The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

Published: January 2012

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Pages: 256

Copy provided by: Borrowed

Summary: Goodreads

Summary:

Seraphina has been alive since the 1300's, made immortal when the boy she was beginning to love back then, Cyrus, saved her from death with a strange liquid - a method of alchemy that lets them swap bodies with any human being. But now, in modern day America, Sera has decided that she can no longer bear the weight of stealing people's lives so she can keep living on. So she decides to run away from Cyrus and end her stolen existence once and for all. Her plan goes awry when she accidentally takes the body of a dying teenager and feels forced to take over her life. When the lines between Sera and Kailey's identity begin to blur, Sera finds a reason to desire to live once more. But she can't shake the guilt of having taken Kailey's life, even if she was dying. And what if Cyrus finds her?

Review:
The Alchemy of Forever was a completely new title for me.  Life has been taking over recently and I haven't been able to always stay on top of new and upcoming titles but I saw this in the bookstore and kept picking it up to read the summary.

I'm not sure what it was about this title but it really grabbed me and kept me hanging on.  It was unputdownable and I wanted to learn more and more about Seraphina and her life story.  I was expecting her to be evil and to suck the life force from innocent humans but quite the contrary, she had a backbone and I found her to be quite an interesting character.

As for the ending, it was not what I was expecting although there were hints along the way about how things would play out and I had failed to see them.  I guess I was just too engrossed in the entire plot.  I'm looking forward to see what other goodies Ms. Williams has up her sleeves.  For a debut author, I think she's one to watch.

Think you might be interested in the Alchemy of Forever?  Simon and Schuster has an excerpt from the first chapter and you can read it here.

Don't forget to check out our GIVEAWAY for a copy of all 6 volumes in the Galahad Legacy series and for a copy of Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules