Grasping at Eternity: The Kindrily, #1

I'm digging this whole concept, a very unique take on supernatural-immortal(ish) people. I don't want to ruin anything, so I'll just say that I enjoyed the storyline from start to finish.

Truly, I didn't set my expectations very high as I began this novel. I wasn't expecting a book as unique,

as magical,

as romantic as this.

Karen Amanda Hooper manages to make the romance lovely and enchanting while not crossing the fine line of cheesiness.

Maryah and Nathan are supposed to be soul mates, throughout their different lives, but this life is different.

She can't remember him. She erased, for reasons unknown to everyone.

The story starts, and I was hooked. I'd rather not say what happened in that first scene, as that would be a major spoiler.

Maryah and Nathan are an adorable couple. She didn't remember him until the end, but their love was palpable through Nathan's POV. I usually am not a huge fan of romances, but Grasping at Eternity makes the love story one I want to read about.

Sometimes Nathaniel's actions were kind of stupid, and I didn't agree with them, but he was still lovable. I mean, he's only human, right? Wait, technically he isn't, but you get the point.

This novel of reincarnation makes the topic so intriguing that I couldn't help but read on. There wasn't any info-dumping, and the gradual revelations gave the story a very natural flow that was easy to follow. Since this a fairly new topic to the YA genre, it is vital for us to understand reincarnation, and while the author didn't answer every question, I wasn't dying of confusion by the end of the novel.

My only complaint is that it is a bit hard to keep track of all the Kindrily, and I wish the author put more effort into developing more to make them easier to distinguish between.

Minus Carson. He stood out easily, and he's mine.

For all you romantics out there, this is the novel for you. Heck, even if you don't like romance, Grasping at Eternity will probably convert you. Like it did for me.

There is someone for everyone, but what do you do when your one and only has no idea who you are? Maryah suffers when she loses her family and is thrown into a new living situation with a bunch of strangers who act like they have known her, her whole life. Nathan feels like his world is shattering when he looks at his soul mate and the stars are missing in her eyes that he should recognize.

Karen Amanda Hooper writes as beautifully that matches the lovely cover. I'm a sucker for color what can I say? I did get a little lost with the lot of characters being introduced in one section, since they have been in a couple of lives I was trying to figure out how some where connected in this one. She does describe love in a way that would sweep anyone off their feet. There were a couple of twists thrown in there as well.

Thank you to Karen Hooper for providing me with a copy for review! It was an honor.

As mentioned before I started reading, this book was My Name is Memory meets X-Men. I was a bit skeptical but excited, because I really didn't like the ending of Memory, however I love the X-men (especially Wolverine)! I was surprised at how well it exceeded my expectations, and the ending was beautiful and touching. The at times heartbreaking/roller coaster romance pulled at my heart strings. I finished this book in little over 4 hours, couldn't put it down. Whether you like a good romance or paranormal book, Grasping at Eternity is a must read.

Maryah's life was turned upside down one night, as she soon finds herself in Arizona at the home of her godmother. Everything she has known is gone; sometimes, it seems, her sanity is gone as well. She has dreams of a green-eyed death angel.

That angel turns out to be Nathan, the son of her godmother. Unbeknownst to Maryah, Nathan has loved her for a very long time and is devastatingly heartbroken that she choose this decision. Nathan's problem is believing in fate and that true love will conquer all.

Meanwhile, Maryah struggles to fit into her new family, deal with the issues with her past, while trying to manage the ups and downs of her relationship with Nathan. As she inches closer to the truth, so do the people that that wish to do her harm. Can she find Nathan in her heart before someone else harms her...

I loved the opening quote that Karen Hooper used, "If you love someone, put their name in a circle; because hearts can be broken, and circles never end. -Anonymous" <3!!

Ebook received by the publisher via Netgalley.

Grasping at Eternity is a story about life, love, soulmates and reincarnation. It tells the story of Maryah, a seventeen year old girl whose family is murdered. She goes to live with her adoptive family, and they're more than meets the eye. She doesn't know what's really going on. She doesn't know that she's a Kindrily, and that she's lived thousands of lives. She can't even remember her soulmate, Nathaniel, who's still sufferring after Maryah decided to "erase" all her previous memories. Everyone tells Nathaniel that there's still hope, but he can't even believe in himself anymore. Maryah's life seems to get worse when the person that killed her family is hunting for her, and all around her everyone is keeping secrets. It's up to her to discover what everyone's hiding from her, before it's too late.

This book has everything I love in a story. Likable characters, interesting plot, swoon-worthy moments, and even a litle bit of action.

Maryah is the protagonist of this story, and she's far from okay. Her family was killed and she's learning to adapt to her new adoptive family. I loved Maryah. She's exactly how a main character should be: brave, confident and down to earth. Maryah was completely relatable and easy to hear from.

Nathaniel is the other protagonist, he's a Kindrily. He has powers that we'd think were ridiculous. Nathaniel is a raw and heartbreaking character. We're able to see and feel his pain of having lost his soul mate. In my opinion, Nathaniel was my favorite character.

The secondary characters were all very great aswell. None of them seemed to be "placemats" to Maryah and Nate's story, each and everyone of them contributed something to the story.

This story is told in both the perspectives of Nate and Maryah. This is great, because we're experiencing what it feels like to be introduced to the world of the Kindrily through Maryah's eyes, but we're also placed in the middle of the action thanks to Nathaniel. Both of these perspectives were necessary for a better understanding of the story.

This story captivated me from the very first moment. The prose was beautiful and poetic. I felt like I could keep reading this book forever. There wasn't any type of predictability in the story, which is always nice to see, and the plot twists that happened near the end where really really really really great!

I loved the romance between Nathaniel and Maryah. It was hilarious at times, but it was heartbreaking at other times. They both compliment each other so well, the author made us see that they were truly meant to be together.

Nathaniel never failed to make me swoon. Everything from his looks to the way he talks was swoon-worthy.
"I was put on this earth to love you. I know no other kind of existence but to live and breathe for your wellbeing. It's who I am, and who I will always be."

I'm really glad I got the opportunity to read this book thanks to Netgalley. I'm anxiously waiting for the second book in this series Taking Back Forever .

5 stars (If I could give more, I would).

*This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was another that was really hard for me to rate and review. Both during reading and even after finishing, I just wasn't sure what I thought of it. Honestly, it wasn't until I sat down to write this review that I was able to figure out my feelings!

The beginning was amazing. The prologue just kicked off with a bang, and by the end of it, I was literally thinking "Woah. Did that really just happen?"

From there, though, I felt that it was more of an up and down journey. There were some really great, interesting scenes, but there were also some parts that just felt a little slow-moving. There were also some scenes where I was confused, but I think that was intentional, as we were seeing them from Maryah's perspective, and she had no clue what was going on at the time.

There was plenty of mystery in this book. There are several big questions permeating the story as a whole and smaller things that pop up here and there. Most of the smaller things just have to do with learning more and figuring out the world of the Elements. These were actually some of my favorite parts.

My biggest complaint was just that there were a lot of characters, specifically within the kindrily. It took me a long time, probably until about halfway through, before I could keep them straight. Though I still found myself getting them mixed up at times.

The two main characters are Nathaniel and Maryah. I LOVED Nathaniel. He was so heartbroken, but completely fully of love. He was sweet and caring, but also fierce and strong when he needed to be. Maryah was a little bit frustrating to me. This may have been intentional, since we just want her to figure out what's going on! Don't get me wrong. She wasn't unlikable, just had some stubborn moments where I wanted to smack her! lol Harmony and April were good for a few laughs, and Louise was just an awesome mother figure. I also loved Carson, and his hot and cold attitude toward Maryah.

Grasping at Eternity has a big twist towards the end that I didn't fully foresee, but I definitely had a feeling that something was going to happen. I thought it was really good, and the resolution was even better. There was also another scene that literally choked me up. It was actually a scene that I thought might come up (only toward the end), but it was one that made me so glad I was right! Grasping at Eternity left with a few things tied up nicely, but left a lot more loose ends, making me anxious for the next book!

Overall, even though Grasping at Eternity was a bit slow at times, I thought that the storyline was very interesting, and that it was a very good start to the series. I would definitely recommend reading it, but maybe AFTER book 2 is out! lol I was left with so many questions that I'm mad I can't read the next book right now!

4 stars because a dirt bike is very different from a four wheeler.

I received this book from the author, Karen Amanda Hooper, in turn for an honest review.This was truly a totally different story than I have ever read before. At first, I was very confused, I have to say. But once the story really started to unfold, it was like a roller coaster. It completely took me on a ride that was scary, exhilarating and joyous. I really enjoyed that the book was written from two different points of view. It was nice to see the contrast between the male and female characters and how they interpreted situation so differently. This book tugged a my heart strings so much. I was laughing, crying, frustrated, annoyed, happy, sad, and all of the above at once!Maryah is the main female character. She has had her memories erased. This would not be such an issue, if it weren't memories from all her past life times. She doesn't remember who she was, who she loved, who was part of her family. She only remembers this life. When her parents and brother are murdered, she moves from Maryland to Sedona, Arizona to live with her G-dmother and her G-dmother's family, all of who remember her from past lives. They are her Kindrily. This is the story of how she slowly comes to remember her past and our introduction to those who want to destroy all those like her. I have to say that Maryah was an interesting character. There were so many times in the book I wanted to grab her and just smack her around. She was totally and completely clueless as to things that are going on around her. And several of the characters blatantly point this out to her, yet she still does not get it. And then there were the times when she just knew something was different with her "family" and didn't bother to say anything to any of them! I have to say that it got a bit frustrating.Nathaniel's character was perfect. You could see that he was wise well beyond his teenage years, due to having come from the last life with all his memories. His range of emotions from Maryah not remembering him are all over the place. He is happy to see her, but is worried that she will not ever remember who he is. He has great love for her, but is frustrated that he cannot show her how he feels because she does not remember him. He is convinced that there has to be a way for Maryah to remember her past.There are a lot of ancillary characters in this book. It took me a while to be able to sort them out. At first it was a bit frustrating. I couldn't keep them all straight. There are so may members of the Kinderly. By half way through the book, I was able to really pull together who was who and it made it easier to read and also much more interesting.I loved all the different powers the characters had: freezing time, influencing people's thoughts, reading minds, teleporting, seeing people's auras. It was so different than anything I had ever seen before. And Hooper's writing is really perfect. The words flowed well and the explanations were perfect. I could truly see the places that were described, in vivid detail.Of course events unfurl during the book that help Maryah to start remembering her past. First are the dreams that she has about Nathaniel. But they are not dreams at all, they are her aesterally traversing (having out of body experiences). But she does not tell anyone about these dreams, so they never know that she is actually using her powers that she had before her memories were erased. One thing I loved about the end of this book is that you really don't have to move on to the next one if you don't want to. It really read as a great stand alone. However, I am happy there will be another installment and will certainly be reading it when it comes out.Thank you so much, Karen, for the opportunity to read your wonderful book.A solid 4/5 stars!

I wanted to write a book kind of like this so when I found this I had to read it. I think you did such a good job. Thank you.

I honestly loved this book from the very first line. I had taken a step back from the "supernatural" books, and even though this isn't technically one, I really enjoyed this twist on reincarnation! The main characters were perfect and the supporting characters really added to the story and I was hoping to get more of them just as much as I was wanting to read about the two main characters

Book Info: Genre: YA PNR (ParaNormal Romance)Reading Level: Young AdultRecommended for: Fans of YA PNR, even those who do not normally like PNRTrigger Warnings: attempted murder, suicidal ideation, murder (past lives)My Thoughts: Usually romance makes me crazy, especially the type of romance where the hero and heroine are constantly clashing over silly things. However, I really enjoyed this author's previous book, Tangled Tides (review linked here where formatting allowed), so was willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt. I was very glad I did.Karen Hooper is a writer whose romance I actually enjoy, especially when it addresses things like this one that I find interesting. The characters are realistic in many ways (other than the powers and such). I felt so bad for Maryah, losing her whole family and trying to cope, and then to have learn things that make the family you're just starting to fit into seem like they are complete lunatics must have been hard. I don't blame her for her reactions to Nathaniel (Nathan), because of course she had no idea what was going on.Still, I was so heartbroken for Nathan. To have your soul mate, someone you've loved for centuries, deliberately choose to forget? That must be devastating. I felt so badly for him. I'm certain a lot of people will roll their eyes over the eternal soul mate thing, but I personally think that reincarnation and soul mates explains a lot of things that I've experienced in my life that are otherwise inexplicable. I believe in both soul mates and reincarnation, as well as the fact that we often choose to remain in certain company from life to life.I could go on and on about all the different characters (Amber and her critters, Sheila in general, Carson, Dakota, Louise, Anthony....) but this is already becoming a rather long review, so I'll leave off here. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, even those who, like me, do not normally enjoy romance. I definitely want to continue reading this series, to find out what happens next. Highly recommended.Note: I'll be giving away five e-book copies of this book on my blog starting Monday, June 24, so watch for that! The second book in this series, Taking Back Forever was released in late May.Disclosure: The author sent me a copy of this book in gratitude for reviewing her other book, Tangled Tides. She specifically absolved me of any need to write a review, but I'm happy to provide an honest review nonetheless. All opinions are my own.Synopsis: 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.

I had very high hopes for Grasping at Eternity so when I started reading it, I was disappointed. It wasn't what I was expecting at all.Grasping at Eternity is about seventeen year old Maryah, an old soul who for some reason erased her memories in her last life and now has no idea who the people she lives with are, not even her soulmate Nathan who even through his heartbreak always turns up in her life to save her without her knowing. The beginning was very interesting and I found myself hooked. I liked the mysteriousness the book offered at first, I was wondering why, who and what all at the same time which is most of the time good in a book. After the first few chapters I became bored. Nothing really happened and the mysteriousness soon disappeared. What was supposed to be mysterious actually revealed most of the secrets, like Nathan's POV. I liked Nathan as a character, he was hurting for losing his soulmate and I understand that his POV was important for some parts of the book but some facts could have been better of unraveled or pushed further up in the book.What I liked was the emotional rollercoaster that we went through in the book. It wasn't dark even though the book started with a scene of Maryah parents' death. And I liked the plot very much. Hooper managed to build her own world and even though the first book was slow-paced I could see that Grasping at Eternity is building up for more to come in the sequel which I'm hoping I will like more.Grasping at Eternity is a unique and heartbreaking novel and I will definitely be reading the second book. 

“A person’s destiny is written in the stars. The sky is a storybook, and the stars are the characters in its pages.” ~pg. 69It seems, however, that Maryah’s story is already reaching its end. The star that represents her eternal life has gone out. She grows up unaware that her story is drawing to a close, but when a tragic event strikes her biological family, she has to move in with complete strangers who seem to know more about her than she does herself. She comes to realize that she was once a part of their Kindrily, a family of superpowered, reincarnated souls that have been together for centuries. Each member of the family lives a lifetime, passes on, and then is born again with the same soul and all their past memories intact. Except Maryah. She has no memories of this family, or her soulmate, Nathaniel. Without her memories, her eternal soul is in danger of being lost forever, and when a group of people begin hunting her down for being a Kindrily, her life, and her soul, have never been more at risk. With books dealing with soulmates and reincarnation gaining popularity as of late, it is becoming hard to find a story that is unconventional. However, Hooper never fails to deliver, and she provides a stunningly original story of love and loss. Hooper’s expressive prose and exquisitely rendered characters makes Grasping at Eternity an enthralling read, and the emotional intensity of this book is gripping and heartrending. I loved everything about this story, and Hooper has definitely become one of my favorite authors. Grasping at Eternity is told from both Maryah’s and Nathaniel’s point of view, and this shifting of perspectives allows the reader to really get a feel for both characters. Their voices are distinct, and I have to admit I loved getting explicit peeks at Nathaniel’s thoughts. With his soulmate unable to remember him and their past lives, Nathaniel is experiencing heartbreak and emotional pain like never before. Hooper’s vivid details made his heartache feel real, and there were moments where I would be rubbing my chest in phantom pain. Maryah is thrust in a new world and family, and she has no idea why everyone seems to know who she is, or how Nathaniel knows she loves hot chocolate. Her confusion and disorientation felt genuine, and I loved how the reader pieces the story together with Maryah. The most appealing aspect of this book for me was Hooper’s concept of reincarnation. After every life, the eternal soul is given an option: retain or erase. If you were given the choice to remember everything, both the good and the bad, and carry it with you in the next life, would you? Or would you like to have a clean slate and be able to experience everything again for the first time, like your first kiss and falling in love? It is truly a fascinating idea! Hooper also delves into the meaning of promnesia, otherwise known as déjà vu. We all experience moments or events in life that seem startlingly familiar, but we just write it off as one of those weird déjà vu moments. But what if one of those strange moments is actually a recollection from a past life? There are so many stories out there of people who believed they remember their past life, but what those stories are actually true? Hooper’s theory of reincarnation really captured my attention, and I loved how it made me think. After reading Tangled Tides, I feel in love with Hooper’s writing, and just when I think she could not get any better, she produces Grasping at Eternity. This book blew me away with its excellent (and intriguing!) storyline, heartfelt characters, and emotional turmoil. I feel like this book should have come with a warning sign! Warning: this will put you through an emotional wringer. This book will make you laugh, make you cry, make you experience heartache, and make you discover the happiness and joy in finding your destined person. This book was everything I expected from Hooper and more, and I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!Lastly, I will leave you with this beautiful quote that so perfectly represents this book:“If you love someone, put their name in a circle; because hearts can be broken, but a circle never ends.” ~Anonymous