part thriller, we are introduced to Katherine Patterson, an intelligent girl who is completing her high school career, away from her family and friends. But we don’t worry about why too much, as we are swept up with Katherine’s new friendship with Alice and Alice’s ‘kind of’ boyfriend, Robbie.  Beautiful, sexy, crazy Alice. It soon becomes clear that crazy is definitely a word used to describe her. Spiteful, cruel, arrogant and scary also come to mind. Although Katherine has been dealt some horrifying blows in her life, she still has her wits about her, and when Alice’s behaviour becomes truly inappropriate, Katherine cuts her loose. Doing her final exams, nurturing a new love and finally being happy – an unhinged bestie is the last thing Katherine needs. Of course, that is when the fun really begins. Katherine’s tragic past becomes a focus for Alice; a means to wreak havoc on Katherine and those she loves.

It has been claimed that the novel has a strong ‘international appeal’, which I think suggests that it isn’t noticeably ‘Australian’. I can’t figure out whether that is an insult or not. It is Catch-22 for me. I love teen stories set in America, with the school hallways indoors, the cafeterias, snow, no school uniform and ‘mom’. I suppose that with a tweak of mum to mom, the change a some place names and a bit of a flora readjustment, this story could be set anywhere. Does it matter? I guess not. I am just not sure if it is a sell-out when a story set in Sydney, by an Aussie author doesn’t feel Australian.

‘Neutral’ setting aside, I liked Katherine. She has a good head on her shoulders – she doesn’t fall prey to Alice’s manipulation and has the strength to end their friendship. Alice is just a nasty piece of work, all the things you expect a bunny-boiling villain to be, but you do wonder how she got so far hiding her crazy. That in itself is impressive, if not a plot hole. Robbie, who makes up the third member of the trio is sweet and gorgeous – you want to hate his weakness where Alice is concerned, but well, she’s gorgeous and seductive and fun, and he’s a boy. What can he do in the face of that? He is not totally clueless; he does realise the hold Alice has over him, and he does pull her up on her behaviour when necessary.

While I don’t want to give to much away regarding the plot – as a thriller, you need the surprises – I feel that Katherine went through a hell of a lot to achieve what happens at the end of most teen romance novels. I know this isn’t a teen romance, but if the murder, mayhem and Alice’s crazy was notched down a bit, it could be. With a bit more swearing. When you reach the end of this novel you will feel wrung out and maybe a little hopeful, that the good, decent characters will finally get what they deserve – peace and happiness. Early on in the novel, we know Alice got what she deserved. You just have to read on to find out how.

Pages: 283

Publication Date: June, 2010

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Challenge: Debut Author

Rating: :

Teaser Quote: Robbie’s father puts his hand on Alice’s arm and pulls her in beside him. Alice’s face is absolutely inscrutable – and though she’d looked shocked when she’d first seen us, she now looks perfectly comfortable, slightly amused even, as if this whole situation is just a game, and we are the toys.

You should never judge a book by its cover.

Sure…but they never said we couldn’t admire them. Cover of the Week pays homage to the beautiful and eye catching graphics that grace the covers of our young adult titles.

This week’s cover of the week goes to Destined by Aprilynne Pike.

Release Date: April 2012