Everbound (Everneath #2) – Brodi Ashton

Title: Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton
Publishing Info: January 22, 2013 by HarperCollins
Source: Won
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: February 7, 2013
Related Posts: Everneath (Everneath #1), My Lady Jane

    Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity — a debt that should’ve been hers. She’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. And every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away.
    Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.
    Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated — and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack — even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.
    In this enthralling sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we’ll go to for the ones we love.

Warning: There are some spoilers if you haven’t read the first book, EVERNEATH so be prepared!

Compared to EVERNEATH, I found EVERBOUND to be leaps and bounds more enjoyable. Was it stellar? The answer that for me is still no, but I really got into the sequel much more than the original. I think part of it was the fact that I actually read the physical copy of this book instead of the audiobook (I was in a constant fight with the narrator of the EVERNEATH. It just wasn’t enjoyable) and I got to hear the voices as I pictured them sounding.

I found EVERBOUND to be a lot more exciting than its predecessor since in book two, we get to learn a lot more about the Everneath in general as well as the abilities and activities of all of the “beings” that reside there, including Everlivings like Cole. I was much more excited than the first book and was really captivated with all of the new ideas and explanations. EVERBOUND was much more action-packed and we really get further into the mythology side of the book.

I’m still so-so on Nikki’s character. For the first half of the book, I couldn’t help but compare her to Bella in New Moon – completely lost, utterly alone, and really depressed after losing her love interest. It was kind of annoying to read and okay, I get that you love him and you’d do anything to get him back, but the way it was written was bothering me and that whole deal just didn’t translate well from words to feelings for me.

NOW I get what people are saying with “OMG that ending!” because seriously — As a person who wasn’t entirely thrilled about the series to begin with, yes. OMG, that ending!!!! If I could rate the ending alone? It would have been five stars, hands down. As a whole? Not quite as spectacular for me, but definitely better than book one!

Nikki: I felt like Nikki was kind of all over the place. Depressed, hopeful, lost, determined, feisty, flat… Even after two books, I still can’t figure her out and I’m still not entirely thrilled with her. I liked where she was headed in the end. She made some real progress to break out as a stronger character, but the beginning was a little rough for me!
Jack: Am I the only one who’s not on Team Jack? I don’t dislike him, but I’m just not connecting with him as a character. Maybe because he was absent in this book? Am I just missing the epic connection between Nikki & Jack? I’m not quite sure what it is but… meh.
Cole: I actually started to like Cole a LOT in this book. Not so much as a romantic interest for Nikki, but as an overall character. His personality really came out in EVERBOUND. He had some great snarky lines and you always know he has some trick up his sleeve, really making him one of the most developed characters, in my personal opinion.

Read it!

I liked this one a lot more than the first book! I don’t seem to be on the same page as everyone else as far as teams go… but I’m okay with that! I actually enjoyed this one.

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