Review: The Alchemy of Forever (Incarnation #1) by Avery Williams

The Alchemy of Forever

Author: Avery Williams
Series: Incarnation, #1

Synopsis (goodreads): 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?

Review

What would you do if suddenly one day someone tells you that they have a way for you to become immortal? You could live forever, jumping from body to body and never have to grow old? This is what happens to Seraphina Ames. One minute, Sera is standing outside with the alchemist's son Cyrus, who she's always longed for, and he's telling her he feels the same; the next minute she's being stabbed by a beggar. Not wanting to lose her, Cyrus opens a vial and pours a substance into her mouth and suddenly Sera has become an Incarnate, taking over the body of the woman beggar, whose soul is now gone. This was in the year 1349.

It is now present day. Sera has had several different bodies, and she's not alone. Over the years, Sera and Cyrus have found others to share their immortal dreams with and become Incarnates. But Sera feels trapped and no longer wants to be an Incarnate. She feels terrible for taking so many peoples lives just so that she could continue to live, and she makes a plan to run away from the coven, and especially Cyrus, who is abusive and controlling. Only that plan doesn't go over so well and she accidentally ends up in the body of sixteen year old Kailey Morgan. After seeing Kailey crash her car and the life fade from her right before her eyes, Sera tries to save her, taking over her body in the process. And now Sera is living Kailey's life. She has a family and friends, something she hasn't truly had in a very long time. And not to mention there's a really cute boy next door named Noah Vander who has his eye on her. Her first thought is to try to run away in Kailey's body, get a fake ID, and get as far away as possible from the Morgan's, Cyrus and the Incarnates. But then she realizes that if she leaves Kailey's family behind, they'll always be looking for her and will never truly understand what happened to her. They will never be at peace. So Sera stays, coming to love Kailey's family and friends, and a romance starts up between her and Noah. She couldn't be happier.

But Cyrus is looking for her. And he'll do whatever it takes to get her back. Lying. Jumping bodies. Even murder. As Sera fights to keep the people closest to her alive and the truth behind her disappearance a mystery, Cyrus fights to find her and a way back into her life. How do you run from someone who has the ability to change bodies at will, who could be anyone, anywhere?

The Alchemy of Forever is a wonderful debut from Avery. The book went in a direction I never even believed it would and left off with a major cliffhanger. I truly enjoyed following Seraphina on her journey of trying to set things right to becoming someone else and living their life to falling in love with the boy next door. She has backbone and a strong personality and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

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