The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
Paranormal YA
August 10, 2010
Hardcover, 416 Pages
Razorbill
Reviewed by Mandi
Seventeen year old Haven Moore is known in her small town of Snopes City in Tennessee for being possessed by the demon. She likes to call it – reincarnation. Since she can remember, she has had fainting spells, where she sees visions of a man named Ethan, a man she deeply loves, but has never met in “real life.” Her grandmother has pushed her to the church, and her mother has been a shell of a human since her father died and has offered no support to Haven. Clinging to her best friend Beau, she lives day to day trying to unravel the mystery of her visions.
Haven has a strong pull towards New York City and when she sees billionaire Iain Morrow on tv, it immediately pulls her into another vision. She discovers that in the 1920’s she was Constance, and Iain Morrow was her beloved Ethan, only to have both died tragically in a fire. Or was it not an accident? When Haven flees to New York to track Iain down, the question of whom she can trust is just as important as the mystery of reincarnation. She becomes involved in the Ouroboros society, an organization devoted to the study of reincarnation, and is thrust into a world where her past holds many clues to her future.
Bottom line – The Eternal Ones frustrated me. The concept is fun. Reincarnation, lost love, murder mystery to solve that has lasted throughout the centuries. But, it just didn’t work out in an enjoyable book. The first 150 pages when Haven is stuck in Tennessee are very slow. Yes, we get that her grandmother is evil, we get that her mother has no backbone when it comes to parenting her daughter, and we get that Haven’s best friend Beau, really has no personality. For the entire beginning, Haven goes back and forth with what these visions mean. Is she really Constance reincarnated from the 1920’s? What happened to her dad? Are these visions reliable enough to go to New York? She gathers notes her dad left for her trying to piece all the information she has together. She has such a strong pull towards New York City, she eventually has no choice but to flee.
She finds Iain Morrow the second night she is there. And it is literally, oh hey Ethan, sure I will come back to your place and shack up. Wouldn’t she be leery? Have a thousand questions for him? Instead he says he has been waiting for her his whole life and all is hunky dory. That is until murder accusations start swirling around Iain. Maybe he is not such a nice guy after all. And here is where Haven continues to annoy me. An acquaintance will tell her, oh no you can’t trust Ethan, he is a bad guy. And she agrees, oh no , I will get away from him. Then she sees Ethan and he tells her, no I love you I will never hurt you. And she agrees, of course you do! And then another will tell her, I think Iain, living as Ethan is the one that murdered Constance long ago. And she believes that person and is afraid of Iain again. And it goes on…and on. I get that she is seventeen. There is an immaturity factor you have to factor in to her situation. But, if she is smart enough to make her way to New York City all by herself, having never left her hometown before, find Iain, and start to piece together her reincarnation mystery, than she should be smart enough, or have common sense to not believe every single thing someone tells you.
In the end, I didn’t like Iain/Ethan. He came across as sleazy and not a hero I found appealing. I get that he has lots of secrets and can’t share them with Haven, but his approach did nothing to win me over. I also thought the villain gets off easy. He had a few creepy scenes but otherwise needed more oomph!
The Eternal Ones gets thumbs down from me.
Rating: 2/5
Recent Reviews:
Pure Imagination – 4/5
Bloody Bookaholic – 5/5
Lovin Me Some Romance – B+
Goodreads
You thought Iain was sleazy?! Oh no!! LOL! I've been there with other books so I understand what that kind of impression can do to a novel.
And oh my, you revealed the most terrifying part of the novel! One of my favorite parts too, btw. So creepy!
Sorry this one didn't work out for you Mandi.
I read your review and I understand why you enjoyed it :) I don't know…I didn't like Iain. I get he has to be all secretive..but his good side never warmed up to me.
Thumbs down! I'm removing it from my TBR. I don't do YA anyway and don't think I realized that was what this was. Thanks Mandi!
Pretty sure after your review that I would be annoyed by her and think that Ian was sleazy too..but the concept intrigues me
Aw sleazy hero? :( Boo.
This was going to be the next book I picked up from my TBR pile. May have to think about this now.
I'm shallow, the cover put me off this one. I'm not if this one is for me. I'll have to think about it.
That's a shame. I'll still read it since I already have a copy, but I'll try not to let my hopes get too high.
I hope you like it :) I've seen mixed reviews.
im with FV, did not love the cover, but have been seeing it around and was curious, so i was very interested to read your review. i reeeeally dislike reincarnation stories, most of the ones ive read focus to much on snippets of scenes from the past and dont cover enough of the "present day" story line…which is especially important in a romance! reincarnation stories are just a personal turnoff for me.
Just the back and forth of Heaven thinking good Ian/Ethan bad Ian/Ethan made me want to reach for my Tylenol.
Totally, 100% agree. It was a GREAT concept, the whole reincarnation, love across time thing… but it might have been better in the hands of a different author.
I actually liked the beginning in Tennessee – because I liked the best-friend, Beau.
But you're right; when she gets to New York it all falls apart.
Blah. Hated this one.
I'm almost through with this one and I can see exactly where you were coming from. However, I think I did like it better than you did.
I did like Beau, tho. :)
Sorry this one didn't work out for you. I actually liked her best friend, Beau. And I could see how Iain was irresistible to her so she couldn't stay away. Was torn about whether or not he was a good guy, but overall I enjoyed the book. Hope you like the next one better! :)
Lusty – actually, most of the book is in present day – with only minor parts in flashbacks. I think that was handled well. I just didn't like the hero and heroine
Danielle – I just read your review…you made some nice points
Alexia – I wanted to like Beau – I kind of liked him but I wanted him to play a bigger role. Make more of an impact. Instead of just being the researcher at home.
I can't handle a character who changes her mind that much ugh! Think I'll hold off on this one.
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