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    The Alchemy of Forever: An Incarnation Novel
    The Alchemy of Forever: An Incarnation Novel
    The Alchemy of Forever: An Incarnation Novel
    Ebook197 pages2 hours

    The Alchemy of Forever: An Incarnation Novel

    By Avery Williams

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    In the first novel of the Incarnation series, the immortal Serephina grapples with a wrenching truth: Falling in love might mean succumbing to death.

    People say “love never dies”…but love might be the death of Seraphina.
         Seraphina has been alive since the Middle Ages, when her boyfriend, Cyrus, managed to perfect a method of alchemy that lets them swap bodies with any human being. Sera ran away from Cyrus years ago, when she realized that what they were doing—taking the lives of innocent people—was wrong. Yet she doesn’t want to die, so she finds young people who are on the brink of death, and inhabits their bodies.
         Sera has just landed in the body of a girl named Kailey who was about to die in a car accident. For the first time, Sera falls in love with the life of the person she’s inhabiting. Sera also falls for the boy next door, Noah. And soon it’s clear the feelings are returned. But she can never kiss Noah, because for her to touch lips with a human would mean the human’s death. And she has even more to worry about: Cyrus is chasing her. If she stays in one place for long, she puts herself—and the people she’s grown to care for—in great danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that’s eluded her for centuries: true love?
         This paperback includes a teaser of The Impossibility of Tomorrow, the next book in the Incarnation series, as well as exclusive content that reveals Seraphina’s back story.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
    Release dateJan 3, 2012
    ISBN9781442443181
    The Alchemy of Forever: An Incarnation Novel
    Author

    Avery Williams

    Avery Williams was born the day after Halloween in Los Angeles and has since lived in five different states due to her father’s job as a radio disc jockey (though she sometimes claims her parents were in the circus). Now she makes her home in Oakland, California, with her husband and a cat named Vendetta. She enjoys riding her bicycle around town and working on her hundred-year-old house. She is the author of The Alchemy of Forever and The Impossibility of Tomorrow.

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    Reviews for The Alchemy of Forever

    3.5/5

    70 ratings17 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I absolutely love the premise of The Alchemy of Forever! I liked how the concept of immortals who transplant bodies is explained well so that there is never any confusion in the process. This book isn’t about a teenage girl who becomes an Incarnate - it’s about a girl who has lived hundreds of years and is wracked with guilt over the suffering her existence causes. Through living Kailee’s life Seraphina is able to find new reasons to keep living and keep fighting the controlling and downright evil Cyrrus. The characterisation of Seraphina and Cyrrus is clear and executed well, but the other characters blend into the background and are only pulled out by the author when they are needed. It would have helped my understanding of the other Incarnates if it had been explained WHY they chose this life in the first place - it seems unlikely that they all believed Cyrrus immediately and wanted to undergo the process. The Alchemy of Forever is a well paced enjoyable book that I think most people will enjoy. It uses old concepts and myths in a new way, and I enjoyed reading it a lot! A wonderful debut for Avery Williams, and I am looking forward to reading more of the series (especially after that killer cliff-hanger!!).You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.
    • 4/5
      OMG! I just picked this book up mid last week, and I feel like I have a hard time putting it down. Great book, love it! Teen romance fans, or teen supernatural fans, pick this up!
    • 5/5
      The way the author described everything with such detail made me feel like I was in the novel
    • 2/5
      I could not wait for this book to come out, but when it did I didn’t have the money to get it. When I finally bought it I was so excited that I started reading it straight away. I hate to say it, but I was disappointed.I liked it while I was reading it but it just wasn’t as great as I hoped it would be. I can barely even remember what happened. Before writing this review, I actually had to sit down and try to remember what the book was about. This shouldn’t have been a problem considering I only read it a week ago. My memory is bad, but it’s not that bad.Both the plot and characters were just meh. It was a good enough read that I got through it in one sitting, and I did enjoy it while I was reading it. It just wasn’t very memorable. I will be picking up book two, The Impossibility of Tomorrow, I just don’t know when. There are so many other books I want to read right now.Note: This is an older review. So I don’t feel like I can get more into what I liked and disliked about it. Maybe someday I will re-read The Alchemy of Forever and do another review.
    • 4/5
      NOAH. omg, I can't believe his body is now inhabited by Cyrus!!! But it was an exciting read! Definitely my type of thriller. it's Mara Dyer-ish w/o the Sera's immortality and Mara's craziness.
    • 2/5
      I could not wait for this book to come out, but when it did I didn’t have the money to get it. When I finally bought it I was so excited that I started reading it straight away. I hate to say it, but I was disappointed.I liked it while I was reading it but it just wasn’t as great as I hoped it would be. I can barely even remember what happened. Before writing this review, I actually had to sit down and try to remember what the book was about. This shouldn’t have been a problem considering I only read it a week ago. My memory is bad, but it’s not that bad.Both the plot and characters were just meh. It was a good enough read that I got through it in one sitting, and I did enjoy it while I was reading it. It just wasn’t very memorable. I will be picking up book two, The Impossibility of Tomorrow, I just don’t know when. There are so many other books I want to read right now.Note: This is an older review. So I don’t feel like I can get more into what I liked and disliked about it. Maybe someday I will re-read The Alchemy of Forever and do another review.
    • 4/5
      This is one that my daughter recommended. It’s about a group of people called Incarnates who are able to live hundreds of years by “jumping ” into other people’s bodies, sort of like body snatchers. One of them, Seraphina, has a change of heart and decides to embrace death but something unexpected happens. While trying to save a girl’s life, she accidentally “jumps” into that girl’s body. Now she has to assume the girl’s identity while trying to outsmart Cyrus, the leader of the Incarnates who is hunting her. The story is good, the ending is a cliffhanger though because there’s a book 2. I give this one 4 stars and will be reading the sequel soon.
    • 3/5
      "Could it be, I think as I drift off to sleep, that this is the life I was meant to have?"—SeraphinaThis book totally hooked me up from the first time I saw it on Goodreads. The description was really interesting, and the cover really caught my attention. It was really simple yet stunning and eye-catching, and well—let's be honest—who doesn't judge a book by its cover? I do. The Alchemy of Forever told us about Seraphina Ames, how she was murdered on a masquerade ball hundreds years ago, how Cyrus, the boy whom she had crush with, had restored her and given her an immortal soul using alchemy technique, and how she became a killer and stole another people's life in order to keep living. Being an Incarnated—the people brought back to life with alchemy—Sera never truly had any freedom, living her life as a possession and solely belongs to Cyrus. But when she tried to run away from her life and accidentally incarnate on a body of a dying teenager, what would she do to keep herself and everything around her safe from Cyrus?This book was actually quite a light read, and while the concept and the plot was really interesting, I found the book was a bit too short, which affected the book's narration, which was great and descriptive at some place, but overly short and brief at the other. I love how Avery Williams decided to use timeline to tell us about Sera's life, from her original life to her current one, and the jumping actually added a nice twist to the story and intrigued the reader more. The ending was really good as well, satisfying but still left the reader with a cliffhanger that made us ask "What's next?".The character, I found, was a bit too black-and-white. While their personality was distinct from each other and they have a nice background story as well, Avery Williams seemed to make her protagonist all good and shining and oh-so-nice, while her antagonist was an all-out-evil. It didn't make the character very believable, and therefore kind of hard to relate with them.Seraphina Ames, as our main character, was actually one of a few character that I found quite unique. She was mostly a stable, normal young lady, living her life under the shadow of Cyrus, and constantly changing her identity. But different from her outer appearances, her inner self was a constant whirlwind of insecurity and doubt . It was really interesting to read how her inner thought and her action was really different, and how she continued to struggle with it every time.Cyrus, our main antagonist, was portrayed as a possessive man who control every single aspect of Sera's life, and all of the Incarnates whom he had saved. To me, Cyrus character was a bit unappealing, and while he sure gave me a creep with his attitude, his too-black character made him lack humanity and less-believable. One thing I do like about him was how his transformation was told really well, from an innocent boy just helping his father to an obsessive, cruel young man who would do anything for the sake of alchemy. It was not a one moment transformation, and it really helped the reader to imagine how Sera's feel when he looked at him after hundreds years—similar body and totally different heart.Some things I'm not quite fond of this book was, one : the too black-and-white character I've mentioned above, and two : too many useless character. Like Amelia and Sebastién, Sera's friend on the Incarnates coven, or some of her friend as a teenager, which names I couldn't remember. Their name were mentioned, like they were some sort of important character, but when they did make an appearance, they didn't have any significant role that made them essential, and truthfully, it was really easy to forget them.Overall, if you're looking for a fresh YA paranormal read, or if you're just in the mood for something light, you could give this book a try.
    • 4/5
      This book really surprised me since I didn't really know that much about the premise before I started reading it. The novel deals with incarnates, immortals who can live forever by taking the body and life of someone else. I liked the main character of Sera and found the whole idea of incarnates fascinating. It reminded me a bit of Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel, so if you liked that one you'll probably enjoy this one too. Its the kind of book that has tons of potential and its a quick read. I thought it was a stand alone but its actually the first book in a series. Though I wasn't crazy about the rather abrupt ending, I'm still excited about the next book.
    • 1/5
      I do not feel this book is worthy of a review. I am only posting this as a warning for you to move on. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!
    • 4/5
      Seraphina is 600 years old, she is a incarnate, a person who stays alive by switching bodies. She has been telling herself that it is okay because she only selects people who for whatever reason will not live much longer but she has decided that this body she in in will be the last one. She plans to die but she must get away from Cyrus, the leader of the group and the person who changed her. As she attends her party where she is expected to select a new body, she drugs Cyrus and takes off. As she gets to Oakland she knows her body is giving out and decides it is a good place to die. Follow her as while trying to save a teen named Kailey she ends up taking the body, tries to fit in as a teenager and avoid Cryus. This story grabs you but I have 2 gripes, one it seems short and the cliffhanger ending. However since this is the first of a series, I want to see how the follow-ups and handled and what happens.
    • 3/5
      This was an easy read at 250 pages and was a good reading palate cleanser. I'm a little wary about this series because although it started real good, it's so easy for AWilliams to go in the other direction and make this predictable. The premise is intriguing enough but I'm hoping that after living 600 years with the same person, Seraphina has gained some useful wisdom and use it to her advantage. So far her way of thinking fits the body she's currently inhabiting, that of a 16yo kid. And though this book aims to reach the 14yo age bracket and up, I hope AWilliams will take into consideration the real age of her heroine and not just let her become this bumbling teenager who knows nothing of the world.Cyrus is a good villain, he's a sociopath so I'd like to know what else he's got under his sleeves to keep Seraphina by his side. I also like that the setting is in San Francisco, CA and the East Bay. I used to live in the area and I actually have a perfect visual in my head when AWilliams was talking about Jack London Square in Oakland, the Golden Gate Bridge and all the other awesome places in NorCal. I enjoyed the book but probably it's one of those reads that is a little too young for me so I'll take this review with a grain of salt if I were you. But if you're in the mid-teen age range, I'm pretty sure you'll find this enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales Quick & Dirty: With an extraordinarily intricate plot and a strong, complicated heroine, readers won’t be able to tear themselves away from this captivating read. Opening Sentence: I feel as though I’ve been waiting for the masquerade ball for my entire life. The Review: Sera has spent the last 600 years living with Cyrus, the apothecary’s son turned alchemist. As they jump from body to body Sera’s love has died a little bit at a time, and Cyrus has become more controlling and abusive. Her next incarnation needs to happen soon, because her body’s dying. While Cyrus plans a party to choose her next victim, Sera plans her suicide. Before she left, Sera stole from Cyrus, intending to destroy his two dearest possessions in one blow. But Sera doesn’t die. Everything works perfectly until Sera tries to save a girl and ends up jumping into her body. She hasn’t been a teenager for centuries and has to dupe this girl’s family and friends until she can find another way to die. Cyrus will stop at nothing to find her, avoiding him by being Kailey is all Sera can think to do. But the longer she hides in this body, the more she comes to love Kailey’s friends and family. The longer she hides, the closer Cyrus comes to finding her. It takes Sera some effort to absorb the modern teen culture. I was very impressed that Sera, despite being a murderer, she was such a sympathetic and strong character. There was so much remorse over what she had done and her belief that it’s finally her time to die, which is so strong that as a reader it was hard not to wish her dead as well. Sera has a hard time fitting into Kailey’s life at first, taking subtle hints from everyone else as to how she should behave. Kailey, you quickly learn, was an inattentive student, a popular girl, and an artist. She wasn’t the greatest friend either, apparently, deeming some friends as too embarrassing to be seen with in public. Instead of trying to turn into Kailey, Sera finds reasons to make Kailey more like herself–friendly, compassionate, and smart–while her friends notice, they don’t think much of it. Things get tricky though, when Noah–one of the boys Kailey refused to be seen in public with–and Sera form a stronger relationship, one that easily becomes more than friendly. But there are things about Kailey that Sera doesn’t know. What was she doing down in Jack London when she was supposed to be at an art gallery in Berkeley? There’s something Kailey never told anyone about, something Sera is going to have to figure out. Kailey’s friends are referencing events and people she doesn’t know. How long can she keep this up when she can’t even draw–much less finish the fantastical painting in Kailey’s bedroom. This book is filled with tension, mostly because it feels like everyone in the novel knows more about what Kailey should be doing than Sera does. Williams makes her readers worry about how Kailey would’ve behaved versus what Sera is doing. Williams also does a great job of establishing Sera as an authority. Part of that comes with her being so old and experienced, but part of it has to do with Williams writing Sera as such a relatable heroine–and who ever thought they could relate to anyone who was 600 years old? Sera knows Cyrus is coming after her and is convinced someone might catch on to Kailey’s less-than-usual demeanor, which fills the reader with a sense of impending doom. Notable Scene: I’m staring out the window, lost in thought, when a boy approaches our table. He’s older, probably late twenties, and has jet-black hair and a nose ring. “Hey, Kailey,” he says. I narrow my eyes. He’s clearly too old to be in high school and smells like leather, cigarettes, and bear. I wonder how she knows him. “Hey,” I say hesitantly. “Haven’t seen you around much lately. Thought you were coming out on Saturday.” He’s looking at me intently, and not in an entirely friendly way. There’s something about him that I don’t like. “I’ve been really busy,” I say stiffly. I want him to leave. Out of the corner of my eye I see Leyla coming out of the bathroom. “So I should really get back to my studying,” I say. He follows my gaze and nods. “I get it. Well, hopefully you make it back down to the club one of these days. I miss dancing with you.” He winks at me and walks away. My skin crawls. The Incarnation Series: 1. The Alchemy of Forever FTC Advisory: Simon & Schuster provided me with a copy of The Alchemy of Forever. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 1/5
      I really do not know what is going on in the YA universe lately, but the quality of writing from debut authors is dropping drastically. This book was just ridiculous. It was completely unbelievable in every way, and the underdeveloped characters were all idiots. I should have known not to read this book when it said for fans of the Immortals series, but noooooo I wanted to give a new author a chance. Yea. Big mistake. Let's start with the characters. Seraphina is supposed to be this unselfish, caring person, but she's not. She's been killing people for SIX HUNDRED YEARS so that she could stay alive, and she just now started feeling bad enough about it to, oh I don't know, STOP?! Yea, she's real caring. Sure, she waits the full ten years before she switches bodies, but seriously, that's over 60,000 murders she's committed. I just couldn't buy into her being a kind character. The rest of the characters are so under-developed, it's laughable. I didn't feel like I knew the characters any better at the end of the book than I did at the beginning. I kept reading, hoping for some big explosion of character development, but none came. Now, let's talk about the plot. My consensus of this is W.T.F?!?! It made no sense, unless Sera is a big freaking liar, which she probably is. The prologue indicates that one must suck the life force out of another human before inhabiting the body. Okay, cool, I'll go with it right? Well, she just kisses the first woman to inhabit her body. Unless I've been doing it wrong all these years, you don't suck on someone's face like they're a straw when you're kissing them. Just sayin'. THEN, Sera "accidentally" kills Kailey in an effort to save her. Riiiiight. She was giving her mouth to mouth, and then she just accidentally SUCKED the life force out of Kailey instead of BLOWING AIR into her lungs? Sure, that's believable. But still, I kept reading... I hoped it'd start to be more logical, but it got even worse. Then Sera makes about 2349872398 stupid mistakes, constantly blaming Cyrus because he made it to where she had to always depend on him. Well, maybe he realized that she was too stupid to live and kept her on a tight leash. And, of course, no one bothers to question why Kailey's entire personality has changed. Sure, they ask if she's okay, but past that, even her parents don't mention it. They know she had a concussion, yet they ignore the fact that she's acting weird. That's totally believable. AND her parents kept telling her things like, "We always allowed you to do what you want..." um hello?! Who would do that? If that is your child, she was there for her entire life, so she KNOWS what you did and didn't do. The telling her stuff like that was just too convenient. And another thing, why on earth did no one question why Kailey's blood was all over the pavement after the accident, but she had no injuries minus a concussion when she got to the hospital? She totaled a car and would have probably been dead. Looking at the car, one would assume there would be more injuries than just a concussion. Which leads me to yet ANOTHER plot hole... how did she keep the accident a secret from everyone in school? Her brother told one person, yet no one else ever found out. I mean did Williams even GO to high school? People would have known, and people would have talked about it. A lot. The ending was a terrible cliffhanger that was about as illogical as the rest of the book. Needless to say, I won't be continuing this series. The writing itself wasn't horrible, but the overly convenient events in the ill-conceived plot with the under-developed characters made me want to gouge my eyes out. Do yourself a favor and avoid this one.
    • 4/5
      A very quick and exciting read, this book I enjoyed. It was very easy to get into that I sort of forgot where I was at cause I was so consumed with this amazing story.What I liked most about this book is the great plot. Lately the plots of the books I have been reading have be intriguing me so much. I loved a good plot that is not only paced right, but fulfilling with each page turn. Sera , the main character, takes the reader on an adventure of lives that she held. I love that Sera see everything black and white. There are no gray ares for her. She is truthful in what she wants. She doesn't want to harm others but just be herself. Sera is really unique when it comes to characters. Ms. Williams wrote this characters with great dimension. Right from the start, I knew where Sear stood.The love interest in this book took turns where I didn't think it would. Still, it was good. I love how well the love formed in the story. It wasn't fast but so enjoyable to read. To see how the character is different from what other people know her as is good. I love seeing things from every point of view. Ms. Williams did a fantastic job in capturing the essence of her characters and letting them flow freely in her writing. The Alchemy Of Forever weaves a beautiful tale of love and magic. Readers will enjoy the new take of alchemy and it's magical forms. If anything, The Alchemy Of Forever is a thrilling enchantment story that can reign anyone in.
    • 5/5
      I was excited to read THE ALCHEMY OF FOREVER, but I didn’t expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I actually did. Sure, the plot sounded intriguing, but reincarnation novels can be a hit or miss. So I went in went in with low expectations, only to find myself completely engulfed in Seraphina’s story.The story is about Seraphina Ames. Centuries earlier, when an attack almost killed her, Cyrus turned her into an Incarnate. She’s spent the past six hundred years jumping from body to body, living under the control of Cyrus. As the time approaches for her to switch bodies, as her current body is nearing its end, Sera decides she can’t do it anymore. She doesn’t want to be controlled by Cyrus anymore, and she doesn’t want to keep killing off other people to ensure she remains alive. But it isn’t that simple. Sera manages to escape, but Cyrus isn’t willing to let her go. He’ll stop at nothing – including going after those that Sera has come to love – in order to lure her back.I really enjoyed THE ALCHEMY OF FOREVER. The Cyrus we meet in the very beginning of the story is a completely different man from the one we come to know throughout the rest of the story. He’s controlling, abusive, and menacing; a far cry from the boy who wanted to save Sera.At times, after Sera overtook Kailey’s body, I found myself frustrated with Sera. She was constantly making plans to escape, but something always brought her back. But even though it may be frustrating, I can understand why she kept going back. With Cyrus and his group of Incarnates, Sera never really had a family. She served as his puppet for the most part. But with Kailey’s family, living Kailey’s life, she feels as though she belongs. She’s found the family she never knew that she wanted. Sera isn’t willing to risk their lives for her own freedom. Returning is the only way she can, hopefully, stop Cyrus before it’s too late.All in all, this is definitely one of the most exciting books I’ve read this year. I would definitely recommend this one. It’s a fast, thrilling read, and I can’t wait to see what happens with Sera next
    • 1/5
      This is a case of “Happily Ever After”, not really being so happily ever after. Seraphine and Cyrus have finally found each other and a tragic accident is about to separate them forever. But Cyrus, the Alchemist’s son, has found a formula that will allow Sera’s spirit to leave her body and inhabit the body of another. Only 600 years later, Sera isn’t so thrilled with how hers and Cyrus’ relationship has progressed and she’s looking for a way out.This story had so much promise and it just didn’t deliver! Great start, learning about the incarnates and how they became incarnates. Really slow moving middle. Then just as everything starts to pick back up again, the story ends. I looked it up on GoodReads and it was only 250+ pages. Ok, this is where I have to say that I feel cheated. I will bet my weight in donuts (and that’s a lot of donuts, friends) that this author offered up a longer more complete story and the publishing company said, “Hey let’s turn this into a series. Let’s stop the first book here…and save the rest of it for the subsequent books”. Sorry but this one just didn’t whet my appetite enough to care about what happens in future books.Enough said!

    Book preview

    The Alchemy of Forever - Avery Williams

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