Book Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

An intriguing twist on the myth of Persephone and the Underworld, Everneath by Brodi Ashton will delight fans of paranormal romance and entice fans of books like Abandon by Meg Cabot, and Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini.

Everneath tells the story of Nikki Beckett, who was sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s back and has six months to say goodbye to her friends, her family, her life — before returning to the Everneath forever. But returning isn’t as easy as she’d hoped, and Nikki soon finds herself torn between her boyfriend Jack, whom she loves more than anything, and Cole — the charming bad boy immortal who first seduced her into the underworld to begin with. And he wants her back — this time as his queen.

Much of the conflict in Everneath centers around Nikki’s struggle over whether to fight fate — and keep her life on the surface, despite the potential consequences — or give into Cole’s wishes, and join him in the Everneath as ruler. And then there’s the troubling third option, in which Nikki is banished to the Everneath and becomes — essentially — a power source for that world.

These are no easy decisions for Nikki to face, though in certain parts of the novel the dramatic tension lags. The climax brings some much-needed intensity and some gripping emotions — but getting there can be slow. If you’re willing to stick with the book in its slower moments, the ending has some worthy drama.

The real charm of Everneath is the way Ashton has taken the Persephone myth and used it to inspire her own mythology, dropping clues throughout the novel that her characters must piece together to understand fully what’s going on. It’s these clues that really help string the reader along during the plot’s slower moments.

Everneath is in stores today.