Evertrue by Brodi Ashton

Series: Everneath (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance/Fantasy

Subjects: Supernatural, underworlds, immortality, love, mythology

Setting: Park City, Utah and the Everneath

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense: Nikki

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 355 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover and now in Paperback

List Price: $17.99/$9.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “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.”

My Review:  I waited a year to read this book, so it’s been two years since I read Everbound. This series has gone from okay to awesome to absolutely amazing. It’s partially because of the development of the heroine, Nikki, and also the other characters and this world called the Everneath.

Nikki in the first book Everneath was recovering from the time she was being fed on by Cole, so she seemed depressed and uninteresting. In Everbound she had a lot of her strength back and the story became an adventure through a labyrinth in the Everneath. In Evertrue Nikki is becoming an Everliving and would like to find a way to prevent that. She tries to get her heart back from Cole but fails, but she has a better plan that can save more lives: destroy the Everneath.

I really enjoyed the character Cole. He’s the kind of guy you love to hate, but also love to love. He’s like Damon Salvatore or Klaus from the Vampire Diaries, or even Warner from Shatter Me. He’s a bad boy, but he’s also a musician who used to be a Norwegian farm boy a very long time ago become becoming an Everliving. He’s blond and hot and sometimes funny, and likes to tease Nikki.

Cole wants Nikki to love him back, but Nikki loves Jack. In this book Cole gets amnesia and forgets who is his beyond his name. He temporarily forgot how to speak English, but that didn’t last long. It’s kind of hilarious and adds another interesting layer to this story. Nikki makes up a false backstory for Cole so he would help them destroy the Everneath.

We see all three of our main characters work together and get along (mostly due to Cole’s lack of memory). Jack and Nikki can’t hate Cole if Cole doesn’t remember what he did to them. Jack and Nikki can share their romance, but Nikki has to feed off of Cole or she’ll die because she can’t make her own energy any more. That involves kissing. Jack is not happy with this but want Nikki to live so he lets her.

This finale is well plotted with absolutely no dull moments. It’s such a faster read than the first book. There’s still adventure and interesting paranormal elements. It’s all very unique. I recommend this to fans of paranormal books about immortals or even vampires. Also too fans of Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, which is about immortals. It’s kind of like the Persephone and Hades Greek Myth so if you liked Falling Under by Gwen Hayes and Abandon by Meg Cabot and other books with mythology and the underworld too, you may enjoy this.

Cover Art Review: I absolutely love the dress turning into a vortex of smoke. It’s so gorgeous. Fit with the previous covers, but this one is definitely the best. 

Die For Her by Amy Plum

Series: Revenants (bk. 1.5, novella)

Genera: Paranormal Romance

Subjects: Paris, France, supernatural, love, death

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 78 pgs. (on my Nook)

HC/PB: E-Book novella

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: "Set in the romantic and death-defying world of the international bestselling Die for Me trilogy, this digital original novella follows Jules, a brooding, immortal French artist who has fallen in love with his best friend’s girlfriend.
Jules Marchenoir is a revenant-an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save human lives. He’s spent the better part of the last century flirting his way through Paris, but when he met Kate Mercier, the heroine from Amy Plum’s Die for Me trilogy, he knew his afterlife had changed forever and he had found the love of his life. Until Kate fell for his best friend, Vincent. Now Jules is faced with an impossible decision: choosing between his loyal friend and a love truly worth dying for."

My Rating: êêêêê

My Review: I love Jules. Ever since I started this series I’ve been team Jules all the way and kind of wished for Kate to be with him, even though Vincent is awesome and there is never a love triangle. If there ever was a love triangle, I’d definitely want it to be Jules. He’s so flirty and funny and kind of like a French version of Damon Salvator from the Vampire Diaries, except he doesn’t kill or drink blood. Jules is an artist and that makes him even better.

Here we got to see his perspective throughout the 1^st two Revenant novels. It’s not a really big spoiler, because this is just a novella, but Jules is falling for Kate. He’s starting to relize that his lifestyle of short relationship with many girls in not very fulfilling. “Fun” can get boring and sometime only one girl can truly make you fill happy. And it really makes me feel sorry for him because Kate only loves him as a friend.

Jules is so loyal and romantic, he deserves someone just for him. He doesn’t want to betray Vincent, and thankfully doesn’t. I hope he gets a girl who makes him truly happing in the last book, If I Should Die.

 

Cover Art Review: I love the colors and the photo. Wish Jules was on it.

~Haley G

Everbound by Brodi Ashton (and Neverfall novella)

Release Date: January 22, 2012

Series: Everneath (bk. 2)

Genera: Paranormal Romance/Fantasy

Subjects: Supernatural, underworlds, immortality, love, mythology, Utah

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 358 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HaperTeen: Barlzer & Bray

Summary/ product description: “Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity — a debt that should’ve been hers. She’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. And every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away.
Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.
Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated — and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack — even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.
In this enthralling sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we’ll go to for the ones we love.”

My Rating: êêêê1/2

My Review: I compared the first book, Everneath to Abandon by Meg Cabot and Falling Under by Gwen Hayes, both retellings of the Persephone myth. I also said that I was bored and confused and didn’t much care for Nikki. She was too depressing. Maybe if I was in the mood, I would have loved it. I gave Everneath 3 ½ star.

This wonderful, AMAZING sequel makes me want to take all that I said about Everneath back. This book redeemed everything. Nikki I much more driven, and a lot less depressed. She’s trying hard to get Jack back. She’s a lot tougher and more sarcastic. It kind of reminds me of how Kate from Die For Me changed in the sequel Until I Die. The first book the heroine seems flat and very depressed, the second book she come back all kick-butt and awesome. I like this Nikki better that the one in Everneath.

Cole is still the “bad boy,” but he’s a nice bad boy. He reminds me of Damon from the Vampire Diaries (in personality, not looks) or Kieran from the Paranormalcy series. He can be helpful, but very selfish. You love him for his looks and humor, and hate him for his self-centered actions that sometimes screw everything up. He’s a good bad guy or a bad good guy.  He’s very interesting. And his band, the Dead Elvises, which are awesome. Max is a great side character. Wish we’d see more of them. Max was in the novella Neverfall a lot.

I really enjoyed the journey and adventure parts of this book. When they went through the Everneath. The labyrinth of the Ring of Water, Wind and Fire. It was like Nikki was going through different trials to reach her goal. She told stories about Jack so she could project a tether so she could find him. I loved the flashbacks of her in Jack in the canyon where they were camping. I love imagining the desert/mountainous scenery of Utah. I’ve never been to Utah, but I really want to go there. Arches National Park is also mentioned in this book. I looked up the Fiery Furnace and the Skull Arch and they are beautiful. I really love that the author had more natural Utah stuff in this book. Everneath lacked in natural scenery. Everbound has a lot more descriptiveness to the setting. There were also some scenes of Nikki dreaming and seeing Jack. So this book continues with a Now/Then plot, plus the At Night parts.

So, I was really impressed with the sequel. And its ending was so OMG (I saw it coming but, still…not in that way). Can’t wait for book 3.

Cover Art Review: Just as beautiful as Everneath’s cover. I love the whispy, smokey dress. And the clouds. And the title.

 

Review of Neverfall ebook novella

 

Everneath series, 1.5 (sett between Everneath and Everbound)

76 pages, narrated by Cole

 

Rating: 4 stars

 

Summary: “A thrilling new novella from the author of the Everneath series!
Jack is trapped for eternity in the Tunnels while Nikki has managed to evade Cole's grasp . . . for now. But Cole is more desperate than ever to find answers about Nikki, his best chance for taking over the throne of the underworld. How did she survive the Feed? Can Cole find another Forfeit like her who can survive it too?
Cole's quest leads him to the other side of the world, to a mysterious, dangerous society known as the Delphinians, whose price for information might be higher than Cole can pay—a price that could destroy Nikki. But when Cole attempts to steal the answers instead, his mission ends in disaster. Faced with centuries in a Delphinian dungeon, Cole is confronted with questions he's been too scared to ask himself: Is he really obsessed with the throne—or is he obsessed with Nikki? And can she really give him a new beginning as the Everneath's king . . . or will she instead bring about his tragic end?”

My Review:

Pretty good. I think I enjoy Cole's perspective more than Nikki's. I didn't enjoy Everneath that much because Nikki was kind of depressing, but Cole's pretty awesome. He seems like less of a bad boy here. I suggest reading this before reading Everbound. You get to see Cole’s motives and learn more about him. He gets trapped in a dungeon and learns how much he needs Nikki. Also you learn about him and the Dead Elvises

~Haley G

Radiant by Cynthia Hand

Series: Unearthly (ebook novella, 2.5)

Genera: Paranormal Romance

Subjects: Angels, Nephilim, supernatural, Italy

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: About 94 pgs. On my Nook it said 67.

HC/PB: E-Book/novella

List Price: $1.99

Publisher: HarperTeen: Impulse (ebooks)

Summary/ product description: “From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand comes a riveting original novella (available only as an ebook) set in the world of the Unearthly series.
Clara is desperate to get away—from the memories that haunt her in Wyoming and the visions of a future she isn't ready to face—and spending the summer in Italy with her best friend, Angela, should be the perfect escape. . . .
For as long as she can remember, Angela has been told that love is dangerous, that she must always guard her heart. But when she met a mysterious guy in Italy two years ago she was determined to be with him, no matter the costs. Now she must decide whether she can trust Clara with her secret, or if telling her the truth will risk everything she cares about.
Alternating between Angela and Clara's perspectives, Radiant chronicles the unforgettable summer that will test the bounds of their friendship and change their lives forever.”

My Rating: êêêêê

My Review: This is the 1^st e-book I’ve ever read on my Nook. It’s only a novella, but still, my first step into the world of digital publishing. This was a change from the last too book. No Tucker and no Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but I loved it all the same. I love Clara’s narration, and it was awesome to have Angela narrate too. I love that it’s set in Rome, Italy. It’s a place to easy to image even though I’ve never been there, but I’ve seen the Lizzie McGuirre movie a bunch of time (like, years ago) and I took Art History, so when Clara and Angela do the “Touristy Stuff,” I had no problem picturing it. And that hot Italian boy-friend of Angela named Phen. He was hot. Just wait until you find out who he is. He reminded me so much of Damen from the Immortals series, but a little older looking probably. Dark curls, brown eyes, olive skin. Hot. I want a hot Italian boy! (Even if he’s not really Italian, still…) And this also reminded me of the Until I Die series. I compared him to Vincent. I was nice to get to see Angela’s story. She told us about what she did in the past summers she spent in Rome. How she met Phen. I am so happy I got to read this. I really want a copy of Boundless now, please! There’s a preview of the Prologue and chapter 1 after the e-novella’s over. Enjoy!

(Note: This is my favorite series, sorry for my fangirl-ism. I can get a little crazy and excited.)

Cover Art Review: Not much of a cover since it’s an E-book, but I do love the typography of this whole series’ titles. Radiant is an awesome title. Love the clouds. Wish they had Rome on the cover.

 

~Haley G