The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Razorbill (August 10, 2010)
Book summary: Haven Moore cannot 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.
My review: This is the third book I've read in a week dealing with the subject of reincarnation (the other two being part of Shelena Shorts' series The Pace and The Broken Lake). All of these stories handled reincarnation in interesting ways. I'll immediately say I liked The Eternal Ones. I like to believe in the possibility of coming back, especially if it involves finding that one special person we're meant to be with. With Haven Moore, we're shown a Southern young girl growing up with a strict and religious grandmother and a broken down mother. She has had visions since she was little of having lived before, but over time she has had to practically forget about them in order to live in a society that frowns upon anything out of the norm.
The premise was appealing and for the first part of the book we get to learn about Haven, her town, her background. I did find many parts slow moving (we did need to see where she came from so she could move forward with her life). The second part begins with Haven leaving her grandmother and the conniving Dr. Tidmore and travels to New York City.
From then on the story picked up. Haven's journey to find out about her visions and the Ouroboros Society had her meeting a slew of new and not always nice characters. Her visions--flashbacks of previous lives--occur with more frequency and Haven finally meets Iain Morrow, the guy she believes is her soulmate, Ethan. There is a lot going on in The Eternal Ones: old lives, different places and different time periods, new faces we discover are really old, a society banking on its reputation to lure in unsuspecting members, all while Haven is trying to figure out who to trust and what to believe in. It is difficult to delve into some of the story's content without spoilers so I won't mention more.
As much as the story appealed to me, I will admit I felt Haven's visions (at times) slowed the story's pace down and took me out of the moment (even if they were necessary to explain the parallel storyline). I also didn't feel that close a connection to Haven or Iain which was necessary to make me love this story. Perhaps it was the third person narration which made me keep my distance. Haven began on the shy side and by the time she's in New York City, she's perusing the streets like a native. The part where she meets a relative of the woman she once was felt flat to me. After the set-up with her visions I expected more out of this reunion instead of just a convenient plotting device. Her relationship and her feelings with Iain flip-flopped back and forth so much it became tiresome and implausible.
Despite the problems I had with some aspects of The Eternal Ones, Miller's writing kept me reading, waiting to see what would happen next. The story was well written and for the most part held my interest. I didn't think Iain was as 'swoon' worthy as his old self, Ethan, and Haven was interesting but not always likable. I found the secondary characters of best friend Beau, the artist Marta, and Adam very interesting. Adam, in particular, was intriguing and creepy (his creep factor did escalate quite suddenly in one culminating scene). What I did find interesting was the author's spin on reincarnation--how Ethan could remember everything and how they kept three talents or abilities from each incarnation.
The Eternal Ones was a welcome addition to a market filled with vampires, fairies and werewolves, it was refreshing to read about something different.
Favorite excerpt: (Page 160, ARC edition)
"I didn't bother breathing. The world had gone quiet and still around her. Though he looked nothing like Ethan, Iain Morrow was more beautiful in person than Haven had imagined. Tall and lean, with a body that could make any outfit look fashionable. Dark brown hair worn delightfully unkempt and the sort of tan one only acquires while lying on hidden beaches in the south of France. Arched eyebrows that hovered mischievously over bright green eyes. As he moved closer, Haven instinctively tried to take a step back, wishing she could vanish into the crowd. But she found herself pinned against the rope, unable even to turn away. Just as the trio passed by, one of the models caught her heel in the carpet and stumbled toward Haven, all whirling arms and smudged mascara. Haven reached out to catch her, and as she did, her hand brushed another that had come to the girl's rescue. A jolt shook Haven and she felt herself totter just as the model regained her balance. Haven looked up to see Iain Morrow peering down at her, a lopsided grin on his lovely face. He turned to one of his bodyguards and pointed to Haven. His lips moved, but she couldn't hear his words."
Rating: +++1/2
Cover comment: I understand the symbolism behind the Ouroboros Society logo but on the cover, all by itself? Bland. The back shot of a couple studying a hanging painting (done by Marta Vega) would have been cool and more lively to make me pick this up off a shelf.
Book source: Traveling ARC Tours
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