Review: Everbound by Brodi Ashton

Book: Everbound (Everneath #2)
By: Brodi Ashton
Published: January 22, 2013
Published by: Balzer and Bray

Description: Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity — a debt that should’ve been hers. She’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. And every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away.

Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.

Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated — and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack — even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.

In this enthralling sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we’ll go to for the ones we love.

My Thoughts: We begin this story right where the last left off, with Nikki in the normal world and Jack in the Everneath feeding the tunnels. Nikki feels terrible for what happened, and wants to find a way to fix it, at any cost. 

The story starts off a bit drab. Nikki is extremely depressed and mopes most of the beginning of the story, and is absolutely obsessed with finding a way to get into the Everneath to rescue Jack. She’s not at all herself, and is obsessed with finding Cole to figure out a way to get to Jack. Unfortunately, Cole Likes Nikki, and wants her to stand by his side as Queen of the Everneath, so the fact that Nikki wants Jack doesn’t help her cause.

As you may assume, things don’t turn out too well, and though she eventually gets him to take her, things aren’t even the slightest bit safe for her or her companions. Her journey to find Jack becomes a journey that will change her in more ways than one, and may, in its way, be the end of her life.

Once I got into it, I was really hooked. Cole became a completely different person to me in the beginning of this story. I began to actually like him, and want Nikki to be with him instead of Jack. I began to trust him, and feel sorry for the hand he’s been dealt. Things happened between them and I was too excited to see the way Nikki and Cole would soon grow. In addition, we learned a lot more about the Everneath and how it worked, and why Human’s should never go there. Everything connected and it was quite interesting to read.

The end though…I can’t even say how I feel. It hurt my feelings, and smacked me in the face all at the same time. How dare I be so stupid! I won’t ruin it for you, because you deserve to learn the truth for yourself, just know it’ll make you angry for a second, though your feelings on the characters may or may not change. This book is not at all predictable, and I loved how the story was woven. I can’t wait for the final book in the trilogy; Evertrue. This is a great series. My rating is 4.5 stars. 

Random Rant Thursday: Engaged

OMG, OMG, OMG!!! I’m engaged everyone. The boyfriend (or rather, Fiancé *wink wink*) asked me on Saturday, September 7, and I said yes!!!! He asked my dad and mom and sis for my hand the previous Tuesday, and proposed a day earlier than he planned.

It was a kind of random event, we had just gotten back from his Grandma’s 80^th Birthday Party, and after helping his family with hosting it, I was pretty exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to go back to his apartment, walk my dog, and take a nap. Of course, he had other plans. While I was out taking the dog for a walk, he pulled out the ring and hid it in a sweatshirt that he had lying across the dining room chair (I could have easily seen the box if he had put it in his pocket). When I got back in he stopped me in the hall as I was heading to the room to sleep.

He prattled on and on about how happy he was that I would show up for his grandma, and how happy he was that I get along with his entire family and that I love them and they love me. Meanwhile, I’m trying to find a tactful way of getting to the bed without pushing him completely out the way and running to the bed. He kissed me and hugged me and I think that that’s the end of the conversation, so I pull away to head to the bed to take my much wanted nap, but he stops me, and asks me to stay with him for a minute.

I’m pretty dense, so even then, I didn’t realize anything was amiss. I just assumed he was overcome with an overwhelming urge to confess all his feelings, right before I had to go to bed. I didn’t notice his nervousness, nor did I notice how fast he spoke, as if he had a lot to say and had no idea how to say it. He told me how much he likes having me around his family, and how he wanted to make me a part of it, and then he got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him.

Me, being the confused person I am, just said yes, not really realizing what exactly was going on. There were no tears, no “OMG are you serious.” Just “Yea, of course.” I said it matter-of-factly, more like “As If I would actually say no.” Part of it was me not even understanding what was going on. I was a bit in shock, a little dazed, and a lot tired. My brain wasn’t catching up to what was happening. The other part was like “Finally!”

Regardless, My brain caught up with what was happening eventually, and the events slowly but surely settled around me. William loved me and wanted to marry me. The happiness swelled up inside me and I felt the emotion coming on but I held most of it at bay (a few tears, and some sniffles escaped though…can’t help that).

A while ago I talked to him about my feeling on different types of proposals. I never liked the ones done in front of a bunch of family and friends. I felt like they were a bit cocky and threatening. What I mean is that, if for some reason, the woman wanted to say no, she would be loathe to do it in front of all your friends, so she may just say yes, only to say something about it later. In addition, I’m not a fan of having everyone I know stare at me for every little reaction. It would feel staged, and either I would give a false reaction to appease the audience or I would panic and over analyze everything that’s going on. The intimate, romantic ones filled with promises of love and awkward mistakes are the best in my opinion. He listened to that, and gave me a proposal I would remember forever.

I am absolutely ecstatic and have already started my planning, though I’m a bit overwhelmed. Still, I can’t wait to move forward with it all! Oh, and if you want to see a pic of the ring, feel free to look:

Isn't it pretty?

Whats new with all of you? I'd like a few updates!

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Book: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
By: Marissa Meyer
Published: January, 3, 2012
Published by: Fiewel and Friends

Description: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Thoughts: I went into this with absolutely no expectations, and came out of it loving a new series. I'm a fan of Cinderella all the way, but not really a fan of people taking it and putting a spin on it, besides the whole musical spin, or the regular Disney version. I like what I like. That being said, I absolutely loved Cinder. They took a fairy tale that I loved and made it so much better, and turned it into a story all its own.

It began much the same way Cinderella began. There's Cinder, the "slave" of the family who's "stepmother" and "sisters" take for granted and treat like crap, only in this one, one of the sisters likes Cinder, and Cinder has someone else as a friend. Then there's the Prince who she meets in the marketplace, only in this one, he comes to her for mechanical help, after all she is the most gifted mechanic in New Beijing. She's also a cyborg, a race of people who (from what I can tell) are people who encountered a traumatic event and were then "fixed" with the use of machinery. For that reason, they're seen as less than human, and property, and often treated quite badly.

There;s also this disease that's been plaguing the entirety of the world. They've been testing out the cures on the cyborgs, and after an unfortunate series of events, Cinder finds herself in the castle as a test subject. It's then that we learn that Cinder is quite special, and we learn what special really is.

I loved this book and will definitely be reading the next one in the series, Scarlet. It was so good. Though this story was definitely taken from Cinderella, it was different enough that you didn't feel like you were reading the same old same old all over again. Oh, and for those of you who think you know how this will end in terms of happy fairy tale endings, you don't. I absolutely loved Cinder, and I can't wait for the next one. I give it 4.5 Stars.