Sunday, March 20, 2011

Review: The Eternal Ones

Title: The Eternal Ones
Author: Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Razorbill
Category: Young Adult
Page Count: 416 
Release Date: August 2010
Series: n/a
Source: ARC
Challenge: Breathless Reads Tour Mini Challenge 
Quick Rating: 4/5

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Haven Moore has always lived in the tiny town of Snope City, Tennessee. But for as long as she can remember, Haven has experienced visions of a past life as a girl named Constance, whose love for a boy called Ethan ended in a fiery tragedy.

One day, the sight of notorious playboy Iain Morrow on television brings Haven to her knees. Haven flees to New York City to find Iain and there, she is swept up in an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Is Iain her beloved Ethan? Or is he her murderer in a past life? Haven asks the members of the powerful and mysterious Ouroboros Society to help her unlock the mysteries of reincarnation and discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves, before all is lost and the cycle begins again. But what is the Ouroboros Society? And how can Haven know who to trust?
I had initially read some iffy reviews of The Eternal Ones, so I went into it a little cautiously. I shouldn’t have. If I could have stayed up all night to finish this in one sitting, I would have. It shocked me how absorbed I was, and I cannot wait for the second one - though I really thought this could have been an awesome standalone.

What really made this book for me was the characters. I liked Haven, I did, even though I wanted to ring her neck occasionally for not catching on quick enough, or for changing her opinion so rapidly. I loved her sassiness with her grandmother, I loved that she was suspicious of everything, and I loved her determination to figure out the truth. I also read all her dialogue with a delightful Southern accent in my head - I have a weakness for proper Southern accents! And even though I kind of hated her, I also loved Imogene. She had a lot of complex layers to her, and I kind of hope we see more of her in the future. Her snarkiness was just way too funny.

As for the boys, Beau was wonderful! You do not know how much overly girly gay boys bother me. Beau likes to sew dresses, but he also likes to play football, and he still acts like a boy. I like my gay men to still be men, so thank you Kirsten Miller. Thank you so much, because I love Beau like crazy. Iain/Ethan was also very appealing - I liked that he gave off the bad boy vibe without really being one. He’s a fabulous actor, and I was totally questioning his motives the whole time. I also appreciated that it was like a love story in progress already. We didn’t have to wade through any awkward beginning stages of love - they already knew each other completely. As for Adam? CREEPY! But I did kind of like him until the end, I’ll admit. And, really, I mean the names in this are awesome. Maybe I’m biased because Iain and Ethan are my two favoritest boy names EVER, but I totally love the name Haven as well.

Truly, though, I was left guessing the entire time. I felt my opinion changing almost just as many times as Haven’s, and I was constantly questioning who I was supposed to trust and like. The “Gray Men” were really creepy - they reminded me of agents from The Matrix or something. They just pop out of no where and follow you!

I only wish there had been more memories of Ethan and Constance, or maybe a glimpse back into even more past lives. The whole idea of reincarnation was well-executed in my opinion, especially the idea of certain “talents” sticking with your throughout your lives. I really hope in the next installment we’re going to see more of this, and delve deeper into the whole complex, mysterious relationship that is Iain and Haven. I’m really excited to see what comes from the Ouroboros Society, specifically Adam.

I really though that The Eternal Ones was a very well-written, strong book, though it could have been maybe a smidge shorter. I look forward to Haven being a little more steady in her opinions, and a little less flip-floppy.

The Final Word: A fabulous story of reincarnation and eternal love. Even though a few sections were slow and a little annoying, I definitely had trouble putting it down. With elements of romance, mystery, and thriller, it’s totally worth a read!

Overall:
Characters:
Concept:
Cover:

Cover Thoughts: A little simplistic for my tastes, but it still has a certain elegance to it that I appreciate. It definitely does not scream ‘young adult’, and that’s not a bad thing.

Tea: Pour yourself a big ole glass of sweet tea and get lost in Haven’s southern drawl! Add lemon for a little twist (or a shot or two of Firefly if you’re like me)!

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for this review! I've been wanting to read this one, but I was also biding my time. This is a great review!

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  2. I'm glad you liked this! It's been sitting on my shelf for a while and I can't wait to read it now!

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  3. @Paige: Thanks! I hope you enjoy it when you read it. ;D

    @Kayla: I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I got the ARC in the summer of last year, and only just read it in February. :-P But I hope you like it when you do get to it!

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  4. You've really made me want to go back and re-read this now! I need to get my own copy, I borrowed this from the library and read it ages ago. I really enjoyed it! I love me a good reincarnation story. I agree about Beau, I loved how Kirsten wrote him. It kind of bugs me when the majority of gay characters are over the top. Sure there are guys like that in real life but one of my friends in High School was gay and he was the serious/super intelligent-wants-to-be-a-scientist type.

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  5. Great review! The reviews I previously read were iffy so I've been put off on reading it, too. I'll definitely have to check it out now!

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  6. @Brodie: Beau was so awesome! I was just glad to see a gay guy that wasn't so stereotypical. They all don't talk several octaves higher than girls and squeal and wave their hands around all the time. :-P

    @Stephanie: I was so worried going into it that I wouldn't like it at all, based on the reviews. But I guess it's one of those love-it or hate-it kind of books.

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