Keep your eyes open for this one! THE ETERNAL ONES: A Book Review

Title: The Eternal Ones
Author: Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin)
Genre: Young Adult
Format: Advanced Reader Copy (ARC/Galley Proof) from Publisher
ISBN 978-1-59514-308-2
$18.99, 432 pages
Release Date: August 24 2010

I received this ARC from Ben Schrank, president and publisher of Razorbill an imprint of Penguin during the Winter Conference of the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators (SCBWI) in New York. He was gracious enough to make a few available and I am grateful that he did.

Prior to receiving this ARC, I was unfamiliar with the author, Kirsten Miller. I am now aware that she has written a critically-acclaimed series called Kiki Strike which seems worthing of checking out. I believe THE ETERNAL ONES is going to be her break out novel.

Wow. Where do I begin. This book is chocked full of so many delicious twists and turns, it will keep you riveted to your seat, and quickly turning the page to get to the bottom of all that is going on. Let me begin with the blurb on the back of this galley proof.

Haven Moore has always lived in the tiny town of Snope City, Tennesse. But for as long as she can remember, Haven has experienced visions of a past life as a girl named Constance, whose love for a boy called Ethan ended in a fiery tragedy.


One day, the sight of notorious playboy Iain Morrow on television brings Haven to her knees. Haven flees to New York City to find Iain and there, she is swept up in an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Is Iain her beloved Ethan? Or is he her murderer in a past life? Haven asks members of the powerful and mysterious Ouroboros Society to help her unlock the mysteries of reincarnation and discover the secrets hidden in her past lives and loves before all is lost and the cycle begins again. But what is the Ouroboros Society? And how can Haven know who to trust?

While this book is being marketed as a YA romance/love story, I was pleasantly surprised to discover it is just as strongly a riveting mystery and suspense novel. It very skillfully and cleverly weaves these elements together to keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. It's a real whodunit and why? When you think you have an idea about who's the murderer, who burned down the house, why this and why that, the author, Kirsten Miller takes you down another road filled with intrigue and questions. I never thought of myself as a reader of mystery or suspense, but THE ETERNAL ONES have given me a reason to rethink this. It also has scenes that were laugh out loud funny.

I believe this is the first of a two-book deal. At the end of it, many questions were answered, but there are many more places for this story to go. I am so looking forward to the final printed book when it is released in August to see if there were any changes made to story, as well as the second book to learn more about Haven's saga.

Thanks again to Ben Schrank for making this super advanced copy available to be read.

Don't forget to mark your calenders in August. The ARC gives a date of August 24 and Amazon is saying August 31, in any case it's coming out in August, so keep your eye open. You won't regret it.

P.S.
According to Mr. Schrank, the cover of the final book is going to change, so don't be surprised to see something different than what is presented here.

Toodles!