Review: The Alchemy of Forever - Avery Williams

Seraphina is an immortal, and she wants to die.

She's been alive for centuries, after her boyfriend Cyrus shared his formula for immortality with her - moving from one body to the next for eternity, ending the life of the body's original soul in the process. But Sera can't bear the blood of one more innocent on her hands and has resolved to let herself leave this earth, and Cyrus, forever. Until she comes across Kailey - young, innocent, and dying . . .

Sera can't resist taking one more life, especially when that life is almost gone. But when she falls in love with Kailey's world, as well as her neighbour Noah, Sera realises that for the first time in years, she may have something to live for.

But being ready to leave Cyrus doesn't mean he's ready to let her go . . .

Incarnation Series:
The Alchemy of Forever
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Review:
Sera has been alive for nearly 700 years but she pays a high price for her immortality. Every 10 years she must take a new body because she will have worn out the one she is currently using. After hundreds of years spent ending other people's lives the guilt is becoming hard to live with, even though she tries to chose from people who are intend on destroying themselves to be her victims. Sera has decided enough is enough but she knows Cyrus will never let her go willingly. She has spend months plotting her escape and intends to let her current body die but after witnessing a terrible car accident she finds herself switching bodies one last time. As she settles into Kailey's life she starts to dream of a future without Cyrus but he hasn't given up on her and is determined to find her and bring her back into his world.

I thought The Alchemy of Forever was a great concept, I loved the way Avery Williams has used alchemy as the way the immortals are created and enjoyed finding out about Sera's history with Cyrus and the other friends they have collected over the years. Cyrus is definitely a scary and controlling stalker of a boyfriend and it was no wonder that Sera is utterly terrified of him. The story is definitely a quick and easy read and the cliffhanger ending has left me keen to find out what happens in the next instalment.

I did have a few problems with the story though. The first was that I felt Sera slotted herself into Kailey's life far too easily, yes she struggles a couple of times but in general her friends and family don't notice any difference in her which seemed completely unrealistic. Noah makes a nice love interest, he is the sweet boy next door who has been friends with Kailey forever but has always been beneath her notice until Sera came along. Although I liked Noah I didn't find myself believing in their relationship, everything happened a bit too quickly and I never felt much of a connection between them.

As a start to a series The Alchemy of Forever is interesting enough to make me want to read the next book but it didn't quite wow me as much as I hoped it would. It is still worth giving it a try though - especially if you want a paranormal story without the usual vampires or shape shifters.

Source: Received from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.

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