Infinite (Incarnate Trilogy, 3)

About a year and a half ago, I was in Barnes and Noble making my birthday and Christmas wishlist when I came across a book with a simply stunning cover. The book described a civilization with a finite number of souls, where people were reincarnated, time and time again over centuries. All was well until one mysterious night when a new soul was born, registering a blank on the technology that was capable of reading the souls of these people. I wanted to buy the book right then and there, but I was broke, so I added the book -- Incarnate -- to the top of my list.

A running tradition in my household at Christmas is to see how many of my new Christmas books I manage to finish between Christmas day and New Year's Day. I finished Incarnate in four hours. I didn't get up to eat or drink or do anything else until I'd read the whole thing and pre-ordered the sequel, Asunder, which came out only a few weeks later. Then came the long wait for the conclusion, Infinite.

Infinite was the first series conclusion that I read since I finished Allegiant. If you've read my review on Allegiant (which was #13 in my Top 13 Books of 2013), you know that while I read and loved it and admire Veronica Roth for her bold choices, it just kind of destroyed my reading soul.

I have always been a series-loving kind of reader. This is probably because I do not react well to change and I hate to see things end. With a series, I can find my ships and ship them hard. I join the fandoms. I follow Tumblrs and Twitters and belong to forums where I can discuss everything and speculate. I can even write fan fiction. In short: I can invest in a characters that have entrapped and enchanted me. With a standalone, it's hard for me to do such a thing.

I'm the same kind of reader that I am a viewer. I love TV shows and watch all the seasons in a series over and over again. I can start the story over again and invest again over an amount of time. Since 2008, I cannot tell you when a season of Gossip Girl has not been in my DVD player or in my most recently played Netflix queue. (The only time it isn't is when I make the temporary switch to Gilmore Girls or Glee.) And I still ship Chuck and Blair HARD. CHAIR FTW.

The point is, I love to invest in a series, but after I finished Allegiant, I lost my faith for a bit. I strayed read lots of standalones and reread a few books that I could count on. I started reading a series or two, but shied away from the second book. I started a half dozen books I haven't finished. I call this Allegiant-related-PTSD.

But despite these fears, I braved the Polar Vortex and insane snow, despite having a horrible case of bronchitis so bad it was nearly pneumonia, to venture out for ten minutes to grab Infinite.

To put it simply: Jodi Meadows restored my faith in books and the art of the young adult book series.

The first two books in the Newsoul series paint a picture of a world in which all the things of fables exist -- dragons, trolls, centaurs, sylph, and the like. All this exists among incredible technology so precise that it can detect reincarnated souls that have been born. It has all the elements of a fantasy, yet so much of it has a quality of modernity about it. Between the first two novels, there was so much mystery and so many threads that were only beginning to weave together. Is this dystopian? Is this fantasy? Is this science fiction? And those questions were only the tip of the iceberg in a story filled with so many type of beings, a vengeful wannabe-deity, and characters who have lived hundreds of lifetimes.

Infinite started out with the same fast pace which Asunder ended with. Jodi does an awesome job conveying emotion in her characters and keeping the plot moving without leaving any loose ends. You can feel the characters' emotions: their anxiety, their curiosity, and as the main character, Ana, starts to gain confidence in her abilities as a newsoul, you start to feel like you too could conquer the world and learn how to communicate and unite mythical beings using the power of music, or something equally as difficult. And I'm not normally a dragon person, but Jodi totally converted me. I love the intelligence behind their imposing and threatening facade.

Like many YA love stories, the romance between Ana and Sam, an oldsoul, isn't without its struggles. But as opposed to the tried-to-death love triangle, they deal with things that I believe are just as real, like the question of when to tell someone something that may hurt them and when to protect them from a difficult truth, and the consequences when these secrets are revealed. I found their love story to be beautiful and their love scenes to be gorgeously written and tasteful.

When the history of Heart and the planet is revealed, it turns out that the story does have both dystopian and fantasy elements at its core. The possibility that this planet they live on is the one the that we walk today feels very real, like it's a glimpse into what future could be. This makes it totally unique in a way that no book or series I've read is.

Without spoiling too much, at the end of Infinite and Ana and Sam's quest, Ana is faced with a choice that affects the future of the civilization of Heart and all its inhabitants, both old and newsouls, who may never again get to be reincarnated. There is another series I've read that dealt with this issue, particularly in regards to the male and female protagonists, who had been chasing each other through different lifetimes. There was an agony at the end of this other series in wondering whether or not these two characters would once again find each other and the conclusion was wholly disappointing, disheartening, and frustrating. Faced with the similar challenge, Jodi conquers it and ends Infinite and the Newsoul trilogy in a way that will fulfill fans and leave them satisfied.

With the ending, I find myself experiencing much less Allegiant-related-PTSD symptoms and am once again able to enjoy and finish books without (much) fear.

On a somewhat separate note, during the days before Infinite's release and in the days after it, I was NOT a happy camper. I was horribly sick and on bed rest with a fever for almost ten days straight. I was bored, cranky, and frustrated. Jodi herself took it upon herself to send me some awesome autographed Newsoul swag (bookmarks, etc.) and it really brightened up my day. So a big thank you goes out to her for being so awesome and making me feel like more than just a reader and more like a friend. She's all kinds of awesome!

[...]

The Newsoul series by Jodi Meadows is one of my favorite series I’ve discovered because of blogging. I was sad to see the series end with INFINITE, and because of that, I waited a few months to read it. I wasn’t ready to let go of Ana and Sam and everyone else. But I also wanted to know how their story ended and to enjoy more of Jodi’s writing.

Once I steeled myself and started INFINITE, I flew through it. I read the book in one sitting, totally immersed in Ana’s story and world. Two plus years ago, when I read INCARNATE, I had no idea how it was all going to end. Trilogy endings tend to disappoint me, because they often don’t capture the magic of the starting book, but I was more than satisfied with how the author tied everything up.

Yes, I’m being super vague. No spoilers here.

INFINITE is full of everything that I loved in INCARNATE and ASUNDER:

♥Mythical creatures: dragons, centaurs, phoenixes! And my favorite, the sylph. I *loved* them.

♥A mix of fantasy and modern day elements. Dragons *and* laser guns.

♥Jodi’s writing style: descriptive and lush without being overly so.

♥This series considers some great questions: What happens when I die? What does my life mean? Would I live differently if I *knew* I had another chance (or 500)?

I’m 100% biased here, because this is one of my favorite trilogies, but INFINITE was the perfect ending to a great series. I’m sad to see it end, but I’m happy with the way it finished.

I was so tremendously lucky to win a signed copy of Infinite via Jodi's blog, and I have to thank the rafflecopter gods for picking my name!

That said, none of that has had any influence on my opinion of this book, giving it 5 stars and thinking it is the best possible ending for this trilogy is all due to what's inside the pages!

Since it's the last book of the trilogy I'm to try my best to refrain from talking about everything I'd love to talk about to avoid spoilers as much as I can but there will be spoilers for Incarnate and Asunder.

Infinite starts quite right Asunder left us, and from the very first pages there's danger at fear at every turn. Ana & Sam wake up to a massive earthquake for the start of the Year of Souls and the risk of the caldera of Range exploding is not the only danger they have to suffer before even leaving Heart for Ana's exile.

Loyalties are tested, Ana has an extremely tough journey to go on, one with her friends trying to find a way to make sure Janan doesn't ascend and an inner journey of growth and discovery that she has to do on her own.

Ana is the one leading her friends and trying to make plans for stopping Janan, but she is still trying to deal with new discoveries and trying to find information to know how to fight better. They journey up north and find out more about the phoenixes and the dragons, and some very emotional revelations come to the front, which cause some really heartbreaking moments between Ana and Sam.

Ana and Sam, oh how I love them together! They are a fantastic couple with a romance that grows from friendship to love and that has to learn to trust each other, to support each other, to know how to let the other one make their own choices and that are simply perfect for each other. In Infinite they made me cry, for many reasons, but I'm so happy to say most were happy tears!

The other characters are so well done too! Secondary characters like Stef or Sarit have you rooting for them and feeling like smacking them ocasionally, but you never really have them getting mixed up in the background.

We get all the answers we could have wanted here, even if I still have some questions and theories I'd love to discuss here, but I can't because they are very much full of all sort of spoilers! I'm very happy to report I had guessed right about the sylph even if I hadn't got all the details of it right. Some of those answers were quite unexpected, and the most unexpected of them all has to do with Sam and the dragons!

The ending was one I wasn't really expecting at all, but I have to say I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. There's a battle, there are dragons and it's pretty epic. Ana has to face Janan and it is done in such a poetic way! Ana's choices have more weight than she could have ever imagined and the ending is quite final but the final paragraphs will leave the door open to imagining the future you'd want.

Infinite is a proper epic fantasy book, even if Asunder, Phoenix Overture and this one itself also gives us enough proof that it could also be considered dystopian.

Did I mention there are dragons?

5 stars without a doubt for this one.

I highly recommend this series! I happened upon the first book and was transported, enthralled and could not put down the series! The way in which Ms Meadows writes gave me such an amazing story not only visual but also auditory...read and see why! If you love fantasy, music and an amazing plot never read, all books in this series are a MUST READ!

I love this series.

New as described and shipped quickly. Purchased for my daughter who loves the series.

My full review can be found on my review blog here: http://armywife2310 DOT wordpress DOT com/2014/03/20/arc-review-infinite-by-jodi-meadows

I received an advanced reader copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

OH MY COMMAS! (To quote Jodi haha) This book was INCREDIBLE. I laughed, I cried, I screamed (into my pillow). It was everything I wanted and so much more. I'm so sad this series is over but SO happy to have been a part of the ride!!

In this final book to the Incarnate series, Jodi Meadows ended it perfectly.
The series is about people that have been reincarnated for five thousand years, destroying new souls with each rebirth.
This final book is full of romance shared by Ana and Dossam, a new soul that is trying to stop the destruction and an old soul that loves her so much he is willing to give up eternity to make things right.
This series is a must read because its fresh and full of new ideas, exciting, romantic and the characters become your friends.
1. Incarnate
2. Asunder
3. Infinite

I have thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy. The Newsoul series is such an amazing amalgamation of sci-fi and fantasy themes. Reincarnation is at the heart of this series and it plays out in such an interesting way. A world of finite souls, reborn each time they die. It has been two years of reading these books and anxiously awaiting the release of the next. I am definitely looking forward to Jodi Meadows's future works.

The sci-fi and fantasy world of this series is one of the reasons I've enjoyed it so much. There are laser guns, but also dragons, centaurs, phoenixes, and sylphs. This third book really delves into these mythical and magical creatures. The world is even bigger than this trilogy. There are so many questions I still have about this world and how it came to be. I'm still hoping for that anthology of Sam's dragon deaths.

The final book in a trilogy always has the difficulty of wrapping up the story. Meadows did an excellent job with this conclusion. Everything came together perfectly. The last chapter was pure perfection!

There were a few scenes in this book that I found particularly captivating. I wish there was artwork of them. One of those scenes involves a girl playing her flute with some pretty amazing things happening around her. Another was towards the end when something epic goes down.

The romance in this series is done so well. It is subtle and natural. I really like the evolution of Sam and Ana. Music is also such a big part of this series and it comes into play in a big way in this conclusion.

I highly recommend this trilogy! It is one of my favorite YA series. If you have not read Incarnate, you should definitely pick it up! If you like completely unique worlds with magic and sci-fi elements you'll love this series! And I also absolutely love how music is used. If you are a musician, especially instrumentalist, you will enjoy these books! I give this third book in an amazing trilogy a 5/5. Go read these books!!!

I know that I always say this but I hate when a series I love has to end. You become so intertwined with the characters and when it ends, you feel like you are losing your best friend. I know that I will always come back to this series and fall in love with it once again.

This book was so action packed and adventured filled that every page left me only wanting more. Jodi Meadows took control of this book like no one else and left the reader wanting to go back to the beginning to relive it all again.

Ana, my sweet Ana. I feel I have watched you grow so much, and by the end you were not a young girl trying to figure out things on your own; you were a woman who had changed the world. I cried with you, I laughed with you, and I fell in love with you. You changed the world for the better, one book after another. Now onto Sam. Even though you have lived along a time, I still felt that you grew and this is partially because of Ana. She opened you up and you became the daring, loving, and headstrong man that you have shown to make me love you just as much as Ana.

I feel I need to move onto the romance and the romance these two have for each other felt real. It did not feel forced and it had everything a relationship needs to have. The love, the fights, the “I’m sorry.” I felt that these two are perfect for each other in different ways and that is what makes this relationship so special and magical.

The end was one filled with tissues. I knew where it would go but I did not expect the ending as it played out. When reading this book it seems like another fantasy filled book, filled with end of the world plots but at the end, you realize it was filled with so much more.

Jodi Meadows captured my heart a million times over and Ana Incarnate will be someone I will always hold dear in my heart along with other fantastic writers of the new year. Take the chance and see if this book will be you Infinite.

I give it 5 bites!