4.5 stars: Recommended
Series: Everneath #1
Hardback: 370 Pages
Publication: January 24, 2012 by Balzer + Bray
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….
Everneath is a breathtaking, heartbreaking read with a fresh take on mythology. At first, Nikki’s narration jumps around as her memories return to her and she adjusts to life back on Earth. Through this technique, Ashton gives us insight into Nikki’s life before the Feed and how she came to the decision to let Cole feed off her.
I admire Nikki’s strength of mind and determination to learn how to live again before Everneath claims her once more, rather than betraying her morals to stay with Cole as his queen–and that’s something, considering the powerful attraction between him. She is the kind of girl who takes action rather than waiting for the inevitable, the kind of girl who’ll draw me into a novel with her brilliant personality. She also has great taste in guys. Jack is the kind of guy you can bring home to introduce to your parents. And if you must have an affair with a bad boy, Cole is a great choice with his immortal hotness.
Nikki sees Cole as a bad guy, a demon that tricked her into making her go to him in the first place. He is. At the same time, you could say that Nikki is his demon–a mortal who has caused him to feel things he hasn’t before, things he shouldn’t feel. He’s the bad guy, but I have a feeling that there’s a great evil lurking in the shadows somewhere. (And I really hope there is, because Cole is too cool–hot, amazing–to suffer defeat.)
From Persephone to Egyptian hieroglyphics to Orpheus, classic tales blend together to form the original source: the Everneath. I love how Ashton can write a scene from daily life, such as Nikki working on a paper, and at the same time, tell us how some Greek tales were derived from the Everneath. Other favorite scenes include Nikki’s first meeting with Cole, and Jack’s story of his initial attempt to ‘introduce’ himself to Nikki when they were kids.
Brodi Ashton captured my heart with her debut novel, and she broke it to pieces with its ending. Through friends, an English teacher, Jack and Cole, Nikki draws connections between Greek tales and the Everneath in an attempt to free herself and reclaim her old life. In the process, Nikki’s heart has been broken, healed, and torn over Jack. While mine has been drawn towards Cole from the beginning, I have grown fond of Jack. I will definitely be waiting for book two.
An ARC was provided by the publisher for review purposes
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Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Giselle says
Great review Kris I just finished this one last night and I also enjoyed it! I'm also really curious how Cole will turn out in the next books. I didn'T like him at all in this one he was frustrating!! haha
Giselle
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