The beginning was great.
Worst ending ever. ( )

The beginning was great.
Worst ending ever. ( )

Disappointing. The ending makes sense with what the author has been building all along, but the path there just doesn't make sense. There's plot holes you could drive a tank through, and it only works by making the queen (who could either be a big bad here, or an unlikely ally in a better written story) short sighted and weak. Jack and Nik are both rather unlikable here, and Cole is pretty much a whole other character. The adults in this world have also taken a big step out of the spotlight here, and I found that as hard to believe as anything else in this book. Interesting setup, appropriate conclusion, but a mess on the way between. ( )

And so, we come to the end of the Everneath trilogy. It pains me to say it, but Evertrue took everything I had come to love about this trilogy and threw it all away. All the gorgeous mythology, all the deep character creation, all of it was gone. I felt cheated, but I had to follow this through to the end, and so I read on.

First off, the intense amount of focus on Nikki's love triangle was a slap in the face to me. There's always been a love triangle in this trilogy. Jack and Cole. The boys who are night and day. Poor Nikki caught in between. The difference between the first two books and this one was that it was always understated. Things would happen, we'd be reminded, and it'd go away. Evertrue is one huge love triangle fest. I used to like Jack. I thought his love for Nikki was adorable. While reading this though? I wanted to smack him from here to the Everneath. Seriously. Jealous much sir?

Then there was the fact that my favorite character, the person who kept me reading this series, was all but dismantled in this book. I don't mind Nikki. She's not a generally whiny protagonist, so I have no problem following her. However Cole has always been my favorite. He's sarcastic, highly intelligent, and just the right amount of a bad boy. That's why I couldn't do anything but gape as I saw what my favorite character had become. No spoilers, but it's a massive change. While it did allow for some cute, funny, scenes, I was still heartbroken.

Finally, it was the pacing of Evertrue that really got to me. The first third or so of this book moves so very slowly. I understood why it was written that way, as I had to be reintroduced to the characters I thought I once knew. The big issue is that this slow moving portion takes away a lot from the end. The ending was so rushed, so unsatisfying, that by the time I turned the last page I was devastated. The big showdown I had been waiting for? Never happened.

As a final book in a trilogy, Evertrue just didn't deliver. Poor Cole, Nikki and Jack. They deserved so much more, in my opinion. ( )

Post-reading
I don't know how can be okay with that ending. Right after I closed the book (I finished it in the breakroom at work) I shouted at the three other people in there: "There's sequel material here! There has to be! I mean, if the Everneath was created once, it can be recreated. And if the Everneath can be recreated Cole can come back to life. Can't he? Please? I love him, Brodi Ashton. I need him.
I might have to write a fanfic about that. Not that I know anything about writing fanfics BUT IT CAN'T END LIKE THAT!

Pre-reading, July 31st 2013
Line from the Blurb:
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

Wow. Okay, I'm sorry, this may just be because I am, you know, unfortunately, in love with Cole, but that line makes Jack's reasoning sound sort of lame, doesn't it?
And, while it may be because I'm in love with Cole, I don't think that's it. I think it's the way they worded this line. See:

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

Nikki and Cole need each other to do something. Jack needs Nikki because of something. When I read this line, I think that Nikki and Cole are doing things, acting, as in, in action, while poor Jack is just reacting.
( )