Review & #Giveaway: The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows (ARC)

Title: The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1)
Author: Jodi Meadows
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Acquired Via: Publisher
Release Date: March 10, 2015
Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom's capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie's behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can't trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina's magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil's magic, she will vanish like all the others.

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl's battle to reclaim her place in the world.

My Review

The Orphan Queen not only surprised me by how much I enjoyed it, but it also ended my streak of "meh" reads. I enjoyed Jodi Meadows' Incarnate series, her debut, but this one blew those out of the water. Her books are very clean and sweet, but The Orphan Queen takes on some darker issues within the Indigo Kingdom, as well as within the characters.

Review: Infinite by Jodi Meadows

Title: Infinite (Newsoul #3)
Author: Jodi Meadows
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
Release Date: January 28, 2014
DESTRUCTION
The Year of Souls begins with an earthquake—an alarming rumble from deep within the earth—and it’s only the first of greater dangers to come. The Range caldera is preparing to erupt. Ana knows that as Soul Night approaches, everything near Heart will be at risk.

FLIGHT
Ana’s exile is frightening, but it may also be fortuitous, especially if she can convince her friends to flee Heart and Range with her. They’ll go north, seeking answers and allies to stop Janan’s ascension. And with any luck, the newsouls will be safe from harm’s reach.

CHOICE
The oldsouls might have forgotten the choice they made to give themselves limitless lifetimes, but Ana knows the true cost of reincarnation. What she doesn’t know is whether she’ll have the chance to finish this one sweet life with Sam, especially if she returns to Heart to stop Janan once and for all. With gorgeous romance and thrilling action, the final book in the Incarnate trilogy offers a brilliant conclusion to the compelling questions of this fascinating world, where one new girl is the key to the lives of millions.

My Review

You can read my reviews of the first two books, Incarnate and Asunder, by clicking on their titles.

I'll be honest - this series hasn't been one of my favorites, and I had no intention of reading past Incarnate until the opportunity recently arose to review Infinite. I think I decided to do it because Incarnate was one of my first review books and nostalgia. It's a good thing because Infinite made the series worth reading. It had tension that was not romance-driven (woot!), the stakes were (finally) high, Ana grew a backbone (!!!), and there was FINALLY a purpose to the story of Range and Heart.

Review: Asunder by Jodi Meadows

Title: Asunder (Newsoul #2)
Author: Jodi Meadows
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Acquired Via: Library
Release Date: January 29, 2013
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. 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.

In the second book of Jodi Meadows's Incarnate trilogy, Ana discovers the truth about reincarnation and will have to find a way to embrace love and make her young life meaningful. asunder explores the beauty and shadowed depths of the soul in a story equal parts epic romance and captivating fantasy.

My Review

You can read my review of Incarnate (Newsoul #1) HERE.

Asunder is the follow-up to Jodi Meadows' debut novel, Incarnate, set in the fantastical world of centaurs, dragons, sylphs, and souls that have been reincarnating for thousands of years, except for Ana, a newsoul. However, we get to see in Asunder a little more of what it means to have a boyfriend who is five thousand years older (yes, you read that right) than the heroine, how people react to losing loved ones for good after many thousands of years together, and how the replacement newsouls will be treated.

Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Title: Incarnate (Newsoul #1)
Author: Jodi Meadows
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Acquired Via: Publisher
Release Date: January 31, 2012
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 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?

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

My Review

This review was originally posted on my Goodreads profile on November 29, 2011 and was one of my first reviews.

Jodi Meadow’s debut, Incarnate, is a beautifully written young adult novel, in which she builds a fresh, new world made of very old souls. In it, humanity consists of a million souls that are reborn repeatedly in a magical land of dragons and sylphs.

W2-2k12 Wrap Up

The story of my life - a day late and a dollar short. Sorry for the delay. This has been an incredibly slow week for me. I had four books going at once, but I only managed to finish one of them. Sometimes, having a five year old at home puts a damper on everything else. It also doesn't help that work expects me to come in and do All The Things, so there's not as much "up all night" reading.

My Week in Review

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Let me start off by saying that this cover is absolutely beautiful. It is very simple, but it really fits the book. Now that I look at it, the holes in the wings are somewhat disturbing. *ponders* *shrugs* Whatever. It doesn't take much for butterflies to disturb me, as I don't like any insects, especially those that fly. I'm getting a little off subject, aren't I? I bet you want my review. You can find it here. I guess all I can say about the book that wasn't in the review is that it wasn't Incarnate's fault that I read so few books this week. This was a good book and an interesting read. You should go read it when it comes out on January 24, 2012. 

Hopefully I'll have more next week. I have a feeling that one of the books that I'm currently is going to be a rare unfinished one. I hate to do it, but I'm dreading the thought of picking it up. Do you want to know which one it is? Well, that's too bad. All books deserve an opportunity to be read, even if I don't like it.