Eternity
Grade : B

The first thing I noticed about Eternity was its wonderful cover, which is actually representative of the story within. Thank you, Jove, for this tasteful illustration. As for the book itself, thank you again, Jove, for this tasty little treat.

The plot of Eternity is fairly complex and it would be unfair to go into too many details that would spoil the story, so I'll be brief. Our story begins in 1689 in a small English village. Raven and her mother are the village healers, and, btw, they are also witches. Inevitably, they are discovered, and, without benefit of a trial, are sentenced to death by the local priest. The night before the hanging, Raven promises her mother that if she survives, she will take some extremely important family documents out of England.

As Raven mounts the gallows the next day, she spies a young man, a student of the priest who condemned her. She feels drawn to him although she's never seen him before. Duncan Wallace is a Scotsman studying to be a priest. Once he realizes that these women are to be hung without benefit of a trial, he vehemently protests. He too feels a mysterious and overwhelming sense of connection with the young woman about to be hanged. Alas, he cannot stop the hanging and sincerely mourns the passing of Raven, a woman whose name he never knew. Inexplicably, in his heart, he believes that something precious has been lost. He returns to give their bodies a proper burial, and finds no sign of either woman.

Much to her shock, Raven has miraculously survived the hanging and wakes up next to her mother, who sadly did not survive. Raven discovers the documents her mother left for her and discovers her true identity, that of an Immortal Witch. She cannot die, or almost. In a series of complicated plot twists, she and Duncan do end up together in the late 1600's, only to have him die trying to save her life. She waits for over 300 years for him to reincarnate so they can once again be together.

The first half of this book takes place in the distant past and the second half in the present time. This couple has many obstacles and trials to overcome. However, Raven has a excellent secondary female character to help her through the tough times. Arianna is also an Immortal Witch.

Although I enjoyed this book, I did have some problems with the story. Although Raven was an independent and strong heroine, she seemed to lack smarts in vital areas, like leaving when there was obvious danger. The author has also presented Raven's thoughts in the first person and everyone else's in third person. This made for some exhausting head-hopping on occasion. The most bothersome problem was a reunion love scene during the lull of a battle for their lives. This may seem petty, but in the context of the battle, I felt this scene was extremely unrealistic, even for a paranormal!

On the whole, however, this was a good read. This is also not one of those stories (thank goodness!) where the person reincarnates as someone else - Duncan returns as himself, although without his previous memories. One word of caution for the unknowing reader, this book focuses heavily on Wicca. The author dedicates this book to those who were accused of witchcraft and in the Salem Witch Trials. Thank you, Maggie Shayne! I found this to be a fairly accurate portrayal of Wicca in most respects, other than the supernatural elements, but it may be a little much for some readers. This is also the start of a series. The next book will be about Arianna, Raven's companion. I look forward to it.

Buy it at Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes and Noble/Kobo

Reviewed by Liz Zink
Grade : B

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : January 28, 1999

Publication Date: 1998

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Liz Zink

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