Book Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Brodi Ashton- Everneath Format- Paperback Source- Review copyPublisher- Simon & SchusterSynopsis: 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...Review: Nikki is released from the grasps from the Everneath, but she only has six months to say goodbye to her family and friends, again. After one hundred years of longing for her ex-boyfriend Jack, when she returns home and to school, she realises there isn’t much she can say that would explain her sudden disappearance six months prior. Cole is always hanging around reminding her that she must return to the Everneath, but as she begins to live her life again she realises that she doesn’t want to go back and must find a loophole to keep her from being sucked dry of all her energy for another century.When I first picked up this book and started to read it, I thought it was going to resemble The Goddess Test, another YA paranormal book that examines the Persephone/ Hades mythology. But it seemed Everneath was kind of starting from the other end of the story- where Nikki has just been spat out by the Everneath after 100 years (or 6 months human time) of being fed off by Everliving, Cole. He convinced her to go under with him 6 months prior at a time when Nikki felt she had nothing to live for. He promised to take away the pain that tore through her following the death of her mother and then the perceived betrayal of her boyfriend Jack. Only, Cole wasn’t counting on Nikki having any remaining ties to the human world, let alone Jack.I think if I hadn’t read The Goddess Test, Everneath would seem like a unique read, but for me there wasn’t anything specific that stood out for me about this story. Nikki is a grief-stricken teen who is quite flat on the pages for most of the story with feigned helplessness and low self-esteem. I was frustrated with her that it took so long for her to open up to Jack. He was so patient with her, having known how tough it is to break down her defences. In the second half of the book, the characters seem to come alive and there’s a fighting spirit in Nikki that made her more likeable.I had mixed feelings about the ending, somewhat disappointed for the outcome for Jack and Nikki, but also felt a little hopeful too. I didn’t love this book, but I didn’t dislike it either and I am interested to see what happens next when the sequel is released.
3/5 rating
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