The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller - Review

First off, I have to say this was a book that at time's predictable - thank God, honestly my brain needed a break, however the story is 100% original in it's intent. With a wonderfully thought out main character, and several supporting – each step of the story, was there for a very important reason, though while I was reading it, I was sure some of the “fat” could have been cut out.

Let me explain, while reading the story, I caught myself several times wondering, WHY do I need to know this NOW? Thinking things were out of place or little “side” stories were being sprinkled into the main plot, where they just were not needed...I was wrong, Kirsten Miller, is a genius! I have no idea how she crafted this terribly convoluted story, and made it work, on so many different levels!

Honestly I cant even tell you about it, some might even say this one is a torturous read, not worth your time! I can't disagree more with that thought though, while it seems complicated at times, it's those complications that give The Eternal One's it's life! Lurking in the darkness, is a savage read that's, wild, strange, hard to grasp at times, but still beautiful – but in an eerie, strange way.

There's so much going on with in the story – with it's main and sub pots, but at the same time it's a slow read. It's like one of those movies we have all seen, if you come in, even 2 minutes after it's started your TOTALLY lost and have NO idea what was going on, no matter how hard you try to “get it” or how long you watched, it's impossible those first 2 minutes set the stage, and now your lost! The Eternal One's is exactly like that, if you miss a page, or even a word at times – your lost.

Synopsis via 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.

There were a few times when I had to reread a sentence or even at times a page, to make sure I got all the information being given! Which I think was almost the point – Kirsten Miller wanted us to be mindful of what was on the page, what was written not what we “thought” was written, clever girl she is!

It's not at all like anything I have read before, first being that it's on reincarnation, which is not totally adverse to me, as I have read one other book I can think of where that's a theme but it's very different, a love story but not, a suspense, but not, this book is a stand alone I think, there's not a genera I could label it as. Which I just find totally cool, to come up with something so different it's tough to define it...I give Kirsten Miller kudo's for that, that's for sure!

I was thinking, especially in the beginning that, this one would have WAY to much God in it, not that reading about God is bad but sometimes the preachy-ness gets old, if you know what I mean – but honestly, I did not feel “preached” to, enough to draw me away from the story and in fact, I am not sure that this story could have been told with out that edge!

Bottom Line – a unique take on reincarnation, with an ending that well, I can't say – but I do hope that Kirsten Miller gives a 2nd book in this series a go! I enjoyed it very much and though it's tough to put my finger on exactly why, I can tell you I will be watching out for Kirsten Miller, she's got an organic talent, with an amazing knack for telling a totally one of a kind story, that while fiction, felt real enough to be true! I give The Eternal One's a 4 mushrooms, and will be watching Kirsten for more of her work, and for possible (I hope) “The Eternal One's book 2.”

Buy, Borrow or Steal? If your a lover of things like Inception - this is a book you will want to own!

The Eternal Ones
By: Kristen Miller
416 Pages
Published: August 10, 2010
Publisher: Razorbill
Received via an ARC tour for my honest review.