The Alchemy of Forever (Incarnation #1)
Author: Avery Williams
Published: 2012
On Goodreads
My Rating: 
Her first love made her immortal…her second might get her killed.
After being saved from near death by Cyrus by being given an eternal life. He says it’s called being an incarnate. Sera has lived a long life. Six hundred years to be exact. And now, she’s ready to escape. She can’t keep living this way, but Cyrus won’t let her go.
Then one night, she witnesses the terrible car accident of Kailey Morgan. Going to help her, Sera accidentally takes over her life, becoming her. Kailey has friends, parents, and a good life. Soon, Sera—Kailey—begins to fall in love with her neighbor, but what if Cyrus finds her? Is this life, that finally feels right, meant to last?
This book looked really good. I liked the little book flap summary, but when I read the book, I was so disappointed. An incarnate sounded so interesting and original! Based on a unique potion, a person can live forever, though the nasty catch about it is that you have to move from body to body because it deteriorates after a decade or so. This concept was really intriguing and saddening. You’re never in one place for long.
But.
There is a but.
Stupid buts.
I couldn’t grasp what the characters looked like. The imagery, even though they lived through different and always changing people, just wasn’t vivid. There were multiple characters and I had no idea what they looked like. I didn’t really know them either, so when they got moody I felt annoyed. Not knowing them really put a damper on the story. Not getting a feel for characters to give me a chance to connect with them so that I can obsess over them really makes a book hard to read. You’re following these characters through the book, and I could do that very well. Sera was rather whiney, Cyrus was very weird, and Noah-the dreamy boy next door-is plain.
While the story was told from Sera’s POV, the tone felt rather weak. There wasn’t any true urgency or edge. Sera is constantly worried she’ll be found out, but I’m not feeling that. The emotional pull just isn’t there. This story felt too much like a first draft. There was so much more I was yearning for.
The setting of the story wasn’t very present either. There wasn’t much to go on and so I couldn’t picture where these people were. And though we knew the time period, there didn’t seem to be much of a connection to it. Nothing stood out. More so, I just felt like the description didn’t match up to it. Everything felt basic with no real depth. I felt very blah.
So, I wish I had more on what I could tell you about this book to grab your interest, but I don’t have anything. Not scenery, feelings or even my own thoughts. I only have puzzlement. For that, I’m sorry. The spark, the fizz, the BOOM…it just isn’t here.
The story really felt like it was all over the place. Details were lacking and I felt as if I pushing myself through this book, which is terrible. I really wanted to enjoy this and didn’t. All the way around, this book wasn’t for me. The concept was wonderful, but the execution wasn’t. I was so disgruntled and disappointed. This book seemed so promising.
I hate giving negative reviews. They are the effing worst, but I can’t lie about whether I enjoy a book or not and there were so many bits and pieces that were not connecting for me. This book was not for me.
Quotables:
“It’s the silver cord that binds your soul to your body, and this potion is unraveling it. You’ll be free.” (Cyrus to Sera, p. 8)
“Everything—even me, and one day even Charlotte—must come to an end.” (Sera, p. 27)
“Modern science is the child of alchemy. All magic has a rational explanation.” (Cyrus
“Could it be that this is the life I was meant to have?” (Sera, p. 241)
More to come soon…
-K.
P.S. Song today? Forever and Always by Taylor Swift.
Find me:
Thoughts? Tell me in the comment section below.
The Scarlet Reader 
Leave a Reply