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Overture of Eden and Ash
by Gwendylan QuinnSeries: GEMINI Legacy #1
Published by Self-Published on June 21, 2016
SubGenres: New Adult Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Format: eArc
Pages: 428
Source: Inkslinger PR
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Zoe Adams has spent her fifth incarnation on the run from her destiny.
Now she has a music career she's built for herself. She's about to graduate from Northwestern University. Why would she give up the life she's always dreamed of for a love she can't even remember?
Cade isn't just any man. He was the first, the only, and he has waited for her for thousands of years. And he will keep waiting until the day she loves him in return.
But fate has never been kind to them. When demons from their past threaten their future, Zoe will have to decide if she is the woman she made - or the Eternal she was born to be.
And is she willing to pay the price for her freedom... in Cade's blood?
This modern-day romantasy asks the question: is a forgotten love worth dying for? Or are five lifetimes more than one soul can take?
Overture of Eden and Ash is the first installment in Gwendylan Quinn’s GEMINI Legacy series. This is a different Romantasy than I’ve read before, featuring a retelling of Adam and Eve in a modern-day setting. It involves angels, demons, as well as others mentioned, and it’s told in dual POV via first person.
The FMC, Zoe, is in her next reincarnation and has no memory of her past lives. She’s determined to live her life and finally let her music career come to life, especially since this life hasn’t been easy for her. She does have friends who have been there for her, and they remind her of her duty to be with her Gemini, her one true soulmate. When he comes into her life, she has to decide whether she truly wants to be with him, even without recollection of their past lives, or finally live a human life and fulfill her dream. The issue is that if she doesn’t fulfill the sacrifice she’s always made for humanity, she risks its downfall.
This was a new adult fantasy/urban fantasy that was intriguing, and it had potential, but I may not have been the right audience for this story. I loved the idea of a retelling of Adam and Eve’s story in modern times, with twists and turns along the way and many side characters to keep up with as they helped Zoe and Cade with their romance story. I just found myself putting down the book several times to pick up other books when it became repetitive and had little to no action that kept my interest. There were also a lot of side characters to keep up with at one time.
I was determined to push through, which I’m glad about because it did eventually catch my attention. The first half introduced the storyline, the characters, and who Zoe truly is and why she keeps reincarnating. It’s interesting to learn who she is and what she did back in her first life, and why she’s had to give up her life each time. She doesn’t remember those lives, and I felt for her because she just wants happiness and to finally live a normal life, especially since her current one wasn’t easy. She has her friends and others to be there through it all, even if some broke her heart.
I liked that Cade had his POV, and he was determined to be there for Zoe, and he never gave up on her. He ends up doing something in this book that makes her realize what she needs to do and that she truly loves him. She’ll do anything to be with him at this point. It was about time, in my opinion.
There is eventually some danger and drama in this book, with antagonists who definitely raise the stakes for the retelling. This is also a slow burn, and it takes Zoe and Cade some time to finally have their love come back together after danger between them. One has to rescue the other. In the end, though, the story does have somewhat of an HEA. I know there is more to the story to come, and this is only the first book, so I’m intrigued to read the second book. Overall, it was a unique story and much different than what I normally read in an Urban Fantasy/Romantasy storyline, and I give it 3.5-stars.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are looking for a different kind of Romantasy with a modern-day Adam and Eve retelling that involves soulmates and reincarnation, then this book may interest you.
What to Expect:
✔️Modern Myth Romantasy (Urban Fantasy)
✔️Fated Mates/Destined Mates
✔️Reincarnation Romance
✔️Slow Burn
✔️Found Family
✔️The Chosen One
✔️Angels/Demons
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