Everneath

By: Brodi Ashton

Narrated by: Amy Rubinate

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned - to her old life, her family, her boyfriend - before she’s 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 precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance - and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is 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 queen.

Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

©2012 Brodi Ashton (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Enjoyable Slow Burn Story

This is the second 'slow burn' YA title I've read/listen to this month. But unlike Matched by Allie Condy, this heroine's langour isn't boring nor does it create a flat character. That's because protagonist Nikki has spent 100 years away from her 17 year old life, trapped in a purgatory. She has to regain emotions lost during that time - and she does over the course of the book. The character development is palpable.

I enjoyed Everneath - there were plenty of mysteries and the 6 month Persephone myth added impetus to the story. As with many YA stories of late, the hero was a bit too good to be true. Although author Brodi Ashton attempted to give him some foibles, they weren't really believable and we didn't get much in the way of his characterization as a result. The same could be said of her best friend, who is almost a cardboard cut out throughout.

But that said, the story flowed smoothly and I enjoyed the ride. I will be purchasing the next title as well.

The audible performance was very good and added to, rather than detracted from, the story.

Good book for teanagers

If you could sum up Everneath in three words, what would they be?

It was a good book and a good story. I didn't realize it was really written for teans though.

Everneath but Underwhelming

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Hmm. No, I wouldn't recommend this book. It was insanely predictable and the story kind of made me angry. The main girl is whiny and kind of spineless--except she isn't that much, she just always comes across like that.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I knew exactly what was going to happen because it was so predictable, so it wasn't the big shocking twist that I think was supposed to happen. Sigh.

Did Amy Rubinate do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The narrator was okay. She did her best with the material given her. Some different voices to distinguish.

Did Everneath inspire you to do anything?

Nope. Except maybe grumble that I had wasted a credit on this book.

Any additional comments?

I'd say save your credit.

Myth and Love

Where does Everneath rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love it. Among my favorites.

What other book might you compare Everneath to and why?

No book compares to Everneath. That's what makes it so fun.

What does Amy Rubinate bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like her. She told the story great and I really liked the change in her voice when she was reading past Nikki and current Nikki. You can tell the difference.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Before she leaves again. She has six months to say good-bye, six months to find redemption and six months before the Tunnels come for her.

Amazing...

Beautifully written and narrated. I love how the author has used mythology to explain their version of Hell. I can't wait for the sequel.

This book was just OK

Any additional comments?

While I wasn't exactly bored during this book, I wasn't really entertained either. It doesn't go very deep or develop the characters much. Kind of shallow in my opinion. Narration was dull. Everything was just OK, but not great.

Everneath Review

Any additional comments?

This is a modern day take on the Hades and Persephone myth but unlike the others I've read recently, I really enjoyed it. Its so crazy how much Brodi Ashton can make you absolutely despise a character and kind of like them at the same time, like Cole. He is the worst person ever but you almost like him a bit. The most annoying part of this story was the fact that NO ONE figured out who Mary really was?! I mean it was so obvious. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought it would. I cannot wait to read the next installment.

A Hauntingly Beautiful Debut

Would you listen to Everneath again? Why?

Nikki Beckett has been seduced into a world of emotion feeding fiends. Now she has six months to make amends with her friends and family, before she returns to the Everneath. But what Nikki really wants is to see Jack, her love and constant, the one person who that got her through the eternity of living death known as the feed, one last time. Unfortunately her capture Cole, has other plans and will stop at nothing to convince Nikki to be his underworld queen. Yet, something about Cole's actions are suspect, and as Nikki learns more about her bargain, she believes there might be another solution to either becoming a soul sucking immortal or enduring the endless torture of the Everneath.

Brodi Ashton delivers an impressive debut. Everneath is a hauntingly beautiful modern interpretation of a Greek classic. The story moves fluidly from past to present, revealing the plot and characters, in a difficult yet successful way. The world building and characters really emoted this sorrowful current, which set the tone perfectly. The writing style suited the plot, and helps the reader to connect with and fall for Nikki and Jack.

I found the tone and melancholy quality in Amy Rubinate's narration as haunting and lovely as the words Brodi Ashton provided. She sold it for me. It wasn't overly dramatic, just the right mix of regret, longing, and numbness. Rubinate did a wonderful job on the male voices as well, they were strong and didn't sound forced. She reads well, and I found her easy to listen to. I loved her performance in this. Everneath has everything I look for in an audiobook, great production value, clear well read narration, and a wonderful performance by the narrator.

Everneath is a great addition to anyone's library or playlist. It's beautifully written, has a wonderful story, exceptionally flawed characters, and a great recording.

Tuggin' at my Mythological Heart-Strings

Would you consider the audio edition of Everneath to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version, so its hard to say for sure. I can imagine, though, that I might have read the dialect a little differently than how the narrator did in some circumstances.

What did you like best about this story?

Girl meets boy, girl falls for boy, girl is hurt by boy.... girl goes to the underworld?? Sounds cool to me!

What does Amy Rubinate bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She sometimes had a very melodramatic tone to her voice which helped develop a very specific picture in my mind for the main character, Niki. On the other hand, I feel as though she read the male characters a little different than what I think I would have.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The development of what happened before Niki went to the underworld was probably were I couldn't stop listening. I was just so damn curious!! That and of course the end, which I kinda saw coming.

Any additional comments?

Good, easy listen. Romantic, dark, and supernatural.

Stick with it, Its worth it.

I'm not going to lie (you guys should know me better than that by now). Everneath took me awhile to get into. I was instantly compelled by the writing but I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what was going on. There is no exposition. No back story. BOOM first sentence you are in the middle of a story and left to figure out for yourself what's going on.

You will though, and you will like the story. Just give it a chance.