Things I hate. I) Low battery. II) Exams. Although it´s not the process of learning itself that makes me wish for special places in hell for exams, but the time it takes to get the whole thing. In this particular case I got especially annoyed, because it seemed overtime I switched on my trusty Kobo, I had to turn him off again after approximately ten seconds. Overtime I started reading again, I practically flew through the paged, got captured by a story I can only describe with one word: beautiful. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, true. But for me, this one´s easy. Simple. I love fairy tales and I love myths. I guess I was lost after reading the synopsis. This story started off different than others of similar kind. Things are done back to front. The main thing, the bad thing, the life changing thing already happened. The earthquake that shattered Nikki´s life is over and she´s left with the aftershocks, with some final moments and the opportunity to say a proper goodbye. She has six months until she´ll have to leave for the Everneath again. Six months to show her family and friends she loves them. Six months to find a solution. It´s almost as if you can hear the clock ticking for her. Usually I´m no big fan of time leaps, they are confusing more often than helpful and disturb the narrative flow. But then, I should probably stop assuming things, like whether I will like a plot or not, before I´m done reading. Because this time, I was totally okay with the leaps. This time, they helped me understand. I was absolutely flabbergasted by the characters of the book. There are a lot of heroines out there who try to avoid their certain fate and tend to complain a lot about it, who get empty inside and push away all their friends. Nikki is different. She knows exactly what she did and accepts her fate. Since she´s been sucked off her feelings, she has to regain them while on the surface and her lack of emotionality can be blamed on the Feed and not on herself (Yes, Bella Swan, I´m looking at you now. You cost me years of my life.). Still she manages to be a likable character, especially because she doesn´t feel bad for herself. Jack, too, is a very real character, obviously loving Nikki with his whole heart, but hurt nonetheless. „Bad Boy“ Cole, who isn´t a bad boy at all, but a very old being, who´s used to get what he wants, is a pleasant third wheel. I always fancied Hades (I´m sure he´s one of the most amazing Greek gods and I always imagined him to be as sarcastic and wicked as soft and kind.) and Cole comes close to my imagination of him. What I loved most about the book (beside Nikki´s name. This book and me is a matter of fate, obviously) is the writing. Clean, clear, no pathetic display of feelings, no overly emotionally speeches. No self pity (Yes, Juliette, I´m looking at you.) Just a girl, fully aware of her future, fully aware of her decisions and their consequences, trying to use the time she´s hot left wisely. Just a boy hurting, but trying to be strong, being a hero. Just a story as beautiful as any dark fairy tale that makes you hope, pray for the protagonists, makes you feel sorry for them. Just a story as captivating as myths use to be, where destiny and predestination can´t be fought and reality catches up with everyone. Just a story where the solutions is as easy as it´s horrible and horribly sad. Just a story that makes you cry in the end. Just a story that makes you value it for what it is: just a story. And here I am, left speechless, but touched. Everneath is a comfortably paced, relaxing, but not very stimulating, read. Having just returned from a six months, 100 year Everneath-time, stint in the Everneath, Nikki Beckett has six months to reunite with her family and reconnect with her ex-boyfriend, Jack. Not that any of this would help, as she is leaving again - for good this time.Although I generally love books about gods and the underworld, this story didn't really draw me in until right at the end. In fact, in the beginning I was lost trying to understand the whole concept of the time Nikki, usually called Becks, spent in the Everneath, how she got there, and what she did there. Once the back-story came together, however, it turned out to be a cleverly designed and imaginative plot.The characters, though very realistically crafted, were difficult to identify with. Nikki landed herself in the Everneath because she was in a snit over her boyfriend, Jack, cheating on her at football camp. That bit of impulsive teenage behavior places Nikki firmly within her age group. Jack, devastated after Nikki's disappearance, initially comes across as a slightly weak character. However, once he becomes involved in Nikki's fate, he actually is more of an outstanding character than Nikki and Cole combined. Although Everneath isn't an adrenalin-inducing read all the way, towards the end you might find yourself on the edge of your seat several times. The unexpected twist at the end fortunately made the whole read worthwhile. I can recommend Everneath as a clean, fairly serious, but relaxing read. (Ellen Fritz)
What do You think about Everneath (2012)?
Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Bland. Easy read. Boring.
—adulal
It was so good, I had to get the next three.
—cookiemoonster
