Evertrue (Everneath #3) by Brodi Ashton

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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.

I cannot express enough how much I’d been looking forward to February knowing that this final in the series was coming out. I can remember clearly how I felt at the end of Everbound when Nikki made her solemn vow to destroy the Everneath. There was so much emotion, anger and bitterness tangled up in her simple statement which made me feel edgy as to how she would carry it out.

Once again, Cole and the Dead Elvises are nowhere to be seen as Nikki and Jack formulate plans with what combined information they have of the Everneath . They’re still very much in love, their commitment to each other intensified by what they both recently went through. They may have escaped the Everneath but both are undergoing some peculiar changes. Jack’s strength and physical form are becoming more pronounced while Nikki is slowly becoming weaker. It’s not until Cole finally returns that they understand the reason for Nikki’s ailment – because she fed off of Cole three times in the Everneath, she’s turning into an Everling. She has to feed off of him in order to survive. Now she’s royally pissed off!  And worse, Cole and Jack, sworn enemies , are both determined to make sure that no matter what happens, Nikki makes it through unscathed, even if it means she does become an Everling.

What’s great about this series is that Nikki never once stands back to wait for solutions to appear. She’s clearly a force to be reckoned with and doesn’t back down easily. Jack is the stalwart boyfriend who is her partner in this battle. Cole, as usual, is as arrogant and insufferable as ever. So of course, I puffy heart him. Ashton does introduce a nice little twist involving Cole which becomes an advantage to Nikki in her fight against the Everneath.

Nikki is waging war on two fronts – the outside war against the Everneath and her internal conflict regarding her feelings toward Cole. She’s constantly reminding herself about how he had betrayed her by making her think he was her friend when he was apparently manipulating her into serving his ultimate purpose, that of overthrowing the Queen.  At the same time, she’s reduced to feeling sorry for him because of his current predicament. However, this will not prevent her from reaching the ultimate end game. This time around she’s the one who’s doing the manipulating.  Even though she feels a pang of guilt about using him, she resorts to her arsenal of bitterness and betrayal to remind herself why she's doing this.

Evertrue is splendid! I devoured in within a day and a half and went through a mourning period when it was over. There’s really only one way it could end and Nikki stayed true to her conviction and the things she loved most to make it through.  Thank you Brodi Ashton for a wonderful series that introduced me to new mythology and a complicated world below!

~ Bel