Book Review: Grasping at Eternity by Karen Amanda Hooper

Grasping at Eternity
The Kindrily Series #1
Author: Karen Amanda Hooper
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Released: May 1st 2012
Review Source: Author
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Leave it to Maryah Woodsen to break the one rule that will screw up eternity: Never erase your memories.

Before entering this life, Maryah did the unthinkable—she erased. Now, at seventeen years old, she’s clueless that her new adoptive family has known her for centuries, that they are perpetually reincarnated souls, and that they have supernatural abilities. Oh, and she's supposed to love (not despise) Nathan, the green-eyed daredevil who saved her life.

Nathan is convinced his family’s plan to spark Maryah's memory is hopeless, but his love for her is undying. After spending (and remembering) so many lifetimes together, being around an empty version of his soulmate is heart shattering. He hates acting like a stalker, but has no choice because the evil outcast who murdered Maryah in their last lifetime is still after her.

While Maryah’s hunter inches closer, she and Nathan make assumptions and hide secrets that rip them further apart. Maryah has to believe in the magic within her, Nathan must have faith in the power of their love, and both need to grasp onto the truth before they lose each other forever—and discover just how lonely eternity can be.

X-MEN meets MY NAME IS MEMORY in Karen Amanda Hooper’s latest young adult release. Coming in May of 2012.

Maryah Woodsen is just like any other seventeen year old girl. She believes she is just an ordinary American teenager with no special qualities. Her world quickly spins out of control when she finds her family has been murdered and has their killers standing over her as she tries to run for her life. In what she believes to be a hallucination as she is passing out from being attacked she comes face to face with her "angel of death" as she refers to him. She has no idea that this "angel of death" is really Nathaniel Luna, an Element, who is anything but normal eighteen year old boy who was placed in this world as her soul mate centuries ago. The problem is, Nathaniel is wounded to the center of his soul because his soul mate, Mary (the now seventeen year old Maryah) decided a lifetime ago to erase not only himself but all of their kindrily from her memories. She chose to be reborn to the world without knowing any of them. Nathan will stop at nothing to find Dedrick, the Nefarioun behind the attack on Maryah and her family. Dedrick holds the answer to why Maryah chose to erase after her last life and Nathan desperately needs to find out why.

The first word that came to mind as I started reading this book was "refreshing". I could not put this book down. From page 1 to page 391 I was sucked in and did not want to put the book down. Karen Amanda Hooper weaves a very refreshing tale putting a new spin on the classic star crossed love story. Set within this beautiful and at times painful love story are a cast of characters as vibrant as the colors described in the pages of the book. They jump off the page and command your attention. I found myself very invested in the cast of characters and each of their abilities as they try to restore Maryah's memories.

I'd recommend this story to anyone who loves a really beautiful love story and wants to hear it told from a new perspective. If the love story doesn't draw you in, read it for the lore that she builds this story around. I loved this book and personally can not wait for the sequel in 2013!