Book Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton.

Product details:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK.
Release date: February 2nd 2012.
Paperback, 384 pages.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Ages: 14+
Source: Received from publisher for review.

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...

Inspired by mythology and driven by love, Brodi Ashton’s Everneath is a powerful read that perfectly captures the raw emotions of loss and grief.  With a plotline that is as imaginative as it is intense, and a romance that will tug at your heartstrings, this is an outstanding debut, and a must read for YA fans everywhere.

Six months ago, Nikki Beckett succumbed to a moment of weakness, and now her life will never be the same again.  With her home life a mess and her relationship in jeopardy, her new friend Cole offered her a quick fix solution, and in accepting his too-good-to-be-true offer, Nikki made the biggest mistake of her life. Soon realizing that Cole is no ordinary guy, but an Everling, an immortal who feeds on the emotions of others, sucking their souls dry, Nikki wants out. But it’s too late. She’s danced with the devil, and is sucked into an underworld where she lives in darkness for one hundred years, Cole feeding on soul, leaving her empty, broken and alone.

But now Nikki’s back in the mortal world, and though she’s been gone for what seems like forever, in reality just six months have passed. Nikki is shattered, broken into pieces, a shadow of the girl she used to be.  But she has a chance to say goodbye, to her dad, to her brother Tommy, to her best friend Jules and to Jack, the boy who never stopped looking for her, who never stopped loving her.  Nikki has six months in this realm before the underworld reclaims her, this time for good.

I had heard A LOT about Everneath before its release.  From its beautiful cover art, to the enormous amount of publisher and blogger buzz surrounding Ashton’s debut, this book had a lot of hype to live up to.  And I often find, that for me at least, ever the picky reader that I am, books just don’t live up to that hype. But this one did. Everneath lives up to the hype, and then some. I haven’t been really excited about a book in a while, I haven’t swooned over a book boy in months and I haven’t  stayed up all night to finish a book in forever,  but I did with this one. I adored Everneath.

For anyone who has ever lost a loved one, who knows the pain of an aching heart and raw gut-churning grief, this book will touch your soul, and make you cry your eyes out. It’s this powerful depiction of loss and of grief that makes this book stand apart from the pack. The pain of Nikki’s loss in Everneath is so raw.  She’s lost everything. She has nothing, but there’s Jack, that one light at the end of the tunnel, he gave her hope when all hope was lost. And sometimes that’s all anyone needs, that little chink of light, of hope. Brodi Ashton writes from the heart, never skimming the surface of raw emotion.  Her words are full of conviction and of knowing, and will melt the hardest of hearts.

In terms of originality, pacing and plotting, this book is flawless from its sweet little plot twists to the increased sense of urgency we feel as Nikki’s time on earth runs out, and I could talk about all of this at length, but I want to move on the characters, and yeah, the hot boys. The characters in Everneath, are not perfect, but flawed, conflicted, hurting, messed up beyond belief, and oh, so real. These were characters I could connect with, and from Nikki to Jack, and hell, even Cole, I understood them all. I connected.

Nikki has made this huge mistake that impacts on the lives of everyone around her, and it would be easy to write her off because of this, but you never will.  She may be shattered to pieces, but she’s also strong, she’s a survivor, and she never gives up hope.  Then there’s Jack, the boy who gives her that hope, the one she left behind, breaking his heart and leaving him in ruins. I have a major crush on Jack, how him and Nikki were first friends, how he fell in love with her, and how he’s not afraid to ever tell her that, how he never gives up on her, how he’s always there for her, no matter what. So much love for Jack. As for Cole, that bad boy is trouble; you don’t want to get too close to him, because you might get burned.  And yet, you’ll find yourself intrigued by him, his secrets and his conflicted ways…

Everneath gets ALL THE STARS from me.  Thanks, Brodi Ashton, you ripped my heart right out with this book, and that ending left me in tears. If I could rate this book ten out of five, I would. It’s perfect.