Review: The Alchemy of Forever (Incarnation #1)

The Alchemy of Forever (Incarnation #1) by Avery Williams
Publication date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

After spending six hundred years on Earth, Seraphina Ames has seen it all. Eternal life provides her with the world's riches but at a very high price: innocent lives. Centuries ago, her boyfriend, Cyrus, discovered a method of alchemy that allows them to take the bodies of other humans from jumping from one vessel to the next, ending the human's life in the process. No longer able to bear the guilt of what she's done, Sera escapes from Cyrus and vows to never kill again.

Then sixteen-year old Kailey Morgan gets into a horrific car accident right in front of her, and Sera accidentally takes over her body while trying to save her. For the first time, Sera finds herself enjoying the life of the person she's inhabiting--and falling in love with the boy who lives next door. But Cyrus will stop at nothing until she's his again, and every moment she stays, she's putting herself and the people she's grown to care about in danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that's eluded her for centuries: true love?

The Alchemy of Forever is one of those rare books that is the perfect length. I didn't think any scene was unnecessary and I felt like there was no point in the story where it dragged. Is it the most fast-paced, action-packed book ever? No. In fact, there's very little action, but I don't think that was supposed to be the purpose of the book (I don't speak of the series as a whole, but the first one).

Cyrus is one of the most frightening antagonists I've experienced in YA fiction recently.  He scared the crap out of me and I fully understand why Sera is so scared of him. Cyrus's controlling and abusive personality seems all too real. On the other hand, Sera is a character I loved. For a girl who has lived 600 years, she has an innocence and naivety about her that I found endearing. For all of those years, Sera has always been under Cyrus's control and after her escape, I'm excited to watch her mature as the series progresses. She's a girl who has a lot of growing up to do and I think she has a great strength within her (this sentence is cheesy, yet true, so I kept it. Please forgive me Goddess of Originality).

If there's one complaint I have about this book, it's that it is too short. I know, I know! In my first paragraph I said it was the perfect length, but as I was coming up to the end, I just wasn't ready to let Sera or the story go quite yet. So I tried to read...really...slowly...but it didn't work and the book ended with a cliffhanger to die for! When can I get the next one??

I can't wait to start recommending it to my customers!