Everneath
Author: Brodi Ashton
Release: January 24th 2012
Genre: Mythology, Supernatural, YA
#1 in the Everneath trilogy
Plot:
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.
As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.
Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.
Review:
I am so torn about whether to give it 3 or 3 and a half stars. I guess I'll give it the latter because it is a good book.
First off, let me start by saying I really loved the concept, the premise. A new spin on Hell and Persephone's, as well as Orpheus's stories. Gripped my attention right from the start, then there's this pretty cover and you can count me in. Furthermore, not only did I like the premise, but I liked how it was done as well. Ashton did a nice job with her plot and it was interesting. A lot of authors have nice ideas but ultimately fail to actually pull them off.
The writing wasn't outstanding, but it was far from bad either. I liked it well enough. There was a clear structure and I especially loved how the story began. We get thrown into this strange, weird situation and we get to know what happened during the prologue later. It wasn't a situation like everything is thrown at you and nothing is explained, because you do get the gist of it, you just don't really understand all of it, and that was really well done.
But now, characters. Nikki Beckett wasn't a bad heroine. She made good decisions when she wanted to, she was smart and quietly awesome. She wasn't super duper special, but then she was, yet it wasn't so painfully clear. You get me? Like in The Selection, everyone is always on about how beautiful and exceptionally great America is, but that's not the case here, and I thank God for that. Like I said, she didn't always make the best decisions, but I can let that slide. Because overall, she's a good character. Cole, one of her love interests, was the guy for me. He was great and I instantly fell in love with him. He was confident in a funny way, like he did have that certain swagger but didn't exaggerate. He knew how to cheer someone up and at the same time was there for them and serious if he had to. He was empathatetic, passionate about his goals, and still tried not to hurt the one he loves. He had a lot of different sides to him, and I loved all of his colors. Cole was such an intricate character and he had found a way into my heart right from page thirty or something.
Now, I absolutely adored Cole and Nikki's relationship. Their dynamics were great. After a short while, Nikki wasn't even surprised about Cole showing up in her bed when she got home, and instead of being outraged or shocked, she was just annoyed by it. I don't know what it was, but their playful way around each other just drew me in.
However. Their bond is overshadowed by that other one, Jack Caputo. His last name reminds of that one Pokémon, Kabutops. I could not stop thinking of that Pokémon whenever his name came up, and it came up a lot.
It looks like this:
So, needless to say, I did not sympathize with him at all. Could not. I wasn't able to give a rat's behind for this kid. I am sorry, but maybe he was simply overshadowed by Cole's complexity, because this guy basically did nothing. No, scratch that, he did things, but those ... they just didn't get to me. All he did was pine after Nikki and chase her even though she has made it very clear she doesn't want him to get too close because of reasons. So he keeps showing up and annoying the shit out of her me, and she starts to realize she cannot stay away and has never stopped loving him and she confides in him and after that, all he does is help her out with her problems with the Everneath. I mean, it was sweet of him, but he was just so 2D. He didn't ooze out charme and adorableness like his rival did. He didn't have so many emotions. All he did have was heartbreak and well, the feeling you get when your ex whom you love so much comes back and she has a dirty secret and you're helping her figure it out. There wasn't much to him. Either that, or I just couldn't see it.
Other characters weren't very developed, either, and I was very mad because of this. What about Nikki's best friend, Julianna? She doesn't do anything. They have one paragraph where they go to a cafe and talk "like back in the old times" and that was it. And Nikki didn't even try to get old times back and make Jules her best friend again. What was up with that? Instead of trying to bond again with your ex who at that point you still think has cheated on you, I would rather try to get my best friend back. That is just messed up.
Anyways, plot wise this novel excelled. Plot twists were unexpected, romance wasn't too sappy so I didn't have the urge to tear my eyes out and I am pretty invested into the characters, especially their relationships (for better or for worse...) So yeah, I will be reading the sequel right about now. And this should really be Cole's book, because Nikki did not give him one fair chance in this one. Not one. And he deserves one. Otherwise I'll burn the author's house down. At this point, it is crystal clear with whom Nikki is going to end up with, but I just want Cole to have his chance with her. I JUST REALLY DO.
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