<blockquote><b><i>“There's always the option of deciding for yourself who you are and what you'll become.” </i></b></blockquote> This is such a lovely, heart-warming, surprisingly delightful book! I wasn't expecting to love this as much, especially because I didn't know much about it in the first place. But the concept was really interesting, the writing is very fluid and I like the dilemmas and beliefs discussed here. It was such a page-turner that I almost finished it in a sitting. Ana is a compelling protagonist, although not very complex - she is learning about this world, she's a newsoul recently born in the place of another, one of the million souls who reincarnate every time they die and form this society. However, due to some 'accident', Ana replaces this old soul and she's made a pariah because of that (though she didn't ask to be born) - her own mother is very abusive towards her and she grows up thinking she's not capable or deserving of love and good things. On her 18 birthday, she embarks on a journey to the capital of this society, Heart, to try and figure out why she was born and why Ciana, the soul she replaced, was lost. On the way, she's attacked by mythical creatures, meets Sam, a gentle, nice guy who is going to help her (and is going to be the male lead on the story) and will feel the judgment of this society who is not ready for a change and thinks she's somehow guilty of what happened. We really see through the novel how much Ana struggles trying to understand this world, why she was born, her purpose, and trying to overcome the marks her abusive mother left on her. She really flourishes and we see her come into her own and become a brave, gentle girl while trying to get more answers about the whole resurrection business and the many secrets the Council (and even her friends) keeps from her. I love the dynamic between her and Sam, how patient he is with her and how much he truly loves her - he gives her time and space to do her own things and is extremely supportive. It was so heartwarming and cute and the romance is just beautiful. We have some interesting revelations concerning Janam, this 'God' these people worship and who is the force responsible for the resurrection, something about the mythical creatures who attack the city and more about Ana and her birth, but there's still enough answers left for the other books and the events of the end of this novel leaves many interesting possibilities the author can explore in the next installment. That being said, as much as I liked the last portion, and there were some revelations like I said, I missed something of a plot twist and a more impacting ending. I never got the sense of danger the final sequences were supposed to give me, so it was just ok. Still, I'm really curious to go on with this story and really can't wait to pick up the rest!

It was OK but there weren't any surprising features. I don't know whether it's worth reading on, we'll see...