Everneath (Everneath, #1) by Brodi Ashton (2012)

Description from Goodreads:

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.

Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

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By having a Greek mythology element in a book, is a guarantee that the story will include broken hearts, betrayals, sacrifices, and heart aching longing. Everneath wasn't an exception. I had to blink my eyes furiously to stop myself from crying, and at times I yelled out in frustration (in a good way). The story is just so emotionally rich that the reader constantly has this small ache in his/her chest. And I simply loved it. The whole story was just so tragic, yet it left me for wanting more.

I was really surprised by the maturity of Nikki. She didn't well in self-pity, but she took responsibility and did everything in her power to make things alright again, even if it wasn't exactly an easy job to do. I found her character very realistic while she struggled with the aftereffects of  a memory loss due being in Everneath and being ostracised by her former friends. Nikki received all my sympathy while reading the book - she has gone through so much, yet she manages to move on.

On the other hand, we have Jack, the ex-boyfriend of Nikki's. At first I was a bit sceptical about him as he is the quarterback of the school's football team. I was sure that he would turn out to be the most stereotypical depiction of a love interest and who would annoy me until the end of the world. But how wrong I was! Jack is the perfect combination of masculinity and sweetness; while is very protective and even a bit of a tough guy, he had also very caring and gentle side to him. I was so swooned by his silent suffering and impressed by his commitment. 

Half of the story was told in flashbacks, so at the beginning the readers aren't completely sure what has happened before. I have to admit it was slightly confusing as some of the terminology needed to be memorised and it was up to the reader to connect the dots. However, after the initial confusion, I really liked how the structure was. There always was this slightly mysterious atmosphere as the readers weren't allowed to know the whole truth right from the beginning. Gradually Nikki's past is revealed and it is then when the crying starts. 

I reeeally recommend Everneath to people who like to read about Greek mythologies. The story is a retelling of the legend of Persephone and it is super dramatic and interesting. Even though I knew what was going to happen in the end, it didn't prevent me from gaping when it actually happened. I will looking forward to reading the next book, Everbound!

“Despite all the other factors that had contributed to my fate, in the end it was my decision that destroyed my life. And all the hurt I was enduring now was my doing. The blame rested solely with me.” 

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