"In my experience, we have a core group of souls we incarnate with over and over again. Life after life, we will always return to these people.'
Descended by Ingrid J. Adams
1990s SYDNEY.
A LOVE THAT SPANS LIFETIMES.
FOR SOME, THE VEIL BETWEEN REALMS IS STRETCHED THIN...
An imaginative tour-de-force debut about the big and small decisions we make every day and the ripple effect they have on the rest of time – even if they’re celestially pre-determined.
Indigo Wolfe, the mysterious high school heart throb everyone wants to be or be with, is barely holding on by a thread. Because he isn't what he seems. He has secrets – secrets that consume him. Pain. Emptiness. The unending noise of all that he sees, and feels and hears that no one else can.
Why is he cursed by abilities others are not?
When he meets the ethereal Cordelia Carlisle, he's hit with a sense of recognition that traverses lifetimes. Only she can make his world silent. He’s welcomed into her family, and as they grow closer he lets her see the parts of him he keeps hidden.
The only thing he can't show her is that she's everything to him.
When they're torn apart, Indigo descends into darkness and is left standing on the precipice. He must search the depths of his soul – and his powers – and choose, whether to give up, or to fight: for himself, for answers, and for Cordelia, the one he seems destined to love and to lose over and over, life after life after life…
Fresh, masterfully written, and deeply moving, this award-nominated debut is the first in a gripping four-book series that melds paranormal romance with magical realism.
Author Bio:
Ingrid J. Adams is the author of descended, an epic love story steeped in fantasy, the first in a four book series for the upper YA market. It took her a long time to realise her unattainably crazy dream of being a writer was in fact both attainable and sane; but between then and now, she's earnt degrees in business tourism, journalism, kinesiology and nutrition, studied psychotherapy, and worked in media then as a therapist. She also had a couple years off to lie in bed and stare at the ceiling after being diagnosed with an incurable disease-an incurable disease she managed to cure herself of by going way outside the box, a disease she probably learnt more from than all her degrees put together. Today she lives in chaos by the beach in Manly, Australia with her four beautiful boys (five if you count her husband), and her cuddle-hunting cavoodle pup. She's a massive fan of travel, yoga, meditation, farmer's markets, cooking (and eating), ocean-swimming, and escaping into fictional worlds of her own and others' creation.
Review:
This review is part of a Love Books Tour for Descended by Ingrid J. Adams - a big thank you to both for a copy of Descended and for having me as part of this tour!
“She was his centre, his North Star, and he couldn’t fathom the existence of anyone else who could feel like that to him, no matter how far or wide he searched the human race. “
Descended is a romance mashed together with magical realism and the result is an emotional whirlwind. The book follows the life of Indigo, from his early years , through his neglect from his family, from his bad relationship to finding a home with a family that loved him to being taken away and losing all hope and love he once had. On the other side, we have Cordelia, growing a close bond with Indigo, watching her family accept him and then losing him and losing herself along with him. This book deals with a lot of serious and difficult issues so I'd advise looking up the trigger warnings before reading this book. It was a difficult read at times, but the depth and impact these difficult events added to the characters was done really well. I cried tears for Indigo, hoping for him to gain back some faith and carry on through the harder moments.
This book is all about love in various ways, it's not only about the romance between Indigo and Cordelia, but the love of Cordelia's family and the importance of this to Indigo, the love of friends and people along their journeys.
The magic realism aspect is interlocked with Indigo and the realisation that he possesses powers and the discovery of new people in his life, that show him that some events are not coincidences, but set in the plans for his journey. This renews Indigo's optimism for his life as he deals with this secret part of himself and the confusion along with this. Though, this brings more difficulty and trouble for Indigo, it is also what reunites him with Cordelia.
I enjoyed this one a lot, there is some beautiful writing in parts of this and I did get consumed by Indigo' story. I did find some bits a bit slow for me to get through but it was worth pushing through for.
Rating - 3.5/5
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