Review: Evertrue, by Brodi Ashton

Title: Evertrue (Everneath #3)
Author: Brodi Ashton
Genre: YA Mythology
Pub. Date: January 21, 2013

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. -Goodreads

1 Star

Out of the entire series, Evertrue is probably the cheesiest of them all. I kid you not. As if the series couldn't get any more idiotic.

If I read this novel about, oh, a year and a half ago, I would've loved it. I read the first before I became a blogger, and I’m pretty sure I gave that one four stars. I read the second, and abhorred it. Less embarrassment for me.

At about 10% in, I encountered this sentence…

”I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.”

…And knew that this book and I were not going to be on good terms.


If you ever wanted all the young adult fiction stereotypes out there packed into one book, here it is given to you on a silver platter. You have the love triangle, the macho guy who punches instead of speaks, the weak protagonist always in need of saving, and a Mary Sue.

My main problem here is Nikki, the insufferable selfish brat who does not know how to use her brain. When I say she is a Mary Sue, I do not mean she is perfect. Far from it, actually. I mean that she is viewed as perfection incarnate by the males around her, for no reason whatsoever. Everything revolves around her. Nikki this, Nikki that. By golly, why don't we destroy the world! Just for the perfect, flawless, beautiful Nikki!

Give me a break.

Jack is her savior; he will always be there at her side whenever she is suffering. He is her loyal friend. No, scratch that, he is like a loyal puppy, with no aim in life other than to please his owner. Where’s his personality, you ask? HAHAHAHAHA

I went limp in his arms. He didn't even break stride.

Literally every single damn scene goes something like this, with Jack being depicted as the hero of the day:

”Jack punched him in the face. […] The man went past him, and Jack kicked him in his back as he went. He threw punched again and again until finally the man fell backward.
Jack rushed to my side.
“Becks. Are you hurt?”

One major qualm I have is how Nikki and Jack were positive of their future together, acting as if they are “soul mates”. First of all, no normal teenager thinks like this. If anything, teens think of this in a hypothetical way, not in a set in stone way in which they know for a fact they want to stay with this person for the rest of their life. Nikki and Jack, embodying the latter, are the most unrealistic couple since Romeo and Juliet. Moreover, I did not feel connected to their relationship in any way whatsoever. They simply seemed to be missing that “spark”.

Of all the young adult books I've read, this series takes the prize for having the most gushiest, mushiest romance ever, complete with declarations of love galore, one-liners that rival those of Taylor Swift, and teddy bears. Kidding about the last one, but would you be surprised if they actually gave each other Build-a-Bears while fighting in the Everneath?

”This heart is yours. It belongs to you. It beats only for you. And somewhere out there is a heart without a home, and it beats for me; and we’re not giving up until we find it.”

Please stop it. Please.

The humor, and dialogue in general, was lame and forced. The interactions between the characters were annoying at best and rage-inducing at worst.

On to the only interesting character in the entire series, Cole. I won’t hesitate to admit that he was a major jerk in the first novel, but in the second, he began to grow on me. I’m kind of thinking that he was the only reason I continued with this series…

No spoilers here, but Cole was very cruelly treated by the author. He was used, manipulated, etc, etc.

That cheap excuse for an ending was probably one of the worst parts. I think the author was trying to show how experienced of a novelist she is by writing that ending, but I am not impressed in the least. Not that I had very high expectations to begin with, but really, couldn't you have put more effort into adding originality to the finale?

Aside from all this, the writing is average to below average, the character development leaves a lot to be desired, and the world-building is an embarrassing attempt. This seems to be common throughout the series, and there is no sign of improvement as it goes on.

I would recommend this to those who want an unoriginal plot with unremarkable characters and a laughable romance. I can only see lovers of this series enjoying this, but if you weren't amused by the first two books, just skip this one.