Asunder (Newsoul #2) http://www.yabookscentral.com/media/reviews/photos/thumbnail/200x285s/07/49/c5/_asunder-jodi-meadows-1339678104.jpg Featured

I couldn't decide between 3.5 and 4, so I went with four because of Sam and the ending.
Got started with an emotional beginning, mourning those lost in Templedark. They had monuments made and did memorials. Asunder also showed different people grieving their losses in different ways, which I think is important because in real life people also mourn differently.
Then there was the twist with the sylph, and I was so interested in this plot line. I wanted to know what it was about why they were behaving differently to Ana, and what this meant for her.
We also get to see Ana and Sam together. I just love their romance and seeing them interact with each other and bond through music. I respect him so much when he said. Ana said "Like always, he let me do what I needed to do," and he supported her quietly and faithfully. That he spoke his advice, but stood by her side. And the way he talks to her and treats her is awesome.
"I love you because you're good and honest. I love you because you're brave... because you're strong. I love you because you don't let anything get in the way of doing what's right."
This is totally why I love Ana as a character, and why I adore Sam.
There were new characters and old ones where I started questioning loyalties and what exactly was going on. It was hard when Steph was questioning Sam's love for Ana because I had grown to like her a lot in the last one. I mean, I guess I can understand where she is coming from, but I don't like that she is deviating from her stance and what made me like about her in the last one. It was also hard to see Sam struggling in this one. As many hot and sweet moments, there are also ones where he is withdrawn and putting distance between him and Ana.
The ending gave me lots of answers but I still want to know so much more about this world, and see what Ana does next. There was also a great sacrifice that made me very sad. I totally understand the reasoning and it was honorable as all, but it was heartbreaking.

Bottom Line: Good second book with some hot scenes.

The whole concept and plot of this series is so very original. The premise of souls being reincarnated and then a new soul being born, which throws their whole society off, especially as those in the society have each lived hundreds of lives is very different from anything I've read before. I was thinking that Asunder would be a little less stressful than Incarnate, and it was in some ways, but not in others.

Ana only has a handful of friends, but each of them have their own secrets and ways of interacting with Sam and Ana. This added a lot of different challenges for Ana, helped her come into her own (she is only 19, I believe), and exposed her to different situations that continued to drive her and the society towards certain choices.

I really liked Ana and Sam. They love each other, but they have such different backgrounds and are in such different positions. This makes their relationship very challenging in places. Meadows did a great job with her characters! I could understand where both Sam and Ana were coming from and the frustrations they had at different points. I did get pretty frustrated with some sub-characters who I thought should have been much wiser and less prejudiced regarding Ana, especially with how old their souls were.

There was more descriptive and emotional violence in this one. I understood why it was included, but it still bothered me a little. There are definitely some evil characters that want Ana out of the way.

I don't know what is going to happen in the next book. I just know that it will be huge. I just know that Ana will play in part in it, hopefully in preventing disaster. I'm looking forward to finding out!

Content: Some innuendo, suggestive content (some homosexual in nature), and violence
Original review posted here: http://tressaswishfulendings.blogspot.com/2013/05/review-asunder.html

Asunder is an amazing follow-up to the wonderful Incarnate! The world is easily my favorite thing about this series, as I’m sure I made very clear in my review of the first book. This time the plot demands more world building, so I was hooked from the very beginning! Ana and Sam are working together to understand Menehem’s research regarding the sylph, Janan, and the reincarnation process. I found all of this incredibly fascinating!

Just like the first book, Asunder starts with a sylph attack. Well, kind of. Instead of attacking, they actually start to dance. Dancing sylph? Yeah, totally bizarre, but that’s just one of the strange things that we learn about these dangerous creatures. They’re much more than just shadow and fire. In addition to the sylph, we also return to Janan’s temple and find out what sinister things took place there 5,000 long years ago, as well as plans for the near future. I loved all of the history we got about Heart in this book. It just makes everything feel much more real!

Ana is also on a mission for newsoul rights. After the battle Templedark, many souls won’t be returning and this has the citizens of Heart on edge. Then when newsouls start being born the tensions and violence escalate, and Ana again becomes the target. People seriously suck! While I enjoyed this plot and wanted to see Ana succeed, it started to feel a little preachy towards the end. Of course, I agree that people shouldn’t be tormented for being different, but I also didn’t need to be reminded of that fact throughout the entire book.

As for the romance, Ana and Sam are sickeningly adorable. Their relationship is so sweet and innocent. I just want to scoop them both into a big hug! They haven’t reached steamy levels yet, but there is talks of going further, even if Ana doesn’t fully understand what that entails. She also continues to struggle with whether or not she’s able or allowed to love, since she’s a “nosoul.” Her feelings for Sam are obvious to everyone, so it was sad seeing her question it in that way.

The ending leaves us with a cliffhanger! I was shocked at what Sam reveals, since I wasn’t expecting that. It’s going to have major consequences in the last book and I can’t wait to see how he and Ana deal with it. The people of Heart are definitely going to need her help, whether they want it or not.

Wow. This was so much better than the first book. The first book, for me, focused too much on the romance of Sam and Ana. I wanted more than that and Incarnate didn't really deliver until the end.

Asunder is another story. There was still romance between Sam and Ana but it didn't feel like the focus of the book. I finally felt like we learned more about Ana's world in this one. Questions I had were answered, even though more were raised.

I read this book in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. I had to find out what happened. I had to find out why the sylph were behaving differently towards Ana. I had to find out more about Janan and the temple.

I love the sylph. They make me sad. I love how freaky the temple is. I hope Ana has more explorations in the temple.

It's unfortunate that so many people still fear Ana and what she is. That's how any society works though, so why should theirs be any different? I feel like Ana is a stronger person now and I love that. In the previous book I felt too much of her focus was on Sam and while she still focuses on him here, I feel that there is so much more that she's focused on now as well. Like making sure that anyone born like her isn't treated the way that she's been treated her whole life.

Can I say how much I also love Cris? I just adore that guy. And honestly, as sweet as the romance between Sam and Ana can sometimes be, I actually really love the sparks between Sam and Cris.

Sam. He was never a favorite character of mine and I think he was even less so in this book. I don't know what it is, but I just don't really connect with Sam at all. Not that there's really anything wrong with him. I just don't connect with him.

If the series started off a bit weak for you I wouldn't give up on it just yet. This is a wonderful sequel and I look forward to finding out how things end.

Asunder is excellent! I had a bunch of expectations about the quality of the book, all of which were set by the wonder that is Incarnate, and Asunder soared above every one of these expectations. Jodi Meadows’ second book is just as impressive as her first. It picks up right where Incarnate left off, building on the framework set up in Incarnate and still managing to be a book that could be a stand-alone. I discovered more about all the characters, even Ana, and my love for all of them- Sam, Ana, Stef, Sarit, and many others- grew tenfold. Though the world was shown to us in the first book, we undoubtedly learn many more secrets of its existence in Asunder. (Spoiler alert!) This applies especially to the tower and the shocking truth Ana discovers in it. Another major part of this books was the romance. Ana and Sam’s relationship has definitely progressed since Incarnate and it continues to progress throughout Asunder. Their relationship develops at a natural speed- neither too slow or too fast- and has just enough tension to make it part of the plot. All in all, Asunder is a delicious read that is very well-written and developed. I am already eager to read the next one!

I loved and recommend this book:)

Wow. WOW. I just finished my ARC of Asunder and boy, was it good. I was lucky enough to receive this copy from HarperCollins.

If you read my blog and my reviews, you may recall that my issue with the first book, Incarnate (though I really did love it), was the pacing. The beginning was too slow, and the end was a jumble, while the middle was absolutely terrific. Asunder has none of those issues. As I predicted, Meadows has only ripened her craft and improved with time.

Asunder by Jodi Meadows continues where Incarnate has left off. Ana, the NewSoul, is still an outsider in Heart. Havoc and destruction have come down on the city, and because of this, soon Ana will not be the only NewSoul. There will be more born. Ana makes it her mission to prevent NewSouls from having the same awful childhood that she had. Along with Sam, the OldSoul who loves her, and a few other close friends, Ana learns more about herself and what she truly believes in.

The pacing was terrific. It starts off strong and ends even stronger. This book definitely does not suffer from middle book syndrome. If you loved Sam in the first book (I did!), you'll love him even more in the second. At first, I was worried he would be portrayed as too perfect, but then he would do something silly, and I would be relieved. I love all the descriptions of music and how this plays such an important role in their relationship. The plot kept me interested the whole way through, and secrets are revealed at the right time and place. We get to see more character development of some side characters, which I enjoyed. And we get to learn more about sylph and the mysteries of the Temple. Now, I'm dying for the finale.

Overall, an amazing followup to Incarnate, a complete novel in its own right, with beautifully written prose and terrific characters. I can't wait to get my hands on the last book.

So. Many. FEEEEEEEEEEEELS.

First of all, Jodi Meadows has this fantastic way of making readers consider the morals of reincarnation. One million souls who become experts in their area of specialty vs. new souls and their new, though less experienced, ideas? It's a question you have to wonder about in a story like this and I think Jodi has done a tremendous job trying to tackle that question throughout the first two books, and I'm betting the fantastic continues into the next.

Then there's the characters. They grow and change and learn so much. Everyone besides Ana has been alive for thousands of years, yet many of them are becoming someone new, someone they've never been before. It's remarkable to imagine people who have been the same, or very similar, for so long suddenly becoming different, all thanks to Ana. Strong, clever, and oh so kind Ana. It's hard not to love her. She's naive at times and make mistakes, but she learns fast and is always improving herself. And Sam. Oh Sam. Pardon me while I swoon? Sam continues to be an incredible love interest in Asunder. And there's also a new character introduced, who I absolutely ADORE, but I won't say anything else. Y'all will find him.

The relationships in Asunder are complex and wonderful and changing. Friendships are growing stronger. Some reveal their true nature. Every relationship evolves in some form and each is significant to the story as a whole. It's always lovely when each part of a book is super important, you know?

Then there is the story itself, where every piece falls into place, entwining perfectly. There's action and mystery and KISSING and just...*sigh* There are no words for the perfection of the story itself. It's pretty much everything I can ask for in a book.

And do I even have to talk about the perf of the writing? I've mention that she weaves an incredible story and introduces a very interesting, complex topic to consider. But she also has such a way with words that I can picture the world really well. I can see it all in my head and it makes sense and I feel like I'm in the story. I'm always utterly swept away and entranced by her words.

If you haven't read Incarnate, why are you reading this anyway? Go buy your copy and rejoice in its beauty. If you have, make sure you pick up Asunder today. This is NOT a sequel that disappoints.