Book Review: Everneath (Brodi Ashton)

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 smouldering 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.

What can I say? The cover? Captivating. The blurb? Awesome. Everneath had me in the first few pages and I could never let go. It was that good. The plot was unique and exciting from the beginning so I found myself always wanting to know more even until the end and with Ashton bringing the story of Hades and Persephone together with Orpheus and Eurydice to produce Everneath, it just became too much for me to contain my excitement throughout the whole book.

Everneath follows the character Nikki in her hopes of finding redemption among her family and friends after being taken to the Feed to - of course - feed the everlivings. Unlike most YA books, Everneath not only explores the relationship between Jack and Nikki but with her best friend, brother and father as well, which is why I like it so much.

How Ashton sometimes inserted a memory from the past within a chapter made me realize how empty Nikki was when she left the Feed, that even some of her memories were lost so I always end up looking forward to the walk down memory lane, this brings more of the Jack and Nikki love story and we see glimpses of their past together. Not only that, 'Nik' or 'Beks' - as she is sometimes called- is able to taste the emotions of others and this emphasizes the emptiness within her. So Nikki became one of my favourite characters, not just because I felt sorry for all her troubles, but because of her selflessness and it's because of her selflessness that made such a strong character in the book.

With Cole's offer of ruling the Everneath or end up in the tunnels, I personally would rather feed of people's emotions than suffer in the tunnels as a battery. But as Nikki is the protagonist, she has to be selfless and her time during the Feed led her to believe that there is no hero for her. Which is where Jack - lovely lovely Jack- comes in. My super most favourite character on top of all. Why? Jack never gave up on her at all, ever. Jack was a super sweet character most will definitely fall in love with.Well, I did anyway. So I found it hard to believe that she felt that heroes did not exist and ended up shouting 'Jack's your hero, you fool!' most of the time.

The character I wasn't particularly fond of was Jules. For Nikki's best friend to lose hope in finding her and is then disappointed when she return because of her unrequited love for Jack is just... ugh. I liked her for trying to make things normal again when Nikki returned but at the beginning, Jules wasn't the best friend character I liked at all, but made it up towards the end. Jules' love for her best friend's boyfriend is just one I find too cliche.

I love the love triangle! Add this to the story's twist and you will find yourself wanting and craving more. Cole or Jack? Hmmmm I find it to decide, so we'll leave that to Nikki. While reading Everneath, I found my self captivated by its unique, fast-paced plot and twists with hints dropped from the very beginning. It's a must read and I cannot wait for the next book!

Four Stars!

Fury UK Blog Tour: An Extract from FURY!

Second day of the FURY Blog Tour here at Girls at Without a Bookshelf and your treat for today is an extract from FURY! Check it below -

Out of the snowy fog emerged one girl, then two more. Chase couldn’t help but let his jaw drop a bit; these chicks were amazing. The one in front, a redhead with fair skin, was smiling, while the other two—one blonde and a little curvy, the other petite with wavy, honey-colored hair and a paisley scarf around her neck—stood behind her with serious expressions on their gorgeous faces. All three of them seemed to be enveloped in some sort of white light; probably the moon, playing tricks with the snow.

Or maybe he was still drunker than he thought.

“Hey, sorry to startle you,” the redhead said, stepping toward him. “I’m Ty.  These are my cousins, Ally and Meg.

Chase stuttered, “Um, hi. Hey. I’m Chase.”

“Hi Chase,” all three girls said, practically in unison.

“Our car ran out of gas.” Ty motioned up the road a bit, where Chase thought he could just see the outline of a vehicle. “Any chance you could help us?” For a girl stranded in the middle of a snowstorm, she seemed fairly relaxed.

“Do you want me to, um, drive you to the gas station? Or something?”

“That would be great, thanks,” Ty said. “Why don’t I go with you, and Ally and Meg can wait in the car?”

Chase wasn’t one for new age crap—his mom had been to see a psychic a few times and always came back muttering voodoo bullshit, all about “affirmations” and chakra. Not to mention the fact that she’d gone to the psychic in the first place to try to communicate with Chase’s dead father, the deadbeat who’d leave them for week-long drinking binges and come back to eat their food while he “cleaned up.”

Nevertheless, for a split second, he felt like this was fate—like a sign from the universe.  Sure, the party might have been a bust—the Sasha news was pretty much the definition of a buzzkill, and he’d been in no shape to get numbers or hook up—but now he would get alone time with the hottest girl he had ever seen in his life. It was fate, clearly.

Everything was going to be okay.

“So, was there a party tonight?” Ty asked, once they were in the car. He could barely resist the urge to brush the snowflakes from her hair, to lean over and breathe in her musky, floral scent. He silently thanked the dudes at the local garage for letting him use their cleaning supplies for free in return for a couple hours on Saturday mornings. Without them, he couldn’t perform his bi-weekly car-cleansing ritual—the only thing that combated the stale smell of his mom’s Pall Malls.  As he put the car in drive, he felt like he was launching a spaceship into the night, into the snow. He and Ty would explore the dark, winding roads and stark, branch-lined fields between Minster’s street and the gas station.

“Yeah, a Christmas party type thing,” he said, mentally kicking himself for sounding so uncool. She was probably picturing people dancing around in elf costumes. He quickly added, “You know, just some high-school kids.” He was sure this girl must be in college.

“Sounds like fun. I love parties,” Ty said, smiling at him in the dark. “Don’t you wish we could go back to having parties like they did centuries ago? With dance cards and formal invitations and choreographed dances? Or masquerade balls? I’d love to go to a masked party. Wouldn’t you?”

“Totally,” he said, thankful she hadn’t been there to see him try to set up the beer pong game. “You, um, study history or something?”

“Or something,” Ty said, laughing. Her laugh was like the sound of clinking coins. Chase couldn’t think of anything else to say. He fumbled with the radio dial, trying to tune in to something sophisticated and moody.

“God, the snow is amazing,” Ty said, looking out the window. “It reminds me of that old poem—you know. Something about the snow in the air, something something, the secret of despair.”

Chase was so entranced that he could barely focus on anything outside the car; the trees blended together outside his window like a movie in fast-forward. This girl was driving him crazy. It was like she was wearing one of those pheromone perfumes.

Then she turned to him, her eyes piercing. “Did you hear all those sirens before? Any idea what that was about?”

His mouth went dry. The sirens were the last thing he wanted to talk about. “Nope. Maybe some kind of accident…Lots of people just don’t know how to drive in this weather.”

“Nothing’s ever really an accident,” Ty said, once again smiling at him. Her eyes glittered, cat-like. “Don’t you think?”

Chase didn’t really know what she meant, but he nodded anyway. One thing he was sure of: meeting Ty was no accident.

If that's not enough to entice you, I don't know what will! :) Check out the banner above for the rest of the stops for the FURY UK Blog Tour - and don't forget to visit The Crooked Shelf for tomorrow's feature post!

Vampirates: Immortal War Blog Tour!

A very exciting - and a pretty self explanatory announcement here ladies and gents, but with only two weeks to go before the much awaited release day of Justin Somper's Vampirates: Immortal War (out 9th June), a very special 11 day blog tour is headed your way!


Here is Justin talking more about Immortal War and the upcoming blog tour:






Isn't he just awesome? :) I had the pleasure of meeting Justin during the Simon and Schuster's blogger event back in February and he is such a cool, funny guy! I've got my very own signed copies of Vampirates and I'll giveaway some signed bookmarks for you during the tour as well. So don't forget to drop by here at Girls Without a Bookshelf on 11th June for Justin's post about the music playlist for Vampirates, and get to know more of Justin's music tastes!


The full schedule of the tour will be as follows -

Feel free to post the banner on your sidebars!

Monday 6th June -- Chicklish - Extract #1 

Tuesday 7th June -- My Favourite Books - An interview with Justin Somper 

Wednesday 8th June -- The Crooked Shelf - Guest Post: on Lady Lola Lockwood & The Women of Vampirates

Thursday 9th June -- Feeling Fictional - Animal Antics 

Friday 10th June -- The Bookette --Extract #2 

Saturday 11th June - Girls Without A Bookshelf - Playlists & The Music of Vampirates

Sunday 12th June - Wondrous Reads - 10 Ways to Know You're Obsessed with Vampirates 

Monday 13th June -- Daisy Chain Books - Guest Post: Ending An Era -- Killing Off Vampirates 

Tuesday 14th June -- Empire of Books -- Top ten Vampirates characters ever

Wednesday 15th June -- Book Zone For Boys -- Q&A with Justin

Thursday 16th June - I Want To Read That - WIN! Vampirates swag

Book Review: Evercrossed (Elizabeth Chandler)

Ivy and Tristan have both moved on ~ Tristan, to the other side of the afterlife, and Ivy has moved on with sweet, dependable Will. But when an accident seriously injures Ivy, almost to the point of near death, she meets her soulmate Tristan again. And at the place of the "in between", their bittersweet reunion culminates in one breathtaking kiss. But unbeknownst to both Ivy and Tristan, it was that one heart stopping kiss that brought Ivy back to life ~ and angels are prohibited from meddling in matters of life and death. Now fallen from heaven for saving the girl he loves, Tristan is in the body of a stranger, and he must find his way to Ivy once.

I totally adore this book! It may be short, but I enjoyed it an awful lot. Evercrossed is thrilling and romantic. The storyline is really good and it is just as amazing as the previous book, Kissed by an Angel. I was emotional when reading this book, just like when I was reading the previous book. I think the author really does a great job in making people feel strong emotions in her books. They are just superb!

The story is narrated in Ivy Lyons' point of view. Ivy is sometimes very stubborn, but deep inside, she is kind and forgiving. Will, Ivy's boyfriend, is quite protective towards her, since Ivy is also sometimes careless. Will was Ivy's best friend and so was Beth. Beth is also protective over Ivy. Beth and Will have always looked out for her. I like Beth because she cares about Ivy a lot and always watches out for her. In Kissed by an Angel, I liked Will, but I after reading Evercrossed, I don't think love him as much as before. He's change! But here is something that is very interesting in the book : the "stranger" which the soul of Tristan goes into is not who I expected, I thought of him with a different personality, but he turns out to be someone with a different personality and background! You guys just have to wait and find out!

The storyline was great. I totally get the plot and it was thrilling. The ending was a shock to me though. I was not expecting it, it just left me there hanging. I hope there is a next book! I just cannot wait! I love Kissed by an Angel and Evercrossed. I would definitely rate it....

Five Stars!

*Thank you to S&S for my review copy.

Book Review: Shade (Jerry Smith-Ready)

Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift.

Shade has been sitting on my to-be-read pile for months (Lyndsey @ Heaven, Hell and Purgatory Reviews very kindly lent me her copy), the reason being that I was not entirely certain of whether or not it will be the kind of book I fancy reading. Turns out my gut feeling was right, because I did not seem to like it as much as others told me I would.

Shade is an interesting enough read. The concept of every sixteen year old and under able to see and communicate with ghosts, while the rest of the world remains blind is intriguing to say the least. Surprisingly, the plot surrounds and explores this phenomenon through the heroine's efforts in unravelling what really happened. Shade is packed with mystery and although it ended abruptly and answered too few a question for my liking, it kept me well interested throughout. The plot I think can do with more tension, but I suppose

The characters are not easily discernible. I had a difficult time understanding the heroine, Aura, and her mixed emotions. Her narrative does not come across as strong as it should be and her words lacked impact. I expected a lot of emotions in her words considering Logan's death, but for some reason I was not entirely satisfied. To top it off, there are certain changes that occurs to Aura in the book that is not well-backed and well transitioned. I was surprised to find her decisions so suddenly shifting her path to the left when all along she was indicating a right-ward veer. The boys however, are a delight. Logan - dead, notwithstanding - is an active, romantic character, so full of life and so vibrant he comes across as friendly to the reader as he is described the book. Zachary, on the other hand, is mysterious, protective, encouraging. Romance-wise, he is the perfect 'other guy'. There are a few secondary characters that seem to play more than just a background role, but the ending is a little abrupt, so I'm not really sure. It didn't feel...complete.

I found the book focusing mostly on two things: the mystery about the Shift and the romance of course. I must admit I was left confused and frustrated about how the book explains the Shift - let's sum it up to this: Shade is definitely a series book, because there is much left of the mystery for the next book to answer. I'll bet my last penny there will be a surprising explanation at hand as the book seemed to be geared towards this. So it might just be all down to waiting for the next book.

The romance in Shade begins well, but loses its touch when Logan dies and Zachary enters the scene. Despite the chemistry between the latter and Aura, her reactions to him seem to upset what was already seen in previous pages - her love and devotion to Logan. It does however, end on a surprising note, which caught me off guard! I was not expecting it at all. Good call, that.

Three stars.

Book Review: Two Way Street (Lauren Barnholdt)

There are two sides to every breakup. This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They're even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation. Then Jordan dumps Courtney -- for a girl he met on the Internet. It's too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney's heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la -- this is Courtney pretending not to care. But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot. Turns out, he's got a secret or two that he's not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can't get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other.

I keep wondering what I missed when reading this book because I have heard a whole lot about it and majority of what I did were positive reviews. It's not that I dislike this book or anything, it just wasn't as good as I have heard.

I loved the premise of a road trip between an ex-couple who I knew still loved each other. It's incredibly romantic, despite the tension and the pain of the break-up. In many ways the book lived up to that. It was romantic - Jordan's gestures convey all his feelings for Courtney, and Courtney's hurt was palpable in her thoughts and actions. There was a great plot build up in Two Way Street, complete with the flashbacks that support and explain the couple's past. It also explains hook up, the break-up and everything in between. Towards the end there was such a rush of tension that I pretty much just raced through he book.

Unfortunately, I somehow found the twist pretty obvious from the beginning, as Jordan gives abundant clues in his narration. From then on it was just a matter of seeing where it will all lead to, which was not very fun at all. There was also the lack of individuality in the narrative voices. Both Jordan and Courtney share the same idiolects (for instance, the tendency to say 'I mean this, not that') which I wasn't sure if I were to take as their connection or just a lack of differentiation in their voices.

I found myself enjoying secondary characters more. B.J. is my favourite character, and despite his antics I thought he was great company. Unfortunately, I fiercely disliked the adults in this book. Selfish, condescending and callow. I could have dealt with that, had the book not made me feel like it was Courtney who had issues and had to change to accommodate the adults. I felt as if the adults were tolerated and Courtney was at fault for being kept in the dark. Thankfully, I liked the resolution between Courtney and Jordan, and what the roadtrip meant for their relationship.

Three stars.


* I received this copy for review. Thanks Mel!

Book Review: Boys Next Door (Jennifer Echols)

Lori lives for summertime on the lake. She spends all season wakeboarding, swimming, and hanging with her friends—including the two hotties in the house next door. With the Vader brothers, Lori's always been one of the guys.

But while Lori and the "baby" brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way.

But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girl friend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard....

Boys Next Door is exactly the way a summer books should feel. It's light -hearted, filled with bright spirited characters and full of surprises. This is a perfect beach read, a complete summer in a book!

The narrative, in the first person by Lori, is one of the funniest I have read. Her humour is so natural it becomes virtually impossible for readers not to love her. Her personality underpins the whole plot and makes it so ridiculously loveable it is difficult to dislike her even in her worse. And Adam - Mr skull and crossbones Adam is very very cute. Jennifer's characters are always a delight and very distinct, and Adam is no exception - his ADHD helps build him to be a very adorable character. It's safe to say that his imperfections are what makes his actions perfect.

The Vader brothers are a colourful brothers that are as collectively endearing as Lori. Their antics, habits and crazy outlooks are so boy my inner teen could not help but giggle! Their brotherhood is real and hence imperfect. Although disastrous, I particularly like Adam and Sean's rivalry, because it's such a common and sometimes inevitable part of brotherhood. The Vaders even extend these ties to McGillicuddy (Lori's brother Bill's unfortunate nickname) and to Lori herself which really feels welcoming to the characters and readers alike. I found the shared history of both set of siblings establish the story fairly quickly, and it was all down to Jennifer's wonderful talent that really makes the reader feel like they know a lot about this history even without overwhelming amounts of flashbacks. Lori is so comfortable with Adam in particular she just blurts out crazy lines and questions at him without flinching. I loved it.

Now the romance - I would not say smooth, because it's honestly a tangled (very) web of lies, deceit and pretenses, but it was nonetheless good. There were some questionable actions from Lori in terms of her interactions with the Vader brothers, but it was part of the book's charm. I think at every turn Jennifer's characters had me all warm and sighing with satisfaction! There were some powerful, ohmygodsoromantic lines from Adam which I really giggled about too. 

They were so many surprises in Boys Next Door, many mistakes, but I should not forget - many romantic and hilarious moments too. Such a fun combination, and I'm sure teenagers and adults alike would definitely enjoy this as their summer read!

I'm so glad the sequel is in my hands already, and in the same book! 

Four Stars!