Sunday, April 01, 2012

Reivew: The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

Title: The Alchemy of Forever
Author: Avery Williams
Genre: Paranormal, Young-Adult
Series: Incarnation #1


Hardcover, 256 pages
Published January 3rd 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers 
ISBN: 1442443162 (ISBN13: 9781442443167)

Book can be purchase here on Amazon or  Book depository

Where did I get this book?: I bought this book for my own reading. 

Summary (via Goodreads):  Seraphina has been alive since the 1300's, made immortal when the boy she was beginning to love back then, Cyrus, saved her from death with a strange liquid - a method of alchemy that lets them swap bodies with any human being. But now, in modern day America, Sera has decided that she can no longer bear the weight of stealing people's lives so she can keep living on. So she decides to run away from Cyrus and end her stolen existence once and for all. Her plan goes awry when she accidentally takes the body of a dying teenager and feels forced to take over her life. When the lines between Sera and Kailey's identity begin to blur, Sera finds a reason to desire to live once more. But she can't shake the guilt of having taken Kailey's life, even if she was dying. And what if Cyrus finds her?

Review: Seraphina “Sera” has been alive for more than 600 years.  Her first love, Cyrus created an elixir that enables the human soul to transfer bodies when one is near death (usual, or if they take another body, one that is healthy, they are killing the current soul when taking over).  Cyrus, Sera and a couple of their friends are immortals called “incarnate” switching bodies every time their current bodies get wearied out/ or near death. Sera is tired of living forever and for taking the lives of so many innocent people. The boy that she once loved is not that boy anymore…and over the years she realizes it. On the day that she is suppose to get a new body, she drugs Cyrus and runs away so that she can end her existence. Just as Sera is about to leap off the bridge, she hears a car crash and rushes to the scene. Upon arriving, she tries to rescue the 16-year old girl, but instead she takes over the girl’s body. Kailey, the girl’s body she ended up taking, is different from all of the previous body she inhabited. As she goes through life as Kailey, Sera realize that she doesn’t want to die anymore and that there is a reason to live.

The story kept me engaged and interested the minute I started reading the prologue. There are a lot of immortals-related books out right now, but none have caught my attention like this book. The pacing of the book was quick, even reading about kailey (sera)’s high-school experience wasn’t as boring as I thought it would be. There was a lot of action packed into this small book (it’s only 256 pages or so and the words are large). The world building and characterization could have been stronger, readers only got to know about Sera through her flashbacks and all the other characters weren’t that developed. There is a sprinkle of romance towards the end of the book, which was surprising because I thought there was going to be more of it. Thank goodness there isn’t a love triangle it in this one!  The ending of the book ended abruptly leaving readers with a shocking cliff hanger, which we will have to wait till next year to find out what happened to Sera. 

I truly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to everyone who likes reading in the paranormal genre or young-adult genre. It’s a fun and quick read! 


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