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Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

The Persephone tale retold

Debut author, Brodi Ashton, puts her own spin on the Persephone story in Everneath.

Everneath is a place were the Everlings live. In order to survive forever, they feed on the emotions of humans - empty them - for a hundred years, so they could survive for another century.  

Cole is an Everling who has taken Nikki as his Forfeit (humans who the Everlings feed on), but Nikki is different. When she wakes up, she is still the same as before and Cole wants to use Nikki in a run for the throne. However, all she can think about is the face that she kept seeing for the hundred years, the face that is now nameless, and she choses that face over Cole. 

When Nikki returns to the Surface, only six months have passed and the story continues as Nikki has another six months before the Tunnels (the place where Forfeits go after the Feeding) come for her. 

I found the passage of time a little confusing. Apparently, six months in Surface time is a hundred years in Everneath time and the Everlings need to feed for a hundred years in order to live for a hundred years, but does that mean a hundred surface years? Or a hundred Everneath years? 

Part of the story is told in flashbacks, to explain what happened before the Feeding. The rest is present day, where Nikki and Jack are in a race against time, trying to figure out how to keep Nikki on the Surface. There is a clear indication between the two different times, so it’s not confusing at all. 

I found that a lot of the story is relayed to the reader through dialogue between Nikki and Jack. It was a lot of information dump at times, even though some of it was necessary. I think that there were some bits that could have been shown in the story, rather than have Nikki tell the reader (and Jack). 

For the most part, I enjoyed the retelling. There are two boys vying for the love of the protagonist, but, I wouldn’t call it a love triangle, as it’s rather clear from the start who Nikki wants - and in my opinion, her decision breaks the mold of the typical paranormal romance novel. 

The ending was strong and answered the questions raised in this installment (double points for no unnecessary cliffhangers). I’m definitely looking forward to the continuation of this story and to more of  Brodi’s work.  

Release Date: 24th January, 2012 || Publisher: Balzer + Bray || Details →

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[arc via Around the World Arc Tours]

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