Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Balzer + Bray, 2012
370 pages
YA; Paranormal
4.5/5 stars
Source: Library
I had instant cover lust with this book-I would love to have a similar red dress (do I have any place to wear such a creation? No, but that hardly matters). Still I did not immediately pick up this book because I have frequently found myself disappointed with pretty dress cover books as I am just not an intense lover of YA paranormals. But after reading many positive reviews and being assured that there was not a love triangle (which was a very important deciding factor for me), I took the plunge.
I found the writing style very easy to read and I was swept away after some momentary confusion at the beginning (the italicized part as well as the prologue). What was going on? What had main character Nikki gotten herself into? I mean, I could make some guesses as to how Nikki found herself seeking oblivion from the pain of life in the arms of mysterious rocker bad boy Cole. And it was obvious that he was some kind of paranormal creation with ambiguous intentions. But what were all the rules governing this world underneath?
For the most part, Nikki is as in the dark as we are BUT she expends considerable energy in figuring things out. Additionally she wants to make things up to her father, brother, best friend, and ex-boyfriend after her disappearance six months. Complicating matters is the fact that she will have to leave again forever in another six months unless she decides to join Cole, whereby she will leave even earlier. I'm worried that I may have needlessly overcomplicated the plot for you but if you read the book, it should make sense.
What I was most drawn to in this book was the love story. Although Nikki sought solace with Cole after thinking that her boyfriend had cheated on her, she never forgot him. And he never forgot her, forming an intense connection. While the idea of finding "true love" in high school still seems outrageous to me in most of the YA books I read, I fell hard for this romance. Maybe it was my mood after reading a couple of books with little romance or inadequate love stories. Maybe Nikki and Jack just seemed to complete each other (I know: gag). I can't describe it but once they started working together to fight her fate, I was hooked and I soared through the final pages.
With that strong romantic element, I was able to root for Nikki to remain strong even as Cole did his best to win her over. He tried everything including his substantial powers of emotional manipulation to get her to give up her human life and return with him willingly to the Everneath. But she did not want oblivion anymore and she didn't want to rely on the pain of others for that relief. Instead she was willing to accept the pain but also the joy that comes from being a human.
Overall: I really did love this book. I thought Nikki was fairly strong for her situation and for a YA paranormal heroine and the romance really worked for me (if only Jack had been named Will and then he could have entered my list of wonderful YA boys named Will ;)
I loved this book too! I don't know about you but I thought the set-up in Everneath was pretty romantic, as long as you survived it, that is! :--) Also, I think in a way I liked Cole better than Jack because Cole seemed more realistic. And yes - loved, loved, loved the cover! Want the dress also! Well, want the dress plus want to look like that in the dress....
ReplyDeleteYAY!! There's nothing better than when you completely love a book and find out that one of the bloggers you trust most loves it too! I fell in love with the cover for this one first, but it was okay since the inside was amazing enough to match. ;) And like you, I fell hard for this romance -- it was one of the sweetest love triangles out there!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely amazing review, B! <3 Plus, the thing you wrote awesome boys often being named Will? SO TRUE! x)
HEHE. If only Jack had been named Will... TOO FUNNY. A whole list of them, you say? I should try something like that, see how many boys of the same name I come up with. But Jack is a stellar guy.
ReplyDeleteYour review is so spot-on as to how amazing this book is. The emotion is so beautifully clear to us, and I just couldn't get enough.
— Asher
Great review, I gave it the same rating, looks like we had similar feelings about it. Here's my review if you want to check it out
ReplyDeletehttp://teddyree-theeclecticreader.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/everneath-by-brodi-ashton.html
I had zero interest in reading this after my disappointment with other similar books (Abandon by Meg Cabot and Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini) but after reading your review, I've decided to give Everneath a try. I'll have to look for it at the library sometime. I am glad that there isn't a love triangle and that the romance worked for you. I hate love triangles. I think it is a normal element for YA paranormals in particular to focus on true love in high school. It seems like it is rare to find realistic portrayals of romantic teen relationships in YA paranormal fiction. Intense emotions and quick romantic connections appear to be the norm in that genre.
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