Scan barcode
A review by sdb27
Everneath by Brodi Ashton
4.0
Everneath was, in a word, riveting. Finally, a good and original supernatural-genre young adult book! I haven’t read one of those in a while. When I first heard about Everneath, it was last year when the cover had been released. I knew instantly upon seeing the cover that it was something I should get ahold of when it came out. I mean, look at it! It’s gorgeous! But more than that, the premise is what interested me the most; I’m a sucker for re-imaginings, especially those based on Greek myth, like this one.
What Everneath did best at first was that it held my interest from the first paragraph. It drops you right in the middle of the underworld where Nikki is being held, with very little explanation but intriguing enough to make you want to find out the “how”s and the “why”s. This book was nothing if not a page-turner! Each chapter’s end revealed something new that left me guessing where the story was going next.
Another thing that I found this book did exceptionally was the love triangle. Once topside again, Nikki finds herself drawn to the boy that kept her sane during her time in the underworld—Jack. He’s human, and the first descriptions of him made me wonder what Nikki saw in him, but as the book progressed and his character fleshed out, I could see it. There’s something between the two of them that is strong enough to challenge the pull of the Everneath. Of course, love stories are rarely interesting with just one love interest, and so Nikki also finds that the dark, alluring, and dangerous Cole—the selfsame immortal who fed on her for a century in the Everneath—feels something more for her than mere selfish interest. Ultimately, Nikki’s interactions with each of these boys was equally compelling, and left me personally torn as to who I wanted her to end up with… which is a sign of great storytelling, in my opinion.
And oh, did I mention I love retellings of myths? Brodi Ashton took the tales of Persephone/Hades and Eurydice/Orpheus and spun them into an extraordinary, modern fabric rich with mystique and enough originality to both fascinate and entertain the reader. However, the one thing that is markedly different between the myths and Everneath is the fact that the Greek myths were pure tragedy, whereas the ending of Everneath promises hope for a better future for Nikki and those she loves.
I absolutely enjoyed Everneath from start to finish. The mythology was rich and promising, the characters interesting, and the prose evocative. I’m really looking forward to reading the sequel when it comes out!
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
What Everneath did best at first was that it held my interest from the first paragraph. It drops you right in the middle of the underworld where Nikki is being held, with very little explanation but intriguing enough to make you want to find out the “how”s and the “why”s. This book was nothing if not a page-turner! Each chapter’s end revealed something new that left me guessing where the story was going next.
Another thing that I found this book did exceptionally was the love triangle. Once topside again, Nikki finds herself drawn to the boy that kept her sane during her time in the underworld—Jack. He’s human, and the first descriptions of him made me wonder what Nikki saw in him, but as the book progressed and his character fleshed out, I could see it. There’s something between the two of them that is strong enough to challenge the pull of the Everneath. Of course, love stories are rarely interesting with just one love interest, and so Nikki also finds that the dark, alluring, and dangerous Cole—the selfsame immortal who fed on her for a century in the Everneath—feels something more for her than mere selfish interest. Ultimately, Nikki’s interactions with each of these boys was equally compelling, and left me personally torn as to who I wanted her to end up with… which is a sign of great storytelling, in my opinion.
And oh, did I mention I love retellings of myths? Brodi Ashton took the tales of Persephone/Hades and Eurydice/Orpheus and spun them into an extraordinary, modern fabric rich with mystique and enough originality to both fascinate and entertain the reader. However, the one thing that is markedly different between the myths and Everneath is the fact that the Greek myths were pure tragedy, whereas the ending of Everneath promises hope for a better future for Nikki and those she loves.
I absolutely enjoyed Everneath from start to finish. The mythology was rich and promising, the characters interesting, and the prose evocative. I’m really looking forward to reading the sequel when it comes out!
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!