
5 out of 5 stars
Rather than being a straight retelling of the Dracula story by Bram Stoker, Cornwall instead chooses to directly involve Stoker himself, which works really well. I find that when historical or famous figures are included in stories, as long as they are not too out of character, it makes the story more relatable, by presenting the reader with characters they are already familiar with. For example, we also get to meet William Gladstone, former Prime Minister, and Queen Victoria.
Speaking of characters, Lucy as a character is a wonderful protagonist, particularly as a female lead in a YA paranormal novel. She is strong, and barely phased by her transformation. She just gets on with it, she doesn’t moan, whine or cry. Although there is some romance, it doesn’t completely consume her and she never gets soppy. She’s smart, quick-witted and generally a strong character all round, and manages to avoid cliches. We need more female protagonists like her.
Now as for the downsides of the book: I managed to guess one character’s secret very early on into the story, which made the big reveal much less of an impact – I feel that perhaps Cornwall left too many clues for that one. I have to say, the ending was a bit of an anti-climax and over rather soon – but I felt the rest of the story kept it up at a five-star rating. There were also quite a few spelling and grammar mistakes, but as I read an ARC I’m hoping that they’ll all be corrected in the final edition.
I highly recommend this one, even if you haven’t read Dracula! (I haven’t… better get on it.) It is beautifully written, and a fun read – especially if you want a more ‘intelligent’ feeling YA novel. If the steampunk element is putting you off, I would say don’t let it – steampunk is only a very light part of the novel.
This sounds amazing! Kind of like the Looking Glass Wars?Great review, Rinn, Incarnation is definitely going on the TBR pile 🙂
I haven’t read The Looking Glass Wars (I have heard of it) but now after looking into it I may have to…Thanks, and best of luck with your book release! =D
My flatmate was telling me about them last night! Thanks 🙂 can’t wait to get it out there!
Nicely said, Rinn! I’m a Dracula fan, and I really really like the synopsis for this book. A female character who is strong, and smart is always a yes.
Thanks Aman! Definitely give it a read if you can get your hands on it – it’s still on Edelweiss, and might be on Netgalley if you use either of them =)
I liked this book, but I really did not see the steampunk aspect of it. I was looking forward to that part, but sadly I could not find much steampunk.
Other than that, Incarnation was very enjoyable. Just from the descriptions, you can get lost in the streets of Victorian London.
I also like how there was a bit of a spin on the normal vampire tale. There is a different and very unique aspect to the tale in this novel. The fact that Bram Stoker wrote Dracula to mask the truth of what happened to Lily Weston is one of the things I really liked about the story.
The plot is very well written. You are sucked into the book right away.
I loved the characters in this book.
My only other complaint about this book was the ending. After all that goes on throughout the book, I felt a little let down by the ending. It was just to abrupt for me. I am hoping that there is a sequel, because I still have many question that I want answer.