Official Review: Eternal by Gillian Shields

[Alexandra Bayer]

Sarah has always been off to the side in Evie's adventures, never a main character. But when a new student with possible powers comes to Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies and an S appears when Sarah is calling on the Mystic Way, Sarah knows it's her time for the spotlight. The only trouble is, she, Evie and Helen have broken apart and are no longer fellow sisters of the Mystic Way. However, by following her Romany roots, Sarah may be able to call on powers she never even dreamed of before. And when Cal, a Gypsy traveler, returns to Wyldcliffe, Sarah wonders if maybe, it's her time for love, too.

I bought this book without even reading the summary, simply because I had enjoyed the first two in the series, and it was on sale. I didn't even realize the main character was Sarah until I was halfway through Betrayal. This was unfortunate, because the summary gave away the ending of book two. I wouldn't recommend reading the summary of Eternal until Betrayal is finished. I found the switch of characters to be an odd thing for Gillian Shields to do; it very much reminded me of Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn, when the viewpoint switches to that of Jacob's. I think I would have preferred this novel from Evie's viewpoint; she's the character readers have known for the past two books in the series, and she has a more interesting life. But, if the adventure must be Sarah's, then of course the point of view should be Sarah's as well.

One thing that I found, not just in this book but the entire series, was that there were certain parts where I couldn't understand whether what was happening was a dream, imagination running wild, or actually happening. I also found this in the Swoon series and didn't enjoy it then, either. I find it takes away from the storyline, because the reader is desperately scanning previous pages, trying to find a hint as to what they missed, or skipping ahead to understand if what's happening at that moment will affect what happens later in the book, therefore giving a hint as to whether or not it is really happening. Being forced to do so really takes away from the enjoyment of the book.

I found that although this novel had a lot of material that could be considered 'exciting', it didn't excite me in any way. With Sarah and Cal's romance, I found it to be much like book one of this series - although not quite so bad. First of all, Cal left months back and they weren't even dating or anything, so it's not like Sarah had an excuse for her pathetic pining over him. It was merely a crush, and for all she could know, one-sided. Also, what happened to her Josh-lust? In books one and two, Sarah was madly in love with a boy named Josh. Then Cal returns, and it's as if they were a happily married couple that was separated by tragedy. Cal declares that he'll never leave her (this is the part that reminds me of Sebastian - stalker, anyone?) and suddenly they're dating and kissing and everything. It was like Immortal, but without the darkness in the boy's heart. Another part that should have been exiting but wasn't, was - well, there were a lot of those parts. The only part I did find exiting was the very end, which included a major battle between good and evil. But all the previous parts were so short and separated by long stretches of nothing happening that they barely captured my interest.

Overall, I found this book enjoyable, though at the level of Immortal, not Betrayal. So, like book one, Eternal receives three stars. I would have preferred book three to have been in Evie's words as well, instead of switching to Sarah. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys dark magic, mystery, and forbidden love.