Title: Everless
(Untitled #1)
Author: Sara Holland
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Release Date: January 2, 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen
In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.
No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.
But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.
No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.
But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.
Buy Link: Amazon
3.5 "Time is Money" Stars
Everless’ time is currency concept was definitely the
thing that appealed to me the most when I first heard of it, and this remains
the best part of the story now that I’ve finished reading it.
I don’t know if the
author took inspiration for this concept on that Justin Timberlake movie—In Time—but there were some similarities
there. Not enough to make the book seem like a copy of the movie, though.
Either way, I thought that the world the author created here was pretty
impressive.
Aside from the idea
that time can turn into blood-iron coins that, if digested, add
days/months/years to a person’s life, the story also comes with its own
mythology about two ancient and powerful beings, a Sorceress and an Alchemist,
who, in their quest to keep their immortality, have turn into enemies.
All of that is the
background for the world inhabited by Jules, a girl who grew up in Everless in
the company of the two very rich Gerlings brothers, Roan and Liam—one who
Jules believes to be good, the other bad, but things might not be as they seem
at first. After an accident, Jules and her father are forced to flee Everless
and that’s when all the starving and struggling to survive begins. Many years
later, out of option, Jules decides to go against her father’s warnings and
returns to Everless to work as a servant for the wedding between Roan and the
Queen’s adoptive daughter.
My first issue with
the story starts here, because Jule’s father clearly knows something big.
Something that has the potential to endanger his daughter’s life, but instead
of telling her what it is, he simply begs her not to go back to Everless
without giving her a reason. Jules got on my nerves plenty of times later, but
I couldn’t blame her initial decision to go despite her father’s vague
warnings. The man was practically dying, and I would’ve been much more
irritated at her if she had sat back and done nothing. Later on, her father
gets another chance to tell her the truth, but decides to keep being vague
until he can tell her nothing more. *sighs* All this holding back information
obviously serves no other purpose but to keep the main character in the dark
until the big reveal. It works, but it’s a little annoying.
Something else that
annoyed me a lot was Jules’ recklessness, especially toward the end. It was
incredibly hard to follow her line of thought when she made decisions that were
clearly not very smart and were bound to end up in disaster—as they did. I
found myself rolling my eyes more than once when it came to her complete lack
of strategy. It seemed that she often sent a prayer up, wished for the best
scenario and jumped into the most dangerous situations, then she’d blame her
lack of luck for the obvious outcome. Girl, please!
She wasn’t all bad as
a protagonist, but she wasn’t all that likable, either. Her impulsiveness and naivety
made it hard for me to connect with her. Despite having a feeling that things
weren’t as they seemed, Jules often stuck with blurry memories from her childhood,
ideas her father had put in her head and concepts that no longer applied. She
didn’t try to see things from a different perspective, no matter how many signs
there were that maybe, just maybe, things weren’t exactly how she thought.
This, for example, is the case when it comes to the Gerlings brothers. I
don’t know if everyone will see things the way I did, but I could see from the
start where that was leading.
Jules was also quick
to trust the people around her. Although, I can’t quite blame her for the big
reveal in the end, because not even I could see that one. The villain caught me
totally by surprise—great job on that part—so I’ll cute Jules some slack.
Speaking of the
villain, I think her motivation works well and the whole thing behind the big
reveal was smart and well-planned. That and the world the author created were my favorite things about the book by far!
But I was confused about how the villain got
that “breaking the heart” solution. Was that just a guess she was willing to
try because she’d failed in her previous attempts? Or was she sure it’d work
with the right person? If so, how did she get that information? Maybe the
sequel will bring the answer to that and to some other questions that were left
unanswered.
As to the romance, I’m
guessing that will be left for the sequel, too. At least I can’t complain about
the direction it seems to be taking, because Jules’ infatuation with her childhood
crush made no sense whatsoever. She hadn’t seen the guy in ages, but I was
supposed to believe she was so in love with him still? Other than that, the
whole thing came a little too close to cheating for my taste, and Jules never
once showed any sign of regret for lusting after another woman’s man (something
that was even worse after she found out the truth about the princess).
Despite my
reservations, Everless was a quick,
entertaining read. I don’t imagine it’ll be on my top reads of the year list,
but it wasn’t bad, either. Besides, the book also gets extra points for that pretty cover!
*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.
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