Cover:
I loved as always that yes the cover has meaning in the book. Maybe not anything all that important but still referenced in it. They say not to judge a book by its cover but I am going to be honest and say i usually choose my books first by the cover. I found this to be no exception. I love this cover. I think it was stunning and had meaning so 5 stars for cover.
Quote: “If you love someone, put their name in a circle; because hearts can be
broken, but circles never end.” ― Karen Amanda Hooper, Grasping at Eternity
Genre/Rating: 4 stars -- Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
My Thoughts
Plot: The plot was unique. I felt at times it was confusing and a bit overwhelming but it is better explained farther into the book without sounding repetitive. I found this book entertaining and a good read. It took me several hours but that was because I kept having to reread the parts that were hard to understand. The family is large and hard to keep track of too but will pick up easily if you don't try remembering them from their past lives. Remember them in the now.
Characters: Maryah is a bit hmm how do you say? Annoying and oblivious. In the second book it actually becomes a joke that i will mention in the review. I liked her character but I couldn't help but feel a bit put off with her selfishness and immaturity. She does go through a horrible ordeal but I felt that it made her act like a brat and whine. She is selfish and annoying at times but got sooo much better by the end of the book. She became a strong character and a good role model. Now when I think about Nathan I hated him from the beginning. He also becomes so much better by the end but in all honesty he is an asshole at first but I think with a good reason because Maryah is annoying as hell at first. The adoptive family is probably the best part of the story. I loved how close they were and their interactions. I LOVED CARSON! He was the one who was always about to smack Maryah. Character development seemed to be the main purpose and I'm glad they both developed into better people. I also think the villain at the end was kinda obvious but also not realistic because it wasn't set up right. 3 stars
Writing/Syntax: They writing was was pretty much flawless. I saw no spelling errors but the diction could have been better and the paragraphs were sometimes spaced weird and maybe to long. But besides that, the rest on the book was pretty much flawless. 5 stars
Romance: The romance was slow and a bit unnerving with River. I think it took too long for the two MC's to get their heads out of the sand but was still cute and sweet.
Ending: The ending was good and strong with no real cliffhangers but I still wanted to pick up the sequel just to see things finally come together.
Recap of What I Didn't Like:
The characters were slow and a bit stupid at times.
The plot was slow.
The romance was creepy with River and nonexistent with Nathan save for a few short scenes that got ruined which was quite unbelievable and annoying.
The book was good but not great which it could have been because of the great ideas. I just wish things were executed better.
I recommend this book for 13+ with no real cursing or sexual activity that I remember. It is classified as a young adult.
Overall the book was good enough to make me curious for the next book which is where I will continue my review. Taking Back Forever, was much better. I feel as if the author was just scratching the surface with the first book and with the sequel smashed through the ice with phenomenal success.
Cover:
I like the cover, really I do. But I felt is was lacking what the first one had with symbolism. The heart in a cage doesn't really make sense since **SPOLIER** she remembers her love for Nathan. That left me lacking. I thought maybe the cover was for Harmony who shares with Maryah as narrator. I felt a bit baffled but was happy to see more peacock feathers.
Quote: “When you heart and soul are in it, making love is not just special, Maryah-- it's magical.”
― Karen Amanda Hooper, Taking Back Forever
“Dear Judy Blume, why didn’t you write a book about how to survive talking to your centuries-old, super-duper experienced, smoking-hot soul mate about sex for the first time ever? That book would have been extremely helpful in preparing me for this incredibly awkward situation.”
― Karen Amanda Hooper, Taking Back Forever
― Karen Amanda Hooper, Taking Back Forever
Genre/Rating: 4 stars -- Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Plot: The sequel was amazing. It made me so happy I had started the Kindrily Series. It moves with a fast pace and always keeps you interested. I loved Harmony's POV because she brought a toughness to the story and a side we really didn't understand came into focus. I was shocked by how much different it was from the first and was pleasantly so. There was a part right in the beginning with Carson and a snow globe that just made my life and I related to. I definitely want to shake people. I liked the villain idea and how there was actually some action that wasn't just in the first 20 pages. I was pleasantly surprised with this sequel that just blew me out of the water and had some major twists. I liked how things that we assumed we pointed out and corrected like how Mary (Maryah) was killed in her previous life but had some mystery as to how and why. 5 stars
Charaters: I loved Maryah this go. I felt she developed and matured but still acted like a teenage girl. Like when her and Nathaniel talk about sex it was awkward! Its supposed to be awkward! Other books make it seem like it so easy to talk about and really downplay the importance of talking about things like that. I loved that scene. Maryah still makes some mistakes and unnecessarily blames herself but luckily she learns from them rather than whining about it like she did so frequently in book 1. Harmony the other female lead blew me away. She was kinda downplayed in book 1 and we didn't really learn much about her other than the fact that her soul mate was taken. She was tough yet soft behind her facade of hardness. She made some selfish decisions that I felt I would have done too if put in her place. She was easily relate able and likable. I usually get pissed when POV changes in books because that wasn't who I read about in book 1 and I am happy to announce this is an exception. I liked Harmony's voice and I liked her power. Talking to dead people, can anyone say Sixth Sense? But in all seriousness her power proved to be useful and not all that far fetched like some authors do these days. The family was better explained and we get to know them better through both POV's. Nathaniel isn't on my Swoon List but he is a very likable male lead and has a whole new side we didn't really see in book 1. Nathaniel was sweet, sexy, and very patient. I think guys can look at this dude for a reference because he really became a great strong character that gave our female lead so much more depth and confidence. 5 stars
Writing/Syntax: The writing was the same as before and all errors I had founded before were corrected. 5 stars
Romance: This is where the fan base will get mad at me. I loved the romance and luckily I'm an 18 year old girl who has read some adult book with lets say adult content. I feel this was really close to crossing a line into adult territory. I wish she would have gone on way or another because the romance get hot. Like no clothes hot. And again that's fine for an 18 year old, but when it comes down to it this is a YA and those scenes were way to much for a 13-15 reading this. I was kinda disappointed how well Nathaniel seemed to have all the control. We need more female leads to take control in the bedroom and be feisty. And after saying that they didn't have sex but there still were racy scenes that should have made this a New Adult book rather than a YA. On another note the romance was sweet if maybe not all that believable it still struck a cord in my female heart. This is the reason the book only gets a 4 stars total because the romance was NOT meant for YA. 3 stars for romance.
Ending: I loved what the author did for the ending. I have never come across another author who did this and that made me even more happy to share this. The author wrote two endings. Yes folks, two endings. I don't want to call the second one an alternate ending because it is more of a continuation of the first ending. The first ending is sweet with no cliffhangers and while the author asked not to share the details of the other ending in hopes of it not getting ruined for people who chose not to read on I will abide by her wishes and just say that the continuation left me like this:
I can't wait for book 3. I got up, ran to my calendar and wrote it in for April 2013. Yep April. My reaction:
Maybe it was a bit less dramatic but still left me heartbroken to wait but as they say: "The longer the wait the better the book."
What I Didn't Like:
The romance.
The wrong age category.
The wait until book 3 comes out.
I recommend this book to OLDER TEENS and NEW ADULTS above ***16+*** not young teens because they shouldn't read things like this.
Overall this book was well worth my time and almost tears. I will be waiting for book 3. Again this book only gets a 4 due to romance and age problems. I recommend it but it wasn't one of the best books ever.
Thanks for reading as always,
~Cat
P.S. Sorry for the length :)
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