Love stories. I say blech to them in general. People will recommend certain books that focus around a love story, and while I do love “love” it seems that lately I have been more interested in Sci-Fi stories and those dominated by a post-apocalyptic or a dystopian theme (even a little political). I had planned on reading The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller, but it was definitely further down on my list. It was not until I received the book in audio format that I pushed it to the top of my reading/listening schedule (I love audiobooks, especially when they are read by the right person).
Here begins my review on Eternal Ones:
Haven Moore has uncontrollable visions about a previous life. This is not just any typical, run of the mill previous life either. Haven’s visions are filled with passion — red, hot passion — making her life in Snopes City, Tennessee very difficult. Her grandmother strongly believes that Haven is possessed by the devil, ironically making Haven’s life a living hell. Haven’s main ally and confidant in Snopes is her good friend Beau, but he can only give her moral support. She needs to figure out what Constance (her previous life) is trying to tell her. Haven’s visions transport her to the 1920s in New York city and she finds herself madly in love with a boy named Ethan. In the present day, Haven feels an urgency to travel to New York City, find the reincarnated Ethan (Iain), and figure out what her old self is trying to warn her about. The only problem is that her visions are so scattered and she doesn’t know who to trust, even Iain. Will she solve the mystery of her past life?
Listening to the audiobook, I found myself completely sucked into the world Miller creates. Emma Galvin, the reader, does a fantastic job with character voices and the Tennessee accent. With each chapter I became more and more enthralled by the life and past life of Haven/Constance and Ethan/Iain. The only times I felt frustrated with the story were during Miller’s longer passages about love. There were a couple passages at the end that became a little sappy and a little preachy, but aside from that I couldn’t stop listening.
Note: There were some steamy moments in the novel that gave just enough to count the book as a romance and not a tease. Haven is seventeen and makes some very adult decisions, however, she’s also remembering a past life from the 1920s so that kind of makes her close to her nineties! She is an old soul.
Age Group: 13 and up
Genre: Young Adult
Themes: Romance, Supernatural, Reincarnation
Publisher: Razorbill, imprint of Penguin Group
Read Schmead: Tales From The Book 
I’m a big fan of love stories, romances, etc. I must say though that I’ve never listened to an audiobook that was a romance. I feel that it must be a different experience from just reading steamy scenes. Either ways, I’d love to read this book. It sounds different from run of the mill romances.
I just finished reading this. Liked it, didn’t LOVE it. But if I was still a teenager I probably would have been even more sucked in by the soul mate thing!
It’s always so much fun to listen on audio, though!
I agree! I found the book slightly predictable, but it is a solid teen love story. Did you read Twilight, Erin? If so, how did it compare??
Great review. It sounds like a cool premise. I’m in the middle another book you recommended, The Book Thief, and I’m loving it so far.
Lo
Bears a haunting likeness to “Somewhere in Time”.
Perhaps a social allegory of what it is to be
born out of one’s time or to have one’s heart
belong to another time. I think this story may
be a reflection of a contemporary discontent of
indviduals without a kindred spirit or love. One does not choose to be born in one’s time.
and one may interpret this as a cautionary tale about the importance of past lives in determining the future.
I’m not still convinced I would enjoy this book. Thanks for the great write-up though! 🙂 Also, I think the cover is quite unfortunate.