{Review} PHOENIX OVERTURE by Jodi Meadows

Check out my reviews of INCARNATE and ASUNDER, as well as the review of INFINITE that Kat and I did together last week!

I would recommend reading PHOENIX OVERTURE after you've read the second book in the trilogy, ASUNDER. While you can read it first, since it takes place before Sam ever meets Ana in INCARNATE, it spoils ALL THE THINGS.

So, if you're not caught up, go read those reviews. ^.~ I've kept this one spoiler-free, so you can read it without spoiling yourself on the rest of the series!
(Hence the unusual format! It's sort of a flash review, but a little meatier, too!)

O P E N I N G   H O O K:

     "YOU HAVE MUSIC IN YOU, DOSSAM. NEVER forget that."
     My mother's name was Lyric, our family name Harper, and I was born in the wrong time.

(Page 5, US e-book edition)

Anyone who knows and loves the Newsoul Trilogy knows and loves Sam. He's such an amazing human being; I wish he really existed so we could meet and be friends.

There are a lot of things we know about Sam, such as his extraordinary gift when it comes to music.

But we don't know his origin story. All of the souls in Range have been reincarnated time after time--all except Ana the New Soul, of course. Who were these souls in the beginning? What was their first lifetime like? PHOENIX OVERTURE takes us there, and shows us what life was like the first time around.

Life for Sam is much harder and tougher than you might initially think. He's not good at anything important and isn't trusted for important jobs. Instead, he enjoys things that aren't useful, like music. It's amazing to see how Sam has made a life for himself over the centuries and evolved so much. He is so much stronger and likable now. But I really embraced this first form of him, of seeing the way he has changed so much. That's the beauty of this novella.

In the main series, he is a sturdy rock for Ana to take strength from. He is a trusted member of society and well-liked. In his first lifetime, he is so much more timid, and it's amazing to see the difference.

There's also a scene that echoes alongside the memories of other scenes in INFINITE, coming together to form a powerful new scene that change everything. To go back and re-read PHOENIX OVERTURE after reading the series will change the way you see everything.

There are new characters to love and despise alongside familiar faces that make you want to hug everybody. It was so interesting seeing how people met, how their lives entwined and involved to form the threads that tie them together in the main series.

For such a short story, it tells so much!

~*~

C O V E R   D E S I G N:

It's Sam!!!

It's so odd and yet so right to see a different face on the cover of this book. But it's Sam's story, and occurs lifetimes before he ever meets Ana, so this is as it should be.

You can tell that it's unified with the rest of the series based on the way there's a rainbow gradient over everything, though. I love the use of cheerful oranges and yellows and reds, because it embodies Sam's essence.

I really love how there's a shadow of a Phoenix stamped over his face, and some curly smoke around the image. It is so, so perfect.

   ~*~

O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title:  PHOENIX OVERTURE
Author: Jodi Meadows

Release Date: Sept. 3, 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books / HarperTeen
Received: Purchased

SUMMARY:

This breathtaking and lyrical novella captures a thrilling and momentous decision for a young man and the people he loves. Told from the perspective of Sam, the sensitive musician from Jodi Meadows’s Incarnate series, lifetimes before he meets Ana, PHOENIX OVERTURE is a story of love and loss, strength and courage, and facing the consequences of the hardest of decisions. 

PHOENIX OVERTURE offers existing fans a deeper insight into a favorite character and the intriguing history of Heart, while new readers will find a stunning introduction to this rich world and the romantic, captivating fantasy of the Incarnate series. 

In the wilds around the Community where Sam and his family have taken shelter, life is dangerous. Dragons, trolls, centaurs, and other monsters fill the world. The word comes from the council that everyone must leave and journey to rescue their leader, Janan, who has been abducted by a mysterious new enemy in the north. Faced with overwhelming threats that bring death and destruction, Sam and the others reach the northern Range and, reunited with Janan, are given an unimaginable opportunity. Although it would give them the privilege to live and learn and love without fear, the choice is not without its own dire consequences. And lives—though not theirs—are sure to be lost. Just how much are they willing to give up to save themselves?