Review: Everneath

Everneath
by Brodi Ashton
Series: Everneath #1
Release Date: January 24, 2012
by Balzer + Bray

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Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

I was kind of nervous about reading this book because I think sometime a while ago a read some not-so-rave reviews.  But I decided to read it for myself, and I was pleasantly surprised.  Mythology isn’t really a hugely popular genre, but I enjoy it, and I like seeing what spin authors will put on the mythology they choose.  I really liked the spin that Brodi Ashton put on this mythology.  It was an awesome idea, and she wrote the story very well.  I liked how the story line flowed smoothly together, the events following each other flawlessly.  I liked how Ashton explained the situation, explained the problem, and explained how to solve it.  Sometimes authors make the final solution really easy to figure out, or make the characters figure it out really easily, but Ashton didn’t do that in this book.  I don’t usually cry when I read books, but I will admit that I did when I read the ending this book.  It was so raw and heartbreaking, I couldn’t really help it.

I don’t really know how to describe the love situation in this book, but here’s a try: Cole tricked Nikki into letting him feed off her, so she’s drawn to him, but she’s in love with Jack, who was her boyfriend in the real world.  Actually, I think I explained that really well *pats self on back*

Cole, obviously, is kind of the villain in this book and, like most villains I read about, I hated him.  He tried to back Nikki into a corner to make her go with him so he could prosper in the Everneath.  Jack, obviously, is kind of the love interest n this book and, like most love interests, I liked him.  He seemed like a really awesome guy, nice, sweet, and caring.  Nikki, obviously, is kind of the main character in this book and, like most main characters I read about, I loved her.  She was really brave to Return, and I know I would have totally freaked if I had to deal with what she did.  She was strong, brave, and just really awesome.  And yes, I started each character’s sentence the same on purpose :P

Since this book ended on kind of a cliffhanger, I can’t wait to read the next book in this series and find out what happens to Nikki and Jack.

4 pink flowers