Everneath by Brodi Ashton Review

Title: Everneath
Author: Brodi Ashton (Twitter)
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Publish Date: January 24, 2012
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 370
Source: Publisher

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.

Nikki's been listless and slumbering in Everneath for the past hundred years where the Everlings use their human Forfeits to feed on their emotions and gain both power and strength. But when Nikki wakes, she remembers something - a piece of life and love she had forgotten. So, she decides to return to the real world to say her goodbyes with the little time she has left...just six months until Everneath comes back to claim her again. Nikki wants nothing more than to return home to Jack, but Cole won't let Nikki go without a fight. Does she have what it take to defeat fate and stay with Jack, or will Everneath claim her once and for all.

I've said it time and again, but I suppose it doesn't really hurt to repeat myself. I love mythologically-based stories. That said, so many try too hard to fit a cut and dried mold that they are doomed to fall short. Everneath, however, is a beautiful and dazzling exception to the rule, twisting us into a intricate web of lust and lies based loosely on the story of Hades and Persephone. Brodi Ashton has crafted a sinfully delicious debut, merging a dark and swooning plot with a cast of characters that rage with power and emotion. With a rich and descriptive prose that's both alluring and tinged with darkness, Everneath shows that the classics can be re-made into something entirely new.

The characters are what truly made Everneath for me, above all else. Nikki could very easily have slipped into the humdrum mold of a damsel in distress, but she was fierce. There was a power that emanated from every fiber of her being and resonated through the prose, her relationships and every situation she encountered. Cole was seductive, to be sure. There was a dark beauty around him and a sense of danger that fed (no pun intended) off of Nikki's character. Jack is the most human of the characters in Everneath, adding a measure of predictability that easily helps you swing towards a side in the pseudo-love triangle Everneath creates. That's the other beauty of Everneath, by the way. It only partially buys into the fads of the YA genre. The love triangle isn't all that defined - it wavers into a bit of a square. The love, itself, isn't insta-love. It's slow-burning and it sears throughout the plot, building momentum as the story rages in Everneath. The only part that managed to falter a wee bit for me was the lack of mild intelligence of the adults. I really wish they hadn't so easily written Nikki off. I find that difficult to comprehend.

Overall though, Everneath was surprisingly awesome! It's definitely fresh and original, and it will make you want a second book, like, yesterday. I give it a very strong 4.5 out of 5, and I can't recommend it enough to all YA fans that enjoy paranormal fiction and mythology. Adult fans will also enjoy the darker tone to the story.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.