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thoughtsontomes 's review for:
Everneath
by Brodi Ashton
I'm always on the search for good Hades and Persephone retellings. This summary gave me hope. It talks about a girl who survived the underworld and comes back to the surface. Even without the obvious Persephone themes, those are some of my buzzwords. The marketing and design of the cover also scream Hades and Persephone. Unfortunately... that was all a ruse.
This is not a Hades and Persephone retelling. This is more of an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, with a random "love triangle" thrown in. Except I wouldn't even consider it a love triangle, because, to me, that implies that both love interests have an equal chance. They don't. It's very obvious from the beginning who Nikki has chosen. Which is fine, except it makes the whole love triangle thing even more pointless than it usually is.
If this was marketed like the Orpheus and Eurydice retelling that it is, I think it would be more successful and would have gotten a higher rating from me as I would have had realistic expectations. I know Hades and Persephone is pretty marketable right now, but it's not as if Orpheus and Eurydice is unpopular. In fact, there are plenty of people seeking retellings of the myth as well.
Aside from all of that, the writing style isn't anything to write home about. Although it's a quick read, there are a few things used that I don't tend to enjoy. Most prominently, the always annoying Capitalization Of Random Words To Denote Importance In This World. For example, Everlings. Eveneath. Feed. The author then chooses to not really explain these things at all, just uses the capitalization to show they are ~important~. The reader is very much thrown into the story with no explanation.
Overall, I considered this story a letdown. The characters weren't anything to write home about, the writing is fairly mediocre, and I don't find the romance very compelling. I have continued with the series, because it's easy and I do plan on reading anything even vaguely "Hades and Persephone", but it's not something I'd recommend to most people. This review was originally posted on Thoughts on Tomes
This is not a Hades and Persephone retelling. This is more of an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, with a random "love triangle" thrown in. Except I wouldn't even consider it a love triangle, because, to me, that implies that both love interests have an equal chance. They don't. It's very obvious from the beginning who Nikki has chosen. Which is fine, except it makes the whole love triangle thing even more pointless than it usually is.
If this was marketed like the Orpheus and Eurydice retelling that it is, I think it would be more successful and would have gotten a higher rating from me as I would have had realistic expectations. I know Hades and Persephone is pretty marketable right now, but it's not as if Orpheus and Eurydice is unpopular. In fact, there are plenty of people seeking retellings of the myth as well.
Aside from all of that, the writing style isn't anything to write home about. Although it's a quick read, there are a few things used that I don't tend to enjoy. Most prominently, the always annoying Capitalization Of Random Words To Denote Importance In This World. For example, Everlings. Eveneath. Feed. The author then chooses to not really explain these things at all, just uses the capitalization to show they are ~important~. The reader is very much thrown into the story with no explanation.
Overall, I considered this story a letdown. The characters weren't anything to write home about, the writing is fairly mediocre, and I don't find the romance very compelling. I have continued with the series, because it's easy and I do plan on reading anything even vaguely "Hades and Persephone", but it's not something I'd recommend to most people. This review was originally posted on Thoughts on Tomes