Everless

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.

---

I didn’t know of this book until it came to me by means of a subscription box (Fairyloot, you should definitely try that one out. I really recommend it) and immediately it caught my eye.

I researched it a bit on GoodReads. Read some reviews, did some synopsis reading and finally decided to put my ADSOM reading on hold and start with this, because it seemed really good and mostly everyone is beaming about this book.

Everless is the story of Jules, a farmer’s daughter whom lives in a small town with her father. In her world people don’t use money to buy stuff or pay rent but they sell their time using their own blood. Problem only is, when you sell too much of your time there’s not much left for you to live through.
So when Jules notices her father’s upcoming demise, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to stop him from bleeding out his remaining days. Even if that means returning to Everless manor and facing all the demons from their past.

Only ten years ago, Jules had to flee from the manor after the oldest son pushed his sibling into a ragin fire and she saved him from death. The oldest son, Liam, is out for revenge and banishes Jules and her father from his family’s estate. So in order to return, Jules has to hide from him and his younger brother -her first love- and survive. Which is especially hard when the Queen and her heir arrive at the manor.

This novel started out so damn good. I was launched into a world that was intriguing and mysterious. A world where people pay by using time and having to bleed for it. The world building using that element was done perfectly.
I also very much liked the idea of Jules and her father having a very intricate past at Everless manor. I was drawn into those stories and all the memories Jules had of the manor and of her friends there. It was easy to fall in love with Roan before ever meeting him because Jules has all these stories about him.

It was a grand opening for an otherwise flat story. Because that’s where this book fails, in my opinion. The beginning is great. I don’t see anything wrong or failing there (not that there’s anything wrong with this book) but after a while -after Jules reaches Everless manor- the story flattens out and becomes one-dimensional when before it was layered and intriguing. Even Jules feels really flattened out after a while. She becomes this shell of stupid choices and obvious mistakes and it’s when those mistakes and choices repeat themselves that the book becomes monotone.

I spent a lot of my time when reading this, wondering about what would happen and how it would happen. I wanted so badly for there to be more to Roan that the guy who shows up every now and then and be the person of interest for Jules. I hoped there was more to Liam than the misunderstood brooding young man who is drawn out to be the antagonist but is actually the hero… just because the opening of the book had opened up my mind to the mystery around Everless.

But nothing much happened that wasn’t predictable. And that sucked… a little.

That said; All can be forgiven when you find out this is only the beginning. Sara Holland (although it might seem I hated this book WHICH IS DON’T) is a terrific writer and I do see the potential in her writing. I hope, with all my heart, that her characters and worlds can grow as she writes more and more. And, although I didn’t like the style of book 1 much, I am anticipating the sequel to Everless. I do want to know what happens next. Even if it’s only to see the writing grow and mature.

---

I rated Everless 3 stars out of 5.
Again, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it out. It’s definitely worth your time. The world and its characters are interesting and fascinating but at a point, at least to me, they became one-dimensional and stopped showing development. And there’s not enough time spent with the characters that matter to create some kind of emotional bond with them.

**SPOILERS AHEAD **

I mean… it’s sad …. had to die but the anti-climacting emotion Jules showed and … overall absence in the book didn’t really provoke any emotion in me as a reader.