Everneath

Everneath #1

by Brodi Ashton

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her friends—before being 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 months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she’s 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...

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mythology, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Supernatural

370 pages, Hardcover

First published January 24, 2012

About the author

I write Young Adult novels. I eat cinnamon bears. I love me some Diet Coke.

My debut book EVERNEATH (the first in a trilogy) comes out Winter 2012 with Balzer and Bray (Harper Collins).

I'm represented by Michael Bourret at Dystel and Goderich Literary Management.

Reviews

[Brodi Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep. I totally just gave my own book five stars. :)

[Steph Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometime after this review was written Kat Kennedy and I traveled down the River Styx to interview Brodi Ashton. Check out the interview here!

Right after I finished Everneath I gave it 4 stars right off the bat. It was an easy read with a great story and fantastical characters. Why didn't I give it five stars? I had to to think on that. So, I spent an entire week trying to figure out what it was about Everneath that I disliked. Conclusion:



It's true, folks. I don't have any negative things to say about Everneath. I LOVED it.

Everneath tells the story of Nikki Beckett, who having since vanished 6 months ago to the Everneath, returns to her family and friends seeking a way to permanently say goodbye before she returns to the Underworld for good. However, “bad boy”, Cole, the immortal who first took her to the Everneath, wants to make her his immortal queen and forget about those she left behind. With a period of only six months, Nikki struggles to fight her addiction to Cole, right her wrongs, and somehow find a loop hole that will keep her with her loved ones.

There are a few aspects in Everneath that make it stand out above the usual follies in the paranormal romance genre. For all of those novels that have done it wrong over and over, Everneath does it right.

What I LOVED and can't get enough of (baby):

The Characters:

Are you tired of the usual teen angst? The main character and the love interest seeming to have some whack, ass-grabbed excuse for why they can't be together? Well, so am I. Each character in this book felt like they were extremely well-developed with real issues. Nikki is looking for redemption for something she knows is her fault. She's not looking for anyone to save her. She's not pouting in the corner having a FML moment. She's doing something about it. It was her decision to go with Cole to the Everneath and allow him to feed off of her. She could have blamed it on Jack's actions, but she took full responsibility.

Cole is a very complex character. He tries very hard to convince Nikki to leave her home and become an immortal, Everliving, like him and rule as queen. But, Nikki doesn't want that. While reading, the reader is left to wonder if he is genuine when he says he cares about her or is her just playing her. Somehow Ashton manages to make us somewhat sympathetic to Cole, but she still reminds the reader that he is the bad boy. How many times do we see the heroine being instantly swept away by the bad boy's good looks? Or how about getting lost in his glorious deep eyes, that also happen to be the exact shade of the darkest pits in hell? Or my personal favorite: stalk me! I love it when you creep! *barf* Kill me now. Nikki doesn't back down from her guns. Cole follows her and she tells his ass to take a hike. Cole stakes out at her window and she tells that fool to get lost. However, there always still remains intrigue surrounding Cole. I expect to see a lot more from him in the next book.

Jack is the sweetest love interest I've read about in a while. He never gives up on Nikki when she disappears for 6 months. He was supportive and kind throughout the entire novel. Ladies, and I'm not saying this mildly, if you love Tucker Avery if you don't know who that is, you are DEAD to me! just kidding...sorta, then I'm sure you will love Jack too. Jack suspects something is amiss with Nikki and despite her not being as forthcoming about it, he steadily is always there patiently waiting until she is ready to talk.

I mean, how can you say no to a book with characters that awesome?!

The Triangle of Love:

Ashton plays this pretty slick. As I've already mentioned, Nikki avoids Cole's advances, but I know where this is headed. I'm just way too smart to be fooled!

But, you know what? I think this will be one of those cases where I'll like it. In fact, I'm going to make a rather bold statement here and say this love triangle resembles Cynthia Hand's Unearthly. Yes, I said it. You see Hand and Ashton are doing something very interesting with their romances. They both have strong female leads that clearly have a preference in the department of who they want to end up with. They struggle to ward off advances from the other male love interest, but because of factors out of their control (this is called a plot people!) they must tolerate him. He isn't around just to make the "good guy" look extra nice with his boy next door, award winning smile. He has a purpose besides trying to steal away the girl. Not only that, but the heroine knows this and tries everything in her power to not get involved with the "bad boy" because, duh!, he is BAD. And that is why it works for me. It makes me so happy someone has stopped trying to sell me the arrogant "bad boy" as a viable love interest when he has zero redeeming features! Thank you, Ashton. Gold star!

One of the best messages this novel has is the consequences of co-dependent relationships. They reason why Nikki left to go to the Everneath was a direct result of an event involving her boy friend, Jack (coupled with a few other things). Similarly, Jack loses it completely when Nikki disappears. The reason why it works in this story is because both characters acknowledged those actions were not healthy and both regretted it. Their knee-jerk reaction and violent depression is not romanticized in any way. I really wish more authors portrayed this message more often in their novels because it's important to show that losing your boy friend/girl friend can suck, but it is not the end of the world.

The Plot:

That's right, this book has one! Nikki is on a mission: redemption. That is what she attempts to gain in this novel. When she disappeared into the Everneath 6 months ago, she left a lot of relationships strained and now she is looking to fix them. She doesn't stray from that path and suddenly start fantasizing about the "bad boy" randomly. This is what makes this book such a winner because too often I see the plot being left in the bloody dust because an author thought it would be "totally romantic" to have the heroine frolic through the gardens with one of her boy toys. I'm happy to say that did not happen here. You ever heard of the saying "no romance without finance"? Well, I'm introducing a new saying: No romance without plot progress. While this is a paranormal romance through and through, the plot is always in the front.

The Ending:

So sad, but so perfect. I love how things are tied up nicely, yet you know there is more to come. I'm really excited to read the next book, but I don't feel like Ashton left me to walk the plank with Everneath's ending. Thank you for that. There are only so many cliffhangers I can take before my poor little heart gives out. It will be very interesting to see where she takes this story.

So, if you are tired of the usual run of the mill paranormal romances, you should head right on over to your book store and pick up Everneath. You're in for a treat!

ARC received through NetGalley. As always, these are my honest opinions and I was not paid for my review!

More reviews like this at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

[Emily May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst reading this I happened to glance over at my mirror and see the expression on my face - my mouth was open, my eyes were wide... needless to say, I looked like a complete moron. But that should give you some indication of how much this story surprised me. I confess that I didn't expect to like it that much and it's obviously time I stop making these predictions when I'm nearly always wrong. I should also stop trying to work out what certain things appeal to me in books, these theories also fall flat on their faces.

I'm not going to sell this book as something it isn't, from the beginning there is a very heavy romantic element and a lot of the story is built up around the idea that Nikki has returned (after a century in Everneath, six months to the human world) for the purpose of rekindling her romance with her past boyfriend, or at the very least seeing him for one last time before the Tunnels claim her forever. A lot of the book is definitely paranormal romance, or PNR, or even Love in a Supernatural Climate - take your pick. But I wasn't put off by this.

A lot of the story is interwoven with parts of Greek and Egyptian mythology, which I liked very much. It was well thought-out, made sense, seemed fairly original (well, I haven't read anything like it) and even though a lot of it was romance-centred I still didn't feel that it claimed the novel. I was intrigued by the whole concept of this Everneath, a place almost like hell but rather than being a place for sinners, it's a place for Everlivings - who drain souls for energy - and the souls that have been drained.

I think what I liked best, that saved the book from being nothing more than a love story, was the characters. So many young adult books make the entire novel about the female protagonist and her male love interest and, apart from the occasional over-stereotyped mean girl, they disregard all other characters. But Everneath explores Nikki's relationship with her friend, her father and her brother as well as her boyfriend.

I just wish she didn't have to blush so much. There's this one part of the story where Jack says: "I know you're worried about that..." and just the small word emphasis makes her "turn red all over". Come on, this is the 21st century, surely every girl doesn't blush at the mention of that, do they? And if they do, why don't the boys? Because boys are wild, experienced-from-birth, sexual animals that you have to fight off with a stick and girls are meek, mild and pure? I'm not saying that's what the author wanted to portray but the sexually smirking guy meets innocent girl seems to be a common theme in these types of books.

And also, is that a potential love triangle I spy there? I don't know, it seems pretty one-sided right now but there's clearly more books to come.

[Kat Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This ARC was provided to me by HarperCollins. No money or favours were exchanged for this review - much to my chagrin!

November Madness is what I nicknamed this month. With a variety of very interesting looking titles becoming available for galley grab, to many readers, it appeared to be a smorgasbord of literary delights.

Everneath is one such of these delights and, in my opinion, completely deserves the hype.

Becks, a seventeen year old girl, wakes up from a hundred year-long hibernation with bad-boy supernatural, Cole. He’s been feeding from her to replenish himself, above the surface only six months have passed. Becks returns to her life a husk of her former self.

Emaciated, numb to emotion and damaged. She has six months to live before being dragged back into hell but she wants to see her exboyfriend, Jack, one more time before she goes.

If I were to find a movie to compare this book to, I suppose it would be a mix between The Labyrinth and Drugstore Cowboy (or The Man With A Golden Arm if you’re going to be persnickety). In fact, the whole book is a rather excellent drug metaphor. This hit home for me in a big way and was perhaps why I was especially moved and addicted (sorry!) by this novel.

The book is agonizingly beautiful in that Becks honestly struggles as a drug addict would and one could argue that all the fantastical elements in this book are Beck’s psychosis trying to deal with her recovery and past experiences. Jack was her love before The Feeding and Ashton breaks up the novel with several flashbacks to give us insight into Beck’s fall from grace. Cole, on the otherhand, is the perfect counterbalance. He is dark, seductive, effortlessly tempting. He is like a devil on Beck’s shoulder. He follows her everywhere trying to tempt her back. He has a weird relationship with Beck’s that is part dependency, part companionship that sufficiently muddies the usual moralities shuffled through in other such novels. It’s very clear, often, that Beck’s struggle to resist Cole is painful, sometimes a little nonsensical and takes an extraordinary strength of will and character.

Ashton weaves Cole’s character as being both despicable and yet sympathetic. It’s hard to entirely dismiss Cole as evil and yet you can hardly claim he’s good. He’s almost the culmination of almost every paranormal badboy douche who gets romanticized in these kinds of novels. Ashton takes that kind of character to his final conclusion and releases him upon her novel like a tornado. Yes, readership, there are boys out there who are gorgeous, dangerous, sexy-beyond-all-reason and effortlessly charming. But they will also suck you down into hell, suck you dry and in the end they just plain suck.

Jack is the excellent counter-balance in this novel. Damaged, yet loving and courageous he battles to keep Becks from being dragged back into the Everneath. Their relationship isn’t always strong. There’s so much honest emotion and history with these two characters that their relationship arc is solid and real.

I found the pacing of Everneath was smooth but fans of action and adventure books will probably find themselves itching for more. This is a book about people. People healing, people trusting, people trying to tear that all down again. There’s a plot and there’s a rushing timeline looming in the background but there’s not a lot of fists and falcon punches. Ashton’s writing is strong and serves well for this novel. Her use of imagery is great and she manages to create a rather unique and coherent mythology in this book.

But be warned, this is a trilogy and Ashton leaves her novel on a heartbreaking cliff-hanger of sorts. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel and this book goes on my to-buy list when released!

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm always on the search for good Hades and Persephone retellings. This summary gave me hope. It talks about a girl who survived the underworld and comes back to the surface. Even without the obvious Persephone themes, those are some of my buzzwords. The marketing and design of the cover also scream Hades and Persephone. Unfortunately... that was all a ruse.

This is not a Hades and Persephone retelling. This is more of an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, with a random "love triangle" thrown in. Except I wouldn't even consider it a love triangle, because, to me, that implies that both love interests have an equal chance. They don't. It's very obvious from the beginning who Nikki has chosen. Which is fine, except it makes the whole love triangle thing even more pointless than it usually is.

If this was marketed like the Orpheus and Eurydice retelling that it is, I think it would be more successful and would have gotten a higher rating from me as I would have had realistic expectations. I know Hades and Persephone is pretty marketable right now, but it's not as if Orpheus and Eurydice is unpopular. In fact, there are plenty of people seeking retellings of the myth as well.

Aside from all of that, the writing style isn't anything to write home about. Although it's a quick read, there are a few things used that I don't tend to enjoy. Most prominently, the always annoying Capitalization Of Random Words To Denote Importance In This World. For example, Everlings. Eveneath. Feed. The author then chooses to not really explain these things at all, just uses the capitalization to show they are ~important~. The reader is very much thrown into the story with no explanation.

Overall, I considered this story a letdown. The characters weren't anything to write home about, the writing is fairly mediocre, and I don't find the romance very compelling. I have continued with the series, because it's easy and I do plan on reading anything even vaguely "Hades and Persephone", but it's not something I'd recommend to most people. This review was originally posted on Thoughts on Tomes

[Wendy Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish the whole book contained what its last 10% did. Review to come.

[Annalisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I really wanted to love this one. I had high hopes for it, but it didn't quite live up to its hype. Most of the book felt like a stall to get to the climax, which is probably why I couldn't quite suspend my disbelief. I found myself out of the story most of the time, picking apart its inconsistencies, instead of pulled into Nikki's story. Little things like Nikki sitting at her desk and then several pages later getting up off or bed or Jack stacking chairs but then he's turning them over on tables. Minor flaws that should have been picked up somewhere in the editing process but were a distraction to me.

My biggest issue with the book is the timeline. In one flashback it's February and one month before Nikki disappears and the next it's April and two weeks before she does. I spent most of the book trying to figure out when exactly she came home. From the cold and lack of holidays, my best guess was January, until four months into her ordeal when Christmas rolled around. Which means she came back in August, when it should have been warm, and nowhere near six months from the sometime between March and May that she was supposed to have left. My best guess is that she was supposed to have disappeared in spring, come back in the fall, and stayed until the following spring, although the dates don't quite match up. A good editor and/or copyeditor should have picked up the mistake.

There were also larger flaws that bothered me. Like for someone grieving over her dead mother, I didn't catch much of Nikki's grief. I understand that everyone grieves differently and she didn't want to face her grief, but for months all there was there was happiness about Jack and she seemed to hold it together a little too well. I also didn't understand how when she came back Jack would know that she didn't remember anything. Why would he even suspect that she would forget him? She was ignoring him and acting weird around him, not acting like she had no idea who he was. It was beautiful that he asked her what she remembered and she said everything, but it didn't make sense that he would question that. And speaking of Jack, he had some elements of a great love interest, but he was a little too conflicting for me to buy into. Because of his history beforehand and then saying something could have happened at USU, it made him seem less committed. If he were as committed as we're supposed to believe, the possibility that something could have happened wouldn't be there, and if he were trying to save his relationship, he wouldn't admit to that when nothing happened.

Nikki said she came back mostly to make her goodbyes easier this time, but she didn't do anything toward that effect. For as much as she loved Tommy, she didn't seem to spend any time with him. For a best friend, we should have seen more of Jules. As it was, she seemed rather pointless to the story. And if her dad thought poorly of her and she wanted to change that, why didn't she talk to him (like explaining that she was pushed at the dance) or help do the dishes or do something other than ignore everyone? I could see how she didn't want to mess with Jack's heart again, but she could attempt to resolve the unresolved or want to leave him with a better memory or watch him from a distance and feel sad. Something other than hiding by the drinking fountain to knit, just waiting until her time ticked away. Why even come back if that was all she was going to do?

Sometimes I wanted to shake Nikki and tell her to get mad. I've read characters like that before, that always do the right thing and sympathize with people who are doing them wrong, so Mary Sue-ish. I gave Nikki some leeway because of her connection to Cole, but it wasn't just against Cole that she took a beating and didn't stand up for herself, or at the least get frustrated. It was just the most frustrating with Cole. I wanted her to break down in front of him not the way she did at the Shop-n-Go which was tender instead of frustrated or play his own conniving games back at him, instead of seem so... resigned to him. I think the passiveness of her character could have worked better if she were struggling against Cole's control and fighting to figure out the right goodbye, instead of just being there, doing nothing.

I had some questions with the Everneath world that I wanted answers to (and maybe they're answered later in the series). Like, if someone is being used as a Feed, how did they owe a debt? They were being drained, not given anything. Maybe it was the opportunity to be an Everliving? I would have also liked to know more about the interactions between the Everlivings and their royalty, more about life in the Everneath beyond the Feed. I also wondered about the chance to Return. At first it seemed like Nikki got a chance because she was different, but she wasn't the only one. Why were they offered the six-month stall? What was the point of it, other than being a great idea for a story?

I love the story of Persephone and think it's a great twist on an old tale, but I think this one could have used a few more rounds of editing first, more encouragement from her editor to go back and delve deeper into the story, the characters, the Everneath. I also think some of the plot twists, or revelations, should have come sooner. By the time Nikki figured things out, it was old news. Like with Mary. I didn't quite get who Mary was, but it was obvious she was someone with information. How was it that Nikki who knew about the Everneath could write her off for so much of the novel, but Jack be the one to get that she was telling the truth? On a positive note, Cole kept it interesting. And I loved the cover.

[Giselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hades and Persephone, we've all heard the story. Of all the myths, this is easily my favorite. When I saw that Everneath was a retelling of this heartbreaking tale, I was instantly attracted to it. However, I was mistaken. This is not a Persephone and Hades retelling per se, but a modernized, completely original story that is loosely based on the myths of Persephone and Eurydice. It was beautiful!

First and foremost, the character that breathes powerfully throughout this book, is the emotion. It is full of raw, pure, palpable emotions. I could constantly sense Nikki's despair. Even when stripped of all feeling, she had this hollowness that I could easily discern; a void once full of energy. She lost everything to the Everneath, and six months is an incredibly short time when you know what you're going back to. My heart was breaking for her, while holding on to a tiny flicker of hope that things would turn around.

You can't start describing Nikki without first understanding Cole. Cole is manipulative and cunning, which is capitalized by the fact that he can control emotions. He wants Nikki; Nikki loves Jack. So while her actions can seem a bit rash, even impulsive, Cole plays a big role behind these decisions. Her doubts, her pain, her fears, they're all fabricated, or at the very least, magnified by Cole. With this in play, I couldn't help but open my heart up to her. She becomes his puppet, and it's tragic. Cole and Jack are complete opposites which makes a fantastic love triangle. One you will love, and one you will love to hate.

To add to the trepidation, the story shifts from past to present in a way that leaves you feeling restless. You KNOW what's going to happen while seeing these events unfold. It keeps the story intriguing, while building anticipation for a shattering ending. Was it predictable? Yes. But was it original? Completely. This fresh take on the Persephone myth mixes the old with the new for an altogether beautiful and dark tale.

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’m already dead. It’s your world that killed me.”

This was a YA paranormal romance, featuring some mythology.

I felt really sorry for Nikki in this, she’d obviously been through a lot and just wanted to get her life back, even if it was only for a brief time.

The storyline in this was about how Nikki had been in the Everneath, acting as a battery for a boy called Cole, and had finally gotten out only to find out that she only had 6 months before she would have to go back to a far worse place. I really liked this story though, and I liked both of the love interests too, even if we weren’t quite meant to like Cole.

The ending to this was a bit of a cliff-hanger, and I’m interested to see what happens next.



8 out of 10

[Limonessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So something good DOES come along sometimes in paranormal YA.

I am very pleasantly surprised by Brodi Ashton's debut novel, Everneath, loosely based on a sort of mix between the myths of Hades/Persephone and Orpheus/Eurydice.

Nikki Beckett has been sleeping a hundred years in the Everneath, a limbo between Earth and Hell, where the Everlivings have found a way to be immortal. She is a Forfeit, emotional "food" for Cole, the Everliving she decided to follow in the underworld.
Strangely, she wakes up with the image of a brown-haired boy lingering in her memory and decides to Return, albeit for a brief period of time, to Earth. Only six months have actually passed in the real world and Nikki has exactly another six months to say good-bye to her family and friends, before disappearing forever in the Tunnels, a sort of hell for Forfeits.

With very few exceptions in mind, I'm usually not very attracted to stories based on pre-packed mythology and its application to modern society... it's old hat.
Not in this case. I was fairly fascinated by the concept of Everlivings and their Forfeits, of the Shades that bind them together (reminiscent of the Fever series) and their feeding on emotions. It's well incorporated into the story and it gives the book a certain dark edge and a more adult cut. (still no sex, though!)

While this story could have easily been characterized by the well-known, trite series of clichés typical of standard paranormal YA nowadays (love triangle, love at first sight, bitchy competition and so on and so forth), it fortunately manages to avoid falling blatantly right into some of them. The love triangle is not properly a triangle (could also be a rectangle, to be honest), love is not of the instant kind and the competition is not bitchy (ok, it is and it isn't. Half a cliché?)
It does, however, suffer from what other reviewers have already christened the "Disappearing Parent Syndrome", a definition I'd take a step further and rename the "Missing Adults Syndrome".
Why is nobody questioning Nikki's disappearance for six months and they're just buying into the rehab theory? Wouldn't a police investigation have been opened in case of a missing minor? Wouldn't there be pictures on milk cartons? These same exact questions baffle me even more in respect to the ending: does one not get interrogated in case he/she is the last person to be seen with someone who has inexplicably and suddenly disappeared? The mind boggles.

The strength of this book lies, without a doubt, in its characters.
Nikki is a fighting heroine, she's no helpless damsel in distress. Despite some really stupid and unreasonable choices she makes - like running away from the dorm with no evidence - I liked her. Her love for Jack is believable and strong - on the other hand, Jack's love for her is a little less so since he went through the whole cheerleading team before asking her out but, you know, I guess this typical man behavior is not that odd after all). I felt compassion for her, felt the clock ticking away, felt the inexorability of her situation. This genre is in dire need of more Nikkis.

Of the two "main" guys of the story, the one I found more interesting is Cole. He is supposedly the bad guy. But is he? No cardboard cut out role for him. He isn't all good but he's not all bad either. I appreciate these "grey" characters, when I'm not sure whether I have to like them or hate them and the author doesn't make the choice for me by making them unbelievable caricatures. I'm eager to see possible developments of his character.

The person that baffled me the most is Jack's brother, Will. He's got a marginal role in this book but I am sure there's more to him than meets the eye, he spends half the book being drunk but there's something that doesn't convince me about his quasi-homeless situation. I'm positive we'll see more of him in the next books.
Which reminds me that there is, in fact, at least one cliché: this is a trilogy.

Nevertheless, far, far better than most of his "brothers" of the genre, this is a series I'll be following with interest.


For this review and more, follow us at The Nocturnal Library.

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 4 out of 5]

History books call it the Underworld. Or even hell. But I know it's neither. It is really called the Everneath, and it's not a place for the dead. It's a place for the Everliving – beings who have discovered the secret to eternal life. It's a place for their Forfeits – the humans who give up everything to nourish the Everliving. It's the world caught between this one and the next, a layer between Earth and hell. I know because I was a Forfeit. I would give anything to change this.

The myth of Hades and Persephone has proven to be quite the inspirational point for many young adult authors as of late, whether it be for another run-of-the-mill paranormal romance (Meg Cabot's Abandon, Gwen Hayes's Falling Under) or even a lesbian retelling (Sarah Diemer's The Dark Wife). To my delight, however, there are writers out there who are actually taking a few more steps with creative license and innovation to try and make the story their own. Brodi Ashton's Everneath is one such attempt...and it mostly succeeds in being fresh and "trend-defying" in a convoluted landscape of paranormal YA.

After an overload of life's burdens, Nikki Beckett did the unthinkable: she escaped her life through darkness and became fodder for a boy named Cole, feeding off her emotions and hailing from a dark eternal land called Everneath. After one hundred years spent in this between plane, she miraculously did not lose herself or her memories – but, even after she chooses to return Above and to the home she left, she feels the attraction to the boy who offered her an addiction and an escape rolled into one. Which pull will prove greater: the allure of the dark boy who can take everything away, or the love she feels for Jack, the boy she left behind? And will it even matter, given that she will return to the Everneath in six months' time?

I'll admit that I'm not the greatest fan of paranormal YA these days, but Everneath was surprisingly refreshing in that it actually seemed to address some of the problems in other young adult narratives. Nikki isn't an idiotic narrator by any means and, though she's flawed and stubborn, she's not unlikeable or unsympathetic. It also helps that she resists Cole, who tries to manipulate and trap her into thinking that what he desires is what she herself should want as well. Cole thrives as an antagonistic force when Nikki is isolated and friendless – but, once Nikki starts getting a hold back on her life and what remains of her time left, he gets worried and tries to take matters into his own hands. But Nikki doesn't just let him win: she fights back.

Everneath also shines because of the relationship between Nikki and once-boyfriend Jack, shown through scenes of both past (in happier times) and present (in Nikki's darker post-Everneath days). Though there are many issues and hurt and misunderstandings between them, they eventually begin to come to terms with all of it together because, as much as Nikki tries to stay away, she can't deny that her memories of Jack were what kept her sane and whole in her time in Everneath. I was really moved by them as a couple and convinced by their feelings for one another, and I can't often say such a thing about a paranormal YA couple wholeheartedly as I can with Nikki and Jack.

Also of note is the foundation for the Everliving's world, layered with Greek and Egyptian mythology. It was quite an interesting spin on old ideas, blended in such a way that I was left intrigued by many of the concepts relating to the Everneath and hopeful that many of them will be explored more in-depth in the next two books.

The only real issue I had with the novel was that it fell into the trap of "disappearing parent syndrome." Yes, I know that absent parents often serve to further a plot more readily, but would Nikki's father, the mayor of the town, really have acted so nonchalant about his daughter's absence and then her explanation of rehab? Really? And then he's so worried about his re-election campaign that he can't be bothered much with his newly returned daughter? I don't know. Sure, it's realistic in a sense since there are parents out there like that, but...it rubbed me the wrong way since it's such an "easy maneuver" that so many YA authors take nowadays when the real challenge would be to write caring, yet non-overbearing, parents in YA narratives.

Some minor flaws aside, I would recommend Everneath for being a paranormal young adult book that does so many things right in a a genre where it's so easy for authors to get so much wrong, wrong, wrong. For anyone who has been burned by paranormal YA far too often, this book is for you. I hope that it will restore some of your faith in this sinking ship of a genre since maybe, just maybe, authors like Brodi Ashton can actually manage to salvage the ship before it passes the waters of no return.

Note: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[~Tina~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really really wanted to like Everneath but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to love this one.

This book really makes you work at trying to figure out what the hell is going on. It's very evasively written. Leaving you hanging on a lot of questions from the very first page...on. It would hook me one minute then lose me the next.

The story-line was intriging enough. I really loved the mythology that Ashton brought into this and her writing is very good, but I wish the flow of the story moved a little better. It just felt to confusing which annoyed me throughout the story.

I can't say that I liked these characters very much either. Cole is slime and I wanted him to just go away. Jack had his moments and was the reason I wanted to even finish the book. As for Nikki? I liked her and I didn't. She's kinda weak and selfish and doesn't really make the brightest choices. In fact she could have probably avoided everything if she just confronted Jack to begin with.
The ending was kinda predictable as well, but surprisingly, it left me curious about the second book. Even if just a little.

As much as I didn't care for this one, I still recommend it. It's unique, it had it's moments and the plot really was fascinating.

Thanks Alexa for touring this one out:)

[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs More Mythology

I figured that was going to be my review opener until I hit the last portion of the book. The connection between the realm of the gods and our world wasn't made clear upfront, but wouldn't you know...the author had to sneak some of it in on us at the last minute.

Buried alive...

Nikki (Becks) is back in town after a long period of time away. 100 years underground, to be exact. Yet, in everyone else's perspective, they think she's only been gone a matter of months. When heartache caused Nikki to bargain for time in the Everneath as a way to cope with the pain, she was forced to pay the price - one which might not come with an 'out clause'. Is it possible for her to regain her life at all, now that she's living on borrowed time?

This is another case of a story which had good bones, but suffered from a little bit of a deficiency when it came to character depth. No one in this story truly grabbed me, other than Cole (of course it would figure that I'd be curious about the presumed villain). I feel somewhat guilty that the characters of Jack and Cole kept making me think of Dank and Leif from the Existence trilogy, because this was a huge hurdle for me to get over, considering how I wasn't a big fan of Existence. Jack was a combination of the old boyfriend and Dank, while Cole was Leif (although the rock star thing was switched, with the villain being the musician this time). However, in the case of Everneath, the story had a touch more finesse. Even if you weren't a fan of Existence, you might still be able to find something to enjoy about Everneath.

Although it took me almost an entire book to warm up to Jack, the last scene with him at the end of the book melted my heart and appealed to the romantic in me. But wouldn't it figure that of course I'm hopelessly and recklessly vibing on Cole instead. I know it's wrong, but I can't help it!

"You don't give my job enough credit. It's really hard to convince a girl to follow me. The average pickup lines don't work so well. 'Hey, wanna get coffee? And then spend an eternity getting the life force sucked out of you?' They don't go for it."

Aww hell, Nikki. I may not get why you did what you did, but at least you made me think of Charlie Sheen with this gem : One day is all I deserve, and I've had so many already. I've won. I've won! I had the urge to put up one of his "DUH WINNING" pics but then I saw this and felt it appropriate for the story :
[image error]
I'm guessing that's about how Nikki looked after being drained of energy, too.

Surprisingly enough, I was okay with the back-and-forth timeline. In this particular case, the "waiting" to find certain things out sort of lent an air of mystery to the book. The author had a way of bringing us between the past and the present with little loss of cohesion. There is a fair amount of skill involved in doing this without confusing the readers. I'll give a thumbs up for that.

"Where do we go from here?"
"Nowhere, really," I whispered. "it doesn't change anything."

I wasn't in love with the story but I was in like with the ideas presented. Because there was a great buildup to finding out some answers while still leaving many things a mystery for now, this ended up being the factor which had me wanting to keep reading. Even when I wasn't completely attaching to the characters, I was fascinated with the idea of what was to come. The end of the book is where the story finally hit an AHAH! moment for me. Then I had an oh hell yeah, I can't wait to see what happens next feeling. I'm happy that book 2 is just around the corner now because I have to believe that we're on our way up to the top of the roller-coaster now, just about to plunge over that cliff.

The pain of loss was fresh every night, but I no longer begged to have it taken away. I owned it.

[Vinaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

"That night, when I left the dorm, I could have gone home and shut myself in my room. I could've faced you and yelled at you. But I didn't. I took the easy way out. I begged for the easy way out. Cole took the pain away and I didn't care that it would ruin everything in my life, because I was stupid enough to think I had nothing else to lose."

I admit I'm a fairly preachy reviewer, in general. I like to lecture my authors on how to send the 'right' messages, and how to avoid being paranormal clichés, and how to build healthy relationships. But at the base of it all, I pan books when they're not entertaining enough. When my entertainment comes with a dose of perceptiveness and good writing and life-positive messages, I am super-extra happy, but I have been known to love books like Spellbound simply for the entertainment quotient. *blushes*

Everneath probably doesn't deserve the fourth star. But it was interesting and kept me entertained the whole way through, and the good definitely hugely outweighed the bad, so I'm willing to forgive it its faults. First off, let me tell you, I LOVE the take Brody Ashton took on the Hades-Persephone myth. It might quite possibly be the most interesting retelling of the myth I've read in YA, and considering the number of retellings floating around out there, that's really saying something. So Nikki Beckett finds out, to her detriment, that Hades (Everneath) is not really the world of the dead, but instead a place for immortals, called the Everliving, who sustain themselves by feeding off willing human sacrifices. In a moment of madness, Nikki offers herself up to one of the Everliving, and emerges six months later wispy and drained out, but with her memories and self strangely intact. She knows her time on earth is numbered - in six months she will have to choose between becoming Everliving herself or becoming food for the shades that haunt Everneath, but in the meantime, she is determined to do her best this time around and settle her affairs, so to speak, before she vanishes for good.

I liked Nikki. As Kat says in her review, Nikki is like a drug addict fighting to rise above her addiction. The connection between her and Cole (the immortal who fed on her) is very different from the feelings she has for Jack, the boy she left behind. With Cole, there is no depth of feeling, or shared history or sharp pain. She looks at Cole the way an alcoholic would study a bootle of Jack - with a mixture of loathing and desire. And, as the quote above shows, she's not afraid to stand up and admit her faults. Since the book splits the narrative between the present time, and her life before the Feed, it's easy to see how much more mature the returned Nikki Beckett is.

Jack, on the other hand, is the quintessential sweetheart - with a dash of edge, as evinced by his eyebrow piercing. He's in love with Nikki, always has been, and while this could have been a cop-out in terms of romantic characterization, it doesn't feel that way. Jack's sweet and steadfast, and I really liked the way he wooed her back out of her shell. He's more of a Tucker boy than an Edward boy and we all know which one I prefer!

But, of course, this book is not perfect. I found the idea of the Daughters of Persephone weird and unconvincing. I can see a few crazy people selling off their daughters for a vague promise of immortality. But entire societies of them? All over the world? Really?

More importantly (and annoyingly) Ashton falls into that most common of YA tropes, the Disappearing Parent Syndrome. Nikki disappears for six months, nobody has the faintest idea where she's been, she emerges emaciated and withdrawn, and her father's only response is to bring a random woman home to test her for drugs, and then leave her by herself for long stretches of time? Please. There is no mention of her father frantically searching for her - Jack, sure, Jack never gave up, but apparently the man who gave life to her was willing to consign his daughter to the recesses of his mind and move on with his life. He never takes her to the shrink, he doesn't hover constantly and check on where she is, and when she gets caught in the middle of a fight, his only response is to worry about his campaign for mayor... and yet we are supposed to believe he is a loving father. That does not play for me at all.

Nikki too treats her family with cavalier disregard. Although she mentions over and over again that she came back to settle things with her dad and say goodbye to her little brother, except for one obligatory scene with both of them, we never see her actually spending time with her family, making her brother feel better, even thinking about him all that much. It's all me-me-me-Jack-Jack-Jack. Even her so-called best friend, Jules, get the short shrift. Now I was a teenager once, and I DID spend more time dramatizing my lovelife and ignoring my parents - when I wasn't hating on them, that is. BUT, I had not just returned from a life-changing experience, and I was not expecting to die in the next six months. You'd think that sort of thing would change a person's perspective.

But all in all, this was a pretty interesting book, there was enough interesting things happening that the annoying things didn't annoy me too much. If you don't like the general run of YA PNRs, I would suggest you stay away from Everneath, but if you like the genre in general and don't mind a certain amount of genre conformity in your YA books, then give this one a shot.

This book was provided by the publisher via Net Galley.

[Tatiana]

Great concept, boring and flat execution.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

There might be times in your life when you feel that you’ve hit the very bottom and that you can’t take it anymore.
Try to imagine for a moment that you have lost everything you care about. That someone would tell you that it’s in his power to take all your pain away.. What would you do? Would you take the chance?

You might say “no”, you might say “maybe” or even you might agree..
But what if it is not only the pain that it’s taken away from you, what if you’re fading away with every memory, with every beat of your heart, with every second until there is nothing but void… you turn to nothing (even with the promise of immortality)

What memory do you think you could keep hidden in your heart to wake you to life, to call for you when you’re lost?
Would it be about your family, or friends, or a lover?
Will it be a face, a smile, a happy moment?..



Nikki has lost what she thought that it was ‘everything’ for her and she has decided that she doesn’t want to feel the pain any longer. She has given herself away (when a boy called Cole told her that he can erase all her suffering), now she has no feelings, her memory is back in pieces, and she has a few months to say goodbye to the people she cares about and then she will disappear from this world for ever.
The only thing she recalls is the face of a boy, her first love, and one of her big disappointments – Jack.

Every breath I took meant another grain of sand in my hourglass disappeared, and I only had a few left. I tried not breathing.

With the time ticking her life away she doesn’t have many choices.
It all sounds simple: say goodbye to Jack, to her father and her brother. She thinks that she has enough time to prepare herself, to say how sorry she is, to leave it all behind. But simple is just a word, and life is never simple.

…Now old friends come back from the past, misunderstandings are revealed, Nikki’s heart starts to feel again, but all the love in the world is not enough to protect her, to keep her for disappearing again.
Her only chance is to use all the time she has to find a way to cheat “fate”; her only chance is to get Cole to tell her what could she do to break the unbreakable, but would he do that for her, or even could he?

I liked how she doubted Cole from time to time, but then her doubts would vanish and the numbness would return again. I liked how she and Jake got to become close again, day by day, how she remembered more of their moments together (oh, how I liked the sparks of life from the memories) and I liked how Jake wouldn’t give up on her no matter what.
They were cute together and my heart was breaking with every chapter seeing how little time they had together and how much of it did they waste.



Also Cole was quite a mystery, and one that I would want to uncover. He was fun to be around and if it wasn’t for the fact that he was sucking feelings out of people I might have liked him a lot better.

So, if you like paranormal stories with a touch of mythology and some interesting characters, this is your chance. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Book Source: ARC from the publisher via Netgalley – Thank you very much!


This review can also be found at ReadingAfterMidnight.com
____________________________________________

Blog (EN) | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Bloglovin' | Blog (RO)
____________________________________________

[♥Rachel♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t stop thinking about this book after I was done reading it. It was haunting, and heart-breaking….and I loved it.

Seventeen-year old Nikki Bennett, Becks, has been gone for six months in the Everneath, a place where Everlivings, immortal beings, feed off the emotions of humans to survive. Nikki has come home to say a proper good-bye to her family and friends, most of all a proper good-bye to Jack, the love of her life. Nikki has six months on the surface before the Everneath claims her for good to serve either as a “battery” in the dark tunnels or to become an Everliving with Cole, the Everliving who took her. At first you know that Nikki made the choice willingly to go with Cole, but you don’t know why. You get glimpses of the past events that led up to her decision, throughout the story. You know that her mother died in a car accident and that she’s devastated about that. However, Nikki also has other things going for her, like Jack. Jack was her best-friend that she secretly loved for many years, until they figured out their feelings were mutual. In flash-backs you see that Nikki has some doubts of her worth to Jack, and some problems with her family. Cole takes advantage of that, encouraging her doubt. Everlivings entice people in pain, because The Feed takes all those emotions away. Unfortunately, The Feed also takes every emotion you have away, leaving you an empty shell. Now Nikki would do anything to change the bargain she made with Cole.

This story made my heart ache for Nikki and Jack. It felt like I was watching someone tying up loose ends before a death sentence! It pained me to see Nikki realizing how close her best-friend, Jules and Jack became after she disappeared, and feeling the jealousy she felt because of it. Jack, though, is such an unwavering, persistent guy, never giving up on Nikki while she was gone or now, when she’s back. Their romance is so very sweet, although mainly told from flash-backs. Loved this scene:

“You weren’t in the lunchroom today.” Jack said, coming up behind me at my locker. “Jules says you’re never in the cafeteria on Wednesdays.” I tried to calm the flush to my cheeks before I turned around to face him. My crush on Jack was getting ridiculous….Just because he noticed, for the first time, that I wasn’t at lunch, it didn’t mean anything���. ”She said you avoid the cafeteria on Wednesdays. And she said you like me.” I heard myself gasp, and I came to a stop. “So is it true?” Jack said….I turned away, embarrassed, but Jack stepped sideways so he was in front of me, and there was nowhere else I could look. “Yes. I hate hot-dog Wednesdays, so I don’t go to the lunchroom. It’s true.” Jack: “That’s not what I meant, Becks.” Nikki: “I know.” Jack: “Tell me. Is it true? Do you like me?” Nikki: “You know I like you. You’re one of my best friends.” Jack: “Friends.” Nikki: “Of course.” Jack: “Good friends?” Nikki: I nodded. Jack: “More than friends?” Nikki: I didn’t say anything. I didn’t move. Jack reached toward my hand and tugged gently on my fingers. He leaned forward and said, “Tell me, friend. Is there more for us?” Nikki: I looked down at my feet. “There’s everything for us.”

Oh, how you want them to find a way around this mess!

I liked that this story incorporates an original take on Greek Mythology, the story of Hades and the Underworld twisted up a bit. I hope that’s developed more in the next one. And the ending!!! Oh, the ending!! I can’t wait to see what happens next. A definite recommend!

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for allowing me to read this!

[Rachel (APCB Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary of Review Below: Fan-freaking-tastic!!

Nikki was drawn to the Everneath by Cole. When Nikki was in the Everneath the only memories she retained were those of her boyfriend Jack. By some miraculous miracle, Nikki survives the feeding in the Everneath and returns to the Surface six months after disappearing just to see Jack again. Nikki tries to put back together the pieces of her shattered life and make her final goodbyes before the Tunnels capture her for good.

This gif sums up my feelings towards this book pretty well:

I LOVED this book. I was intrigued and interested in this series after having read the synopsis. The second I picked up the book, I couldn't put it down. This book has basically everything that I'm looking for. Paranormal? Check. Good writing? Check. Good plot? Check. Awesome main character? Check. Hot guys? Check AND check.

The Storyline/Writing:
In the beginning I was a bit confused with all of the terminology. Along the way though, everything is explained. I really liked the "Past" and "Now" variation to the story. Instead of Nikki or someone else just telling a long story of the crucial events that took place before this book (which would be so boring), Ashton uses the past and present writing tool. It worked quite well and there were never instances where the switching between times was annoying. I equally loved both past and present scenes! The writing was descriptive and detailed. I loved the modern storytelling of Hades and Persephone aspect.

The Characters:
All of the characters in this book are so wonderful. They are realistic and emotional and act like actual human beings. No one is perfect. No one is too outlandishly damaged. There's a certain realness to the characters. Nikki is a great main character. She is so funny and sweet and kind and smart. Her little brother is adorable. Jack and Cole. Wow. More on them later.

The Love Triangle:
Usually I don't really like love triangles. The only ones I like and appreciate are the strong love triangles where you have no idea who the main character will pick, and you love both of the guys. This is one of those books.
"Team Jack! Wait no, Team Cole!!! Wait but... Team Jack!! No Team Cole!!"
OK, I don't really know which team I am. I keep changing teams!!
Jack is such a wonderful person. He is so handsome and strong and gentle and caring and thoughtful. Cole is the hot bad boy with the arrogance and humor. How ever will I choose?

The Ending:
I really didn't see it coming. The whole book was fantastic, but the last 50 pages were phenomenal. I still can't believe that ending ;(


Things that I didn't like:


I highly recommend this book to YA readers!!

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everneath has some fantastic ideas which include Greek and Egyptian mythology, comparisons between otherworldly activity and drug addiction, and a bad boy who makes no excuses about being a bad boy. Unfortunately the book simply didn't deliver. Rather than a full length novel, Everneath reads as one very (very) long introduction to a novel. Go read the synopsis for this book...... Done? Well, no need to read the book now, because that is pretty much all that happens Except for the ending, Nikki manages to avoid getting sucked back into the Everneath. But, because this is YA PNR you already knew (or should have known!) that was going to happen

Seriously, there is nothing which happened in this novel which wasn't stated in the synopsis. Sure, Nikki loves her father, brother and former boyfriend Jack. But if she has experienced any character development or poignant moments, I wouldn't know it. In fact, I don't know a thing about her character. Sure, she has feelings (because we are told about them over and over) and she is brave and selfless and would rather suffer herself than do harm to another person. *yawn* Let's see, the love interest Jack is also like totally good. The other love interest Cole seems to be like totally devoted to Nikki even though he isn't completely honest and does bad things. *yawn* This triangle is a proven formula, and although it embarrasses me to admit it, I am a big fan of the lurve triangle when properly done. Cole is interesting because he makes no apologies for what he is and does. But overall, Nikki, Jack and Cole are all so bland, so lifeless that I don't really care what becomes of them. There are a few secondary characters which could have made this novel more interesting had they been mentioned in more than passing; Nikki's dad, her brother, her bff Jules, that blonde cheerleader bitch *double yawn*

We also do learn some rules and mythology regarding the Everneath but nothing especially captivating or worthy of keeping me on the edge of my seat. I can't help but feel Everneath has suffered from the current trend demand for series in YA. Again, nothing happens in this novel. Nothing. Had Ashton condensed her planned trilogy into one full length novel, it might have been really good. But as it is this is one painfully long introduction which simply isn't enticing enough to inspire me to continue.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so a few years back I critiqued some first pages at a writers' conference. There were a couple of stories that were fine but forgettable, some that were terrible, one that had so many made-up fantasy words that it might as well have been written in Finnish, and a cute little ten year old girl with quite a good alien abduction story. And then a lovely blonde in the corner of the room read her first pages, about a high school girl who's been missing for six months, and everyone assumes she's on drugs when she reappears, gaunt and haunted . . . but in reality she's just spent a century in the underworld. GRIPPING! FASCINATING! ACTUALLY GOOD!

Fast forward a couple of years and I meet Brodi Ashton through Bree Despain, and at a restaurant one night we start talking about that writers' conference, and I say, "Geez, I wish I knew what happened to that chick with the story about the girl serving time in hell." And Brodi goes, "Are you making fun of me?" Me: "No! Why?" Because that was her, the story was EVERNEATH, and she'd just gotten a contract for it. I was ecstatic for her!

But could the rest of the book live up to the promise of those first pages? Why yes, yes it could.

I LOVED this book! This was a creepy, fabulous twist on the myth of the underworld, mixing Persephone's story with Orpheus and Eurydice. Not only that, it was good YA. These were believable teens, talking in believable ways. There were enough details about school to make it seem real, without driving the reader crazy with minutiae. The bad guy really needed to be punched, repeatedly, about the head and genitals, and (this sounds horrible but its true) I loved how messed up Nikki was by her time in the Everneath. The little details about her hands shaking, and the way she just felt so fragile, were amazing.

Now that paranormal romance has its own department at Barnes & Noble, there are a lot of formulaic books out there. It's like, cue love triangle, cue reveal that he's a supernatural being, and begin trendy playlist! This is not one of those books, though. This is a real standout, with some VERY unexpected twists and some truly skillful writing.

I can't wait for EVERBOUND!

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Edit: SO SORRY THIS KEEPS POPPING UP! I just keep remembering little tid bits, and.... yeah:)

May have spoilers??! Idk

I can't believe I have gone from the amazingness of Eliza and Her Monsters to this.
It is suppose to be a Persephone and Hades retelling, but instead I just got a bunch of melodramatic, high school dating crap, with a slight hint at, story's said-Underworld.
So, yeah. This is a character driven book, and all of the characters are just petty, immature, and just no, no, no.

Nikki, our MC, is annoying, uninteresting and has no frickin' backbone.
She also has no regard whatsoever for self-preservation, which is annoying as all get out!
No hobbies, no friends apparently, since she never goes into depth about said-best friend, Jules, and she gets flustered over the sight of a fucking piece of tongue jewelry!
Let me explain:
During her time "Before the Feed," she is apparently super-uber-duper in love with football player boyfriend, Jack (I know, he is just so unique *rolls fucking eyeballz*) and can't flippin' think straight and shit when they are together. Cue more of my eyeballz. BUT! Not even 2 pages later, she's getting hot in the face, cause she catches a glimpse of Cole's fucking tongue post!!!!
She also acts out like a complete child, when she gets upset and throws--I kid you not--her backpack at her dad's face. You sure you're seventeen? Maybe your memory is a bit muddled from all that time down in Everneath, even tho I GOT NO DETAILS OF THAT!!! Just stupid stupidness instead!
She, Nikki, does become more tolerable tho, when she is not thinking about Jack, or hurling objects like a toddler:)

Quicky side note thingy:
Also, everyone just seems totally cool with the fact that THERE IS AN ACTUAL FREAKING UNDERWORLD???!!!!??!?!! Yeah. Totes norms.

My other problem with Nikki is more aimed at the author. God! Every girl, besides Nik, is made out to seem like a brainless, boy-crazy-bitch. It is so fucking shallow, and it makes me livid!! Please authors, add some realism to your stories and their characters!

Okay moving on to the "men."
Jack. He just pisses me off. I mean he beat someone up, cause he overheard a boy call Nikki--not to antagonize or tease him-- that Nikki was a crackhead. GET YOUR FUCKING SHIT TOGETHER MAN!!! You can be upset, yeah that dudes a jackass, but don't be a man child. It's not attractive.
And Cole! He tells Jack of how Nikki is gonna leave again, saying after words that Jack deserved to know, even tho he did it in the most obnoxious way possible!
Other than that tho, he somehow makes my heart go all achy-breaky..... stupid heart.... :(

The characters are not the only part that is ridicules. No, it's also how toned down every sexual-ish thing is.

"Do you mean, are we. . ." He held up the index fingers of both his hands, and then put the tips together and made a loud smoochy noise.

Oh, please. Everyone knows the sign for "together" isn't kissy fingers, it's "okay" sign, plus pointer finger. Also, when Cole gets asked to autograph things for fans (he is a musician. Great. Options are football brute, or musician. *MORE EYEBALL ACTION*) he signs "even one girl's arm." No, "even" would be used for like the girl's boob or something XD!

Anyways, after this ranty, thingamajigy, you'd think this would be like a 1 start rating, but no. It's 2 cuz this book is so damn addictive! I am only continuing the trilogy so I can get more heart flutteries from Cole *giggles hysterically*

Okay, now I'm done! *jazz hands!*

[VampireNovelFan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Forced to finish this one

The cover suggests a slightly more mature theme, even within the YA genre. It can happen. I just finished reading a book where it happened. But 99% of the book is spent with her outside of this “Everneath”, resulting in a fairly uninteresting read. I read it quickly so I didn’t waste too much time on it, but I really don’t like it when covers are so deceptive.

Nikki is the central character of the story. 6 months ago she was taken to the Everneath by Cole, an immortal who used her life force to sustain his own and his Queen’s. She spends 100 years literally attached to Cole as he feeds from her. Once the feeding is done it is discovered that Nikki is a unique case, surviving it as most others wouldn’t. This suggests that she has a special power, making her very attractive to Cole. She has a choice to stay in the Everneath with him, but she decides to go back home to be with her family and her boyfriend, Jack, who was her biggest motivation to remain alive. However, going back to the real world puts her on a countdown to destruction, destining her to spend an eternity in the Underworld. She tries to live her life (or what she has left of it) but Cole is an obvious interference, desperately trying to convince her to be with him and rule the Everneath. But her heart is with Jack, putting her in a predicament and forcing her to look for any alternative she can find. And therein lies the story.

I didn’t really like how 100 years in the Everneath is only 6 months in the real world. That was too convenient. There is a lot of time jumping (showing POVs from past to present to past, etc. ) while counting down to the climax, but the build up isn’t intense. It’s very “day in the life”. The beginning ropes you in in hopes that you’re in for a super cool roller coaster ride, but then it turns into an unoriginal high school teen drama; I would have avoided this book had I known to expect that. In terms of characters, I preferred Cole simply because he was actually interesting and that was an actual challenge. Don’t get me wrong, he’s manipulative and a horrible love interest, but as a character I would have liked to have seen more. I like my villains to be more than one-dimensional. I started skimming the scenes with Jack after a while, though I got the point. This book was more teen romance with a dash of paranormal lore. Overall, if they took out the lore most of the book would be unaffected.

The best parts were the brief mythology references. While it seems as if the next book could focus on a little more adventure, I’m not taking the bait. There are two other potentially interesting worlds that we merely hear about: the Everneath and the Underworld, and I wanted Nikki to explore both. This was the chance for the series to stand out to me and it didn’t. It’s got pretty good ratings overall though, so maybe it’s just me. I might be willing to read the second book if she does explore these worlds in future books, but I’m not waiting with bated breath for it.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley

[Kayla Silverss · Rating 5 out of 5]

So for https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... the book picked to read was... Everneath
This book follows Nikki, who gave up her life on earth because of a broken heart, after a century of being locked up in the everneath,the underworld. She finally is allowed to spend 6 months to try and live her her life on earth and maybe reconnect with her boyfriend jack but there is also Cole, the boy who she spent a century with in the everneath and who cares about her deeply.

This book is on one my favrouite books ever! Persephone and Hades is my favrouite myth and for someone that studies classics, this twist on the tale was beautifully written.
I loved how Brodi Ashton wrote the flashback and then the flash forwards.

CHARACTERS-
Nikki is a very strong female protagonist, she knows what she wants and she goes out and gets it.
You really see her descions show who she is as a person.
Jack is my least favrouite character, I think in this book he dragged Nikki down. A lot of people adore jack in this book and I can understand why but he definitely not for me.
Cole is the most amazing character in this book, in my opinion and he will always be my favrouite. Cole honestly loves Nikki, and you could totally see that throughout the book. He would do anything for her and you see that by his speech and his actions.

ROMANCE-
So everyone ships Jack and Nikki, but here I am Team Cole and Nikki.
Jack isn't good for Nikki, like he drags her down and she has to make her descions based around him.
With Cole though, she has a witty strong relationship and you could really engage with them.

WRITING-
The whole story was well-written and the mythology aspect was amazing.
This is such an under appreciated book and that really upsets me.

[Colleen Houck]

First of all I really want the dress on the cover. It's amazing! The myth of Persephone is one of my favorites and this was such a creative take on the story. The beginning was so compelling I just wanted to keep on reading to figure out what was going on. Loved the anchor idea!

[Kiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot didn't excite me.
the love interest is the only reason I didn't rate this book 1 star💀

[Diane ϟ [ Lestrange ] · Rating 3 out of 5]

you know this cover?

looks the same isnt it? I thought when I first saw it, it was part of the series. lol
anyway, I hope its good one.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everneath is a YA paranormal romance retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone. It follows a girl names Nikki Beckett or "Becks" who has awakened suddenly in the Everneath with Cole, but she is able to pull herself out back onto earth so she can spend 6 months with her family and her ex-boyfriend Jack until she is pulled back into the Everneath

“If you're gonna leave, I wish you'd just leave. Why do you keep coming back if you're not going to stay? Because even when you're gone, you're never really gone... I won't get over it if you keep coming back. Losing you once was hard enough. And now you're here again and everything's coming back. I'm going to get screwed. And I can't do it again.”

This started out as your typical YA paranormal romance. Girl with complicated past who has connection to bad boy who is probably evil or actually is evil but said girl also really loves her good old ex-boyfriend with heart of gold. I, however, really enjoyed this one. I liked Brodi Ashton's take on this myth. Her description of the Everneath gave me chills. The plot was fast paced as are most YA paranormal romances, but it was different enough where I continued to read and really enjoyed it. I really empathized with Nikki's struggles. Her connection with Jack felt the most real with me as I was reading. I definitely ship those two which is strange because I typically go for the bad boy. Speaking of the bad boy, Cole is interesting character. I kind of felt this disconnect with him for most of the book which I think is why I wasn't really rooting for him. I feel like this is a Warner type of deal where I feel like I'm going to learn more about him in the second book and fall in love and then I'll be conflicted again. (Very typical of me, btw). I loved the strength and will power she had in resisting Cole. I was surprised by it because typically the girl kind of swoons over the bad boy. I would have liked to have seen more of the family dynamic between Nikki and her father especially over the issue of her mother. The ending killed me, but didn't suprise me. I will admit that I teared up a bit over it.

Overall, this a very enjoyable, emotional YA paranormal romance. I definitely recommend it to fans of this genre.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nikki Beckett has returned to her life after vanishing for several months without explanation. Nikki had actually traveled to Everneath during the time that she was gone and a few short months in our world was actually a hundred years living in this realm where immortals feed on the emotions of despairing humans.

Now Nikki has six months to return and set her life straight before Everneath will claim her again. She has longed for nothing but reconnecting with her boyfriend Jack while she's been gone but there is a problem with that happening. Cole, the immortal that kept her in Everneath has come back to the surface with her to try to get her to be his queen.

Everneath was a pretty slow moving read in my opinion. We have the constant back and forth of this sort of love triangle between Nikki, Cole and Jack going on which is the main focus of the story for the most part. I would have probably preferred a book based on this world known as Everneath instead of one taking place in our world.

One thing that made it a bit slow for me to get into too was there are a lot of time jumping around to explain what had happened before and then keeping with the current story. This could sometimes get a little confusing in the beginning.

What saved my rating a bit on this one was the ending actually did become quite engaging and perked up my attention after being a bit bored up to that point. It didn't end up being too bad overall but I'm not sure if I would want to continue after feeling this one only picked up at the end.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok!!!!

Everneath was really different to most books I've read, I didn't know what to expect and the beginning kind of blew me away...

Then somewhere around the middle, I became completely frustrated and I felt the 5 stars drop to 4 and then maybe to a 3.5 - BUT, just after that, I found myself catapulted through the pages, devouring the words and reaching for the end... and wow... what an ending, what a cliff-hanger...

Nik/Becks is thrown into another world, the Everneath, where the Everliving feed off human energy over 100 of their years, in a cavern no less! Those hundred years are in fact just 6 of our months, but those 6 months impacted on Becks in a way that no young person should have to feel...

Jack, well Jack is something else, I loved his character and I was really frustrated when trying to work out what had gone wrong - but it had to be done and written in the way it was in order to grasp the full intent of Brodi Ashton's story...

Cole? let's leave it at that for this book, I may follow on with a remit of Cole in the next book - at the moment he just makes me so angry!

What a book - and for the first of a series it is captivating. I have to say, I had to finish with 5 stars, those stars dropped and then suddenly soared... I ended up truly loving this book and I can't wait for book 2!!!

VERY recommended!

[Chiara Cilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entusiasmante e originale, meraviglioso.

I ❤ mythology

Dovete sapere che il mio amore per la mitologia greca nasce alla scuola elementare, quando la maestra Caterina ci leggeva l'Iliade e l'Odissea . . . e indovinate un po' qual è la mia divinità preferita? Yep, proprio lui!

ADE, SIGNORE DEGLI INFERI

Perciò, quando sentii parlare di questo libro, un retelling in chiave paranormal del mito di Ade e Persefone, non potei fare a meno di inserirlo nel mio ordine!

 Secondo il mito, Ade, dio degli Inferi, si era innamorato di Persefone, l'aveva rapita e aveva cercato di farne la sua regina. Quando, con l'inganno, era riuscito a farle mangiare sei semi di melagrana, lei si era trovata costretta a vivere negli Inferi per sei mesi l'anno.
 Rapimento e reclusione. Era un mito orribile. Mi chiesi che fine avesse fatto l'eroe di Persefone.

Ma . . . e se vi dicessi che tratta anche Orfeo e Euridice? Oooh, allora . . .

Venite con me, verso un mondo d'incanto.

Il romanzo si apre con un groviglio di braccia, gambe, ombre. Sono Cole e Nikki, rimasti lì, nell'Everneath, per un secolo. Lei è un Pegno, e nessun Pegno, dopo il Pasto, sa più chi è. Ma Nikki sì, perché in quei cento anni si è aggrappata con tutte le sue forze all'unico ricordo in grado di tenerla in vita.
Un volto.
JACK.
Ora, Nikki è Ritornata in superficie per vederlo un'ultima volta, prima che l'ombra dentro di lei si espanda definitivamente e i Tunnel la reclamino come batteria per alimentare l'Everneath.
A meno che Cole, l'Eterno che si è nutrito di lei per cento anni, non la convinca a diventare un'Eterna.

 «Voglio quello che avevano Ade e Persefone, e senza di te non posso averlo. L'unica volta che la regina dell'Everneath è stata detronizzata è stata quando un Eterno ha trovato la sua metà perfetta. Ho passato tutta la vita – ed è stata una vita lunga, fidati! – a cercare la mia, e sei tu. Ho capito che eri diversa dal primo momento in cui ti ho vista. Nello stesso istante in cui hai poggiato le tue mani sulle mie.»

Cole è disposto a tutto, pur di averla al suo fianco.
Cole, che non dovrebbe provare alcuna emozione. Che non può provarne.

 «Nel caso cominciassi a pensare di poterti nascondere. I Tunnel ti troveranno. Non puoi sfuggire. Non puoi batterli. e Finché avrai quel marchio, ti troveranno.»
 «Che cosa ti importa, se cerco di scappare?»
 «I Tunnel possono rintracciarti, ma io no» bisbigliò sottovoce.

Ma, mio carissimo Cole, hai decisamente sottovalutato il tuo avversario umano.
Perché Jack Caputo è intenso e penetrante. È un quarterback, e loro non si arrendono mai. Lottano con tutte le loro forze finché la partita non si è conclusa.

 Sentivo i suoi occhi su di me, mentre aspettava una risposta. L'attesa si prolungò, al punto che chiunque altro si sarebbe sentito a disagio.
 Eppure lui se ne stava lì seduto a osservarmi.
 In attesa.
 Paziente.
 Immobile.

Mio caro Cole, hai sottovalutato il grande amore che lega la tua Nikki a lui.
A lui.
Non a te.

 «Dimmi perché ti importa» insistetti.
 Appoggiò le mani sul davanzale. «Perché si tratta di te. Nonostante quello che pensi del sottoscritto, il tuo dolore sarà sempre il mio.»

Aw, chetati, mio cuore! Ho amato da impazzire questo Eterno dai capelli biondi e gli occhi scuri perché, pur non potendo sentire (in teoria), prova così tante emozioni a causa di Nikki. Ne è letteralmente travolto e non sa gestirle. Non credo le abbia mai provate, di conseguenza non sa come comportarsi.

 «Tu sei nociva per me, Nik» disse tra un respiro affannoso e l'altro.

Si lascia dominare da esse.
E la gelosia è la più pericolosa di tutte.

 «Lasciami in pace, Cole. Posso essere legata a doppio filo ai Tunnel, ma non sono più legata a te. Non hai alcun potere su di me.»
 «Non immagini nemmeno cosa potrei fare» mi minacciò.

Oooh yep. Qualunque cosa, pur di avere Nikki. Vero, piccolo Cole? Persino un travestimento sovrumano per poterle stare vicino anche a scuola.
Per poter vedere con i tuoi occhi quanto è forte il suo legame con Jack.

 «Sei stata tu a forzarmi la mano.»
 «Lasciami andare, Neal» sibilai, usando il suo falso nome.
 «Se solo fosse così facile.»

E allora resti, anche se fa male da morire, vederla con lui.
Con il ragazzo che lei ama con tutta l'anima.
Un ragazzo che non sei tu. Non sarai mai tu.

 «A volte il nostro cuore... si incrina un po'.»

Ma dov'è il tuo cuore, Cole? Non nel tuo petto, non c'è battito. Ma se ci fosse? Lo affideresti a Nikki? Quanto è grande la tua fiducia in lei?

 «Che cosa? Che cosa vuoi?»
 «Te, Nik.» Fece un paio di respiri profondi. «Voglio te. Che saliamo al trono o no. Ti voglio nella mia vita, e il solo modo in cui ciò può avvenire è che tu diventi uguale me. Abbiamo condiviso un cuore, Nik.» Posò un dito sul mio petto. «Il tuo cuore è dentro di me, adesso.»

Amore. Amore. Amore.

Il tuo può battere quello di un eroe?

 Jack non mi aveva mai dimenticata. Non aveva mai smesso di amarmi. Lui era l'àncora che mi aveva salvata.

Un inizio sensazionale, con un finale al cardiopalma, per una serie da leggenda!


✤ Leggi la recensione sul blog ✤
★ COMPRA ORA CON 1-CLICK ★
|| Facebook || Twitter || Pinterest ||