The Eternal Ones Review

Do you long for a place you’ve never been?
Do you often experience the sensation of déjà vu?
Have you ever fallen in love at first sight?
Do you possess skills or talents that defy explanation?
Are you haunted by fears or anxieties that make little sense?
Do you feel unusually close to certain people in your life?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have experienced a previous life.

I have to say that I’m incredibly impressed with the quality of books that Penguin are publishing this year. They’re all on my wish list and The Eternal Ones by Kristen Miller is of no exception. I’m fascinated by the idea of reincarnation and so I knew that there was an extremely good chance I would like this book. I found it to be a real page turner and I actually made myself late one day because I just HAD to finish the book.

The Eternal ones is written in the third person and centres around Haven, a 16 year old girl from Snope City, a little town in Tennessee. She’s been talking about a boy called Ethan since she was eight years old and feels a pull towards New York City, a place she already knows like the back of her hand although she’s never been there. Haven’s visions of another life have become stronger lately and the religious community (which includes her strict grandmother) think that she is possessed by a demon. Whilst watching TV one day, Haven catches a glimpse of movie star Iain Morrow, who incidentally has recently been accused of murder, and can’t shake the sense of familiarity she feels towards him. He just so happens to be in the one place she has to go and so helped by her best friend Beau, she escapes to New York to find out once and for all, not only who she was but also who she is now and find answers to some very important questions – is Iain Morrow the boy she used to know as Ethan? Were they meant to be together again? Did he really commit murder?

I really enjoyed this story and my first impressions of the book were that it contained a lot of mystery and intrigue. I love the fact that Haven has been talking about Ethan her whole life and I also liked the religious aspect as an extremely good and very relevant conflict in the story. All the way through the book, I didn’t know whether to trust Ian Morrow or not. My immediate thought was that he WAS Ethan but then I had a strong feeling that he was an imposter and it must be a past rival who is trying to keep her away from Ethan. I won’t tell you what the real story is as I don’t want to spoil it for you so you’ll just have to read the book and find out for yourself!

As a character, I did think that Iain was a little bit controlling and demanding sometimes which annoyed me but then it annoyed Haven too so that’s good! She was a little too trusting at times though but her belief in Ethan was so strong that I guess she felt she didn’t have a choice. Speaking of Haven, I’d heard from a fellow blogger that she thought Haven was boring but I totally disagree with this. On the contrary, I thought Haven was really interesting with her dressmaking and drawing skills. Her home situation was full of conflict and mystery as her dad died and her mother had coping issues, leaving her under the care of a strict, religious grandmother. I particularly liked the way that Haven sometimes called her mother and grandmother by their first names. I went through a phase of this when I was a teenager although it had no implications to it for me. I felt that in The Eternal Ones, it showed a lack of closeness/intimacy.

Beau is Haven’s best friend-come-comedic-sidekick who counsels Haven through several phone calls when she is alone in New York. Beau is a good looking gay guy who is proud of who he is and isn’t afraid to stand up for himself against the backlash he receives from the religious crowd. Beau didn’t come across as effeminate in any way and I liked that he wasn’t stereotyped. He looked like a regular, good looking guy and all the ladies swooned after him regardless of his sexual orientation.

Moving on to the plot, it reminded me of a jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces are there but you haven’t quite put it together right yet. I was trying to second guess what was happening and I TOTALLY didn’t see the ending coming at all. I loved the setting of New York City but I also particularly loved the addition of Rome where some scenes took place. I have always had a thing about Rome. I’ve never been there but I’ve always held a longing to go there. Perhaps I'm remembering one of my past lives? ;)

I have a few comments about the book itself. Firstly, I loved the simplicity of the cover design and red is my favourite colour. Chapter one was essentially a prologue and so I was confused as to why it didn’t just call itself what it was. Is it because prologues are seen as unfashionable these days? I was also shocked at the number of chapters in the book, 66 in total. HOLY MOLY! Or maybe I said something a little more unrepeatable. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that has so many chapters (although I haven’t attempted The Passage by Justin Cronin yet so...LOL). I think the chapters could have been longer to condense the number down.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and whilst I never expected the religious aspect to come into it, I think it’s very fitting to the story. And having read the book now, suddenly the symbol on the cover makes sense. I’m pleased to tell you all that there will indeed be a sequel but unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait until August, 2011 for it! Seems like such a long time :(

Thank you to Penguin for sending me a copy to read and review. If you have any doubts about how much I liked the book, put it this way, I liked it so much that I’ve just ordered my very own hardback copy. As a special treat, here are some samplers to wet your appetite...


Sampler #1 -

The Eternal Ones - Sampler #1


Sampler #2 -

The Eternal Ones - Sampler #2


Sampler #3 -

The Eternal Ones - Sampler #3


If you are a UK book blogger, have been reviewing for approximately three months and want to read this, please click here as I will be putting this in a tour over on my other site UK BOOK TOURS.



Kirsten Miller is also the author of Kiki Strike. You can access the official website for The Eternal Ones here and there is also another site here. I can’t find a blog for Kirsten although it looks like she may write on the Kiki Strike website. There is a facebook page for The Eternal Ones but I don’t believe Kirsten is on Twitter. You can find her on GoodReads however.