Review Detail

Everlast is the story of Allie, who was raised from childhood on the stories of Nerisette believing them to be fairy tales. One day, however, she and her friends are pulled in through a book in the library into the World of Dreams, where Fate rules supreme and Allie is the Crown Princess, and the people have been waiting for her return. In her absence, the Fate Maker has been ruling over Nerisette but under his regime, the wizards have taken over and are exploiting people. Now, it is upto Allie to claim her throne, prove the kind of Queen she can become and save her people from oppression.

I loved the premise of the book - it was a childhood fantasy of mine to go to another world (yup, a fantasy buff even then) where there are different creatures like dragon, dryads, mermaids, etc. World-building was good - the different species and maintaining peace between them can be difficult and it is Allie's job to ensure that no one is getting discriminated against. The harvesting also seemed so barbaric that I can't believe the wizards would actually do that. Mythology-wise, this book is very innovative and makes for an interesting read. The names, though, at times, become a bit difficult to remember.

About the plot -well, at the start, everything felt too convenient and I thought it would have a very predictable storyline. It more or less, did, but there were quite a few surprises thrown in too. I did feel sad about the fact that they basically have no way back and I was skeptical about how people would accept her rule considering she was basically forced into it, but it turned out fine. The characters definitely need more development, which is the reason I felt a bit of disconnect with the book. Overall, a good read for fantasy lovers.