Sara Holland has created an amazingly unique story!
So I went into this book a little cautious… I’ve had a rough time (PUN INTENDED) with the YA genre lately and I either love or hate them it seems. However, Sara Holland has done a very good job with the debut novel Everless!
Everless follows the story of Jules Ember~ she lives in a world where time is money…literally. People will bleed themselves to make blood money that is then steeped in a tea and adds years to another. Time is currency and a lot of people are coming up short. (Good gracious, I could add so many puns here haha). Everless, the name of the book, is also the name of the Gerling estate where Jules and her father used to work. Until something went wrong and they fled to the outskirts. Jules though needs time, needs money, and Everless is the place to get it. *insert dramatic music*
This is where our story begins~ 😉
“I know better than to be afraid of stories”
― Sara Holland, Everless
Let me starts with things I really enjoyed.
The twists!! There was a very good twist later in the book that I loved. I also greatly enjoyed the side characters. I think I may have a preference but I do tend to judge main characters harshly. (That may be something I need to work on….) However, I adored all the side characters but especially I loved her father. Which kind of connects into things I didn’t like, but we’ll get there next.
I cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoyed the premise. This is something not really done before and I enjoyed the details behind the world and also the grittiness of it. Yeah, people bleed out their years in blood. Then they take that blood and make it money. It’s crude and archaic feeling, and 100% lent itself well to the world development. I appreciate darker themes haha.
Now onto the things I didn’t like:
Jules.
Yep, a one word answer to all things haha. Honestly, it was infuriating her attitude and ineptitude on issues. To try and skirt this as much as possible without spoilers, let me just say she is warned SO MANY TIMES. SO MANY! She just ignores everything that are clear red flags and keeps on going. My main thing that is slightly spoiler-ish to say though, is she has so many opportunities to look out for her father in a manageable way and she doesn’t. It made me extremely sad and made me glare at her through out most of the book.
“Maybe I am a mystery— a secret— that needs unraveling…”
― Sara Holland, Everless
Overall I really enjoyed the premise, if not the characters, of this book. It’s a well done world and I will check out the second book to see where it goes~ <3
- Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars
- Plot: 4 Stars
- Character Development: 3 Stars
- Dialogue: 4 Stars
- Writing: 3 Stars
If you enjoy a good fantasy YA, go check it out! It’s worth the read.
~Ash
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