Firstlife (Everlife, #1)

by Gena Showalter

Step one...you die.

ONE CHOICE. TWO REALMS. NO SECOND CHANCE.

Tenley "Ten" Lockwood is an average seventeen–year–old girl…who has spent the past thirteen months locked inside the Prynne Asylum. The reason? Not her obsession with numbers, but her refusal to let her parents choose where she'll live – after she dies. There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to accept: Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death.

In the Everlife, two realms are in power: Troika and Myriad, long–time enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug–of–war between the two realms that will do anything to win the right to her soul. Who can she trust? And what if the realm she's drawn to isn't where the boy she's falling for lives? She just has to stay alive long enough to make a decision…

• ISBN10: 1760374458
• ISBN13: 9781760374457
• Publish Date: 1 March 2016 (first published 23 February 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: AU
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[Vicki]

3.5 stars

This had such an interesting premise. Loved the concept of two kingdoms in the afterlife at war over human souls on Earth. Interesting take on heaven and hell. There was also a nice symmetry with each side and their counterparts. I was also surprised by the amount of violence and grit in the book (not that I mind, but I just don't feel it's that common in YA). Ten was okay but honestly felt a bit flat to me, but I loved Killian and Archer. They were what kept me going. Things really got interesting and we got to learn so much more about the world after Ten escapes from prison. I can't wait for the next one to see what happens next.

[Cocktails and Books]

Things are pretty dark in this start to the Everlife series, but I think that darkness gives you the needed context to understand why Tenley is so conflicted about her choice. Killian and Archer help restore a little faith that Ten loses throughout the story, but by the time you get to the end I'm starting to feel there isn't going to be so much an HEA for Ten, but rather an "as good as it gets". On to book 2.

[Brittany]

Very good. I originally picked it up because it was recommended by Sarah J. Maas and I love her, but it seriously was good! I'm excited to start the next one.

[tweetybugshouse]

I gave this book a 3 as the whole concept of what we doing now is just a dress rehearsal for what comes in the Everlife and that you have two realms to choose to sign with while your in firstlife. Ya got one that is very dark in concepts and another that is light and truth and everything good. What irritated me mostly about this book is their no reference to refer to get all the many concepts straight. Two i did feel that the choice our main character had to make was very dragged out i mean 400 plus pages for two boys to convince her to join one of the realms or die unsigned and it up in their version of hell which is many ends.

Things i liked was the concept is very unique i never read a story quite like this one. I also like how their were various sci fi aspects that i could i identify with from other books i read. I also like how Ten really stuck to being unsigned no matter what was thrown at her or who they killed to convince her to join one side or the other she did not choose until the very last min and ultimately she did it very good reasons. I hoping the next book is a little more grounded in the concepts that were introduced in book one and that their more plot then a choose that needs to be made.

Also i like to point out this is my frist novel for the author i do own the zombie land chronicles just not read them yet.

[liz089]

To read more about this review and others, please visit my blog Freyja Eats Books

DNF - 75%

REVIEW.
So this is the first part in the new Everlife series, and the next one will be released somewhere next year. So far it seems like a duology.. but who knows.

Yes I DNF’ed this book, because I just can’t bother continuing.. Even though I only have like two hours left, I don’t care about this book at all. I don’t care what will happen next, and I rather spend those two hours reading something that I do give a damn about. To be honest, I am really disappointed in this story.

This book has been trending a lot, and the summary seemed very interesting. Knowing what will happen in the next life when you die, and having a choice between two very different fractions that decide how you spend your next life is something new and different for me. So I couldn’t wait to begin this one !

It started very interesting as well, with the main character in an asylum, because she doesn’t know which choice to make. Or well, because her parents wants her to choose Myriad and their fortune depends on it. Tenley has been abused and tortured to “help” her make that choice, but she hasn’t caved in yet. It has made her very harsh and she has a lot of trouble trusting people. Luckily.. two guys enter from different sides to get her on their side.. because.. Tenley is very special XD And then it all starts to go downhill for there…

Lately I’m having a lot of difficulty with all the special little snowflakes. It is just no fun anymore. Just stop doing it. It is just ridiculous and I’m really starting to HATE it.

I liked Tenley at the beginning, the asylum has really hardened her and I thought she was totally awesome ! She really kicked ass and puts up a fight. Very independent, and she really stands up for herself and I liked that. But the further we get.. the less I understand why ? What’s the point of her doing this ? She has to make a decision any way at some point, so why wait and let yourself be tortured ? I started to dislike her more and more the deeper we got into the story. She becomes a really whiny little girl.. and still gives no reason at all why she is doing it !!
She has been through a lot of stuff, even almost dying a couple of times, but she still doesn’t choose.. If she had a good reason I would understand maybe ? But because it seems that she is just stubborn for no good reason at all, she comes over as a very childish and stupid person.

And not only that, but why are Troika and Myriad at war anyway ?? I have NO IDEA. It seems like to whole book is about a silly anxious girl who doesn’t want to make a choice about her future, while pining over an asshole.

Because, honestly ? Killian is a complete jerk, and a very manipulative one at that. I don’t get the attraction at all. She is made out to be some really smart girl, but the way she acts around him is just ridiculous. Like a major turn-off. Ugh. Just like Killian himself, supposed to be a major player and all of the sudden he falls for the special snowflake.. *sight*. Just kill me now.

FINAL THOUGHTS.
So yeah, I find this kind of thing really horrible. It has much more potential , and I bothers me a great deal that she did not do more with it. The concept itself, with two sides in the afterlife and having a choice seems great, but it was just executed so poorly and I really disliked it.
So I would like to give this one 1.5 Freyja’s.. because the idea is good, but the rest if it is just awful. I would NOT recommend this book to anyone.

[lizarodz]

3.5 Stars
Firstlife is by first book by Showalter, since I didn’t read her previous series. It turned out to be an interesting and unique story, even if it took me a while to get into it.

The premise of the story is innovative. There are two realms: 1) Troika – which is light, sacrifice and love and 2) Myriad – full of darkness, violence and deceit. In one’s life someone must decide which realm to join after the die for the first time (hence “Firstlife”). The decision is binding, so it is kind of important. There’s a catch, if you remain unsigned, then “Many Ends” is what awaits you after your first death and that place is kind of like hell. Not good. Of course, there’s a lot more to the plot, but you get the basic premise.

Our main character is Tenley, Ten for short. She’s in a prison for teenagers design to force them into decisions they don’t want. Ten’s parents put her there because she refused to sign with Myriad. This place is full of horrors and it’s awful, but it made Ten very strong, fearless and a good fighter. She cannot made a decision and it causes her no little amount of trouble. I take it that it’s an important decision, but her ambivalence made me crazy! It turns out that she’s pretty important to both realms (not sure why though) and everyone wants her in their team. After her seventeen birthday, the pressure increases and two boys come into her life.

Archer and Killian are both sent to help Ten make a decision and to keep her safe, so kind of guardian angels/spirits. Archer is from Troika and he’s blond, strong, kind, and good to the core. Oh, and he has a British accent. Killian is a bad boy from Myriad. He’s more complex and he’s suffered a lot in his second life. He’s intrigued by Ten and her strength and need to help others. Killian is ruthless and kills without thought. Oh, and he has Scottish accent. Now, there is not triangle, okay? Archer is more like a big brother and Killian is most definitely the romantic interest. Which makes Ten’s decision harder: Does she joins the realm full of light or the one where Killian is? I love the romantic aspect of the story and that it was not insta-love.

I was slow to get into the story. I felt like at the beginning Ten told us a lot, which felt like a big info-dump to me and honestly put be off a bit. It did get better and more interesting, so stick with it :) The world building could have been done a bit better, but the overall idea was really good. There is a lot of action in the book and I was always wondering what kind of calamity will befall Ten next. Some parts of the book are very thriller like. The writing was also quite good.

This book was looonnggg (per Goodreads the book is 480 pages long) and it felt long. You understand what I mean, right? I think there was some unnecessary parts that didn’t add much to the story, I think Showalter could have told the same story and still cut like 100 pages. It felt like we were in a loop all the time with Ten thinking and whining about what choice to make.

Overall, I liked Firstlife. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a good start to the series. Now I have to wait for the second book – Lifeblood – due sometime next year, I imagine.

[Linda]

Firstlife is set in a unique world with very strong mythology and factions fighting each other for power over the realms, not only in the first life, but in the ever life as well.

[neddieb]

The premise of the book was interesting. Unfortunately, I felt as if this storyline was all over the place. It was rather confusing. The story at times did not make sense. It did not flow smoothly. Although, I was not very happy with this book, I will read the next one. Hopefully it will be written better.