Just Finished Reading... Everbound by Brodi Ashton

Everbound
by Brodi Ashton
To be published by
Balzer + Bray
on January 22, 2013

Source: ARC sent by publisher

Quote is from ARC and will be checked against final copy as soon as possible.




I can't think of any way to discuss Everbound without spoiling the ending of Everneath. So, SPOILER ALERT for book one only: if you have not read Everneath, please stop reading. I'm serious. But don't be sad, because I will be giving away a copy of Everneath soon. So watch this space! This review is spoiler-free for Everbound.


My summary of Everneath: Poor Nikki. Since it's been a while since many of us have seen her, let's quickly recap all the terrible things that happened to her in Everneath: her mother was killed by a drunk driver who was then acquitted. Distraught, Nikki went to find her boyfriend at football camp, and saw some scantily dressed girl coming out of his room. Upset and betrayed, she agreed to let Cole take away all her emotional pain. He's an Everliving who feeds on human emotions, so Nikki's grief and anguish are like tasty chocolate to him. He took her to the Everneath and fed on her for a hundred years -- which is only six months on earth. He's shocked that she survived, and is convinced that she's destined to be a queen of the underworld. She refused, and is given time to put her life on earth in order before the Tunnels come for her. But Jack -- okay I'm SO serious; don't keep reading if you don't want the first book spoiled -- took her place and was sucked down into the underworld.

My (spoiler free!) take on Everbound: One of the things I enjoyed about Everneath was that Nikki was such a complete emotional wreck. Yeah, that sounds terrible, but I'm a low drama person in real life and I love vicarious book angst. Anyway, Nikki's raw guilt and pain practically vibrated off the page. Everbound has a very different emotional tone. Nikki's still in emotional turmoil -- now she has Jack's selfless sacrifice on her conscience too -- but the tone of this book feels different. Nikki is on a mission to find Jack and save him. So if you found Everbound too angsty, I have good news: Everbound is much more action-oriented.

To save Jack, Nikki needs to get back to the Everneath and is convinced that Cole is the only one who can help her. Small problem: she kind of rejected him. And she's not sure where he and his band, the Dead Elvises, will pop up next. But Nikki is determined to succeed. If she has to trick Cole, twist his arm, beg -- she'll do it.

"Just what do you think I'll owe you?"
"For saving the love of your life? Everything."

My favorite part of Everbound was that we now get to see this underworld that we've heard so much about. I love underworld settings. This book's Everneath is a cool place, with a different areas that Nikki will have to get through, each with a different challenge. Plus, there's a mysterious Queen I'm dying to know more about. Nikki not only finds out more about the Everneath, she also learns more about Everlivings and how they are created.

Does she save Jack? Not going to tell you. All I will say is that Brodi Ashton pulled off a very nice sleight of hand. I was so distracted with one aspect of the book that I totally did not see the ending coming. It was a great ending -- not the mean cliffhanger kind that makes you want to throw the book against the wall, but more of the OMG-why-didn't-I-see-that-coming kind of cool twist that makes you excited to see how the whole trilogy will wrap up. Which I am!

Dying to read this? I'm giving it away in Hot Off the Presses. You can enter here, or wait until tomorrow and enter in that post.