Everlife

Everlife #3

by Gena Showalter

There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death.

In the Everlife, two realms are in Troika and Myriad, longtime enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug-of-war between the two realms who will do anything to win the right to her soul. Who can she trust? And what if the realm she's drawn to isn't where the boy she's falling for lives? She just has to stay alive long enough to make a decision…

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Dystopia, Romance, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

396 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2018

About the author

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over seventy books, including the acclaimed Lords of the Underworld series, the Gods of War series, the White Rabbit Chronicles, and the Forest of Good and Evil series. She writes sizzling paranormal romance, heartwarming contemporary romance, and unputdownable young adult novels, and lives in Oklahoma City with her family and menagerie of dogs and cats.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

"I’m still going to be punished by my haters, aren’t I?"

Well, honestly...a bit...but hey trees died for this book and truly, what is the greater evil?

In short, I've been in the trenches, I have traversed through the bowels of YA Lit to bring this review to you, dear audience.

If I seem ranty, have pity - you will never fully appreciate how bad YA can get.

In an effort to bring some coherency to my review, I will limit myself to the World Building, the Inconsistencies, the Lack of Originality and the Cringe Factor - but be warned, even then my review will be a doozy.

The World Building - aka what in the world?

When you die in the human realm, you go to your Secondlife depending on which realm (Troika or Myriad aka heaven/hell) you signed with (or you go to Many Ends, purgatory).

You then participate in a war (because "reasons") for the rest of your Everlife or at least until you reach your second-death and go to another afterlife (the Rest).

One thing that's been absolutely hammered into the audience is that:

"Firstlife was a dress rehearsal. Now the curtain is up....There are no second chances to right our wrongs. No do-overs."

Except, apparently when the author wants to bring back one of the characters she regrets killing off.

"Tenley Lockwood is tasked with selecting which of our fallen soldiers will leave the Rest."

BUT that is the only exception...

...Except, apparently when the author decides to kill off multiple characters and then wants to bring them back.

"She killed me, which in turn killed Killian. We’re in Many Ends, and we’re going to save the damned."

Honestly, world building a la Showalter is like a pit of headless snakes. Does not make sense, and is horrific if looked at too long.

For example:

"If Myriadians aren’t stopped, they’ll come at us again, and again. Our children will be hurt."

but (and I do not know how I can emphasize this enough) they are dead - they cannot have children.

Ummm, actually, says the author, According to the lore, if children or even unborn infants die, they end up going to one of the realms...

And to that I say - Are. You. Sh*tting. Me.

So, that means every fertilized egg is sent to the afterlife?

Keep in mind, 70% of fertilized eggs do not implant in the uterus (according to google) - so that's a hella lot of unborn babies floating around this world. Ergo, the afterlife must be absolutely littered with unborn cell masses slowly growing into humans.

Aside - at least now I know why the rivers run red.

Aside to the Aside: Did I mention that all animals can suddenly talk in Second life and are as smart as humans - imagine all of the unborn mice and rats in this world!

And...the author created fourteen cities for the afterlife.

Fourteen cities to host the entire population of humans and animals that have ever lived on our planet. FOURTEEN

And that, my friends, is the only logical reason Troika and Myriad are at war - population control.

The Inconsistencies - aka who fired the editor?

There is a whole host (and I mean an absolute ton) of inconsistencies.

Most of them are little things that make you pause, like this:

"What if, despite this, I’m unable to enter Myriad? Zero! The doubt devil surfaces, and swarms of others follow."

If the whole premise is that there is no heaven or hell (only Troika/Myriad) then how do the characters know what a devil is?

But there are a lot of really annoying ones - such as Killian's accent. Now, for those who are not as familiar with our resident Sexay-Bad-Boy-With-A-Heart-Of-Gold, he has an accent that only shows up when he's supposed to be sexy. Aka - every romantic scene has this:

“Yer paler by the second, lass. There’s still time tae back out.” His accent—a mix of Irish, Scottish, and I have no idea what else—is thicker than usual, his voice low and husky, and irresistibly sexy. “I doona want you feelin’ pressured.”

I cannot begin to explain how nails-on-a-chalkboard it was to read the inconsistent phonetic spelling of the author's made-up accent. (i.e. in the previous quote, he says "Yer" (for you), but later in that same quote he says you (instead of ye)).

AND TO TOP IT ALL - Killian was stillborn and was raised in the Secondlife orphanage and he's the only one in the fourteen cities to have a phonetic accent.

But...there are some inconsistencies are just so obvious (and quite frankly unforgivable) that you wonder what went wrong in the editing room. From book 3, regarding Killian Flynn's mother:

"Another uncertainty? Killian’s mother, Caroline, and my friend..."

and yet, book two says:

I tremble as I ask, “What name did you discover?”
“In her Firstlife, her name was Honor Flynn.”

Hmmm...methinks an editor is in order, no?

Blatant Unoriginal Writing - aka seriously, who let her get away with this??

There's playing homage and there's ripping off other people's work. It's just - are you kidding me? How did the editor let this through? There's this:

"The One Who Shall Not Be Named must have..."

and this:

"...lions, tigers and bears, oh, my."

and there's also a whole host of phrases where I couldn't quite place, but they are familiar enough that I know they aren't original, like this:

"you take the boy out of Myriad but not take Myriad out of the boy?"

and this:

"I never make threats. I make promises."

and this:

"Your actions speak louder than your words."

and this:

"Time ceases to matter. There is only here and now."

Honestly, I didn't care, she didn't care, the editors didn't care. So, I guess technically, we are all on the same page.

The Cringe Factor aka holysh*tthat'salotofcrinnnnnge

Tenley was literally painful to read - just everything she does is absolute crinnnnnnnnnnnnnge.

For example, her fave hobby is creating long-winded, palindromic poetry on the spot with lines like this:

"...But listen well, you adorable piece of poo.
If you die again, I’ll forever haunt you.”

To which all of the other characters lean back in awe and applaud. Seriously? Seriously??.

In addition, now that Tenley's married, we have a whole new cringe angle: SEX:

"When he finishes, I return the favor, lingering on his pecs and maybe kinda sorta the bulge between his legs. Not my fault. It’s a big bulge. Like, really big."

And I'm not even going to touch the rando everyone-has-a-spirit-animal, the weird shower scene where they kept their underwear on or Tenley's annoying number obsession. There's too much already in this review.

Suffice to say, every time Tenley came on the page, I wanted to scream.

"[Tenley]’s too stubborn. Torture won’t break her."

But, like, how do you know? More importantly, has anyone actually tested this? Let's give it the old college try.

But why though? aka GOODLORD, why did you read book 3 if you hated books 1 and 2???

Angela's Booked and I have a reading challenge every year and this year, we had a prompt called "A book your friend doesn't recommend.

And she didn't recommend book 1 to me.

So, I read book 2 (solely out of spite) so I could not recommend it to her.

And, then we were like...well, we read books 1 and 2...might as well go for the gold.

"I would rather eat glass."

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[Teresa]

W.? T.? F.? Really... 2018 !!!! Now I remember why I should only read completed series.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One smile—and I fall deeper in love with him. One moment of time—and I can’t imagine a
single day without him. One sentence—and I’m happier than I’ve ever been.

Everlife is such a powerful book, this entire series will make you believe in love and know that there's always hope even in the darkest of times. I loved every word of it, from beginning to end. I laughed and cried, my heart was close to bursting a time or two and I felt like I couldn't breathe more than once. Everlife will take you for the ride of a lifetime, through joy and sadness, through love and hate, through hope and despair, through life and death. It's a book not to be missed, it should be savored and appreciated, I took my time to read it, to appreciate every word and subtleties, Gena poured her heart into this book and it shows.

The characters grew so much throughout the series, Ten went from being an insecure and skeptical girl to a strong, capable and loyal young woman willing to sacrifice herself for the well being of others. Killian went from being heartless and deceitful to being compassionate, honest and loving. I loved the way Gena decided to go in this book for Killian and Ten's relationship, it made everything ten times better, it made me love their connection even more.

I am fire, he is ice, yet we fit. After all, the warmth of a fire is best enjoyed on a frigid winter’s day.

The story is all about Ten trying to unite Troika and Myriad and saving as many people as possible while doing so. Ten has to make a lot of tough choices as well as Killian. We get to learn a lot more about him as well, his past, the decisions he had to make in order to survive. It was so interesting being in Killian's head and finally get to read how he truly feels.

The earth cannot touch the sun without being engulfed by flames. The problem is, I long to be engulfed. I’m as desperate as a man dying of thirst.

The secondary characters were an important part of the story as well. Some will surprise and delight you, some will infuriate you but in the end they all have a purpose.

We are warhorses, each of us, ready for battle, refusing to give up, even when the odds are stacked against us.

I don't know what it is with this series but I feel like Gena's writing style is different, not better per say, just different and I love it. The poems are one of my favorite thing in this series, I always read them several times as if I could soak up all the words and never forget them.

Everlife was utterly riveting and incredibly well written, every word carefully chosen, every page will leave your heart pounding and wanting more. Gena wrote a breathtaking and perfect conclusion to this fascinating and unique series.

There is no power stronger than love, and the greatest sign of love is giving.

[Nightheart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I swear to GOD Tenley Lockwood, if you don't bring back Archer, I'm gonna rip off your arms and beat you to second-death with them.



I can't believe I posted that last June. God, that feels like a long time ago. June 25th, in fact.
Hate to ruin such a short, sweet pre-book review, especially one with so many likes, but I have a few things to say.

This will contain MAJOR spoilers.

First of all being when did Everlife become so HIPPIE? Every other page took the opportunity to nail in the same message: love your enemy, light and love are the answer, forgive people, blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah.

This whole book was so unbelievably goody-goody that it was painful, honestly. We get it, you're amazing, love is the answer, you're so good and pure inside, woo-fricking-hoo.

However, I did really like this book. Like...a lot. Asides from the insufferable goodness, it did very well. It made me actually like Ten again. It made me actually like Killian, who, let's be honest here; was a HUGE asshole. And, not to mention the return of my favourite character ever, Archer Prince...So, Ten can keep her arms.
It's cool, Ten.
I mean, I think we saw it coming, but it's cool. I missed his character so much. He's pure in a way that's not insufferable—good in a way that isn't super annoying. I missed Archer so much in the second book—I'm so glad he's the character who came back.

Though, I have to say, everyone coming out of the Rest at the end was a HUGE COP-OUT. Apparently, sacrifices mean nothing in this book.

It was nice to see Ten and Killian's relationship develop a second time. It was nice to see KILLIAN develop a second time.

So, while this book had its flaws, I really did enjoy it. I've been following this book right from the start and I'm happy with how it ended.

And yknow...Archer Prince. That makes any book better right away.

[Ronda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say it was a struggle to reconnect to this world which surprised me because I loved the first two books. However, around 20% and I was there, enjoying the characters and the storyline.

The ending wasn't superb, it was a little all over the place and I wasn't sure I even liked what I read. Overall though, a cute trilogy but definitely not what I'd expect from this author.

[Lucie V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

✅ Concept
✅ Secondary characters
✅ Action
✅🆗 Main character
✅🆗 Plot and pace
🆗 Romance
🆗 Ending

3.5 stars

As for the previous book, it was an enjoyable read, but it was not amazing. Even though I love Killian, he and Ten got on my nerves in this book. They go back and forth between their “good” and “bad” sides in every chapter. I realize that they were trying to make a decision, but it felt as if we were back in the first book. What was the point of the character growth between Ten and Killian in the last two books if they are just going back where they were in Firstlife?

The ending was okay, but it didn't feel as satisfying as it should have after 3 books. It was a little all over the place and I wasn't sure I even liked what I read. I have to say though that the last third of the book was the best part...

Overall this series was a good one, but I feel that there was more potential. The ideas are good, and the characters too, it's just the way it was developed that was not as satisfying as it could have been.


1. Firstlife ⭐⭐⭐.5
2. Lifeblood ⭐⭐⭐.5


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[Cisz Geverink - Strasters · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Ook wanneer er duisternis neerdaalt, kan ons Licht voor altijd schijnen. Ook al vallen we een voor een, samen kunnen we weer op staan. Een lichaam. Één hart. Één doel. Één eeuwigheid." ~ p9.

Een bijzondere kijk op het leven na de dood, die hemel en hel het nakijken geeft. Wat als je na je eerste dood pas echt tot leven komt?

"Doen wat juist is, daar zijn degene om je heen het niet altijd mee eens. Zelfs de mensen die de beste bedoelingen hebben, kunnen in het duister rond tasten." ~ p113

Eeuwige leven is het derde en laatste deel van de Everlife-trilogie. Om Myriad en Troika tot elkaar te brengen zak Tenley alles op alles moeten zetten. Haar liefde voor Killian wordt enorm op de proef gesteld, wanneer de duisternis van Myriad steeds meer overwicht blijkt te krijgen. Weten zij en haar vrienden het licht op tijd te verspreiden?
Mensen mij een beetje kennen weten dat ik een enorme fan ben van 'De Alice in Zombieland' serie. Ik was dan ook mega blij toen deze nieuwe serie uit kwam van Gena Showaltee, en het eerste deel heb ik echt met veel liefde verslonden. Het tweede deel smaakte helaas al iets minder (3 sterren) en ook dit laatste deel was het voor mij net niet helemaal. Hoewel ik absoluut genoten heb van de verhaallijn en de personages (Killian is wederom een heerlijk bad boy), had ik niet de mega bookcrush meer zoals ik die met het eerste deel ervaarde. Het voelt allemaal een beetje uitgesmeerd en niet enorm verrassend. Ook de briefwisselingen, die in deel 1 nog een leuke meerwaarde hadden, gingen nu eerder irriteren. Jammer. Maar, ja er is een maar: het is absoluut een leuke afsluiting van deze trilogie, en heb zeker geen spijt dat ik hem gelezen heb.

"Elk verhaal heeft 2 kanten, een positieve en een negatieve. Sommige mensen beweren dat er nog een derde kant is: neutraal. Maar neutraal is geen kant; dat is een smoes." ~ p280.

Ook voor dit laatste deel een 3 sterren beoordeling van mij, en daar is zeker niets mis mee. Een leuk boek, een goed afgesloten trilogie. Alleen geen mega fangirl gehalte voor mij.

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[Kayla Silverss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've completed the trioligy and I feel so complete! This book wasn't as good as the previous novels but it was still so amazing and very emotional.

[cali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the greatest dystopia ever and I have learnt more from it than any other series, including Harry Potter.

Read this god damn series, please.

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MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE BOOK:
It’s taken me months to finish it. Mainly because it was overdue at the audiobook library 3x. Nevertheless, I completed it, with the many tears shed.

I want to reread this like I’ve never read it before.

CHARACTERS/DYNAMICS:
Ten: Ten is the greatest female protagonist. She won’t annoy anybody, and has the most beautiful characteristics. She is the epitome of selflessness, and it’s been a pleasure watching her journey.

Killian: best romance lead. Ever. He went through so many changes in this book, arguably more than all of Ten’s.

PLOT:
HOW DO I EXPLAIN SUCH A COMPLEX PLOT???

Alright, so this is the big finale. The showdown between two competing afterlife’s is about to win or fall.

At some point Killian has forgotten all of his memory with Ten, and hates her.

But it’s okay they get over that and fall in love all over again (yay).

Oh also everybody dies like 3x each but it’s okay, Ten saves the day.

STRUCTURE:
It flips between Ten and Killian’s perspectives, which got me NERVOUS AF (*cough cough* @Allegiant).

THEMES:
- Young teenagers getting married and making my unrealistic shipping heart happy
- Life but as socialism vs capitalism
- Forgiveness vs forgetting
- Faith

QUOTES:

Lass.

THE ENDING:
I’ll be honest; I’m confused. But I think it all worked out in the end, in the best possible way . There wasn’t an exact win, and the never-ending love regeneration was a bit of a predictable spin on the fight to death.

IMPACT:
I’m going to buy this series in hardback and cherish it for the rest of my life.

Although, I reallllyyy love this in audiobook form. The accents are so cute.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Source* Edelweiss
*Genre* Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5-4

*Thoughts*

"When a storm comes, the lie will crumble and fall, and only the truth will remain."

Everlife is the third installment in author Gena Showalter's Everlife trilogy. As the story opens, things haven't exactly gone well for Tenley (Ten) Lockwood. Upon her Firstlife ending, Ten chose Troika over Myriad which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. But, this wasn't the after life she was hoping for. This after life features the realms of Myriad and Troika at war and nobody is willing to give an inch. Not even when a major virus could bring down Troika and give Myriad control over both realms.

*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*

http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...

[Rhonda 🌒🌕🌘 🐈‍⬛ · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the final book of the trilogy, will Ten and Killian get their happily ever after with all of their friends and family? Will they survive the epic battle between the realms and saving spirits from Many Ends?

I truly enjoyed this series and practically devoured the three books. It held my interest from start to finish. Awesome character and world building. I’ll be adding this series to my collection!

Best quote: “I want what was once my mess to become a message”.

[Nicole Walls · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Life might not go the way we think we want, might even lead us through dark nights and across stormy seas, but we can’t give up. The only sure way to fail is to quit. We are Lights of the world, and we must keep fighting for what is good and right—we must keep fighting for love.”

🌙⛈️🌊☀️🩵

this was by far the GREATEST book of the trilogy. truly ended it with a bang, and i am absolutely DEVASTATED that it is over. 6 stars for the whole series!

the characters in this series will forever hold a special place in my heart. i love them so so much, and i felt so connected to them. they made me cry multiple times in this book! that alone shows how much of an impact they had on me.

now, let’s talk about this book specifically. i was intrigued during every page! so much happens in this book that will have you wishing you could read it forever. also, you WILL be praying that your favorite characters survive. this book has such high stakes, it’s insane!

if you decide to read this series, i hope you love it as much as i do. it’s written so beautifully and uniquely, you can’t help but fall in love with it. this is a series that i could read over and over again and never get tired of (and this is my second time reading it, so that just proves it). READ IT!!!!!

[Lisa Mandina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I give more than 5 stars? I loved this one sooooooo much!

This was the perfect conclusion to an epic trilogy. Each book has totally blown me away, and this one was no different! I got started a little late, due to some issues I had with downloading the e-galley, but once I did, I was hooked. It started off with some of the familiar memos between people that we've seen throughout the other books. And then we were pretty much where book 2 left off, Ten and Killian choosing to pledge their lives to each other, to form a bond that would hopefully be the first step towards peace between Myriad and Troika.

If you've followed my reviews of the two books so far, especially the 2nd one, you'll know that I adored Killian, and the beginning with him and Ten had me right back in love. Until they bond and everything changes. Killian and Ten are affected immediately. Ten now has to deal with the shadows that come through their bond, the shadows that threaten her light and her Troikian way of thinking and doing. But really Killian is the one who gets the short end of the deal. He doesn't remember anything about their relationship. In fact, the first thing he wants to do right after is kill her. His memories are gone, at least all that pertain to falling in love with Ten and their plan to save both of their worlds.

So, while they must fight now against their own sides who are either not happy with the bond, or want to use it to destroy the other realm, what I loved best about the story is that we get to see Killian fall in love with Ten all over again. Seeing him work through his hatred for all things Troikian, as well as overcoming the many, many betrayals he's suffered throughout his First and Second Lives. Finding that love overcomes all, that's something Killian must discover and accept, and something that Ten must fight to continue to believe, even over all of the shadows that overtake her, and the bad things that happen to her.

I want so badly to write a beautiful review for this beautiful book. But alas, I didn't finish reading until about 3 am this morning, and my review needed to be posted before noon today. Without getting too spoilery, I will say that the way things worked out, the solution to it all, reminded me quite a bit of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, which was a book I loved and read over and over when I was a kid.

Oh, not only did I love Killian, as expected, but Biscuit! And Beast! You'll have to read to find out who they are. And then, we get back a beloved character from before that we thought was gone, and that was so wonderful as well. I enjoyed all of Ten's numbers and her poems as usual. One other fun fact, is that Ten mentions a quote from one of my other favorite series, The Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole. I really just fangirl myself when it seems an author is giving shout outs to other authors and their awesome books. Also, we get a tour of Myriad in this book, making me realize we didn't ever know exactly what it was like, and wow, it was so bizarre!

I guess to wrap this all up, if you haven't started this series, go get it now! If you are ready for this book, get your hands on it as soon as you can, to find out how things will go down, and immerse yourself in the beautiful worlds Showalter has created.

[Meli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enthält Spoiler zu den Vorgängern!

Meiner Meinung nach ist das Finale das beste Buch der Reihe geworden. Dazu sollte man anmerken, dass ich vor allem Band 1 furchtbar fand und auch hier nicht begeistert bin, aber letztendlich ist es eine lesbare Reihe, wenn auch keine großartige.

Es beginnt mit dem kitschigen Bund von Ten und Killian, der einige Konsequenzen mit sich bringt. Ten, die ganz nach den Grundsätzen ihrer Sphäre eigentlich voller Liebe und Vergebung ist, spürt nun den Einfluss der Dunkelheit und Killian verliert erstmal die wichtigsten Erinnerungen an Ten - allem voran seine Liebe zu ihr. Natürlich wussten sie nicht, was passieren würde, denn die Generäle von Troika, die Bescheid wussten, dachten, Ten sei sicher niemals so blöd, sich darauf einzulassen. Und das, obwohl sie in "Immerwelt - Der Pakt" immer wieder ihre Liebe zu Killian bewiesen hat. Also kompletter Blödsinn, was die da reden.

Ansonsten ist Ten wie gesagt eben den Inbegriff von Nächstenliebe, zumindest versucht sie es, so gut sie es kann. Sie ist super, hat quasi Superkräfte und ist sowieso total lieb. Ich glaube, man kann heraushören, dass ich sie für viel zu perfekt halte. Überraschend kommt auch eine Perspektive von Killian dazu, daher bekommt man einen guten Einblick in seine inneren Konflikte. Fürs erste verfällt er wieder in seine Rolle als hinterlistiger Myriad-Agent, doch gleichzeitig fühlt er sich ganz anders wenn es um Ten geht.

Endlich ging es hier auch mal wieder um Viele Enden, das im Vorgänger ja kaum noch erwähnt wurde. Man bekommt auch einen besseren Eindruck von Myriad und es wird klarer als je zuvor, was das für eine brutale, widerliche Sphäre ist. Es kommt einiges an Spannung auf, es gibt viele Kämpfe und immer wieder geht es um die Liebe, die man doch füreinander empfinden muss. Wirklich toll fand ich es wie gesagt nicht, denn ich fand es sehr kitschig und es hatte immer noch den Beigeschmack der Vorgänger, was ja nicht geholfen hat.

Fazit
"Immerwelt - Das Erbe" war ein guter Abschluss für eine mittelmäßige Reihe, aber ich hätte sogar noch weniger erwartet. Mit Themen wie Loyalität und Nächstenliebe war es eigentlich gar nicht so übel.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

***arc provided***
The last third of the book got significantly better, though , I’m sure it’s because the bar was set impossibly low by the first half of the book. If I were to rate the last bit of the book it would be a 3/5 Stars.
This book feels like it’s written for a very, very, very young crowd and then it throws in a sex scene that tries too hard to be sexy. (She dedicates a paragraph to talking about his “very, very, big bulge”.) The dialog is a problem on so many levels. It is corny, then disgusting (I’m looking at you “I can touch you now, why don’t you get on your knees and drink me down baby.”), then corny again.
Killian and Ten go back and forth between their two “good” and “bad” sides every page and it is exhausting. Pick a side, and stick there. I realize that they were trying to choose while still looped in their bond, but we’ve played the “Killian is the bad boy” story line already. Give it a rest. What was the point of the character growth between Ten and Killian with the last two books if you were just going to hit reset and pretend it never happened?
The “love” story between these two in this book feels like a middle school crush that you swear you’ll be with forever. Then you ignore your friends because of it and revolve your life around your “One True Love”.

I am incredibly disappointed in this finale because I loved the first 2 books. The tone felt so disconnected between the others in the series.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just when I thought the characters couldn’t get any more irritating. Ten has got to be the worst female protagonist I have ever read about. She’s so naive and it irritates the hell out of me, she’s the same fool she was in the first book and Her optimism was just flat out annoying.

I don’t think there was anything I really enjoyed about this book. I gave up reading most of it and just read the dialogue, which was pretty horrendous at the best of times.

Why’d I ever pick this series up? And I must have been high to give the first book such a high rating. Honestly a poor ending to a rather pathetic series.

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everlife by Gena Showalter

Third and final book of the Everlife series. Needs to be read as part of the series. YA dark fantasy with e extreme violence and torture triggers.
The final saga of Tenley Lockwood and her afterlife choices.

Fun reference to author Kresley Cole and how lies are curses we place on ourselves.

The text was literally making me sick in the amount of torture, pain, lies, and ugliness that occurred over and over throughout the entire series. I thought the first was dark with misery but I think this third book surpassed the first.

I am going with 4 stars because of the consistency of the tone throughout the series as well as character continuity for Ten and her number issues as well as believing in ideals.
For the shear violence I would have made this a lower rating so fair warning, not for the younger easily influenced crowd.

[Ry · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main and probably only reason I ended up picking up this book is because once I start something, I have to finish. So I HAD to finish this series or otherwise it would annoy me not knowing the ending. However, I was really disappointed with this book. I loved the first book of this series and the second was okay, but THIS book? *shakes head sadly*

This was a slow read for me mainly because of the writing. In my opinion, the writing is hard to grasp and all over the place.
Usually a book like this would take me a day or two to read, but this time it took me eight days. EIGHT DAYS and I'm SO let down.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't get over how awful this was, and the fact that it's actually published ?? I thought things couldn't get worse than the last book, but I actually skimmed through most of this because I couldn't bear it. The phrase "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" is coming to mind, so, I'll leave it at that.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars ✨

“Life might not go the way we think we want, might even lead us through dark nights and across stormy seas, but we can’t give up. The only sure way to fail is to quit. We are Lights of the world, and we must keep fighting for what is good and right”

Everlife took this series up a notch and was full of action and plenty plot twists. It also answered many lingering questions. Since the first book, I was super drawn to the idea and concept behind this series. Though a secular book, it does take on a spiritual perspective. With any book I read, I try to find the moral ground. There was lots of emphasis on forgiveness, friendship, acceptance- letting go of resentment and bitterness. Also heavily includes the theme of light vs the darkness. Those were the things that really stood out to me and that kept me interested in the series.

There were certain characters I really enjoyed but none of them really stood out enough for me to connect with fully. This last installment had a good bit of cringe moments that could have been avoided and made it so much more enjoyable, but it is a YA so I guess it’s to be expected. Overall, I did enjoy it enough to power through. My favorite part was the the plot- but world building and characters did have its ups and downs.

[Melissasfandomworld · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to write a review on a final installment of a series because I have to be even more careful about spoilers now haha.It's hard to write a review on a final installment of a FAVORITE series because I don't want to say goodbye, yet here I am; just finishing the series and saying goodbye, for now, to these characters and this amazing world.

I have so many contradicting feelings about writing this review; sad that the series is over, thankful that Gena wrote it because it's AWESOME and has definitely become one of my all-time favorites. Heartbroken about sad things happening throughout the series but also experiencing major I-LOVE-THIS-SCENE-SO-MUCH-MY-HEARTS-GOING-TO-COMBUST moments as well.

What a joy it was to read this series. I fell in love in book 1 right away; the characters, the settings, the story-line itself, the romance.. Gena knows how to balance it all out really well. And, whether she's writing adult books or young adult books; she reels me in every single time. My love for the trilogy kept growing throughout book 1 and than book 2 - hsdbghjsbfghbdfg THAT BOOKKKK - and I was aching to get my hands on book 3. The wait was EXCRUCIATING, I tell you.

And then I received this e-arc a week prior the release date, YAY ME! So I started on the e-arc and finished it through the printed edition I received because I had it in preorder. The downside on reading the book around its release day is; there aren't many people out there yet to share your feelings with yet - since the book has just been released - except through this non-spoiler review. So, WHAT I CAN tell you about this book and trilogy in general now, I will because if you're just as big of a fan of this trilogy as I am, I'm positive you're going to crave this book even more now hehe.

I can imagine it's hard for writers to write final installments; readers have expectations and you need to live up to that and at the same time give everything closure like you, as an author, see fit.
It's hard for readers, at least for me it is, to read final installments because, like I said earlier; you don't want to say goodbye and you're hoping for a good final book in the series, that'll do the series justice. I don't often come across final installments that WOW me away, whether it's really famous authors or not so well known authors. Final installments are tricky.

So, what did I think about EVERLIFE then, the final book in the Everlife trilogy?
I think it's a Great final installment. It didn't WOW me entirely but it was a great read from the beginning until the end because once started, I didn't want to stop reading. I love Gena's writing and she was once again able to lure me into the book right away.

I experienced development issues regarding things towards the end - it felt a bit rushed and sometimes it felt like things/situations changed too fast to my liking. But, I did get my answers to all of my questions so that's satisfying and I need satisfaction when ending a series. I loved how she divided the book into three parts and how I, in that way, got to see a lot of all the worlds/settings again, that I fell in love with the first two books.

We get reacquainted with old friends, we meet new people and we get to see how Tenley and Killian have to fight for the battle of their lives and for their happily ever after. Just when I thought they had it all after reading book 2, these curveballs were thrown their way very early on - PREPARE YOURSELF! I LOVE Tenley's character and she keeps growing still in this last book and I adore the fact that she remains so strong - sure, she has her moments of weakness like we all do - with or without 'someone' at her side. She fights hard for what she believes in, for the ones she loves and she goes above and beyond to achieve her goal and this time she plans on keeping Killian a huge part of it - but like I said; CURVEBALLS! And they will kick some fangirls ass, so prepare for some major heartbreak and feels, lol.

There's so much I want to rant about, fangirl and talk about with someone because aside from the sadness, heartbreak there also is a lot of joyful things to talk about. The addition of the animal guardians in the book was awesome and I love how Gena puts her love for animals in her writing.

So, overall;
* It had its moments when I was figuratively 'brought to my knees' with tears pooling in my eyes and a heart ready to break - this happened during sad moments but joyful moments as well.
* It was yet again, beautifully written and I don't think Gena is even able to disappoint me on that front because her writing is just always stellar I think.
* I loooved every second spent with these characters because I came to love them as if they were my closest friends.
* I loved spending time in Troika, Myriad and other places again - the world building is just so awesome I think.

And despite me having issues regarding the story-line development at times, I still think it's a good ending of the trilogy since it answered all my questions. I do think though, if there was a fourth book, the series would've had the possibility of developing better since the author would've had the chance to expand things in this book and give more attention to some scenes. So I keep hoping, seeing how things ended, there'll be a fourth book in the future.

for now.. This was a Good ending to an AWESOME trilogy that I've enjoyed immensely from the very first page of FIRSTLIFE until the very last page of EVERLIFE and I'm really grateful to Gena for writing these awesome books

[Abigail · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am a big Gena Showalter fan. I am a fan of her witty characters and clever voice. HOWEVER, so much went wrong with Everlife. I really liked Firstlife. The operating mythology was interesting and new. (No overplayed fairy retellings here!) Lifeblood fell victim to the all too common Sequel Slumps. Killian was so wishy-washy. Ten was wishy-washy and platonically in love with people right away. I was not really excited or counting down the days for Everlife. I try my best to finish series and gave Everlife a try, but it was honestly painful to read.
I am really disappointed in this book. I do not know if Gena was in a slump but had to grind Everlife out to meet contractual deadlines. Maybe her editor pushed the book too far in one direction. Maybe the publisher was encouraging a certain conclusion and Gena had a difficult time delivering. I have zero clues what happened, regardless the quality of content significantly suffered.
I could sum this book up in 4 sentences. (I will not, to avoid spoilers.) The following are not spoilers but confused and bothered me way more than they should:
1. Why does no one sleep? Ten mentioned Killian had a bed for sleeping, so Everlife confirms souls in their second life need to sleep. Ten and Killian did not sleep ONCE in the whole book.
2. The pacing was mismatched between viewpoints. From Killian and Ten's narration, this book seems to take place in 48 hours. From Ten's friends' and various Generals' communications, at least 7-10 days probably passed. To me, this increased how discountable Everlife is. I do not like books, even though this one is somewhat short at 300 pages, that never have any breaks. The reader feels as if everything is happening in a couple of days.
3. No original content. Lifeblood established a trite pattern of fighting and retreating to heal, which was continued in Everlife. Even though spurts of action were happening, I was bored. It was the same old fighting routine again and again. I keep waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did. The final showdown, which has been brewing since page 1 of First Life, was narrated by a spectator. I was already very removed from the characters and outcome, so this did not help anything.
4. Troika makes NO sense! It is a realm where everyone is "equal", but everyone is super classist. Troika looks down on Myriad for feeling emotions but is so pretentious about the Light. ("Light is love!" le puke) If everyone is equal then why is Ten the only one able to vote on who should be brought back from The Rest? Why is only one person brought back and not everyone? Ten's superiors were annoying controlling of her in Life Blood and their actions continued to not represent Troika.
5. Killian's waffling!!!!!!!!!! It was awful in Life Blood and was beyond cringe-worthy in Everlife.

If you are reading reviews to determine whether or not you should read Everlife, please do not. It was so disappointing, boring, and pointless.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me a copy of this book!!!

Great ending to a great trilogy! Gena Showalter really knows how to write multiple characters very well. Her stories are complex, but easy to read. She has provided me with MANY book boyfriends. This story even has the best messages throughout it. Messages that we all need to be reminded of daily. I only have two things keeping me from giving it 5 stars. First, I question the YA...it's seems more New Adult. Not complaining, just letting you know that it's super sexy. It's probably more high school. (Once again, not complaining! LOL!) Secondly, it might be a little too long for some teens. Kids who are not super readers might be scared off by the size. All of that being said, it has a little bit of everything from humor to action to love. I am sad to see that my time with these characters has ended. I want to say so much more, but I don't want to spoil anyone else's enjoyment.

What's next, Gena???

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this trilogy. It is a great take on our lives. We have the first life which we are living now, then we have second life, which is our souls living with our loved ones, and ancestors, everyone is their most beautiful self, then there is the everlife, where your soul lives forever with all those people. This end to the trilogy there is lots of battles, scary creatures and love and happiness. I listened to the trilogy and the narrators do a fantastic job with the characters who were well rounded and lovable. I loved Biscuit, Ten's dog in this book. It would be nice if there is an everlife for everyone.

[kelly {BookCrushin} · Rating 4 out of 5]

 "There is no power stronger than love, and the greatest sign of love is giving."

Everlife is an explosion of action and an epic conclusion to this unique trilogy. This is a spoiler-free review, since this is the final book in the trilogy, my review will be more thought based and less plot based. I hope you decide to take the Everlife journey and experience this series for yourself!

When I read Firstlife, I wasn't sure what was happening, what I was reading, because I had never read anything like it before. It was so different, but at the same time, dealt with the concepts of love, family, and life values. What do you want to live for, and what are you willing to risk for peace. This story will fill your heart with light, right after it breaks it into a thousands pieces, all set within a world like you've never read before.

The war between realms has intensified and Ten is coming into her power as the conduit. Ten wants peace, she wants the realms to stop fighting, and she must sacrifice so much to prove herself. She needs to bring Troika and Myriad together in order to save them all. Ten has so much love for Killian, for her family, for her friends, for the innocent people who should never have to make these choices. Ten has so much character growth, but she also experiences so much more sorrow. This poor girl really gets put through her paces.

We finally learn so much more about Killian, which has been my only complaint throughout the series, he was such a mystery and I never knew what his endgame was going to be. I was scared and I knew that Ten needed him, even though they were from different realms and technically mortal enemies. Ten and Killian must be the bridge to bringing the worlds together and well they themselves must get together for that to happen *snicker* - so yes there is some mature content, but hell there was serious torture and loads of violence throughout all the books, so this shouldn't be a surprise.

I was a little disappointed in some of the flip-flopping and back and forths within the book, and at times once again, it was hard to determine where the loyalties lie. It dragged it on a little too much, but I was still completely engrossed in the story and just had to know what and how it would end. These books are very unique and I am sure they aren't for everyone. But I love the numbers obsessed Ten, the bad boy Killian, the poem loving Archer, and all in all the overall theme of right and wrong and that love is powerful.

There is so much action, the pages turn fast, and the most difficult choices must be made. Ten has seen so much, has experienced epic loss, torture, and betrayal. This book is a journey and the series ending is worth every bit of pain and joy it took to get there. It is definitely one of those series you just have to experience for yourself, pick up the Everlife series and find yourself immersed in a wholly unique, engaging, and fascinating world. I hope that now that the trilogy is finished more people will read this series, because it is truly worth reading!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, so this is a really hard review to write. Because, here's the thing - I had some pretty significant issues with this book, and I'm heavily disappointed that I didn't love it.

Here goes.

This was way, way, way too sappy. If there was less inner dialogue like "Ten is so strong and so wonderful and so amazing, and her azure hair is so beautiful" and "Do I trust him/her, should I trust him/her, do I love him/her", this book would be about 150 pages shorter. Way heavy on the emotional/romantic side, and waaaayyyyy light on the actual plot. Inner dialogue takes up about 80% of this book, and barely anything actually HAPPENS until the very end.

So, yeah, the dialogue. I found a lot of it to be extremely childish - and then kind of grossly inappropriate. ("very, very big bulge"?? That's just one example....) Not to mention how completely annoyed I was by Killian's "accent"... I couldn't hear it accurately as Irish in my head, and the vernacular/phonetic spelling made me literally roll my eyes. Numerous times. And OMG if I'd had to read "light is love/love is light" ONE. MORE. DAMN. TIME, I might have clawed my eyes out.

As well, I think it was a mistake to take away all the character growth that Killian had achieved in the first two books - by giving him amnesia, and then making him go through it all again? And his remembrance was just so over the top that it was completely unbelievable. It was like starting from book 1 all over again, but not in a good way, it was cringe-worthy.

The final showdown between Eron and Ambrosine was predictable and anti-climactic. Everything was ruined, but then, of course, everyone's going to re-build, so there's not actually any closure. And then, EVERYONE from the Rest just gets brought back, no respect for their individual sacrifices... and then that stupid last chapter, where everyone is just relationshippy (YOU get a boyfriend! and YOU get a girlfriend! and EVERYONE gets to be together in love an happy and WOW!) It is not believable that NO DAMN PERSON actually dies in this story, everyone gets to come back from injury or death or anything bad that happens.

Everything just wraps up too easily and too conveniently. I was so disappointed, after really enjoying the first two books.

[laur gluchie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Light is love. Love is life.”

Holy moly. How do I put what I want to say about this into words?

I loved this book. I loved the whole series, but this book is definitely my favorite of them. This was a perfect ending to an already amazing series, and I enjoyed every twist and turn and I could never tell where the story was going next.

Archer’s return was possibly my favorite moment of this book. He was my favorite character in the first book, so I’d been rooting for his return. I loved Biscuit and his hooman. The relationship between them was so adorable. And Killian... he became an entirely new person by the end of the book and I love it.

And “The ends justify the means” popped up five million times like YES I GET IT PROFESSOR MEANS THANK YOU PLEASE GO BACK TO YOUR CELL.

And then when Ambrosine showed up, and then EVERYONE ELSE SHOWED UP?? AVENGERS ENDGAME MOMENT??? The ending was so good that I made too many typos typing this.

The epilogue was perfect. Everyone “lives” AU but make it canon. Ten and Killian got their happily ever after. I would be begging for more books right now if I hadn’t loved the ending so much.

Thank you, Gena Showalter, for writing a story where the Light always wins, life finds a way, and love always prevails.

[Gillian]

😱😍😱

[Norwyn Schäfer · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 Sterne
Immerwelt - Das Erbe (Immerwelt 3)
von Gena Showalter
HarperCollins Germany
„Das Schicksal von Immerwelt
Während Immerwelt in Krieg und Dunkelheit versinkt, wird eines immer klarer: Die beiden Sphären Troika und Myriad müssen sich vereinen, sonst sind sie dem Untergang geweiht. Um die ewige Feindschaft zu überwinden, wollen die junge Ten und ihr Freund Killian den mächtigen Prince of Ravens vernichten. Dafür wollen sie, die Troikanerin, und er, der Myriader, ihre Liebe besiegeln und den Bund eingehen. Aber nichts läuft wie geplant, und plötzlich müssen Ten und Killian einander neu vertrauen lernen. Ihr Ziel scheint unerreichbar. Wie weit werden sie gehen, um Immerwelt zu retten?
»Was für eine wunderbar krasse Welt.« SPIEGEL-Bestsellerautorin Sarah J. Maas
»Dicht, philosophisch und fesselnd.« Kirkus Reviews
»Alle, die Tens Welt erkundet haben, sollen sich bereit machen für ein völlig neues Setting voller Überraschungen.« Romantic Times Book Reviews“
Ich bedanke mich bei Netgalley und dem HarperCollins Germany Verlag für das kostenlose Rezensionsexemplar des Buches. Ich gebe hier meine unabhängige und unbezahlte Meinung zu dem Buch ab.
Immerwelt ist eine Explosion an Action und ein epischer Abschluss dieser einzigartigen Trilogie. Dies ist eine spoilerfreie Rezension, da dies das letzte Buch in der Trilogie ist, wird meine Rezension eher nachdenklich und weniger handlungsbezogen sein. Der Krieg zwischen den Reichen hat sich verschärft und Ten tritt Machtstellung an. Ten will Frieden, sie will, dass die Reiche aufhören zu kämpfen und sie muss so viel opfern, um sich zu beweisen. Sie muss Troika und Myriad zusammenbringen, um sie alle zu retten. Ten voller Liebe zu Killian, zu ihrer Familie, zu ihren Freunden, zu den unschuldigen Menschen, die diese Entscheidungen niemals treffen sollten. Ten hat so viel Charakterwachstum, aber sie erlebt auch so viel mehr Trauer. Dieses arme Mädchen wird wirklich auf Herz und Nieren geprüft. Wir erfahren endlich so viel mehr über Killian, denn bisher war er wie ein Rätsel und ich wusste nie, wie sein Weg letzten Endes aussehen würde. Ich hatte Angst und wusste, dass Ten ihn brauchte, obwohl sie aus verschiedenen Bereichen stammten und technisch sterbliche Feinde waren. Ten und Killian müssen die Brücke sein, um die Welten zusammenzubringen, und sie müssen selbst zusammenfinden, damit das passiert - also ja, es gibt einige reife Inhalte, aber es hat in allen Büchern schwere Folter und jede Menge Gewalt gegeben. Das sollte also keine Überraschung sein.
Ich war ein wenig enttäuscht von den Hin- und Herbewegungen im Buch, und manchmal war es wieder schwer zu bestimmen, wo die Loyalitäten liegen. Diese Bücher sind sehr einzigartig und ich bin mir sicher, dass sie nicht für jedermann geeignet sind. Aber ich liebte es Ten zu begleiten, den bösen Killian, poetischen Archer und alles in allem das Gesamtthema von richtig und falsch und dieser mächtigen Liebe. Es gibt so viel Action, die Seiten fliegen am Leser vorbei und die schwierigsten Entscheidungen müssen getroffen werden. Ten hat so viel gesehen, epischen Verlust, Folter und Verrat erlebt. Dieses Buch ist eine Reise und das Ende der Serie ist jedes bisschen Schmerz und Freude wert, um dorthin zu gelangen. Es ist definitiv eine jener Serien, die man einfach selbst erleben muß, die Everlife-Serie in die Hand zu nehmen und sich in einer völlig einzigartigen, einnehmenden und faszinierenden Welt wiederzufinden. Ich hoffe, dass jetzt, da die Trilogie fertig ist, mehr Menschen diese Serie lesen werden, denn es ist wirklich lesenswert!
#fantasy #jugendbuch #youngadult #krimi #rezension #rezensionsexemplar #roman #bookstagram #genashowalter #harpercollins #harpercollinsverlag #bücher #bücherliebe #booklover #reading #bookadict #immerwelt #daserbe #leseratte #bücherwurm #bookaholic #lesen #lesenmachtglücklich #instabooks #booknerd #readingtime #ilovebooks #netgalley #netgalleyde #ichliebelesen #buchnerd #ichliebebücher

[Cas ♛ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initial thoughts: AMAZING. Everlife provides the conclusion to this series that fans desire; filled with plot twists, character development and interesting revelations, if you love this series you won't be disappointed! Both Ten and Killian (him especially) get a heap of character development and this adds so much to the story. Everlife will teach you how to be the best version of yourself while embracing the flaws of others.
————————————————————
~I received a copy from HarperCollins NZ and willingly reviewed it~

Two realms united. One people. Starting with us. Tenley Lockwood has gone through many hardships and come out a better person. Together with her soon-to-be husband Killian Flynn, she fights for peace between the two realms of Troika and Myriad. But when the link between them makes Killian forget about their shared history and revert back to the old Killian, will Ten’s faith in him be enough to bring back the man she knows and loves? In the thrilling conclusion to the Everlife series, Gena Showalter explores what peace between two warring kingdoms actually means.

Life might not go the way we think we want, [but] we can’t give up. In the conclusion to the Everlife series, Ten must face many challenges, such as escaping prisons, showing mercy in times of anger, and believing in her cause. Killian finally gets a voice, and it’s so refreshing to read from his perspective as he undergoes some major character development. The differences between war and peace are debated many times as Ten makes a lot of difficult decisions between revenge and compassion.

In Firstlife and Lifeblood, Ten went through a lot of major changes as she learned to love rather than hate, forgive rather than get revenge. Everlife still focused on her ever changing life, but Killian’s character development is brought to the forefront. His memory loss reverts him back to the ‘I’ll stop at nothing to win’ Killian from Firstlife, and this is the ultimate test of character for him; will he be able to let go of all the hurt and pain from the past? Aunt Lina had a larger role in this book, and I love how Gena Showalter uses Lina’s psychic abilities to add mystery and intrigue to the story with her foretelling riddles.

One body. One heart. One passion. One eternity. A major theme in Everlife is love and how through love, you can forgive even those who have done horrible, unspeakable things to you. It teaches you that only through forgiveness can you move on in your life. There are many examples of this throughout the book, such as when a Troikan general captures Ten because he doesn’t believe in her. When Ten later finds him again, instead of killing him she tells him she forgives him, and doesn’t go on to hate him even when he tries to attack her.

Everlife is a stunning read, filled with description of a beautiful fantasy world yet so realistic in its approach to advocate for and promote peace. There are tests of character, epic battles, conflict, and many other twists which make the book that much more interesting. The introduction of a second perspective distances Everlife from its two prequels, and this dual perspective adds a lot to the story especially in terms of furthering character development. It’s fitting that the series should end this way; after all, if I were to describe this trilogy in three words, I would simply call it a love story.