Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher:Harper Collins / Balzer + Bray
First in the Everneath trilogy

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.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's 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...

I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw the cover and heard it was a Hades and Persephone retelling. As I've said a million times before I love Greek mythology it's one of my absolute favorite things to read about. But believe me if you think this is going to be just another retelling with a love triangle you are so wrong because it's so much more than that.  

In Everneath the main character Nikki chooses to come back to her old life six months after she suddenly disappeared with no explanation to anyone but of course it's not like she can say where she really went: the Everneath. Now she has to make the best of the six months she has left to say the goodbyes she didn't get to say before but this time the goodbyes are for forever because unlike the original myth when she leaves the second time she has to stay in the Everneath forever. So of course this story is sad but it's also beautiful and it was written in a way that I've never read before. It switches back and forth between what is happening with Nikki in the present before she has to go back to the Everneath and the events that happened leading up to what is called 'the Feed' -which is basically what happens to her when she is in the Everneath the first time- and that might sound confusing probably because it's kind of hard to explain but it was done so well and it really made you connect to the characters a lot better than if it was written in just the present.

The romance between Nikki and Jack is the best friend turned boyfriend kind which I love and one one of my favorite things about the way this book jumps from past and present was that you got sort of twice the love story. Which I enjoyed very much because I absolutely adored Jack he was so sweet and protective of Nikki even though he really didn't know what was going on with her through most of the book. Plus he is a quarterback and I loved that about him so I had to include it in my review. There is another guy and his name is Cole. He's an Everliving which is an immortal who has to feed on the energy of humans to stay immortal and he is the one who took Nikki into the Everneath and basically fed on her. Then he follows her back to earth to try to convince her to go back with him and be his queen but Nikki is very adamant about that not happening. I really did not like Cole though he did have some redeeming qualities he just aggravated me. So without a doubt I am Team Jack.

Overall I thought this book was fabulous the ending made me super sad and it was a cliff-hanger so I am already dying for the next one. I would highly recommend this expecially if like me you love Greek retellings and if also like me you don't like love triangles because this is one of the better ones. 

5/5 stars.

-Marissa