The plot, with its numerous red herrings and pointless dead ends that added nothing to the story, was serviceable but far too long. At over pages, a stringent editor could have done wonders with the story and streamlined it more for a quicker paced read. The lack of serious development over these pages was also disappointing, especially since the potential was limitless.
It became rather annoying after a while.
The ending does pick up the pace, with the campy but interesting villain of the piece finally turning up a little late to the table, and throws in a few fun elements that I wish had been added earlier to the story in a less contrived manner, although seeing as this is the first in a series, it will be interesting to see how Miller develops his potential. It had such great potential and the prose was strong enough to support it but the plotting fell back on easy conveniences and a poorly developed romance between stock characters with no unique qualities. There is further potential for the sequel to be interesting if Miller sticks with the intriguing parts but the reliance on easy ways out left me feeling cold.
Reincarnation is a fascinating idea and deserves an equally fascinating story to back it up. View all 3 comments. Mar 06, oliviasbooks rated it it was ok Shelves: Her parents believed her, because a small child could not possibly have invented so many facts about buildings, circumstances and persons. Tidmore, did to her daughter. She starts to avoid her sessions with Dr. Tidmore and spends more time with her new gay sidekick Beau Becker, who is — because of his sexual preferences — the other openly declared freak in the little bible-belt town called Slope City. The minister, the congregation, the whole town and the pupils at school gladly hop onto that band-wagon after Haven has another vision, which has to look like an epileptic seizure to an outsider, right in front of her locker.
On the way to her hotel Haven is chased by mysterious gray men reminded me of Momo. At this point the main plot of the story starts: I constantly sat on my hands being afraid of what stupid decisions Haven would make next. Apart from the suspense the only positive element I can point out is gay best friend Beau Becker. What did not work at all for me was the romance subplot: It fell completely flat on his and her side: Ian is an uncaring jerk in my opinion.
He can buy or build as much houses for Haven as he wants, if he does not mind her feelings. Even if he wants to protect her he does not have to lie so shamelessly and cold-heartedly to her. The grandmother and the minister — who I tagged as a pedophile in the beginning — were unbelievably evil.
But I simply refuse to believe that the behavior of the inhabitants of Slope City is anywhere near probable. To throw someone out of school, who shows signs of epilepsy or another illness, that includes fits and faintings, instead of punishing those, who did all the mobbing, to point with a finger at someone in the congregation and declare her to be possessed, contemporary High School students, who talk about demonic possession without being afraid to be ridiculed forever by their classmates, a minister who has that much power over a whole town — including the authorities.
The Eternal Ones is getting no recommendation, not from me. View all 5 comments. Nov 17, Qing rated it did not like it. Recipe for The enternal ones 1. Idea of reincarnation, soul mates and love never forgotten always makes for a yummy backdrop. Do remember to make her incredibly silly, vapid and fickle; make her as unbearable and unlikable as you can. Ooh and make her sew clothes. How random Recipe for The enternal ones 1.
How random and lovely and quirky! Add in one love-interest: Sprinkle some fairy dust: Why not make him have a random and lovely and quirky hobby too—make him sew clothes too! Stir in some controversy: Insanely and altogether unbelievable grandmother, weak-willed mother and up-right one dimensional crazy priest. Throw in a few unnecessary characters: Add dashes of strange subplots: What lovely addition to the flavour it gives!
Ooh why not create a one-paged chapter with that solely! Wrap up this delightful creation with the promise of a sequel. A recipe for a complete waste of time and money: Jul 16, daisychainbooks rated it it was amazing. We are introduced to our heroine, Haven Moore, a small town girl whose big time dreams are being hampered due to mysterious visions she has experienced from an early age. There she meets Iain and also enlists the help of The Ouroboros Society - a powerful secret society dedicated to the study of reincarnation. Soon enough, everyone wants a piece of Haven and the information she holds, but who, if anyone, can she trust?
I loved this book right from the start. I loved learning of the history of The Ouroboros society - secret societies are one of my major obsessions - and I was thoroughly engrossed when reading about this one. I can't wait to find out more! There are lots of exciting twists and turns in this book right up to it's stunning conclusion in the Eternal City of Rome, where you will definitely be left wanting more.
Overall, this is a great read. Oct 20, Maisie rated it really liked it. For as long as Haven can remember she has loved a boy called Ethan. When she was just a child Haven would often speak about having to find Ethan Evans in New York City, and she would refer to herself as Constance Whitman. Her grandmother, Imogene, insisted that Haven have regular counselling sessions with the local preacher to try and curb her evil ways. In those dark days all memories of Ethan Evans vanished When we meet her Haven is 17 and the visions are back.
Haven is fainting again, and remembering blissful nights wrapped around Ethan. Her best friend, Beau, is concerned. Her grandmother is about to have a conniption fit and the entire town are about ready to burn Haven on the cross. I loved the concept of reincarnation and love across time. Suddenly his face was close, his lips brushing hers. She closed her eyes. Printed on the back of the card was an illustration of a silver snake swallowing its tail. Miller writes about small-town prejudice and pressure as town residents turn on Haven.
Throughout the first chapters, as Haven recounts snatches of another life lives in New York, you get the idea that the meat of the plot will take place when Haven leaves town Beau is a star football player, drop-dead-gorgeous and gay. He and Haven have been friends ever since she admired the Barbie lunchbox Beau bought to school. Their scenes provide some of the funniest dialogue and imbue the otherwise depressing first chapters with much-needed warmth.
Haven has to leave the town and travel to NYC before the crux of the story can really kick-off But the book goes a bit pear-shaped in the middle. Like the fact that Iain is in the papers, accused of murder. It is at this point that Miller starts piling mystery upon conspiracy, and throwing curve-balls to tangle already complicated plots. At one point Haven thinks that Iain is playing her for a fool and acting Lothario behind her back. At the same time, Haven uncovers clues that indicate Constance had the same suspicions about Ethan back in the day.
Miller turns Haven into a Nancy Drew girl-sleuth.
While unearthing clues about Iain Morrow and Ethan Evans, Haven swings between thinking the men innocent, and then guilty. Miller throws out so many red herrings, curveballs and layers mystery atop of mystery that it started to do my head in. In the last or so pages the pace quickens and the plot tightens — the mystery finally narrows down and comes together for a helter-skelter conclusion. A truly heinous bad-guy with demented motivations is presented for the final curtain, and the ending makes up for a few of the previous grumblings.
I never completely warmed to them, or trusted them. If the mystery plot had been culled and the romance amplified this would have been a truly terrific book. As it is, Miller just misses the mark; with a great idea, poorly delivered. Aug 25, Nafiza rated it really liked it Shelves: Before I started taking classes that dealt with analyzing literature, I used to be able to jump into a book and surf the plot to the finish without any other thought than my enjoyment of it. To elaborate, I was entirely unaware of the stories that the characters were telling simply by being in a certain way or saying things in a certain manner.
You are always aware of the space between the lines and you are always trying to infer what they are saying. You analyze a smile in a hundred different ways and you will realize a new way of reading a sentence at 2 am in the morning after you wake up from a nightmare about jumping jellybeans. Am I the only one who is amazed by the huge coincidence? I mean, as far as I know both authors wrote their books separately — or were they given ideas by their agents?
Someone want to ask? I quite liked The Eternal Ones. I felt like I knew Beau — okay hold ont, this is weird. Constance is the name of an earlier incarnation of Haven and she is also the name of an earlier incarnation of Lucy from My Name is Memory. That totally threw me off — okay so like I was saying, I felt like I knew Beau, I felt his frustration with his best friend.
I was intrigued by Leah and her family. Miller writes small towns and their stereotyped narrow mentality really well — so well that she moves you to anger and nausea at the treatment the protagonists get from the townspeople. What was most interesting to me was the relationship between the main characters. Iain Morrow and Haven Moore are supposed to be star crossed lovers, who meet time and time again.
Who are reborn once again just for the purpose of being together. So it is really not surprising that when they do meet in this lifetime, there is no sense of newness to their relationship which they simply take up again as though dying and being born again was just a huge detour that took about ninety years. Okay fine, it was a surprise. I mean, they probably got over the first kisses and the blushes in the first three lifetimes.
Miller sacrifices the initial building up of the chemistry between the two by immediately jumping them off into a relationship.
There were about 5 pages covering 2 short chapters where there w I had been waiting for over a year for our library to order this book so it was with much anticipation to finally be able to delve into this mystery. Even if he wants to protect her he does not have to lie so shamelessly and cold-heartedly to her. On the one hand, I think she is practical in keeping her walls up and not trusting Iain - the reincarnated Ethan - wholeheartedly until she finds the answers he cannot and will not give her. Who is strikingly similar to the Baddie in My Name is Memory. I felt this book could've went somewhere great but it didn't. Though he looked nothing like Ethan, Iain Morrow was more beautiful in person that Haven had imagined. Ever since Haven Moore was little she has had visions from a past life as a girl named Constance - all of which involve or are about the love of her life Ethan - making Haven very different from the rest of the inhabitants of the small, tight knit community of Snope City.
But I am not averse to them either so… The Baddie. Who is strikingly similar to the Baddie in My Name is Memory. He is very one dimensional and his entire motive for the things he does is simply because he can. He could be called Chaos, I suppose. But yeah, he is the catalyst that sends Iain and Haven running towards each other though he was trying to do otherwise. In conclusion, I liked this book much, much better than I liked My Name is Memory which I have reviewed in case you are curious.
The pace of the plot is fast, the characterizations are spot on and the dynamics leave you breathless. The villains, while not exactly as well crafted as the other characters, retain their sinisterliness yes I made that up and are sufficiently threatening. I could see this as a movie — a better one than My Name is Memory because this one involves more than one chapter of relationship between the two leads.
So I recommend this to you. If you are into star crossed lovers who keep on meeting, breaking up, dying and being born again and again. Read it for Beau. Jul 27, Amelia rated it it was ok Shelves: I know a lot of people have really enjoyed this book, but I am not one of them. I got nearly pages in, cut somewhere in the back and basically got the whole story. There were two things that really ate at me. The writing and the characters. One of the first things that struck out at me were the poor scene changes.
There would be a break in the story when there was no need for it. It was if it were meant to show transition when really, no time had passed. It was distracting and reflected poorly on the story. Due to this, there was a complete lack of personality in the style. Most of my enjoyment comes from characters. If the characters flop, most of the story does as well. Which makes sense, since the characters are the ones who carry out the story.
No characters, no story. There was, once again, the archetype god-like hero and the plain heroine. Please, God, give us something else. I am just downright sick and tired of reading through the same character over and over again. They make me laugh…kinda counterproductive, yes?
She was also very selfish and her lack of perception just made me want to scream! Half of her actions just defied common sense. She also seemed a bit dim-witted. He showed the most personality and I really took a liking to his character. Not taken with him in the slightest. He was too cardstock without any flair or personality at all.
I went about four chapters with his character and just started rolling my eyes. I like it when, in series, you can pick up any book without having to start with book 1 but not in a book itself. Overall, I was sorely disappointed. You can find more of my reviews at The Authoress: Jul 10, Dwayne rated it really liked it. Reviewed Girls Without a Bookshelf. This book tested my patience in so many levels. I was constantly swinging between loving it and hating it, and it was not until the end that I realised it was all so very worth it.
To say it's an engaging book is an understatement. The Eternal Ones will invoke readers to feel, think and try to guess all sorts of things. Haven Moore is a protagonist I have not settled my mind about. She is like a swinging pendulum, constantly undecided and going back and forth Reviewed Girls Without a Bookshelf.
She is like a swinging pendulum, constantly undecided and going back and forth about trusting, loving and believing. On the one hand, I think she is practical in keeping her walls up and not trusting Iain - the reincarnated Ethan - wholeheartedly until she finds the answers he cannot and will not give her. She is aware of her visions being only snippets and not the full picture of her past - and despite her yearning for him, she reserves her judgment on Iain until she finds those elusive answers.
On the other hand, it seems rather stupid of her to trust fully someone else who she cannot recall at all nor is she related to, while not trusting Iain when she knows and feel their love and history. She wasn't a character easy to relate to, no. I could not imagine a toddler having visions from previous lives, let alone visions about a lover. Her reserved attitude and need for answers are believable, but her rationale and actions are sometimes questionable.
I was surprised to not have read much of Iain in this book. There is little characterisation on his part, and often times I found him overshadowed by the wonderful secondary characters - like Beau, Haven's best friend. I really would have liked to know more of Iain and to see more of Ethan in him too. He appears in crucial, defining moments but I felt the need for more romance.
What Iain shared with Haven is brief but intense, and their connection well-played. The mystery and secrecy behind their relationship adds flavour to the romance, while the twists and turns that had me gaping is a good bonus. The concept of reincarnation is fascinatiing to say the least, but The Eternal Ones takes that concept and wields it with mystery, romance and religion to become one bloody good book. I personally love how the characters connect with each other, and how they fit together in the greater scheme of things. It's worth noting that there are major religious undertones in this book.
Haven springs from a small, close-knit and religious town in Tennesee and that, and her grandmother's religious fervor portrays a very realistic small town narrow-mindedness which I enjoyed reading. With the other half of the book being set in New York, the contrasts in the atmosphere and environment is well highlighted.
I had a small issue with the narrative. Don't get me wrong, the Eternal Ones is well-written, but I was not sure what the time frame was in the first few pages because the words used seem to indicate a usage in a different time. It took me some time to get used to it but when I did, it was a blessed relief. Although I thought the climax was not a climax at all, I can hardly complain - I really enjoyed this book. It ends in a way that is open and ready for the sequel. Pareciera que no pasa nada, cuando en realidad suceden muchas cosas. Y Beau, el amigo de Haven, un amor. Espero que para el siguiente libro siga teniendo esa personalidad tan intensa que pocos personajes secundarios consiguen.
Vale la pena, sin duda. Jan 02, Pricky rated it it was ok Shelves: I had been waiting for over a year for our library to order this book so it was with much anticipation to finally be able to delve into this mystery. Which lasted about 61 pages. First off, I'm not a big fan of the 3rd person POV--especially with YA; and unless the author is a very talented writer, the 3rd person perspective ends up making it sound like a narration from a screenplay.
There were about 5 pages covering 2 short chapters where there w I had been waiting for over a year for our library to order this book so it was with much anticipation to finally be able to delve into this mystery. There were about 5 pages covering 2 short chapters where there was nothing but a long description and retelling of Haven Moore's life. I almost forgot I was reading a novel; it sounded so much like an bibliography. What happened to the "Show, not Tell"? Some of the scenes were pieced together so jaggedly that I was left confused.
There's a scene in the past followed by another scene in the past but linked by the word "Now" which makes me think of the present.
For a story that supposedly takes place in the "present day," I felt very backwards; the insistence that Haven's visions are due to demon possession seemed very forced and ridiculous; mind you, I've never been to the "bible belt" states, but the way the townspeople acted seemed unrealistic. None of the characters seem interesting enough to me. The "soul mate" theme is a little tiresome.
The gay best friend, the domineering grandma matriarch, and the hot love interest are too cliche. I'm also puzzled by Haven's mother who initially acts subservient and yet a few pages later suddenly stands up to grandma and then persuades Haven to pursue the truth. I can't say much about the rest of the plot nor Haven's future love interest. May 04, Gus rated it did not like it Shelves: If this book had a face, I would punch it. Seriously, I can't really even describe why I dislike this book so much.
The premise could have been really awesome, I find past lives and reincarnation really interesting. It was so so so poorly written and the plot pretty much never went anywhere. Everytime there was a "twist" I'm not stupid, I can see whats coming! I had to roll my eyes. The main character goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth so many damn times that I wanted to If this book had a face, I would punch it. The main character goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth so many damn times that I wanted to throw her in the fire myself.
How the hell does a 17 year old book a train and hotel and run around New York without her guardian's permission??? Pretty sure you have to be 18 to book a hotel, damnit! The "bad guy" is so utterly ridiculous that I even had to tell my husband about it. I don't want to spoil it for those who are gluttons for punishment, but save your time this is a few hours I'll never get back and pick up another book instead. Oh, and saying "he smiled like a slow kid at the carnival"?
And the whole gay best friend thing was so utterly contrived and stereotypical, it made me want to curb stomp the book as well. Too bad its an ARC and I can't sell this stupid thing. Entretenido, pero no el mejor libro del mundo. Jan 06, Brandon Perez rated it really liked it. Su reencuentro no era lo que yo esperaba, fue muy Y en cuanto a los personajes secundarios solo me agradaron Leah y Beau. Imogene, bueno, es una bruja, pero no es alguien a quien odiar Aug 02, The Novel Strumpet rated it it was ok.
I received an advance copy of this so understand that it is not out for mass consumption yet. The main character is one of the stupidest girls in literature. I have not been so insulted by the ignorance of a character in a very, very long time. I'm not joking, I wanted Haven to be tortured in ways you can't even imagine. And the love interest, Ian, is either a masochist or completely whipped to follow a woman through lifetimes who is obviously so thickheaded.
I found myself screaming at the book in frustration. It's hard for me tell if the author is just that bad, if she didn't realize how completely brain dead Haven would come off looking, or if she meant for the reader to hate Haven. As for Adam the 'demon' and Ian There are some characters who are interesting, but the thing that I found really upsetting is that it seems the author has no sense of driving a plot forward.
In fact there were so many things the author brought in that should have been used as catalysts to drive the plot forward, but only wound up being peripheral subplots, I nearly couldn't finish the book. This is NOT a love story, it's a practice in futility, and may the heavens help any female who sees it as a great romance.
I've never read Kirsten Miller before, and I probably won't again. Oct 16, Linna rated it liked it Shelves: Hardly soul mate material. Unfortunately, the action takes a LONG time to arrive, because nothing much happens for more than half the book, which is generally unacceptable for people with short attention spans. Beau had more personality than a good half of the other characters combined, plus some to spare.
Jan 19, Valentine rated it did not like it Shelves: Reading this book was very frustrating because I could see it had potential to be a great book. The idea of incarnation and love that spans lifetimes was good, but the execution was so awful. The writing was painfully amateurish. The dialogue was annoying and unrealistic, filled with several exclamation marks for emphasis!
The main character was colorless and lifeless. The side characters were caricatures and seemed really I don't mean that as an insult, I literally mean they Terrible. I don't mean that as an insult, I literally mean they did not seem intelligent. There's the crazy evil grandmother, there's the suspicious priest, there's the push-over mother and there's a town full of people who seemingly believe in the literal devil.
What about the love story we've been promised? Well, we don't meet Prince Charming until almost half-way through the book To call him one dimensional would be kind. The love story that lasted lifetimes consisted of Haven the main girl thinking Iain the main guy was a murdering womanizer.
Haven's obtuseness was so dense it was infuriating. They have zero chemistry. Tip to the author: All in all, the story was tepid and never really moved, the characters were flat, and the author's take on reincarnation left much to be desired. Obvio hay romance bobo pero no me lo creo. No me parece natural, real. No como narran la historia. No me malentiendan, me gusta el paranormal romance, This is just terrible. And it's apparent that Emma Galvin will never be one of my favorite narrators. Apr 09, Dark Faerie Tales rated it liked it Shelves: Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.
This was a good read filled with epic romance, a good mystery, and fun characters. It was a little slow at first, but it picked up nicely towards the middle. Haven Moore lives in a small town called Snope City, Tennessee. She has lived there her whole life, but she has always felt that she lived another life.
She has had visions ever since she was a little girl of a woman named Constance. Constanc Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales. Constance was madly in love with a man named Ethan, but they both tragically died in a fire over ninety years ago.
Eternal: Book One of the Eternal Trilogy - Kindle edition by Denise Dowdell-Stent, Dion Johnson. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC. Eternal Starling (Emblem of Eternity Trilogy Book 1) - Kindle edition by Angela Corbett. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or.
I thought she was so much more real a character, despite the paranormal aspects to the story. Dante is just as tragic as in the first book, but a much warmer person Their love story has matured and has no end of obstacles, some seemingly insurmountable. They weren't together for much of this book, but their love story was still a big part of the plot.
We meet a lot of new characters in this book, characters that I hope we see more of in the next book, Life Reborn, due out in January of They added a lot to the story and filled the gap that Dante's absence could have left. Things to love about Life Eternal The characters were much more likable in this book and that was a great thing. This added a lot to the suspense of the story. A fantastic cliffhanger ending! Things I wanted more of I really began to love him in this book and would have loved more of him!
Much better than the first. The cliffhanger has me waiting for the next book! I loved this series. I read the first book in school from the library. I fell in love with the story and this is just as amazing as the first book. I'm very anxious to read the next book and find out what happens. The characters feel so real, and your drawn into the book as if you are living it.
The e-book version of Life Eternal I purchased from Amazon was great quality! I had been waiting a long time to read this book, so I was very glad to find that there weren't any typos or glitches in the e-book. The book its self was one of my favorites. I just loved Dead Beautiful, and Life Eternal just added onto the story and made it so much better. Niet ingeschakeld Word Wise: