Book Review: Evertrue by Brodi Ashton

Evertrue by Brodi Ashton
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Publication date: January 2014
Pages: 368
Source: E-book from Library
For: Fun
Series: Everneath, Book 3

Summary from goodreads: *Spoilers are inevitable for the first two books*

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?

Things I Liked:
I enjoyed reading the conclusion to this series.  I like what Ashton has done with the Persephone myth and how she's created her own mythology in the Everneath.  I found this book had plenty of surprises and twists just as the other two did.  I spent much of the second book being annoyed and feeling like it was a time waste, only to have a new perspective at the end.  This one not so much.  I do remember thinking we don't see enough of Nikki's family and what happens with them.  I was intrigued by Cole throughout, though I'm still not sure what to make of him.

Things I Didn't Like:
This one was more interesting than the second book, but I found some of the brooding and worrying made for slow reading.  There were definitely lulls and highlights in the book, so it had some pacing issues for me.  Otherwise, it felt like a nice easy read.

Read-alikes:
Some other Persephone retellings:
Abandon by Meg Cabot
The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman
 
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a very few

mrg-factor: X
mostly intense emotional things rather than "scenes"

v-factor: ->
some fighting

Overall rating: *** 

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage