Review: Evertrue by Brodi Ashton

Title: Evertrue
Author: Brodi Ashton
Series: Everneath, book #3
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: January 21, 2014
Source:  borrowed from Sara
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Now that Nikki has rescued Jack, all she wants is to be with him and graduate high school. But Cole tricked Nikki into feeding off him, and she’s begun the process of turning into an Everliving herself... which means she must feed on a Forfeit soon — or die.

Terrified for her survival, Nikki and Jack begin a desperate attempt to reverse the process using any means possible. Even Cole, who they expected to fight them at every turn, has become an unlikely ally — but how long can it last? Nikki needs to feed on Cole to survive, Cole needs Nikki to gain the throne in the Everneath, Jack needs Nikki because she is everything to him — and together, they must travel back to the Underworld to undo Nikki’s fate and make her mortal once more. But Cole isn’t the only one with plans for Nikki: the Queen has not forgotten Nikki’s treachery, and she wants her destroyed for good. Will Nikki be forced to spend eternity in the Underworld, or does she have what it takes to bring down the Everneath once and for all?

In this stunning conclusion to the Everneath trilogy, Brodi Ashton evokes the resiliency of the human spirit and the indomitable power of true love.

Oh, my heart!  This series finale, while no more brutal than other recent series endings, left me desolate.  I devoured this book, but over the course of the novel, I think I distanced myself from the characters and the story.  I actually think I've been doing that with a lot of finales lately, to save myself from the pain, I suppose. But with Evertrue, I couldn't help how my heart was dashed to pieces.

I was numb for most of the book.  Cole was not Cole.  Jack was a bit over-bearing, and Nikki was just...well, her usual over-thinking self.  I loved Everbound, loved it sooo hard.  And even though we do return to the Everneath in this book, it just didn't have the same draw.  Nothing about this final book had the same impact, emotional or otherwise, as the previous two books.  Until that ending.

The amnesia plot in this book kind of drove me nuts.  As did Jack's caveman attitude.  I felt like I no longer knew these two boys, and honestly, I couldn't have cared less who Nikki ended up with.  I am all for the redeemable bad boy, and so I previously sided with Cole, despite his various misdeeds.  But I knew that ultimately that could never be.  I'd made my peace with that.  And with this final installment, I didn't really find him appealing anymore, as different as he was. Until that ending.

But this wasn't ever really a love triangle to begin with, so I don't want to focus on that aspect.  I think it was the overall plot that bothered me most.  I just didn't feel invested in where the story was headed, and the characters didn't help with that.  I read it quickly, but that was because I was trying to get to the end, to where I know Ashton's strengths really lie. The woman can write an ending, if the previous two books are to be believed.  And here again, she delivers.  I can't say I particularly love the turn it took, but it was fitting, if nothing else.  And Cole got some pretty good lines in there at the end.

Evertrue was not my favorite ending to a series, but when you never want your favorite series to end in the first place, that is a tall feat to accomplish anyway.  It hit me in the feels.  It made me want to bang my head against the wall.  It made my heart hurt.  And that's pretty much all I can ask from a finale:  that it makes me feel something...that it makes me reminisce over the entire series and want to read it again in one go.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

Because of two parents who were Greek myth geeks, I grew up thinking the latest fashion trends were inspired by Aphrodite, and a good conversational opener was, “So, which mythological character do you most resemble?” Despite these social shortcomings, I found a great husband who’s always my first reader. We live in Utah with our two young boys, who still have no idea why I'm at the computer all the time.

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

Find Brodi:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Labels: afterlife, brodi ashton, everneath, harper-collins, mythology, paranormal, retellings, souls