Review of Everneath by Brodi Ashton: 4.5 Stars

Maybe it's because I am at a friend's wedding that I was in the perfect state of mind for a good love story. But I know that's not the only reason why I loved this book.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book as it seemed like people either liked or disliked it. Let's just say I was definitely pleasantly surprised. I rate this book 4.5 stars.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton is a play on the mythological story of Persephone and Hades as well as Orpheus and Eurydice. We are introduced to the protagonist Nikki, who is already currently in the Underworld with Cole, a sinister yet intriguing antagonist. There is one thing that keeps her sane during the 100 years that she is bound, and it is thoughts of her first love, Jack. Only 6 months pass in the upper world, and she returns to Earth for 6 months before her ultimate fate of feeding the energy of the Underworld until she is used up. Jack and Nikki frantically try to find a "cure" and discover secrets along the way.

I'll put this right out there. I absolutely loved this book. Perhaps part of it is that I love Greek mythology to start with, but that said, I thought this book was well done. The characters were very well developed and I really got Nikki's relationships with both Cole and Jack. I understood her progression from despair to hope and the symbolism to drug use with what Cole represented. The prose was very clear and many times poignant, and I blazed through the entire book in a few hours, never losing interest. I was in tears at one point. For me, that's not a usual response. I enjoyed how the book was told in both present day and past day, and thought that this method of storytelling worked very well for the story that was to be told.

So why did I rate this 4.5 stars since it's obvious that I loved it? There were a few things that I saw that for me would propel it even to a higher level. I wish that I had even more details of Nikki's past with Jack. Jack seems like such an interesting character, but in the beginning he's painted as the player guy who sleeps with everyone, which is such a dichotomy from the guy he is with Nikki. There's a reason he does that and I want to know what it is. Second, I'm not sure if this is left for the second book, but there is a huge misunderstanding between Jack and Nikki which leads to her going to the Underworld in the first place. I guess we can chalk up her emotional state to being a teenager, but I wasn't quite convinced. And lastly, I felt that the ending could have been done a little better-- in fact, if it had ended two chapters before, it would have been a better ending I believe.

That said, it's obvious that I loved this book even with its flaws, and I highly recommend it to any lover of YA fiction.

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Everneath Amazon Review

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