Title: The Eternal Ones
Author: Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Razorbill
Pub. Date: 8.10.2010
Genre: Paranormal YA
Keywords: Reincarnation, Destiny, Love, Mystery
Pages: 416
Description (from GoodReads):
What if love refused to die?
Haven Moore can’t control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother’s house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.
In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves, before all is lost and the cycle begins again.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel! Since there was so much hype surrounding it, I feared I'd crack open the cover to find a stereotypical tortured love story with the only unique element being reincarnation. That was definitely not the case.
My favorite aspect of Miller's novel was the well-rounded and believable characters. With Haven, she struck a perfect balance of lovesick, confused, and smart. In my mind, those characteristics conflict, making it difficult to incorporate them all into one character, but Miller was successful.
There seems to be a trend towards unsupportive and rather annoying best friends in YA literature, but THE ETERNAL ONES seems to have left out that unfortunate element. Haven's best friend, Beau, ended up being one of my favorite characters, even beating out her love interest. He's was so unique and confident - loved it!
It was, however, the fact that Miller keeps her readers guessing that really made this novel memorable. I can honestly say that I never once felt sure about who the villain in the novel would end up being. I caught a weird vibe from the entire cast of characters, but could never pinpoint which was most malevolent.
To some, the epic romance of reincarnation will be the main draw of THE ETERNAL ONES, but, for me, it was the mystery and amazing characters. I love that this book has the ability to appeal to fans of either focus!
Grade: A
Review copy provided by publisher.
I loved this one too! The epic romance and reincarnation was good, but my favourite bit was also the mystery and characters. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI have added The Eternal Ones to my wish list.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I have read several and all have been great. Your review does go into more detail and I liked that.
misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
I've heard some not-so-good things and some holy-cow-I-loved-it things about this book. I might have to decide for myself someday! Thanks for the review. :D
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds great! It has been on my wishlist for a while now.
ReplyDeleteWell, this book sounds better and better the more I hear about it -- but I have to say that your review gave me more reasons to bump this book higher on my to-read list! :)
ReplyDeleteI've seen this book a lot, but I'm not sure whether I should read it. Maybe I'll give it a shot since you liked it so much.
ReplyDeleteI have heard a lot abt this book..would love to read it
ReplyDeletevidisha
Ooh!
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge fan of her Kiki Strike series, so this is freakin' awesome.
Thanks for your review!
Love, Hannah
This book looks all sorts of mysterious and intriguing. I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteI can not wait for this to come out! It sounds so good! Thanks for the awesome review :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you - I love novels with well rounded characters. Sometimes, if I get too annoyed by the characters I can't finish the book. But, I don't think that will be the case with The Eternal Ones. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThis book was definitely great! I love how you talked about her friend too. Great review :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your review... this one is on my wish list ;)
ReplyDeleteI think this book looks awesome... The Oroboros on the front just intrigues me!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit the cover to this one didn't grab me at all, but I made sure to read some about. It sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteOoh, personally I really loved the cover. So pretty and red. Or maybe I just have a thing for snakes.
ReplyDeleteAnd hurrah for well rounded characters! I was already wanting to read this book, but now I simply MUST.
I have been so excited to read this one and after reading your review and a few others it seems like everyone's in agreement that this book is fabulous, can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI totally heart the plot of The Eternal Ones.The whole idea of two people being born again and falling in love makes me swoon. Thanks for the review. Now I know I'm getting this book.
ReplyDeleteI want to read this book so badly! Great review, and I hope I'll get my hands on it soon!
ReplyDeleteI love the cover - very ouroboros-ish and I love books that keep me guessing. I don't know which I enjoy more, guessing right or being surprised.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review.
Thank you for the review! I've been on the fence about this book, and you've helped me make up my mind about whether or not I should add this to me "to be read" list.
ReplyDeleteI've always been very fascinated by the idea of reincarnation and curious to see how different authors explain & utilize it in their stories.
Great review! I really want to read this book.
ReplyDeleteI loved this one too. I thought it was one of the best books of the year so far.
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to read this book because I think the reincarnation part sounds really interesting. It's good to hear that you said it kept you guessing and wasn't predictable. Now I want to read it even more. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that there are well rounded characters in the book and I like the part of the reincarnation. I really want to read this book. I am glad you enjoyed it. Tore923@aol.com
ReplyDeleteGreat review I heard so many good things about this book can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteGood review! I've seen many different opinions on this book!
ReplyDeleteamazing review! I saw this on my friend's blog for Waiting on Wednesday a couple weeks ago and now im dying to read it!
ReplyDeleteoh Oh I LOVE books that keep me guessing. The eternal ones sounds awesome!
Angela Z
http://thebookbuzzer.blogspot.com
Sounds like an amazing book! I'd love to read it!
ReplyDeleteI have never read a book about reincarnation but this book has had my attention from the first time I heard of it. This story sounds really intriguing to me.
ReplyDeleteGreat review added it to my to read list. PS- also loving your tweets and newsletter.
ReplyDeleteVery nice review! Reading this makes me want to read the book even more :)
ReplyDelete~Alison
I have been anticipating THE ETERNAL ONES since I first heard about it. Your review is great and makes me want to read it even more!
ReplyDeletekjovus(at)gmail(dot)com
great review, the book sounds amazing
ReplyDeleteI really need to get my hands on this book. Thanks for the great review! :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, I've heard so much hype about this book and have read so many great reviews, you've just convinced me even more to pick this one up!! Plus, reincarnation is such a fascinating subject.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I've heard so much hype about this book and have read so many great reviews, you've just convinced me even more to pick this one up!! Plus, reincarnation is such a fascinating subject.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds SO interesting! I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteI want to read this one so bad! The romance and the reincarnation are just so neat.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like such a great book! I can't wait to read it :)
ReplyDeleteSounds really good! I can't wait to get my hands on this. Romance/reincarnations are a good combination!
ReplyDeletei love a good romance so im definitely going to read this!
ReplyDeleteThe cover is awesome... okay, gotta read this.
ReplyDeleteNice review! :) From your praise of Beau, I'm almost certain I'm going to be biased and like 'em as well! :P
ReplyDeleteGood review! I like that you grade it by letters and not stars. It is original and interesting.
ReplyDelete