Me on The Eternal Ones

Title: The Eternal Ones
Author: Kirsten Miller
Release Date: August 10, 2010
Publisher: Penguin/Razorbill
Pages: 416 (Hardcover)

I first heard about this book not long after I read Ann Brashares' My Name is Memory. They sounded sort of the same: girl meets a guy who remembered all their past lives together and trouble ensues. And so, after reading a general adult fiction book that dragged on a bit and looped around and was a bit too long for my liking, I wasn't so sure on Kirsten Miller's foray into past lives and love that never dies. (I promise I didn't mean to rhyme there)

The book in general had a very old-timey 1920's or 30's New York feel to me, even at the beginning of the book where we meet Haven in present day small town Tennessee. I enjoyed the overall story, the different places Haven and Iain go to, the flashbacks and notes and other small parts. Even though Haven's character bugged me a little, she seemed a bit passive in some spots, but when I finished I wanted to jump into it again and re-read it to see if I could pick out any hints at the society or a sequel.

And I found out there's going to be a book two titled As You Desire. Ooooooo. Sounds intriguing.

I enjoyed the fact that there was a society set up to keep track of people who could remember their past lives. It felt practical, but calling it the Ouroboros Society made it sound both romantic and inescapable. The snake eating its own tail is a powerful symbol if you believe that you're destined to relive the same events over and over again, that no matter when we live or who we are, everything is connected and happens over and over again.

It's rather philosophical, if you think about it.

Haven's a strong girl, she's able to survive the verbal and emotional abuse from her grandmother and the lack of being able to fit in in a small town and takes charge by heading to New York to find Iain, but I thought she took a long time leaving Tennessee. I suppose I assumed she'd pick up and go once she realized that Iain was Ethan, her love from a past life, but there was a chunk of time where she had to suffer and prepare before leaving.

It may sound like I'm torn on whether or not I liked this book, but I did. It was romantic, thoughtful, philosophical. I'm tempted to run out and buy my own copy so I can read it again. I think the idea of past lives is interesting, when the only thing that keeps you going year after year, decade after decade, is love (reminds me of Lauren Kate's Fallen series). It's not contemporary or paranormal, it's nowhere near sci-fi, it might be fantasy, or it's a new sub-genre of reincarnation.

Whatever it is, I'm enjoying it. :)