A Review for Eternal Starling (Emblem of Eternity #1) by Angela Corbett + Author Interview + Giveaway (Int)

Posted by Donna

Release Date: December 6th, 2011

Finished Date: June 7th, 2012

Publishers: Pendrell Publishing

Source: Bought

Format: Kindle

Pages: 320
Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

A love so strong, even eternity can’t separate them.
Evie Starling has lived a relatively uneventful life hanging out with friends, gossiping about boys, and driving her 1966 Mustang. All of that changes when she moves to Gunnison, Colorado, to start college and meets two mysterious men.
For centuries, Alex Night and Emil Stone have yearned for Evie—but they each have their own reasons for wanting to be with her. When both men claim to be her soul mate and tell her about an unbelievable past, Evie learns that she’s not the person she thought she was. Soon, Evie finds herself in the middle of an age-old battle between the Amaranthine Society—the soul protectors, and the Daevos Resistance—the soul destroyers. With a past she doesn’t understand, and a future rife with danger, Evie has to decide who she can trust. But Alex and Emil aren’t the only ones who want Evie, and her soul is about to become the rope in an eternal tug-of-war.

The Review: Eternal Starling has been high on my list to read ever since its release way back in December, and finally 6 months later, I’ve read it and guess what, I loved it! 
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This story follows Evie, who has just moved to Colorado where she is about to start college. But when she meets two men; Alex and Emil, who both claim to be her soul mate, her life is suddenly turned upside down and starts becoming dangerous - fast. Evie soon learns that her soul has been reincarnated several times over the last century and both Alex and Emil, play a key role in her past lives. But with both men reluctant to share details with her, and both men whom hate each other, Evie doesn’t know who to trust. But she needs to figure it out soon, because Alex and Emil aren’t the only ones after her soul......

Awwww Alex and Emil! I need to speak about these characters first because I can’t contain my excitement over these two. Wow, just wow. If you ever thought love triangles were hard, wait until you read this book. Author Angela Corbett does not make it easy on us readers because she throws in two absolutely outstanding and HOT men into this story. First we meet Alex and it’s hard to not like him. Even though it’s clear he’s hiding Evie's past, he’s very protective of her and you can see how much he cares for her. But then we get Emil, sigh……and his entrance in to the book is just…..wow! His presence is very strong and he’s determined to get what he wants. He’s kind of the bad guy in the story but deep down, he’s not. I’m totally Team Emil and if Evie’s past lives are anything to go by, I’m hoping she picks Emil. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Alex, but I think he’s a little too quick to judge and bad mouth Emil and for that, I want Emil to get the girl. 

The story itself is beautifully written with enough scenes to make you weak at the knees. There’s also danger around every corner, giving you enough excitement and action to make this story very thrilling, and then of course, there’s the flashbacks, which give you the right amount of knowledge into Evie’s past lives – which I loved. The concept of “Soul Mates” wasn't something new to me, as I have read books similar before but I enjoyed how Angela put her own twists on it. I’m a huge fan of destiny and forever so Eternal Starling hit the right spots for me. I cannot wait to read more from this author because so far, I’m a fan and plus I’m dying to find out who Evie really belongs with. 

Author Interview with Angela Corbett

1)      What inspired you to write Eternal Starling?

I knew I wanted to write an eternal love story, but I wanted to create my own mythology and make it different from anything I’d read before. I saw a TV show about reincarnation and realized it would be perfect for the love story I wanted to write. Then one day I was driving in my car and heard Gavin Rossdale’s song, “Love Remains the Same” on the radio. Everything fell into place in my head and I started writing Eternal Starling that night!

2)      How long did it take to write? 

I wrote the first draft in 3 months in 2008. I spent the next year revising it, then started querying agents. I queried agents and publishers and continued revising it until I received a publishing offer from Pendrell Publishing. From first draft to offer took almost 3 years.

3)      With the story being based around soul mates and reincarnation, are you a believer of this?

I'm definitely a believer in soul mates. I love the idea of soul mates being able to find each other. If there are lives after this that we can find each other in, even better!

4)      How did you come up with the characters names?

I've always loved the name Evangeline. Even before I had the plot figured out, I knew I wanted my heroine to be named Evangeline, and go by Evie. I got Evie's last name, Starling, when I was flipping through TV channels and stopped for a minute on a documentary about birds. In early drafts, Evie's birthmark was a star instead of a lily, so Starling originally tied in with the star birthmark. Alex's name came from a name search. It means "defender of men," and that's how I viewed Alex when I first started writing his character. Emil's name was another name I've liked for a long time. When I looked up the meaning of the name, I found out it meant "rival" and felt like that was perfect for his character.

5)      Who’s your favourite character?

Evie is a really fun character to write. I enjoy her personality and her inner dialogue, so she's probably my favorite in the series. I also really liked writing the villain in Eternal Starling. 

6)      What’s your favourite quote from the book? 

"I licked my lips without realizing I'd done it and had the fleeting thought that if he wanted to have me for dinner, I'd help him light the charcoal."

7)      Would you ever consider writing chapters from Emil’s or Alex’s point of view? PLEASE do Emil! <3

LOL! I have! I think about it often. There's so much that happens in Evie/Alex/Emil's story before her life in Gunnison. I'll never be able to fit it all in the trilogy, and I'd like to explore it more...maybe with some prequels. We'll see what happens. :) I'll definitely keep an Emil POV in mind! 

8)      If Eternal Starling was made into a film who would play Evie, Emil & Alex? 

This is such a hard question because the characters look different to everyone! Amanda Crew looks almost exactly like Evie in my head. The resemblance is so strong that the first time I saw her in a movie, I dropped the remote and yelled, "That's Evie!" It scared my dog. Channing Tatum would be a great Alex, and Chord Overstreet would make a good Emil.

9)      How many books are you planning to write in the series?

3! The series is a trilogy. 

10)   What’s the progress on book two? Is there a release date or title yet?

I'm working on book 2 now! No release date yet, but the cover and title should be revealed sometime in the next few months!

Thank you for joining us Angela! 

Author Bio: .As a child, Angela Corbett’s most prized possession was a set of read-along books. She used to follow along with the narrator on the stereo and dream of when she would be able to read by herself. Her childhood reading habit led her to consider her future career. However, after consulting with her parents, she realized she had already exceeded hobbit height and since fairies and dragonslayers were tricky jobs to get, she decided she wanted to create worlds of her own. She started writing poetry in elementary school and worked as a journalist in high school and college, but could never leave her love for writing fiction behind. 

She is a graduate of Westminster College where she double majored in communication and sociology. She has worked as a journalist, freelance writer, and director of communications and marketing. She loves classic cars, traveling, and escaping in a good book. She lives in Utah with her incredibly supportive husband and their five-pound Pomeranian, Pippin, whose following of fangirls could rival Justin Bieber's.

Eternal Starling is her debut novel and the first book in the Emblem of Eternity trilogy. 

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