Everneath (Everneath #1)

Yes. Just hell yes.
I love anything that has to do with mythology, and Orpheus and Eurydice is one of my all time favorite Greek myths. Also, Persephone is twisted into this awesome book too. So, Everneath was right up my alley.
The immortal background is nothing new, but it was done refreshingly. The story flows effortlessly and the ending was actually surprising. I was constantly guessing (and most of the time I was spot on) what would happen, and my eyes would glance to upcoming paragraphs because I just had to know what would happen!
And, is it weird that I liked Cole more than Jack?! I don't know. He just does something for me. Probably the guitar. ;)

So overall, a great book. I'm stoked for the next in the series!

A heartbreakingly beautiful tale of love, loss and immortality, Everneath is the type of book that will leave you broken and sobbing on the floor, as your heart breaks over and over for the fates bestowed upon these tragically hopeful characters.

Having spend the last century in the Everneath as a Forfeit, in the arms of Cole as he fed on her emotions in order to maintain his youth and immortality, Nikki has decided to Return to the Surface in the hopes of making amends with the people she hurt the most with her abrupt disappearance before returning to the Everneath - as either its Queen or as its prisoner - forever. Her time in the Everneath has left her a shell of the person she once was. She emanates this hollowness that pulls at all of your emotions, until you are empty like her, devoid of any kind of feeling. Her ability to laugh (or cry) has been completely shattered, as her energy for such passionate emotions has been completely depleted by Cole.

I did find it strange that no one really questioned where Nikki had disappeared to for six months, or why she had a hard time remembering different things (like where Jack worked). I also didn't completely understand Nikki's reasons for her Return. She told Cole it was to say goodbye to her friends and family properly, but then she spends the first three months of her short time on the Surface hiding in the shadows, a mere spectator of the life she once was a part of. She kept justifying her Return by saying she needed to make sure her friends and family would be ok without her, but it seemed (to me) like returning for a brief period, before leaving forever (without a proper explanation) would have been harder for her friends and family to cope with. Nikki does eventually admit her reasons were mostly selfish, saying she needed to see the face that had gotten her through a century of darkness, but I think she also needed to come to terms with how she had arrived at this fate.

"Despite all the other factors that had contributed to my fate, in the end it was my decision that destroyed my life. And all the hurt I was enduring now was my doing.

The blame rested solely with me."

Motives aside, I was completely captivated by Nikki. Her physical fragility was no match for her mental strength - she was determined to make her father understand her hurtful words were out of anger, and that she did in fact truly love him. Her hesitance with Jack was only due to her fear of hurting him further - she had Returned with every intention of watching him from afar, and would have been satisfied with knowing he was happy - even if it was without her in his life. Her overwhelming despair only solidified her resolve to make the most out of the six months she had on the Surface, which meant doing everything within her power to make her father happy (volunteering at a food bank on Saturday and submitting to random drug tests) and coming clean with Jack - even if it mean he might walk away from her. I admired her strength and her determination, and her unwillingness to take the easy, painless way out by allowing Cole to take her back to the Everneath as an Everliving.

I loved that Nikki and Jack's relationship was built on a foundation of years of friendship and that we bore witness to its development through well-placed flashbacks. Their familiarity with each other was written with ease, and their pain at seeming betrayal ran deep - I felt it as if it were my own. I actually felt slight pity for Cole, thinking that he could compete with a relationship built on that kind of trust. I still can't fully figure out Cole. There were moments where I knew he was being manipulative by either by planting seeds of doubt or feeding off Nikki's emotions to confuse her. But there were other moments where he seemed to genuinely care for her, to be falling for her, where he tried to keep her from a fate in the Everneath. I still can't decide if he cared for her for who she was, or if he cared for her because of what she could offer him - a chance at ruling the Everneath.

"Sometimes, when something hurts us, our hearts break a little - in a slightly more...literal way than for humans. Our pain sort of spills out and onto anyone around us. We call it a cracked heart."

I sat next to him and used the sleeve of my dress to wipe away some of the sweat on his forehead. He was making it hard not to pity him. "Why did it happen to you?"

He looked at me. "Because you were dancing with Jack...When it comes to you and Jack, there is no happy ending. To expect otherwise is delusional."

Is he concerned because he fears her heart will be broken if she keeps hoping for a future with Jack? Or is he just worried she might choose the Tunnels over him because of her love for Jack? Maybe it's a bit of both, but I would be interested to read something from his perspective so I could fully figure him out.

As the end drew near, and Nikki and Jack's desperation reached an all-time high, I couldn't help but wonder why they thought their plan (of destroying Cole's heart) would work to save Nikki from a life in the Everneath. Maybe they needed to believe in something, in order to keep some shred of hope alive, but I don't understand how they reached their conclusion. Though flawed, the ending was still heart-shattering. I hope I could be that brave for someone I love, but I don't know that I'm that strong.

From start to finish Everneath had me completely spellbound. I love the spin Ashton gave the classic Hades/Persephone tale - I couldn't put it down and the ache in my chest is something I assume won't be going away anytime soon.

I battled ninjas to get the ARC of this book!

So worth it. This book was heartbreaking from page one. It begins with a simple but evocative description of the Everneath: it is an underworld where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans.

Nikki Beckett chose to go to the Everneath. She’s been gone for a century — though on the surface, it’s only been six months. She Returns for another six months, this time to say good-bye to her family and friends before she’s banished back to the Everneath forever. But this time offers her a choice, too: either the Tunnels will come for her and devour the last of her emotions, or she can go back and try to be a queen — but she will have to consume the emotions of others.

EVERNEATH is very myth-inspired: Hades/Persephone, Orpheus/Eurydice, even Osiris/Isis. Brodi weaves all these myths together seamlessly, creating a new and frightening underworld filled with immortals, mysterious High Court, and terrifying Tunnels and Shades.

There were so many things I loved about EVERNEATH: Nikki’s voice when she Returns; her determination to learn more about Cole, the immortal who lured her to the Feed; and her relationship with her boyfriend Jack. I loved so much that Nikki and Jack had a foundation to their relationship, that they were friends first and knew each other before they became soulmates. I loved the slow way they came to know each other again after Nikki’s Return, and how they both had to fight for the chance to be together again.

I loved the mystery. What happened that drove Nikki to the Everneath? Why was she willing to let Cole Feed on her emotions for a century? These answers unfolded at just the right moments. Every time I thought I figured something out before the characters, they were on it a couple paragraphs later.

I loved way we saw Nikki’s life before and after the Feed. It was easy to see why she felt overwhelmed with the need to lose herself to the Everneath. And easy to see why, after her Return, she would fight so hard to stay. Even though the Tunnels are coming for her no matter what.

And oh, the end. Powerful. Heartbreaking. Totally the only way this could have ended.

I can’t way to see where book two takes us.

I've been hearing buzz about Everneath for a while so when my friend offered to let me borrow her ARC I jumped at the chance. I'm not sure what I was expecting going into the book but it certainly wasn't what I thought it was going to be.

Everneath a sad, desperate story about the repercussions of a bad choice. I am not usually a fan of sad books, they usually take forever for me to read, but I couldn't put this one down. The underlying story of the possibility of redemption, love conquering all, heroes and hope kept me turning the pages until late at night.

Everneath is not one of those books that will sweep you away from the world. It's not easy to read but it is well worth the journey. The story is beautifully written. The characters are the kind that you talk about as if they are real. And the lessons learned are ones that apply to everyone.

I'm really looking forward to where this series goes.

Oh, one last thing. Those of you that know me know that I am a fan of the bad boy. They are my weakness. I was very surprised to find myself rooting for the good guy this time.

First Impressions: I found out early this fall that Brodi Ashton would be coming out with her very first novel and that it would have her take on a certain mythology legend, Hades-Persephone. Being the inner dork that I am, I knew that I wanted to get this book as quickly as I could! What can I say? I’m a total sucker for anything to do with mythology and/or old legends. Plus, if you ever get the chance to talk to this author, Brodi is one of the nicest people! She treats her fans so nice!

First 50 Pages: One of the things that I liked immediately about the story was the alternating narratives between the past and the present. It flip-flops between Nikki’s return to her home from spending six months in the Everneath, to her final six months before being dragged back down to the tunnel. It also includes everything that was going on leading up to the time that Nikki first went to the Everneath. That might sound confusing for some, but trust me, it’s not. The author does a fantastic job weaving all of these storylines together that also prepares you for the ending and the next book.

Almost needless to say, this fascinated me and had me totally hooked. I loved how the mythology was thrown into just about everywhere in this story. I also have to say that I didn’t think the play on ancient mythology was at all confusing. There have been some other books recently that go a tad bit overboard with explaining things in too great of detail that can make it hard to read or follow. I think that Everneath had just the right amount of detail to make it very entertaining without sounding like a textbook. I also want to point out and say that if you never heard of the original myth, don’t worry. I actually think that this re-telling of sorts is far more interesting than the original!

Plot & Characters: The story follows Nikki (of course) to the Everneath, which she initially believes is the land of the dead, but is really a place for immortals that make themselves immortal by feeding off of their human sacrifices. She actually volunteers herself for this in a moment of weakness and sadness and she comes back to the mortal world six months later. She will have an extremely tough decision to make before she is sucked back into this immortal land. Does she choose to become an Everliving (an immortal)? Or, will she become a human offering for the shades that lurk in the underworld? Oh, and then there are matters at home to settle and adjust to. How does one go back to normal after experiencing was Nikki has?

Nikki was an interesting character. When she decides what she wants to do, she doesn’t bend it anyone and sticks with her plans. She doesn’t compromise for anyone and I enjoyed that about this character. She knows what she wants, at least, she thinks she does. And as a pre-warning, there is a kind of love triangle going on in this story between Nikki, Jack (the earth boy), and Cole (the immortal, who well, fed on her she was in Everneath). I’m usually the first person to stand up and say that I can’t stand love triangles and that I get bored of them easily. Yet, in this particular book, I think it was necessary to have.

It’s really hard for me to say which boy I prefer. While Jack is a total sweetheart and completely worships the ground that Nikki walks on, Cole is a the bad boy per say, and well, I’m a total sucker for a good bad boy every now and then. I’m think I might be Team Cole on this one, but I think most people are going to swoon over Jack and his romantic ways.

Final Thoughts: The book ends with a cliff-hanger to set up for the next book in the series. Blah! Now I have to wait forever until I can find out what will happen next for these characters. I’m interested to see where exactly the author will take the story! This was a superb, mythology based book I think everyone will enjoy. I’d highly recommend seeking this one out in 2012!

I have so many FEELINGS about this book. Honestly, this is one of the best books I've ever read. The timeline and pacing are truly unique, and Ms. Ashton handles it like the master storyteller she is. I was instantly captivated by the heroine and her situation. And what a heroine!! Damaged, conflicted, but strong as steel. She doesn't flinch from hard choices, or from taking responsibility for her actions. And the two boys in her life?

Holy.

Wow.

No, this isn't a love triangle. Not really. It's good people, and bad choices, and some supernatural wheeling and dealing, and loyalty that sometimes comes out sideways, and in the middle of it all is the inescapable timebomb ticking away on Nikki's life. I wanted to hate the "villain." And I kind of did, for a little bit. But then I started to understand him. And he started to make sacrifices of his own. And suddenly it wasn't a clear cut choice anymore, and that only increased the depth and complexity of this book.

Trust me. It has depth and complexity. And romance. And the ending??? I cried. I saw it coming (kind of) and SO BADLY wanted them to find another way. I can't wait to read book 2!

This is one of those rare books that made me instantly want to start re-reading it the second I finished. I can't recommend it enough.