Forget-Me-Not: Avery Williams

The Alchemy of Forever (Incarnation #1)
Release Date: April 26th 2012
Author: Avery Williams
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository
More Info: Goodreads

Summary from 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?

My review:

Cover:
I don't really like the UK cover. The girl standing on the edge of the bridge, stretching her hands out looks very creepy to me. Although, the cover does portray a scene in the book very well!

Story:

Eternity is only the beginning...

I received this book a couple of months ago but never actually got into the book until now. I really liked the premise of the book and was glad that I ended up really enjoying the story! The Alchemy of Forever, written from Seraphina's POV tells the story of her life as an immortal who has lived 600 years, transferring her soul to different bodies every time her current body starts to decay in order to continuing living in this world. She becomes immortal after Cyrus, an Alchemist's son gives her the elixir when she is about die 600 years ago. Now, Sera is tired of taking over other people's body, killing the soul inside of them all the time and is prepared to die. She no longer feels any love for Cyrus but the only problem is, Cyrus is very possessive of her and she is not sure she can ever escape him.

Despite the fact that the book is not too long, only about 260 pages, the book is not rushed and flows at a very steady pace. It begins with a prologue back in the 1400s when Cyrus makes Sera immortal and continues in the present story as Sera tries to basically die. I really enjoyed reading about how Sera decides to still stay in this world after transferring her soul to Kaylie's body and how she falls in love with Noah. The concept of incarnation in this book is quite interesting such as how the soul stays immortal but not the body itself. The book ended in a cliffhanger although I definitely saw that coming but it still makes me excited for the sequel!

Characters:
I really like Sera as a character. She feels very conflicted throughout the book. In the beginning, she feels conflicted because she wants to die but then she takes Kaylie's body when she nearly died and transfers her soul to Kaylie's body. After living Kaylie's life, Sera finally decides that she does not want to die just yet. She loves Kaylie's life and also falls in love with Noah. Sera wants to avoid Cyrus at all cost but Cyrus is able to track her down. Noah is a sweet and nice guy, basically the good guy and I can definitely see how Sera is attracted to him. Kaylie's bestfriends are also cool and great! I actually really like Cyrus too. Even though he might be over-possessive and selfish, he really cares for Sera. I fell for Cyrus in the prologue and am really looking forward to read more about him in the book although he is not constantly in the book. I hope there is more appearance of him in the next book!

Overall:
Would you jump at the chance to live forever? The Alchemy of Forever will make you think that perhaps being an immortal is not a very good thing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this riveting book and absolutely can't wait to read the sequel!