Publisher Description
Inspired by the Persephone myth, this stunning conclusion to the Everneath trilogy, whose captivating first book earned a VOYA Perfect Ten of 2011 and a Whitney award, explores the resiliency of the human spirit and the indomitable power of true love. Perfect for fans of Fallen and Beautiful Creatures!
Now that Nikki has rescued Jack, all she wants is to be with him and graduate high school. But after being tricked by Cole, she's begun the process of turning into an Everliving herself . . . which means she must feed on a Forfeit soon—or die. Nikki and Jack begin a desperate attempt to reverse the process, using everything they can think of. Even Cole, who they expected to fight them at every turn, has become an unlikely ally—but for how long? 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.
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?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Seventeen-year-old Nikki Beckett has just returned from the mythical underworld known as the Everneath, where her six-month stay felt (to her) like a century. Now her father, the town's mayor, doesn't trust her; her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Jack, is in flux; and everyone else thinks she's a recovering drug addict. She has six months of real life left before she must make a choice: be eternally condemned to the Tunnels, where her life will be drained away, or become one of the immortal Everliving, feeding off of "Forfeits" like herself, who have succumbed to despair (Nikki's pain is the result of her mother's death in a car crash). With her former captor, Cole, pressuring her to choose the latter option, Nikki discovers the awful truths about the Everneath. Jumping frequently between Nikki's time before and after her capture, this dark romance, Ashton's debut, is complex and intriguing. Drawing inspiration from such myths as Osiris, Orpheus, and Persephone, it explores the nature of loss and longing and what it means to be alive. Ages 14 up.
