Transcendence Review

Transcendence

C. J. Omololu

Publisher: Bloomsbury

When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider. As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet-an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes. What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both.

Nicole is struggling with flashes of times and places she can’t possibly know about. She fears she is going crazy until she starts to fall for Griffon, who helps explain that she is Ankh – one a few souls who can remember past lives. This sets the scene for a mixture of cross era romance, mystery and coming of age.

I loved the idea of a select few who are born over and over again and struggle to make the world a better place for the rest of humanity. The murder mystery from one of Nicole’s past lives was intriguing especially as anyone she knew could also be Ankh and someone from a past life. I never know who to trust and kept changing my mind about who was who! Nicole was a pleasant lead – her skill with cello was an interesting element which added an extra layer to both the story and her character. Her dedication with hours of practise makes her stand our as different from other teens in YA. Griffin was an ok love interest but never really stood out as anything more than someone convenient to explain to Nicole what was happening, in my opinion. However, his recall of his past lives could make the relationship seem a little bizarre given their ‘different’ ages but CJ Omololu manages to get the balance right so it never feels creepy.

For me both London and San Francisco stood out as fantastic historic places to set the scene and added a lot of flavour to the story. I have to add a little note about the front cover which I adore. The colours and the windswept look of Nicole are just fantastic.

Overall this was an easy read with some interesting plot arcs being set up for future books. I good summer read!

Recommended for fans of Jeri Smith-Ready and Amanda Ashby. 7 out of 10