Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Title: Incarnate (Newsoul #1)

Author: Jodi Meadows

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: January 31, 2012

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

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 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 one, 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? 

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Like many books in my house, Incarnate had been sitting unread on my shelves for a long time. But book club made it so I finally had to read it, and I found myself pleasantly surprised. Though I wasn't sold on the premise when I first started reading, but the end I was totally loving Incarnate.

Ana isn't like everyone else. She hasn't lived through hundreds of lifetimes and reincarnations. When Ana was born, a soul mysteriously disappeared, and no one really knows or understands how Ana came to be. Her whole life, people have been afraid of her, afraid of what her existence might mean for everyone else in Range. Determined to finally get some answers about who she is, Ana travels to the city of Heart. But there are some obstacles along the way, and there are many people who want to stop her. Sam, though, is willing to stand up for her, to do what it takes to convince everyone that Ana's soul is good. And with Sam by her side, Ana is ready to take on anything.

I'll admit I wasn't completely sold on the premise of Jodi Meadows' Incarnate, but after hearing a lot of positive things about the book I decided to buy a copy anyway. And then it sat on my self, unread, for the better part of the last two years because I pretty much forgot about it. But my book club chose it as one of our books and I was finally reading Incarnate. And the more I read, the more the premise grew on me, until I was completely engrossed in the story. The way Jodi Meadows tackled the topic of reincarnation was really interesting and I was fascinated. In this world, a finite set of souls keeps getting reincarnated over and over again, well at least until Ana comes along. That means that everyone has known each other and been together pretty much since the beginning of time. So basically, in one lifetime you might be paired off with the person who was your "parent" or your "child" in a previous lifetime. That aspect of it all really made me think and that's ultimately made me really like Incarnate. It got me thinking all philosophically about it all and I loved it. And the most interesting aspect was how Ana fit into all of this.

Ana was an interesting character on more than one level. On one level, Ana herself made me want to root for her. I wanted her to find out who she was an how she fit into Range. I wanted people to come around to her side, and I wanted her to get what she wanted as far as Sam was concerned. Because Sam was kinda perfect for Ana and in my opinion they just needed to be together. On a different level, Ana was interesting as a piece of the world she lived in. In the world of Incarnate, Ana is what upset the status quo. In a world that had been the same for thousands of years, Ana was unexpected and she altered the basic functioning of her society. Again, this was all just interesting to think about and made the story that much more engaging.

Had I known how much I would enjoy Jodi Meadows' Incarnate, I would have read it sooner. But as they say, hindsight is 20/20. This was s tory that had the kind of romance I love, and a world that fascinated me and had me thinking long after I was finished reading. If you haven't already given Incarnate a chance, I strongly urge you to do so.

The Redemption of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Title: The Redemption of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence #2)

Author: Jessica Sorensen

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: February 11, 2014 (Paperback)

Source: Purchased eBook

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden comes an emotional new story about two troubled souls sharing one all-encompassing love…

The dark secret Kayden has kept hidden for years is finally out. Worse, he's facing charges for battery. The only way to clear his name is for Callie to speak up--something he'll never ask her to do. Instead, he'll do whatever he must to protect her…even if it means letting go of the only girl he's ever loved.

Callie knows Kayden is going back to his dark place and desperately wants to save him. But that means facing her greatest fear and admitting her own painful secrets aloud. The thought of breaking her silence terrifies her--but not as much as the thought of losing Kayden forever.

Deep in her heart, Callie knows the time has come for her and Kayden to forget the pain of the past. With the help of her friends Seth and Luke she makes a plan to show Kayden the life they could have. But can she convince him they can make a fresh start together--or is she already too late?

It looks like I am continuing on with my newfound, mild obsession with New Adult, and so far I'm loving everything I've been reading. Jessica Sorensen's The Redemption of Callie & Kayden was what I hoped it would be, and I loved continuing on with the characters I'd gotten to know in the previous book.

His whole life, Kayden Owens has worked to keep his secret hidden. To everyone else, Kayden was the popular football player, but at home things weren't the same. But now people know what his father has been doing all these years. Except not everyone has the right story. Now the only way for Kayden to make things right is with Callie's help. But the last thing he wants is to ask Callie to do the one thing he was never able to do, speak up. Callie knows she has to help Kayden, but she doesn't know how. THe last thing she wants is to lose Kayden, but it seems like everything she does only ends up pushing him away. With Luke and Seth's help, Callie sets out to show Kayden the life he could have, but will he be willing to do what it takes to live that life?

The first book in this series, The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden, ended on a cliffhanger that left me pretty desperate to know what would happen next. Unfortunately for me, I was on a plan at the time and had no way of getting The Redemption of Callie & Kayden. As soon as I got off the plane, though, I dug my Kindle out of my bad and got myself the next book. Where the first book was more focused on what happened to Callie, this one focused more on Kayden. My heart broke multiple times while reading. There were many times where it hurt to see Kayden struggle with his father's absue and his own self-harm as a result of that abuse. For me, that struggle kept off the page, and once again, the way Jessica Sorensen presented these subjects felt disturbingly real. But more than the pain and struggle present throughout the story, there's also hope and love. In The Redemption of Callie & Kayden, the two titular characters' romance shone through everything else. It was their story and no one else's. Callie and Kayden just needed to realize that their best chance of survival was together, not apart.

Because of the way Jessica Sorensen wrote their story, Callie and Kayden have felt like real people from the start. Once again, my heart broke while reading Callie's story, not just because of what had happened to her but also because of everything that was happening with her and Kayden. This time though, I grew a little frustrated with Kayden at times. I understood where he was coming from, but I just wanted him to stop pushing Callie away and get the help he needed and deserved. But beyond that, seeing Callie and Kayden together warmed my heart and gave me hope. These were two people who had suffered so much and but managed to find each other and start to build something new that would be good for them. And I was happy to see their story get as happy an ending as possible given their circumstances. I'll also say that I was happy to see more of Seth and Luke, but I'm still waiting for them to get their own stories.

Jessica Sorensen's The Redemption of Callie and Kayden was a nice conclusion to Callie and Kayden's story. If you aren't sure if New Adult is for you, Callie and Kayden's story is a good place to start. With these books, you'll get a story filled with pain and struggled, but that also has shining moments of hope throughout it all.

Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Bitter Sweet Love (Dark Elements #0.5)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Release Date: December 1, 2013

Source: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon / Indigo

In a sizzling prequel novella to her new series THE DARK ELEMENTS, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout draws readers into the extraordinary, irresistible world of Wardens and demons.

Dez wasn't just Jasmine's crush. A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny--fending off demons and maintaining balance between good and evil. He was her everything…right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally. 

And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart--or shatter it all over again…

By this point, I will read anything that Jennifer L. Armentrout writes. In my personal opinion, she can do no wrong, and unless she somehow starts doing wrong, I will keep reading her books. As predicted, Bitter Sweet Love was a great introduction to her new Dark Elements series, and I loved reading it.

Jasmine has spent the last three years trying to move on from her best friend, Dez. Right when she things she might finally be over him abandoning her with no explanation, Dez walks right back into her life. And on top of it all, he wants Jasmine to be his mate. All the feelings Jas thought had disappeared come rushing back. But this time around, she's not taking any risks: Jas is giving Dez seven days to meet all of her conditions. At the end of those seven days, maybe Jas will be ready to risk it all and say yes to Dez.

I'm not usually one for novellas, but every so often I decide to give one a shot. Add to that the fact that this particular novella was written by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and that's all the push I needed. Bitter Sweet Love was a great introduction to Armentrout's new series, The Dark Elements. As I could have predicted before I even started reading, I knew that this particular story would get me hooked on this new world. Gargoyles is definitely something that hasn't been done before in YA, and it has me completely intrigued. This novella helped set the stage. It introduced us to the world of Wardens, giving readers a small glimpse of what's to come in this new series. 

Some of the characters were also intro ducted. Granted Bitter Sweet Love focused on Jasmine and Dez, but we did get to see Layla and Zayne, the two main characters of the upcoming White Hot Kiss. Ann though the rest of the story won't be focused on them, I hope we'll still be able to catch glimpses of Jasmine and Dez. Despite how brief it was, I loved getting to know them and I got a little attached. But judging from what I saw in Bitter Sweet Love, I should still be able to see them in future books.

Jennifer L. Armentrout's Bitter Sweet Love did what it was supposed to do: it set the stage for the rest of the sees and got me excited about the future Dark Elements books. If you are eagerly awaiting the release of White Hot Kiss, I recommend you read Bitter Sweet Love to get a taste of what's to come.

Emilie's Book World in 2014

This post is coming a little later than I would've hoped. The holiday period got beyond busy for me, as a result (and as some of you may have noticed), I pretty much disappeared from the Internet during that time. Now that the holiday season is over and I'm getting settled back into my regular routine, I thought I would share my "Year End/New Year" post with all of you. So here goes…

2013 as an interesting year. On some fronts, it was a great year, while on others it wasn't quite as stellar. On the more person front, 2013 was the year I finished my undergraduate degree and graduated from university. It was also the year I got my first "grown-up job" (as I like to call it), which so far has been going really great. But the busyness that came with my last semester of school, and finding my rhythm with my new job meant that the blog suffered. At times it suffered A LOT, so I apologize for that. And that's where things were a little less stellar. There were long stretches of time in 2013 where I just couldn't bring myself to blog or even read. And that SUCKED because I love doing both those things. But now 2013 is over, and it's time to move forward.

So. 2014. There's lots to be looking forward to this year. I'm looking forward to continuing on with my job and to find out what life post-university looks like for me. I'm looking forward to going to New York again to attend BEA for the second time. I'lm looking forward to spending more time with my awesome and fantastic Ottawa blogger friends. And of course, I'm looking forward to more awesome books and continued blogging. 

So what can you expect from me and Emilie's Book World in 2014? That's actually a pretty good question, one I'm not entirely sure how to answer, but I'll give it my best shot. One thing's for sure: I want to still be reading, and writing reviews, and blogging in general. I'm hoping to be able to post reviews regularly, either two or three times a week depending on how busy things get. I'm also hoping to start posting some new discussion posts more frequently (if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments!). Reading-wise, I would like to start reading a little more outside of YA this year. Before I started blogging, my reading tastes were much more varied, and I'm hoping to get some of that back this year. And that's pretty much all I've got so far.

Who really knows what 2014 is going to bring? I'm just going to be hoping for the best, whether that's in my personal life or my blogging/reading life, and I'm wishing the same to all of you.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: The Impossible Knife of Memory

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Release Date: January 7, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy's PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down. 

I'll be the first to admit that the only book of Laurie Halse Anderson's that I've read prior to this, was Speak. After hearing so much about her and her books, I put a lot of expectations on The Impossible Knife of Memory and it paid off, because this was a really special story.

Hayley Kincaid hasn't had what you would call a traditional childhood. But for the past five years, normal meant travelling across the country with her veteran father as he attempts to run away from the memories of war that haunt him. Now that Hayley is about to start her senior year of high school, though, her father decides that she should go back to a regular high school to increase her dances of getting into college. But moving back home means that her dad's episodes are more frequent and Hayley starts to feel like she's becoming the parent. And at school there's Finn, the hot geeky guy who likes her, but has his own troubles to deal with. Will Hayley be able to let go of the memories that haunt her before it's too late for her to really live her life?

Like I've already admitted, the only other book by Laurie Halse Anderson I've read is Speak. It's not that her other books haven't appealed tome, but rather that they have been so talked up that I was afraid I would be disappointed if I read them. But I figured I would give The Impossible Knife of Memory a chance, it sounded different and like it could be a very special story. And it was. This story wasn't the uplifting kind. There were moments that were downright painful to read, they were so raw and realistic. But it was most definitely a moving story, especially when considering the subject matter it dealt with. Laurie Halse Anderson portrayed Hayley and her dad's struggle in a way that felt read and felt completely raw. Reading Hayley's story and seeing her struggle and her pain often broke my heart. She didn't hold anything back when it came to telling her story, and at times the whole thing almost felt hopeless. But there were still some bright spots in the story, moments that showed that there was some hope left for Hayley and her dad. And they needed whatever hope they could hold on to.

There's so much I could say about Hayley and her dad. Right from the start, I knew Hayley would worm her way into my heart, and she certainly did. Hayley is the kind of person you want to root for. She just needed to be cut a break and she more than deserved one. But more than anything Hayley deserved to be taken care of, instead of her taking care of everyone. And her dad did his beat, but there was only so much he could do if he didn't first start taking care of himself. But he tried and you've gotta give him some credit for at least trying, even if he wasn't always successful. The person that really shone tough, was Finn. Throughout everything he was always willing to stand by Hayley's side, even if he had troubles of his own at home. I liked that he didn't have a perfect life because his imperfection is part of what made him so perfect for Hayley.

Laurie Halse Anderson's The Impossible Knife of Memory was a powerful, moving and incredibly touching story. Though moments were downright difficult to read, Hayley's and her dad's story is one that deserves and needs to be read and shared by everyone.