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daphx00's review against another edition
4.0
With a refreshing new take on the myth of Persephone, Brodi Ashton has created a thrilling debut novel that will pull the reader in while they get sucked into the story.
Everyone who knows me, knows I'm a big fan of Greek Mythology and I thoroughly enjoyed Ashton's take on it. Her writing is fluent and to be honest, it made me read like a maniac. I couldn't flip the pages quick enough! Nikki's time on the Surface it ticking away, and she is determined to find a way to stay there with Jack, her boyfriend. The pacing is fast and manages to keep the reader's attention perfectly.
While I thought that Nikki could have spent some more time with her family, like she wanted in the beginning, I was intrigued by her determination to not go back to the Everneath. To her, Cole is both alluring and repulsive, because of what he did to her when she was at her weakest. She admits her faults and that she should have done it differently, but there's no way to turn back time, so she has to live with the consequences. I liked that about her. I liked that she was a fighter, even though she knew that the Tunnels would come for her in six months time. I liked her.
And for the first time in probably ever, I liked both guys in the story. They both had their good sides and even though Cole fed on her emotions for six months, draining Nikki until she was almost an empty shell, I felt myself to be curious about him. I want to know more.
After that ending, I can only say that I'm already impatiently awaiting the sequel to Everneath. I'm sure it'll be just as addicting as this debut novel!
Rating: 4/5
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This review was published on Loving Books.
Everyone who knows me, knows I'm a big fan of Greek Mythology and I thoroughly enjoyed Ashton's take on it. Her writing is fluent and to be honest, it made me read like a maniac. I couldn't flip the pages quick enough! Nikki's time on the Surface it ticking away, and she is determined to find a way to stay there with Jack, her boyfriend. The pacing is fast and manages to keep the reader's attention perfectly.
While I thought that Nikki could have spent some more time with her family, like she wanted in the beginning, I was intrigued by her determination to not go back to the Everneath. To her, Cole is both alluring and repulsive, because of what he did to her when she was at her weakest. She admits her faults and that she should have done it differently, but there's no way to turn back time, so she has to live with the consequences. I liked that about her. I liked that she was a fighter, even though she knew that the Tunnels would come for her in six months time. I liked her.
And for the first time in probably ever, I liked both guys in the story. They both had their good sides and even though Cole fed on her emotions for six months, draining Nikki until she was almost an empty shell, I felt myself to be curious about him. I want to know more.
After that ending, I can only say that I'm already impatiently awaiting the sequel to Everneath. I'm sure it'll be just as addicting as this debut novel!
Rating: 4/5
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This review was published on Loving Books.
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
Bullet Review:
I really shoulda known better. Other reviewers did indicate it was heavy on the romance, and unless the book is explicitly a romance novel, I hate romance.
DNF at 21%.
The whole book is about the various douche-bag boys that are in Nikki's life and how everything in her life revolves around them. I mean, her mom dies, but it's not her mother's death that makes her want to get rid of her emotions. Nope, it's a boy. As for returning to Earth after her exile in the Everneath? Same boy - not her brother or her dad. Nope, a boy.
Maybe if the characters had been noteworthy - but nope. The boys are a rainbow of d-baggery, girls constantly slut shame and hate on each other over boys, and our Mary Sue is about as interesting as a dishrag.
I regret buying this book in hardcover, but I am SO GLAD I never bought any of the sequels.
Full Review:
Nikki Beckett was living in Everneath but was given 6 months to live back on Earth. She does this for her boyfriend, Jack, who dumped her for some unknown reasons. He somehow is the reason she went to Everneath AND the reason she came back. (Logic? What is that?!) This book is about her wangsting over Jack and alternately being harassed by Cole, the man who deceived her into going into Everneath.
I deserve a freaking @$$ medal for surviving the 21% that I did. But then I really ought to have known better. I read reviews stating that there was a heavy romantic element - maybe JUST a romance element - and it's my fault for not listening more to that.
It's not that I don't like romance. I do. One of my current favorite stories is The Mad Scientist's Daughter, and that has a big romantic element. I don't mind romance as a genre (though I don't read it very much), and I don't mind romance tied into another genre.
But as a rule, I tend to prefer it when if romance does appear in, say, urban fantasy, there is still urban fantasy. Or fantasy. Or science fiction.
Aw, hell, who am I fooling? Let's just be frank - the time for me liking sappy teenaged romances is long gone, particularly when the book is basically 90% teenaged sappy romance. There is, like I said above, nothing inherently wrong with romances, nor teenaged ones. Hell, lots of people LOVE sappy romances; hence why Nicholas Sparks is so wealthy.
But I don't like them. I like nuance in my romance or romantic-themed books. I like characters who can have a freakin' life outside of which sausage they are going to bone (hence my problem with Anita Blake). I like characters whose thoughts are more than about a boy's marbled abs (hence my problem with Bella Swan). I like characters who aren't constantly depressed and emo (hence my problem with Luce from "Fallen"). And most certainly, I like it when characters fall in love with someone who isn't a complete waste of oxygen (hence my problem with Nora from "Hush, Hush").
"Everneath" checks all the boxes in the Stereotypical Young Adult Genre.
Spineless female character who falls in pantslove with two boys who behave like monsters to her (admittedly, NOT on the scale of Patch from "Hush, Hush", but really, that takes incredible skill to write that awful of a hero). Lipservice to her Speshul Snowflake status. Angst. High School Drama.
I've spent YEARS wading through shitty books, basically not reading or hating to read because of books like this. I'm DONE. NO MORE. I refuse to continue reading - or listening on audiobook - anything that is not entertaining me.
Perhaps the book does a 180 and suddenly becomes amazing. Perhaps I truly am an old, grumpy hag with too much time on her hands. Perhaps I don't "get" the amazing-ness of the young adult genre, reading endless books where the characters are the same but with different names in different high schools. So what? I'm not happy with the book, and I won't lie.
Now, maybe these sorts of things are right up your alley. Maybe you LOVE teenaged romances, slightly on the sappy side. GOOD FOR YOU. Really. No sarcasm. I'm happy you like it. But as for me, nope, I'm all done.
I really shoulda known better. Other reviewers did indicate it was heavy on the romance, and unless the book is explicitly a romance novel, I hate romance.
DNF at 21%.
The whole book is about the various douche-bag boys that are in Nikki's life and how everything in her life revolves around them. I mean, her mom dies, but it's not her mother's death that makes her want to get rid of her emotions. Nope, it's a boy. As for returning to Earth after her exile in the Everneath? Same boy - not her brother or her dad. Nope, a boy.
Maybe if the characters had been noteworthy - but nope. The boys are a rainbow of d-baggery, girls constantly slut shame and hate on each other over boys, and our Mary Sue is about as interesting as a dishrag.
I regret buying this book in hardcover, but I am SO GLAD I never bought any of the sequels.
Full Review:
Nikki Beckett was living in Everneath but was given 6 months to live back on Earth. She does this for her boyfriend, Jack, who dumped her for some unknown reasons. He somehow is the reason she went to Everneath AND the reason she came back. (Logic? What is that?!) This book is about her wangsting over Jack and alternately being harassed by Cole, the man who deceived her into going into Everneath.
I deserve a freaking @$$ medal for surviving the 21% that I did. But then I really ought to have known better. I read reviews stating that there was a heavy romantic element - maybe JUST a romance element - and it's my fault for not listening more to that.
It's not that I don't like romance. I do. One of my current favorite stories is The Mad Scientist's Daughter, and that has a big romantic element. I don't mind romance as a genre (though I don't read it very much), and I don't mind romance tied into another genre.
But as a rule, I tend to prefer it when if romance does appear in, say, urban fantasy, there is still urban fantasy. Or fantasy. Or science fiction.
Aw, hell, who am I fooling? Let's just be frank - the time for me liking sappy teenaged romances is long gone, particularly when the book is basically 90% teenaged sappy romance. There is, like I said above, nothing inherently wrong with romances, nor teenaged ones. Hell, lots of people LOVE sappy romances; hence why Nicholas Sparks is so wealthy.
But I don't like them. I like nuance in my romance or romantic-themed books. I like characters who can have a freakin' life outside of which sausage they are going to bone (hence my problem with Anita Blake). I like characters whose thoughts are more than about a boy's marbled abs (hence my problem with Bella Swan). I like characters who aren't constantly depressed and emo (hence my problem with Luce from "Fallen"). And most certainly, I like it when characters fall in love with someone who isn't a complete waste of oxygen (hence my problem with Nora from "Hush, Hush").
"Everneath" checks all the boxes in the Stereotypical Young Adult Genre.
Spineless female character who falls in pantslove with two boys who behave like monsters to her (admittedly, NOT on the scale of Patch from "Hush, Hush", but really, that takes incredible skill to write that awful of a hero). Lipservice to her Speshul Snowflake status. Angst. High School Drama.
I've spent YEARS wading through shitty books, basically not reading or hating to read because of books like this. I'm DONE. NO MORE. I refuse to continue reading - or listening on audiobook - anything that is not entertaining me.
Perhaps the book does a 180 and suddenly becomes amazing. Perhaps I truly am an old, grumpy hag with too much time on her hands. Perhaps I don't "get" the amazing-ness of the young adult genre, reading endless books where the characters are the same but with different names in different high schools. So what? I'm not happy with the book, and I won't lie.
Now, maybe these sorts of things are right up your alley. Maybe you LOVE teenaged romances, slightly on the sappy side. GOOD FOR YOU. Really. No sarcasm. I'm happy you like it. But as for me, nope, I'm all done.
breezy610's review against another edition
4.0
this was an interesting take on the whol hades/pereshopne myth. In some books, Hades is portay as a loving man and pereshpone a woman who dying to get back to him. Not in this one Cole is not lovable and Nikki wants nothing to do with him. Nikki left the surface unexceptable, now that she is back, she is trying to say goodbye because she only has six months left.
kourtneyzimmerman's review against another edition
3.0
meh. I'm content to leave the ending where it is.
wendythegeekgoddess's review against another edition
2.0
SYNOPSIS:
Six months ago, Nikki Beckett vnished into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned to her old life, her family, her boyfriend for another six months before she leaves again only this time it will be forever...
REVIEW:
This book had so many good reviews that I was very excited to read but for some reason I felt like the book couldn't keep an enjoyable pace and I quickly lost interest and only rarely gained a bit back from time to time. I also think that maybe one retelling of the Persephone myth was enough for me and I got that little dose of it by reading Meg Cabot's "Abandon" and "Underworld". Although this tale was quite different it boils down to the same thing: Persephone myth, Gorgeous guys that are secretly evil, and girls getting sucked into some other worldly dimension. So I guess thats why I quickly got bored of it my brain kept saying "you pretty much read this story all ready" and it was not in the mood for another! So don't take it personally Miss Ashton but Meg Cabot beat you to the punch, in my case that is.
IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO READ SOMETHING EXTREMELY SIMILAR TO THIS TALE:
1. [bc:Abandon|9397967|Abandon (Abandon Trilogy, #1)|Meg Cabot|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1324767084s/9397967.jpg|11351526] [b:Abandon|9397967|Abandon (Abandon Trilogy, #1)|Meg Cabot|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1324767084s/9397967.jpg|11351526] By:[a:Meg Cabot|11654|Meg Cabot|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1197201648p2/11654.jpg]
2. [bc:The Goddess Test|9681214|The Goddess Test (Goddess Test, #1)|Aimee Carter|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327891211s/9681214.jpg|14569146] [b:The Goddess Test|9681214|The Goddess Test (Goddess Test, #1)|Aimee Carter|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327891211s/9681214.jpg|14569146] By: [a:Aimee Carter|767317|Aimee Carter|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1290233298p2/767317.jpg]
3. [bc:Hades and Persephone: Greek Myths and Legends|1582663|Hades and Persephone Greek Myths and Legends|Mary Maria Papaoulakis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348240042s/1582663.jpg|1575525] [b:Hades and Persephone: Greek Myths and Legends|1582663|Hades and Persephone Greek Myths and Legends|Mary Maria Papaoulakis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348240042s/1582663.jpg|1575525] By: [a:Mary Maria Papaoulakis|734871|Mary Maria Papaoulakis|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]
Six months ago, Nikki Beckett vnished into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned to her old life, her family, her boyfriend for another six months before she leaves again only this time it will be forever...
REVIEW:
This book had so many good reviews that I was very excited to read but for some reason I felt like the book couldn't keep an enjoyable pace and I quickly lost interest and only rarely gained a bit back from time to time. I also think that maybe one retelling of the Persephone myth was enough for me and I got that little dose of it by reading Meg Cabot's "Abandon" and "Underworld". Although this tale was quite different it boils down to the same thing: Persephone myth, Gorgeous guys that are secretly evil, and girls getting sucked into some other worldly dimension. So I guess thats why I quickly got bored of it my brain kept saying "you pretty much read this story all ready" and it was not in the mood for another! So don't take it personally Miss Ashton but Meg Cabot beat you to the punch, in my case that is.
IF YOU WOULD LOVE TO READ SOMETHING EXTREMELY SIMILAR TO THIS TALE:
1. [bc:Abandon|9397967|Abandon (Abandon Trilogy, #1)|Meg Cabot|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1324767084s/9397967.jpg|11351526] [b:Abandon|9397967|Abandon (Abandon Trilogy, #1)|Meg Cabot|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1324767084s/9397967.jpg|11351526] By:[a:Meg Cabot|11654|Meg Cabot|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1197201648p2/11654.jpg]
2. [bc:The Goddess Test|9681214|The Goddess Test (Goddess Test, #1)|Aimee Carter|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327891211s/9681214.jpg|14569146] [b:The Goddess Test|9681214|The Goddess Test (Goddess Test, #1)|Aimee Carter|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327891211s/9681214.jpg|14569146] By: [a:Aimee Carter|767317|Aimee Carter|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1290233298p2/767317.jpg]
3. [bc:Hades and Persephone: Greek Myths and Legends|1582663|Hades and Persephone Greek Myths and Legends|Mary Maria Papaoulakis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348240042s/1582663.jpg|1575525] [b:Hades and Persephone: Greek Myths and Legends|1582663|Hades and Persephone Greek Myths and Legends|Mary Maria Papaoulakis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348240042s/1582663.jpg|1575525] By: [a:Mary Maria Papaoulakis|734871|Mary Maria Papaoulakis|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]
beachybookstack's review
3.0
Ohh boy, a modernized mythology in a blender. Count me interested. A pretty cover? Check. It's on sale in the Kindle store? Excellent.
So I've finished it and it was thoroughly ok. A standard 3 stars for a promising premise and possibly a decent love story that goes off the rails for me because....
Nikki needs to stop moping around, she came back for Jack? Ok so talk to him damnit. Limited time left? Stop wasting your time.
Jack---I see reviews that say how perfect Jack is. Sure he's ideal but in the end (literally) he fulfills the tragic twist that was bound to happen. Because Orpheus.
Their relationship---can YA stop acting like staring is the most that can happen? Ohh my god they kissed? I'm sorry, if you're about to get sucked into hell tomorrow you'll probably let your boyfriend sleep over IN your bed. Maybe you'll even NOT sleep. There aren't rules or repercussions at that point.
Spoilers: they're doomed and treat Cole like it's his fault. It's not his fault Nikki chose to go with him. It's definitely her daily that she came back, and Cole offers her a way to not die an awful soul destroying death. Yet he's the bad guy?
This had a similar triangle as the Soul Screamers series, but it missed the mark by sticking to the myth. Orpheus was doomed, Persephone goes between Hades and the surface. I wanted more about the Everneath and its workings than Nikki's high school lunch hour. Maybe that's more built up in the next few books but I'm not feeling that hunger for more of these characters.
Recommended: Soul Screamers series (Kayleigh, banshees, love triangles, demons, complications of death)
So I've finished it and it was thoroughly ok. A standard 3 stars for a promising premise and possibly a decent love story that goes off the rails for me because....
Nikki needs to stop moping around, she came back for Jack? Ok so talk to him damnit. Limited time left? Stop wasting your time.
Jack---I see reviews that say how perfect Jack is. Sure he's ideal but in the end (literally) he fulfills the tragic twist that was bound to happen. Because Orpheus.
Their relationship---can YA stop acting like staring is the most that can happen? Ohh my god they kissed? I'm sorry, if you're about to get sucked into hell tomorrow you'll probably let your boyfriend sleep over IN your bed. Maybe you'll even NOT sleep. There aren't rules or repercussions at that point.
Spoilers: they're doomed and treat Cole like it's his fault. It's not his fault Nikki chose to go with him. It's definitely her daily that she came back, and Cole offers her a way to not die an awful soul destroying death. Yet he's the bad guy?
This had a similar triangle as the Soul Screamers series, but it missed the mark by sticking to the myth. Orpheus was doomed, Persephone goes between Hades and the surface. I wanted more about the Everneath and its workings than Nikki's high school lunch hour. Maybe that's more built up in the next few books but I'm not feeling that hunger for more of these characters.
Recommended: Soul Screamers series (Kayleigh, banshees, love triangles, demons, complications of death)
brisingr's review against another edition
1.0
Disclaimer: I'm tired and mean.
Look, I love my modern mythology. It's my absolute favorite thing in the universe. Persephone & Hades is one of my favorite myths.So I was pretty hyped for this book. I wanted to enjoy it; truly. What I got instead? Something that reminds me of high school drama and a plot that's so weak and hilariously unneeded 99% of the time. I loathed going through this book.
Why have I ended up reading it? Let's say that not being able to sleep and not being able to keep the lights on leads you to the desperate situation where you have to choose from the small list of books on your phone.
The first chapter is the best thing about this book; it puts forth the fantastical world and brings some twists that you think might be interesting. Then you're plunged into some kind of high-school AU and hahah, good luck enjoying your mythical life. For real, Brodi Ashton throws away a big and good part of this book and the fantasy parts feel like just mere extension to what would have otherwise been your usual love triangle. It didn't help.
The main character is very flat and annoying and I simply couldn't relate to her. And I grew so tired of the whole "I found my true love in high-school!" trope. And of course, out of the boys, I liked the one that's supposed to be evil, ugh.
I kept hoping this will get better; it didn't. The writing style is nothing spectacular, the story was boring and a total disappointment and I didn't like any of the characters, because it felt like no effort was put into fleshing them out.
Look, I love my modern mythology. It's my absolute favorite thing in the universe. Persephone & Hades is one of my favorite myths.So I was pretty hyped for this book. I wanted to enjoy it; truly. What I got instead? Something that reminds me of high school drama and a plot that's so weak and hilariously unneeded 99% of the time. I loathed going through this book.
Why have I ended up reading it? Let's say that not being able to sleep and not being able to keep the lights on leads you to the desperate situation where you have to choose from the small list of books on your phone.
The first chapter is the best thing about this book; it puts forth the fantastical world and brings some twists that you think might be interesting. Then you're plunged into some kind of high-school AU and hahah, good luck enjoying your mythical life. For real, Brodi Ashton throws away a big and good part of this book and the fantasy parts feel like just mere extension to what would have otherwise been your usual love triangle. It didn't help.
The main character is very flat and annoying and I simply couldn't relate to her. And I grew so tired of the whole "I found my true love in high-school!" trope. And of course, out of the boys, I liked the one that's supposed to be evil, ugh.
I kept hoping this will get better; it didn't. The writing style is nothing spectacular, the story was boring and a total disappointment and I didn't like any of the characters, because it felt like no effort was put into fleshing them out.
jennkei's review
3.0
Ultimately disappointing. I guess it's the first book of a trilogy..or something. And protagonist so kuudere. I get that it's hard for her to sort out her feelings, but..meh. I would have given this 4/5, but the non-ending was really predictable.
yodamom's review against another edition
3.0
Hades and Persephone and old tale that never gets old. Nikki is a teen just enjoying her boyfriend and her life till something goes wrong. She makes a choice that takes her away for 100 years. For a hundred years she is wrapped around and connected to Cole, who absorbs all her emotions. She awakes undamaged like others who have gone through this 'feed'. Then she turns away from him and travels back to the surface to find her love, Jack. The face she has thought of everyday for the last 100 years. Luckily 100 years in the underworld is only six months on the surface.
I had some issues with the telling of the story. Nikki was supposed to come back without any emotions and yet, she yearns for her life. The whole story is emotional. Teenage melodrama deluxe, with dating jealousy, misunderstandings and parents. Her hate for Cole and her need for Jack where endless. The everyone just accepted her back with out any real questions ? Really ? Cole, he was always treated badly. I have hope this will change in the next books. but the animosity he received bothered me.
I loved her fight to gain respect for the adults she abandoned on her run to the underside. Her father was realistic and well written. The school and the other students reactions to her sudden return was also realistic. The relationship between her and Jack was sweet and I could believe it. His hate for Cole was understandable. The clue that they found was something new and exciting to the story line.
it was a good tale, I could not put it down, even with the flaws. I was disappointed in the inconsistencies and melodrama. I did not know this was the first in a series so I was screaming at the cliffhanger ending. Phew. I will read the next one.
I had some issues with the telling of the story. Nikki was supposed to come back without any emotions and yet, she yearns for her life. The whole story is emotional. Teenage melodrama deluxe, with dating jealousy, misunderstandings and parents. Her hate for Cole and her need for Jack where endless. The everyone just accepted her back with out any real questions ? Really ? Cole, he was always treated badly. I have hope this will change in the next books. but the animosity he received bothered me.
I loved her fight to gain respect for the adults she abandoned on her run to the underside. Her father was realistic and well written. The school and the other students reactions to her sudden return was also realistic. The relationship between her and Jack was sweet and I could believe it. His hate for Cole was understandable. The clue that they found was something new and exciting to the story line.
it was a good tale, I could not put it down, even with the flaws. I was disappointed in the inconsistencies and melodrama. I did not know this was the first in a series so I was screaming at the cliffhanger ending. Phew. I will read the next one.
karalyndawn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I first read this book about 10 years ago and I absolutely loved it and would have given it 5 stars. Reading as an adult I still liked it but definitely have grown up and found books that have more substance to them. Overall it still is a great book and I read it really fast! I like the concept, a persephone retelling in a different way than most have approached the myth. The author was great at packing in lots of colorful details and plot in a short amount of time. I loved Jack. And Cole! I can’t decide who I liked better. It broke my heart at the end.