I was really interested in the story for this. The idea of living multiple lifetimes and never really aging has always intrigued me, as well as the fantasy and romance genres in general. So this book really tied all of that together in a lovely neat bow.

The book starts off slow in my opinion, but really comes into its own around half-way through and shines from then on until the end. I loved the setting descriptions as well, it made me feel really part of the World and kept the pace really consistent for me.

I would have liked to have seen a bit more character development, I feel the female main character Kali was quite immature at times. I know she'd never turned 17 but having lived that many lives surely you would gain some world experience?! But that being said I still enjoyed reading about her struggles.

And dang it woman, live a little (literally!)

An interesting book centred around a mythology that I’m not very familiar with. I think this is a good start to a new series. The plot was fluid and engaging. I would say if you’re an adult as opposed to a teen, you need to try and read it from a teen mindset to be able to properly engage with the characters.

Remember Pompeii is the debut of Kika Emers. The headline caught my attention right away and after reading the synopsis I really looked forward to reading this book. I don’t know much about Pompeii, but luckily it isn’t all about history since this book will be a fantasy story. What will this debut bring?

The story starts of with lots of mystery and some difficult names. It took me a while to understand that Grams and Gramps are Kali’s grandparents from one side and that the other grandparents are just called grandfather and grandmother in this story. It was quite confusing and I would have loved to see their names be used sooner.

Kika Emers has a nice writing style, but the story is fast paced. At some points it maybe is too fast paced, since the lack of details in some of the scenes make it difficult to understand. However I liked the way she incorporated emotions into the story and I have to admit I have a weak spot for Tav and Bess since I read this book.

Remember Pompeii is a fun but decent read. Don’t expect to much detail, but do expect a story with lots of adventure and heart-warming moments. The story made me really curious about what else there is to come, so I really look forward to the next part in the trilogy. I have had lots of fun while reading Remember Pompeii and think it deserves a 3 star rating.

I really enjoyed this book. Kika Emers creates an intriguing world and something very unique. I haven't seen this mythology outside of Asian-based stories and loved the mix with the present-day United States. Emers harkens back to history that brings in enough true-life touchstones to make the book even seem real. I liked the main character a lot. She's complex going through a range of human emotions which really gets down to how hard it is to be a teenager.
The ending is abrupt and doesn't give me enough resolution to the story. I realize this is a series (and I want to read more) but I needed a little more to feel complete about the story.

CW: death, cancer, possession. Closed door (implied sex)

Kali is a wanshiqi, an immortal being, punished to live as a human until she passes her 17th (human) birthday and atones for her crimes against another wanshiqi in Pompeii. Due to the events of Pompeii, which tore her family apart, Kali refuses to turn 17, and commits instead to die over and over again until her family unit is restored. This time, though, is her last human lifetime, as events are spinning outside of her control and require her to make a decision - live and return to life as a wanshiqi and all that entails, or die as a human and be imprisoned for eternity.

This is a complicated story. It starts off slow, but soon picks up the pace as we explore the many lives of Kali, what happened to her in Pompeii and the complex hierarchies of the Wanshiqi. Set very much in the human world, but full of mythology and features a MC character very much torn between her destiny and her humanity.

We have teen angst, we have highschool dramas, we have the ancients possessing people because they can, we have secrets that span across the aeons, and much much more. It does start out slowly, but from the last quarter of the book I couldn't put it down.

The mythology has its roots in Mandarin, and there is a pronunciation guide/glossary at the end of the book for those unfamiliar with the language. (Note: I cannot say how authentic the language/mythology is).

There were plot holes, yes, and I didn't care for the character of Hunter, Kali's destined soul mate (or tongguan) or the romance aspect, but overall this was a solid, readable upper-YA fantasy that is *different* to the rest of the offerings out there.

~Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

I really love this book! You never really knew what was coming next. From beginning to end it was just like this ultimate mystery and when you figure it out, something else comes and make sure rethink again like you really felt like you were in her head trying to put this all together feeling the emotions, the feelings of uncertainty lurking around every corner. Then the aspect of humanity and wanting to care for everyone around you and how even the most genuine things can have a bad reaction. I’m so excited for Next book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book.

I enjoyed the concept of this book, with immortal souls that can reincarnate into living things, immortal soul mates, the idea that they are behind some of our major historical events, and the powers that each one of them had. Unfortunately, I wish this book dove deeper into some of the lore and gave us a richer back story. I felt like the story spent a long time with high school drama - without it adding a lot to the story. I wanted more details of what happened in Pompeii, a backstory on Kali's previous lives, and the dynamics of the wanshiqi (what is their purpose? What do they do?). At points, things seemed rushed, especially at the end when Kali finds out secrets from her Grams & Gramps and starts to learn about the fight in the wanshiqi realm. I sometimes had issues keeping track of everything - maybe a map of the hierarchy of the wanshiqi along with the pronunciation guide at the end.

In terms of a YA novel, I think this book is written for the right age group. If this was an adult fantasy book, I would have been very annoyed by the immaturity of the main characters. But in the context of a YA novel, it makes complete sense. The author knows their audience and if you decide to read this book as an adult you have to go into it knowing that the characters are written for a teenage audience.

Overall, I think this book slightly missed the mark in the execution but the story itself is unique and has a lot of potential.

Summary:
"Remember Pompeii" marks the debut of Kika Emers' contemporary fantasy trilogy, centering on Kali, a Wanshiqi heroine serving her sentence for the events of Pompeii, now reincarnated as a human teenager struggling to resist her coming of age. However, embracing this transition may be her only chance to save those she holds dear.

My Thoughts:
While I appreciated the infusion of mythology into the narrative, "Remember Pompeii" left me grappling with numerous foreign concepts, particularly the titles of all the Wanshiqi, which made it challenging to fully immerse myself in the story. It was hard to keep it straight. Additionally, there were inconsistencies in how characters perceived their family. Kali's parents hated her (which we know why) and she says it's normal for children to become completely independent from your family - no longer feeling any bond to them - after Qifa, but yet her grandparents are so heavily involved in both her and Kali's mom's lives. Why is it different for them? Also the repeated refrain of "Remember Pompeii" felt excessive, though effective as a tantalizing hook. I wish we had understood what happened in Pompeii about 3 chapters earlier.

The dialogue fell short of expectations, often feeling stilted and unnatural, particularly in the portrayal of Kali's parents.

Despite these drawbacks, Kali's profound love for her grandparents resonated deeply with me, evoking my own cherished memories of familial bonds. Thematically, the novel explores the dangerous consequences of internalizing one's perceived monstrosity, offering a compelling commentary on the power of self-perception.

The book concludes with a tantalizing cliffhanger, ensuring that readers will eagerly anticipate the next installment of the trilogy.

Favorite Quote: "The truth is alcohol saturating a rubbed-raw flesh wound."

Overall, "Remember Pompeii" is a promising debut that lays a solid foundation for the Wanshiqi Trilogy, despite its flaws.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review.
I was sold by the description, but the book was AMAZING! Absolutely loved the concept of the story and haven’t read something like this! Immortals reincarnated as humans that cause catastrophic events oohhh I was hooked from the start! A great way to start the series. I loved the characters and learning their histories. Can’t wait to see more of this series!

A fascinating fantasy novel centred around a teenage girl, and her fierce dedication to mend her broken family at any cost. Kali is not like any other girl in that she is part of the powerful ‘Wanshiqi’- a race of immortal beings who can take any form they wish. Due to past events in her reincarnations, Kali believes her resisting coming of age will reverse the issues between her mother and father, and between her parents and herself.

The characters in the novel weren’t too strongly written, apart from Hunter (Kali’s life partner), Kali’s parents and her grandfather (her father’s father). These characters were incredibly compelling. Written within a powerful world with Mandarin Chinese terms peppered through, this book made for a great and slightly unique read. The writing style was clear and very straight-forward. The main character references places and things she’s seen in her thousands of lifetimes, and discusses time in an odd, but somewhat natural way:

"And there’s Dad. I haven’t gotten an email from him in days. […] I haven’t seen him in months. Because I haven’t done anything bad enough to warrant his attention.
For 200 lifetimes, I’ve craved my father’s attention."

"Nothing has changed.
But everything has changed."

The title of the novel itself was intriguing and hinted at the main plot of the book. As you get more into the book, you will realise that there is a so much more at stake in the Wanshiqi world; and as the story progresses, it is revealed and this makes you want to keep reading to see how it all plays out.

Another quote from the book:

'“Hurt me?” she dismissed my warning and a victorious smile slithered across her face. She opened the door and made her death a necessity.'

dnf 60%

I thought the concept of this was pretty cool, but the execution not so much. All of the characters annoyed me, the romance(?) annoyed me and there was no chemistry between anyone. It felt like an early draft, it had a lack of editing and characterisation.
It was also very late 2000's teenage-ery, very much a vibe I have never and will never enjoy. Unfortunately it was the opposite of made for me and I could not force myself through the last 40%.

I did enjoy the concept and the idea of the magic system, it was pretty cool. But it gave similar vibes to Only a Monster [very different magic systems though], so I don't feel like I'm missing out by dnf-ing. It just wasn't for me.

I just really didn’t like this book. It felt really unfinished as I read it. We jumped into a world abruptly and while I appreciate the inclusion of the pronunciation guide and glossary at the end of the book, I didn’t notice it was there until I finished. The plot was somewhat confusing and hard to follow but at the same time really slow up until the end. The end also frustrated me in that it just stopped mid-climax and instead of a cliffhanger ending to leave me waiting for book 2 it’s just unsatisfying.

To be honest I made an assumption, based off the cover, that this was going to be some popcorn quick romantasy type read... Please do NOT sleep on this book! I thoroughly enjoyed so much about this book. The Mandarin words/lore was new to me and really interesting, coupled with the reincarnation aspect, which I haven't read much of, I found this story truly riveting. There is some romance, of course, but it didn't feel over bearing. I loved the friends, heart ache, loss, drama, and love represented here.

Let me start by saying that as an Indian, I'm so happy that the MC's name is Kali and there are a number of references to Goddess Kali, a Hindu Goddess whose name signifies the color black and 'kala' or time as she is associated with destruction. With this in mind, this book being about Kali's reincarnation, and her living less than 17 years every time she is reborn fits together really well.

This is only the second fantasy novel I'm reading after a fantasy series I absolutely loved. So I'm still new to this genre and don't understand much yet found this novel really short (compared to others in the genre which is great because most are very long) and the writing was easy to read. Emers didn't waste much time on elaborate world building, rather explains it as we go on, and I really appreciate it being set in the contemporary world, because it makes the story easy to understand. if you're like me and struggle with visualizing vivid, unfamiliar settings, this fantasy book is a good place to start.

I loved the family dynamics explored in this novel, along with the fact that Kali has a soulmate. Kali's perspective was quite compelling as we see her past trauma, physical enduring, and desire for the relationships in human families. The fantastical concepts in the world building are fairly simple, so I understood what was happening. For all those years of living and memories through reincarnations, I felt that Kali was pretty immature and should've been wiser and more aware by then.

With all that said, I don't think this book will have a lasting impact on me though it was an engaging read. I'm definitely reading the following books in the series

I really wish I could say I loved it but I cannot. I found the book very confusing, nothing was really explained at the start you just get thrown in the middle of the story but it’s just confusing. I feel like it wasn’t planned that well and I really wanted to love it but I just couldn’t.

This. Book. Oh my goodness!! I started it, and life kept getting in the way, so it took me over a month to read it. BUT. Every time I picked it back up, I was drawn back in just as fast as the first chapter. Kali is such an amazing character to follow. Her emotions are so strong, yet frustrating at the same time because she is ALWAYS trying to fix things on her own. When she is finally willing and able to allow other in, you almost cry from relief! He parents….Well. Her parents are the worst. Her grandparents more than make up for it. I loved this book and I was so sad when it was over! I’m really looking forward to book two!

This book was a little slow and confusing in the beginning but I am so glad I stuck through it!! I love how Kali struggles with her humanity even as we see how loving she is with her friends. And I felt her angst and her sadness when it came to her family. Towards the middle I couldn’t put it down and now I can’t wait for the second book in the trilogy!!!

“In the exciting series-opening fantasy novel Remember Pompeii, a powerful teenager resists coming of age through multiple reincarnations for reasons that she keeps secret from those she loves.”

I thought this book had an extremely interesting premise. Kali has been punished for her actions at Pompeii and she has been cursed to reincarnate over and over until she can learn to control her magic and make it past her 17th birthday. The fantasy aspect and the reincarnation aspect held me very interested. The story was slow in the beginning and I know that this was due to a lot of character/world building since this will be a serious. The story built quickly in the last half of the story and It set us up for the fact that this will be a series.

My main critique of the book was that for someone who was reincarnated and remembered her past lives Kali came across as very immature. Her character felt off putting. I feel like the author wanted us to remember that she was not really a 16 year old girl and that she was very mature etc like being annoyed at her first conversation with Mandi over "High School Drama". Then her character did a complete 180 and hurt someone who had been cruel to her. I felt like the character was trying to hard to seem like an immortal and better than the human body she was stuck in. I am hoping that the author makes her character feel more developed in the next book.

Overall I did enjoy my experience reading this

I am interested to see what occurs in the rest of the series.

Remember Pompeii by Kika Emers offers up a new and exciting version of immortality and reincarnation. Centered around the main character Kali, who is part of an immortal race called the wanshiqi. Kali has lived over 200 lifetimes but has never made it to 17.

I found this book to be a very interesting concept and a gripping read. I found Kali’s character development riveting. Following her journey and cheering her on at every hurdle she faces. I’m looking forward to the next books in the series

Thank you to Netgalley and Beckett Publishing Group for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Remember Pompeii is a great read it has so many family secrets and you never know who is on Kali’s side. She does not know who to trust. This boo keeps you on the edge of your seat. It is a great read