I read this YA free kindle download without any plot synopsis, or preconceived notion of book genre, subject, or author information. I loved it! The first chapter with the hook of great writing, realistic characters and a dramatic opening scene reeled me in and I kept reading. I read a lot of YA dystopian novels and share the good ones with my teenage son. I'm glad that the author chose to write from the main character, Maryah, as well as, Nathaniel's POV (easier to sell to my son who gets sick of all-female POV books). There were definite similarities to Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series with the "eternal love/soul-mate" partnership of the main characters, as well as the "kindrily"/family/coven of supporting characters and their "partners". I liked the fact that the characters were humans, instead of vampires, also with differing "abilities/gifts", similar to the "Twilight" vampires. Both main characters (Bella-Twilight and Maryah-GAE) are insecure teenage girls who grow in both wisdom and strength as they learn about their "gift"/abilities. There's also a comparison with Veronica Roth's "Divergent" series with the main ideas of discrimination, or fear of people who are "different" vs. "normal" people, as well as a faction group of "different" people joining together for nefarious/violent means. The "memory" concept and it's affect on life (used in "Divergent, as well as "The Giver") is also an idea explored in GAE. One oversight I found was at the end of the novel, regarding the quick acceptance of Maryah to Nathan. Actually, I was ok with her acceptance, but leaving out the exploration of the process of love and trust moved too quickly for Maryah's current circumstances. I think it should have been a process for Maryah to accept Nathan into her bed, especially since Maryah can't recall all of their past and she's an 18-year old with no intimate experience at all (there's no descriptive sex keeping this is a YA category novel). Since they were married in past lives, it would seem more credible that she might want to wait for marriage in her current life. Anyway, it seemed like an unexplained emotional jump for me at the end.I appreciate how Karen Hooper explored reincarnation within this context, as well as touching on psychic abilities, as well as mentioning magic and witches. The concepts were written with believability and a depth of plot including twists and a mystery that has yet to be solved. I'm looking forward to the next book in The Kindrily series. I read this book nearly a month ago, and I regret not writing a few words then, as the plot and characters would have been easier to recall.Before I start pulling deals up from my kindle, I will say that my general impression of this book right now is that I would recommend it to people who like a bit of 'realistic' fantasy. This book did a great job of staying in the present time, but creating a fantasy world that easily co-existed with the Earth we all know.I however can't remember any of the characters names. I know the the main male character always rode a motorcycle and the mail female character kept dreaming about said boy.A quick look at the summary tells me that I won't be giving any spoilers by saying that the premise of this book is that this group has all lived multiple past lives together. They are able to keep their memories and can easily recall the relationships from their past. I think that's a really interesting premise an idea. I also think the execution of the premise was done well. However, we are living this story through the eyes of Maryah (the main character) and she doesn't remember their past lives. She chose to erase her memories, but as she spends more time around her group it appears that she starts to remember bits and pieces of her past.Okay, for the elemental critique:-The writing: I don't remember having any kind of issue with the writing. I would say it was probably above average. If there were any grammar or syntax issues or anything of the sort they were few and far between.-The characters: There were a handful of characters in the story, however, I didn't have a problem keeping then straight. Because Maryah was 'meeting' them for the first time we got good descriptions and hints at their personalities.I had a bit of an issue with Maryah, but only because she seemed very slow to catch on to the fact that something strange was going on with her group of friends. I know she didn't remember them, but it seemed like everyone kept saying odd phrases and words and she would think it was weird but wouldn't ask. Or if she did ask the questions would just be pushed aside. I would have liked to see her be a bit more aggressive as she tried to get answers from people.Nathan, Maryah's soul mate, wasn't exactly my favorite person. He was incredibly illusive and secretive. I understand that he couldn't tell Maryah the truth about who he was and that he was incredibly upset that she didn't remember him, but it just seemed like he was being more selfish than anything at times in the book. It was nice to have the chapters in Nathaniel's perspective as well, but there were times when I would lose track of which character's point of view we were in because the personality of the characters were so similar.Each individual character had their own personality. Considering the book really focused on Maryah the other characters were not fleshed out as much as they could have been, again, I think it's okay because the story was about Maryah. And she did grow as a character, but now quite as much as I would have hoped.-The Plot: I'll be honest, other than hoping Maryah would remember her past lives I can't remember what else happened in the book. I think there was some group of people out to find Maryah or something, but those details are lost to me.Also from what I can remember the plot seemed to drag a bit at times. A lot of the flashback and memories from Nathaniel wore on me and I didn't enjoy those moments as much as I should. There were a lot of chapters in the book and with the alternating POVs it was a relatively quick read. I just wish I could remember more of what happened.At this point I don't feel as invested with Maryah and Nathan as I could be. I think it's a small matter of target demographics. I would like to see where their story takes them, but I'm not anticipating the next book.That being said, the book is a solid 3 stars. It shined a new perspective on the fantasy genre and the main idea has stuck with me. That says a lot about a book and the author's ability to create something memorable.I hope that anyone who takes a chance on the book enjoys it at least as much as I did.*The kindle copy of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a fair review*
What do You think about Grasping At Eternity (2012)?
Very interesting concepts in this fantasy. Enjoyed it very much.
—Bivky
Loved this book I absolutely could not put it down...
—mazhar
