Alice's Review: All You Desire

Summary:  Haven Moore and Iain Morrow have been living a blissful life in Rome, an ocean way from the Ouroboros Society and its diabolical leader. But paradise is not to last. The mysterious disappearance of Haven's best friend, Beau, sends the pair running back to New York, where they encounter the Horae, an underground group of women who have spent centuries scheming to destroy Adam Rosier. Only they can help Haven uncover the secret to Beau's whereabouts in one of her past lives. But their help comes at a price: Haven must infiltrate the Ouroboros Society, charm Adam Rosier, and lure him into a trap. It's a plan the Horae believe will save the world-but Haven and Iain fear that it may destroy the happiness they've been chasing for two thousand years

Review:  All You Desire picks up where The Eternal Ones left off.  I must confess, other than remembering how much I loved The Eternal Ones, I didn’t remember much about it.  After a quick read of my The Eternal Ones review, I felt like I had background to forge ahead.

All You Desire is a good novel.  However, the one thing it lacked was the originality and soul of The Eternal Ones.  Haven was more mature this time.  She faced real dilemmas of a young adult committed to one man.  I liked how she revisited past lives looking for answers and admitting to herself that things with Iain aren’t all that they seem.  Iain on the other hand drove me a little batty.  He was selfish all in the name of protecting Haven.  He took too many unnecessary risks.  If I was Haven, I would have kicked his butt to the curb.

There were so many plot twists, I had a hard time keeping track of whom to trust.   Usually action like that keeps me on the edge of my seat but this time the lack of a solid information was frustrating.  I got to the point where I didn’t care so much about what happened, I kept reading because I wanted it to be over.  That’s never good.  Ms. Miller left the ending wide open for a possible third book in the series.  After All You Desire, I’m not sure if I would pick it up.  One thing for certain is if I did, it’s definitely a library book.

I wonder how I would have felt about this novel had I read it immediately after The Eternal Ones.  Maybe that high would have carried through and I would have enjoyed it more than I did.  Time and distance tarnished the magic for me.  I appreciate the romance of the story.  A love that transcends time is always a big seller for me.  What was frustrating was the convoluted mystery in All You Desire overshadowed that love.

Final Take:  3/5

Eternal Ones Review here.

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Alice's Review: The Eternal Ones

Summary:  Haven Moore has always lived in the town of Snope City, Tennessee. 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 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 from a past life? Haven asks the 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 whom to trust? ~ http://www.eternalones.com/


Review: I picked up this novel on a whim after hearing the good buzz about it. I’m a sucker for romance, especially the kind that transcends time. I’m just going to put it out there right off the bat…I loved this novel. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Was it perfect? No. Am I so crazy excited about the sequel that I ordered it as soon as I flipped the last page? Yes.

I’m not even sure where to begin. I really enjoyed the Manhattan setting of Eternal Ones. Ms. Miller mentions city neighborhoods that are right around the corner from where I work. I can see Gramercy park from my office window. I’ve shopped in the drugstore Haven hid from the grey men. I loved that she made New York a character as well.

Eternal Ones was well written, well researched. I liked the idea of past lives and links formed that last lifetimes. She breathed life into all the characters making them very real, annoyingly so at times. What drove me the most nuts were Haven and Iain. Funny considering they are the main characters in this adventure. Haven because she kept doubting Iain. Although, truth be told, there wouldn’t be much of a novel if she had believed him. And Iain because if he would have told her the truth, she wouldn’t have doubted him. Oh, what a vicious circle it was.

And Haven? Where do I start? Although she was seventeen years old, she didn’t show much maturity. At times, she came across a like a self-centered thirteen year old instead of a young woman searching for her true love of 2,000 years. Even now, I have a hard time picturing her as an adult. I hope that in the sequel she will act more like one. It’s not that I disliked her, it’s that I wish she’d grow up.

There were quite a few characters I really enjoyed getting to know. First of all was Beau, Haven’s best friend. He always gave it to her straight and everyone needs a friend like that. I also liked Marta, the troubled artist. I wish her scenes were longer. I hope there is a Marta spinoff in the future. I would love to find out her story in detail. And I just loved the villain, who was so wonderfully creepy.

Through ever page, the story flowed at a quick pace. I was looking forward to what happened next. I suspected a couple things along the way and when they were revealed, I was pleased more than disappointed I was able to figure it out. In the end, I was happy with the resolution but would have been equally happy if it had gone another way.

Although the novel classification is Young Adult, I think anyone will enjoy it, regardless of what genre the reader likes. There was enough mystery, drama, excitement, sci-fi, and romance to draw in most readers, enough variety without overpowering the next. One thing I will say is that there is a bit of religion in the novel however, it is a means to move along the story.

Maybe I was connected to the setting, I don’t know. All I know is that I kept going back to it, excited to find out if Haven and Iain have the kind of love what will make it in this lifetime.

Final Take: 5/5