Brodi Ashton
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Released: January 24, 2012
Genre: Paranormal
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
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.I have to admit, I requested this title from Netgalley solely for my love of its cover. I knew nothing about it, other than the fact that the entire blogging community had been lusting over it for months. I'm actually glad I didn't take the time to read the synopsis because I may have passed it up due to my overall distrust of the paranormal genre.
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...
Everneath begins with Nikki regaining consciousness just after the Feed. It is unclear exactly who she is or where she is, but Ashton does an amazing job of throwing the reader into the story and planting the urge to know more. Throughout the entire story, Nikki is discovering things about herself and the world of the Everneath with the reader - making her a deeply empathetic character from the start. Her struggle with fixing what is left of her old life, all the while knowing she is only to leave again, is painfully evident. For a person lacking emotion, Nikki has the ability to make the reader feel all the things she can't.
Without giving too much away, one of my favorite aspects of this novel is its tie to Greek mythology, one myth in particular being one of my favorites. If this is to be a new trend in the paranormal genre, I must say I can't wait to see what other authors will do with it. That said, of the few I've read, Ashton certainly wrote the best. The story is solid, the characters are well fleshed, and holy cliffhanger ending! I swear this reviewing thing has its setbacks. I can't imagine having to wait over a year to find out what happens next.
Overall, Everneath was a very ambitious debut novel, and Brodi Ashton nailed it. As I said before, I've been very leery of paranormal as of late, but with new titles like this one, it gives me hope for the future of the genre.
I know what you mean about the synopsis. I've been kind of hesitant about reading this one because the description sounded a little too typical YA paranormal romance for me. But, like you said, everyone's been excited about it, and I've already read several good reviews on it, so I've pretty much decided to give it a shot. Here's hoping I enjoy it as much as you did!
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