The Oldest Soul

Animus The Oldest Soul Trilogy, Volume 1

Young Adult - Fantasy - General
328 Pages
Reviewed on 01/04/2016
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

The Oldest Soul: Animus is the first in a romantic science fiction trilogy by author Tiffany FitzHenry. Our central heroine is Eve, who is discovered to be the oldest soul on the planet when her DNA is dated back through all the lives she has lived on Earth. Eve is seventeen, and she finds herself in a dilemma when she meets Jude, who appears to be the last soul created for a very long time. Whilst Jude is intensely attractive, Eve also has to contend with Roman, whose soul has been matched to hers over many lifetimes. As this one small conflict begins to eat away at Eve, a much larger battle is looming overhead, foreshadowing a war that could end one side of the human race forever.

The power of Tiffany FitzHenry’s work first and foremost lies in the superb concept she has created. The Oldest Soul: Animus sits on the border of young adult and adult fiction for me, as Eve’s youthful stance on life is interspersed with her Zodiac soul, which tells of the many lives lived before her current body. I really enjoyed the idea that the soul transcends race, gender, or any other physical factor, and her relationship with Roman really puts the idea of soul mates under a new kind of microscope. Brilliantly crafted, well written, and compelling, The Oldest Soul: Animus is a true page turner that will satisfy audiences of romantic fiction and sci-fi alike. I would recommend it to readers seeking something totally original, detailed, and deep.

Kim Anisi

The Oldest Soul: Animus is the first book in The Oldest Soul Trilogy by Tiffany FitzHenry, and just one warning right away: you'll have problems putting this book down. The main character, Eve, is the oldest soul on the planet but she is not aware of it initially. One thing she knows is that every single person seems to either like her or hate her without any good reason. When she goes to school for the first time ever in her life, the instant dislike half of the people have for her, does not make her life easier. When she meets Roman, with whom she has an instant connection, and then Jude, who literally is the boy of her dreams, the confusion just gets worse. It also doesn't help that the world is suddenly plagued by horrible events - is the conflict between old and new souls the cause?

The Oldest Soul: Animus by Tiffany FitzHenry is an incredibly interesting book. The plot is very, very good, and it makes you think about what it would be like if we really found a way to know how many lifetimes each person has lived. I had many questions in my head while I was reading, and I am sure other readers will also have to think about a few issues when reading the story of Eve and her friends/enemies. It is a very good first book in the trilogy, and I hope that the other two books will be just as good. There are certainly quite a few questions that need answering.

Cheryl E. Rodriguez

Tiffany FitzHenry certainly pens a fantastical tale in The Oldest Soul - Animus. The story unfolds in the small North Dakota town of Rugby. However, there something way beyond ordinary stirring in this rural community. Evelyn “Eve” O’Cleirigh, along with her grandfather, Cian, and brother, Shamus, have recently called Rugby home. Eve is desperate for normalcy. She has traveled the world, seen, and knows more than any teenager should. She has been isolated, an island unto herself. Now she is determined to cast off her bizarre life and dive into the life of a normal teenager by attending high school. Eve is about to experience a culture shock that electrifies her life - allowing her to be reckless for the first time, ever! Eve is strange, weird; those she encounters either hate her or love her. Eve has wisdom beyond her years; she has lived many times over. Eve is the oldest soul on Earth, making her very dangerous.

Tiffany FitzHenry begins The Oldest Soul Trilogy with the alarming story of The Oldest Soul - Animus. FitzHenry does a wonderful job in drawing the reader into her mysterious imagination. The characters come to life on the pages. I love the double meanings of the names she gives her characters; they are eloquent, yet profound. Written from the point of view of the heroine, FitzHenry allows the reader to dwell within her character’s soul and mind, knowing her thoughts, feelings and imaginings. The main character is strong, brave, yet vulnerable. Her vulnerability allows her to blossom and grow dynamically as the story progresses. The story plot develops with ease and intrigue, not giving away too much too soon. The Oldest Soul – Animus is captivating and intelligently written, enveloped with vivid and figurative descriptions. However, the cliffhanger ending stabs your heart, leaving a gaping wound that needs to be satisfied by the knowledge of what happens next.

Samantha Dewitt (Rivera)

Eve’s life is more complicated than most. But it’s not the fact that she’s moved around more times than she can count. It’s not the fact that she lives with a brother who seems to hate her, or that she has never known her parents. It’s not even the strange connection she feels to two boys she’s never even met. What’s complicated about Eve’s life is that her grandfather has powers no one else can comprehend. The boy she’s met at school seems to know more about her than she does. And of course, there may or may not be something in her past that is essential to the future of humanity. After all, being an old soul can definitely have an impact on your life, whether you know it or not, in The Oldest Soul by Tiffany FitzHenry.

This book will definitely draw you in because the characters are intriguing and still so much different from what you’d expect. You will see a different side of high school students (one that you never would have expected) who have gone through amazing things, things that make them not your ordinary high school student, but souls almost older than time itself. Eve and Roman, and even Jude and Phoenix, were very interesting and they seemed quite normal in a lot of their ways. Of course, there are plenty of things going on and there’s the magic and reincarnation that definitely make you think and wonder about the world around you. The Oldest Soul is a great book and one I would recommend to my friends.

Maria Beltran

Tiffany FitzHenry’s The Oldest Soul - Animus (The Oldest Soul Trilogy) (Volume 1) revolves around the life of Evelyn O’Cleirich, a seventeen-year-old girl who grows up with her grandfather and brother in many places around the world, finally settling down in Rugby, a small town in North Dakota. Eve enrolls for the first time and finds out that Roman, a boy she met earlier, attends the same school. She also meets another classmate, Jude, whom she feels attracted to from the moment she sets eyes on him. It is soon revealed that Roman is her soulmate and that they have been lovers many times in their past lives. Jude, on the other hand, is destined to be her lover in her present life. When a tsunami strikes and the whole world is thrust into chaos, the government tries to restore order by mapping people’s genomes, by carbon dating their souls in order to identify the oldest soul in the world, who is believed to have caused the world disorder. It happens to be Eve herself, but there is another unfolding conflict on hand that is even more sinister.

The Oldest Soul – Animus, the first in a series from The Oldest Soul Trilogy by Tiffany FitzHenry is a captivating story that espouses the belief that human souls do exist, that we are reincarnated a number of times, and are naturally drawn to our past lovers and repelled by our past enemies. The story unfolds in an obscure little town in North Dakota and the author wastes no time in setting the stage for the biggest conflict that is about to happen. As Eve O’Cleirich slowly finds out about her past lives and her real self, a Nobel-prize winning scientist discovers a way to carbon date human souls. The revelation that Eve is the oldest soul in the world carries with it a lot of responsibilities as her brother is plotting something that will change the world as we know it. The Oldest Soul is certainly thought provoking and Tiffany FitzHenry is an author to watch out for.