New York Times bestseller!“Sara Holland is a fierce storyteller. Everless gives new and terrifying meaning to the phrase running out of time.” —Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of CaravalIn 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 … 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.
Fans of Victoria Aveyard, Kendare Blake, and Stephanie Garber will devour this lush novel’s breathtaking action, incredible romance, and dangerous secrets. Plus don’t miss the thrilling sequel, Evermore!
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Sara Holland is a fierce storyteller. An intoxicating blend of blood, secrets, and haunting mythology, Everless gives new and terrifying meaning to the phrase running out of time.
Everless is a fantastic concept, a story in which blood is time and time is the currency that keeps the Gerlings in power. With her father short on time, Jules goes against his wishes to return to the employ of the Gerlings, in hopes of saving his life. From that decision, onward, everything about her life turns from miserable to deadly. And the deadliest thing of all is the truth about Jules!
Like her protagonist, Sara Holland has a unique gift for manipulating time. Readers will lose themselves in her stunning prose for hours on end and be hungry for more when they reach the last page.
Everless is a fresh take on fantasy. The world that Sara Holland creates is magnificent. Eileen Stevens does an amazing job voicing the characters in Everless. Between the royalty and the blood irons, everything meshes so well into creating this world. I love the tales that are told throughout the story. It provides a unique view of the world Jules lives in. I also love the plot twists because I was not expecting them! At all! However, I don’t like how forced it felt for Jule’s possible love interest. A lot of time is spent on this and it didn’t feel genuine to me. But that’s alright because this book is amazing and I look forward to reading Evermore!
So I’d been on a huge reading slump regarding YA fantasy, finding several books either boring or plain awful. Everless got me out of it.
Jules is headstrong, but not on the maddening sense. She had a good reason to do all the crazy things she did. I like her, she feels real, I would’ve done exactly what she did on many occasions.
The love interest didn’t interest me at all, I could see through him long before Jules did. I can see why she was so infatuated, she was clinging to the past.
Now the mean and mysterious Lord, hell yeah. I was certain that there was more to him than met the eye and immediately liked him. Maybe I have a thing for grumpy characters who hide who they really are to protects others, and themselves.
I like Sara Holland’s writing style, the descriptions are perfect for visualizing but don’t drag on. And the mysteries actually had me thinking. That plot twist by the end… I loved it! A nice respite from books where I can see things coming from page 20.
Totally recommend.
Finally. FINALLY. It had been such a long time since I read a book I could get completely absorbed in — a book I’d want to make last as long as I could because I’d hate for it to end. But this one fit the bill, and what a great way to start 2019.
Everless by Sara Holland is about a world where time is currency; people’s blood is siphoned and turned into coin, which can be consumed to add days, weeks, months, or even years to someone’s lifespan. The poor sell their time to pay for rent or a loaf of bread, while the rich dissolve coins in their wine or tea and live for centuries. The concept alone is intriguing. But then you consider Jules, a fascinating and flawed protagonist who runs away from home to earn more time as a servant at Everless to keep her father alive, despite his mysterious warnings to stay away from Everless. The protagonist and this plot sucks you in, and Sara’s beautiful and haunting writing keeps you spellbound.
Jules doesn’t always make the best decisions, and doesn’t always have all the answers, but that’s what made her so real to me — and so fun to root for. I also LOVED the romance in this book (no spoilers so I won’t say which part I loved best *cough*the ending*cough*); it was only a relatively small subplot, but kept me intrigued, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. I just bought Evermore and am so excited to get lost in Sempera again.
Also, I discovered this book via a BookBub Featured Deal, and Evermore came out just before I finished Everless. Props to HarperTeen for perfect promotional timing. 😉
I’ve had this book sitting on my shelves for a really long time and I finally picked it up and read it this weekend and I LOVED it. The premise of this book focuses on the lore and kingdom of Everless. This kingdom rules through the power of blood and the time contained in people’s blood and their lifespan.
The main character is a coming-of-age story about Jules who lived at the palace as a child, but her and her father had to flee after an accident. Hard pressed for money and struggling to survive, she must return to Everless for a servant job even though her father says she shouldn’t.
So many things unfold in this story and I love how well Holland presented certain characters that you wanted to love but turned out to be horrifying individuals. I love it when an author can do this!
Looking forward to reading Evermore here soon and finishing this story to see how the kingdom of Everless comes back from such a terrifying ordeal!
Everless really reminded me of that movie In Time with Justin Timberlake and I thought this world was quite interesting. That’s what really made me read this book. This book was also very easy to read and I got through it so fast. I definitely think Sara Holland had a great idea, but it got lost in a annoying heroine, and a plot that didn’t connect well.
My issues with this book started with the main character Jules. None of her actions made any sense to me and she came to conclusions that that had nothing to do with the plot, the same can be said for he plot. Things were randomly thrown in to make something important or notable, but didn’t really flow with the story. But back to Jules. She annoyed me. Her father told her to stay away from the Queen because she’s dangerous and what does Jules do, she tries to get closer to the Queen. She also idolizes and is in love with Rowan, the boy she loved as a kid, and it was kinda sickening. While Liam was loathed and hated, but his actions negated anything he did as a dumb kid. Jules was just dumb and things should have been obvious to her and just overlooked a lot of things that should have been red flags.
I really wanted to like this book. I hate to say that my favorite character was actually Liam. He was very misunderstood. I rolled my eyes a lot at Jules. The magic was cool, but not enough to have make me love this book. I didn’t feel that the story really flowed well enough to make everything connect and come full circle. I don’t know another way to explain it. The way the story was written bothered me a little. But, I may give the next book a go just to see what will happen next.
What a fascinating premise! Time is taxed, utilized in the form of blood, which decreases a lifespan for the taxpayer and extends life for royalty and nobles in the palace. The setting is magical and the conflict compelling. There are lots of twisty turns and reveals, especially near the end; I guessed one or two—but not all! I love it when I’m surprised like that. The book is a bit bloody and creepy in parts, great for readers who enjoy that in a book. I would’ve preferred more of a final, wrapped-up ending; the conclusion obviously makes way for a sequel.
I loved this book. I laughed and I cried. This was definitely a page turner. This is one of my all time favorites.
Blood Iron, blood taken and bound to iron, is used to pay taxes in Sempera. Consuming the Blood Iron adds years to your life, but takes years away when the blood is taken from the individual. The Gerlings are one such family who are hated by many because of their Blood Iron consumption. Jules Ember and her father were forced to flee Everless 10 years ago and she has now returned as a servant to earn time to save her father’s life. Jules meets up with old friends and ends up in danger once again. Secrets are revealed and she may have the power to change time itself.
This book had me hooked from chapter one. The whole concept of Blood Iron is intriguing and unique and the characters are fabulous. Jules’ love for her father is strong and genuine. She would do anything for him. I was intoxicated by the mystery aspect of the story and enjoyed how Jules continued to remember things from her past. I wish I could say that I figured it out, but Sara Holland is one heck of a story teller and the surprised came form every angle. I actually ended up getting book 2 before I even finished book 1 so that I didn’t have to wait. I can’t wait to see where Jules goes from here.
This book has many twists and turns and builds an amazing storyline. This book was wonderfully written and you should read it!
When I saw Everless in the store, I was deciding if I wanted to read the book or not. I managed to persuade myself. And boy was I right to buy the book. I finished it in two days and bought the second one immediately. I love the story and I can’t wait to see what happens in Evermore (the 2nd book). I recommend this book instantly if you love Kingdom books.
There were definitely some intriguing twists and turns in this story, and it was difficult to put down. The only frustration I had was that Jules didn’t really do anything particularly impressive or clever (at least, not on purpose). She rejected every piece of advice given from the people who cared for her, and everyone suffered for it except her. The likeability of her character was built on how compassionate she was for the poor people she identified with, yet she didn’t do a thing to help anyone. Not even to make some friendly suggestions to the next queen about how she might rule a bit better. The logic behind most of her decisions seemed a bit flawed, I’m afraid. Hopefully she’ll make more sense to me in the next book, which I really want to read because all her friends and enemies are wonderful and I *need* to know what they’re all going to do.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It had SEVERAL twists that I absolutely did not see coming. I really appreciated that about Everless, but the other thing I loved was the originality. I read copious amounts of Young Adult fiction, and I’ve never run across another book with the same concepts this book presented. Blood iron–currency trafficked in time leeched from the blood. The whole word rotates around this and the legends it sprang from. Full points for originality! I did like the main character. She was fairly believable. The supporting characters were good, but not quite as memorable as our protagonist. There is a thread of romance going through the book. It’s good, clean, and interesting. I’m excited to see where it leads in the next installment. A good book! Worth the read!
A new perspective on the fantasy genre, Sarah takes something constant – time – and turns it on its head. A must-read for anyone who is a fan of fantasy and looking for something just a bit different. Can’t wait for the second book!
Still my number one pick for 2018, and it’s Sara Holland’s debut novel as well! Already have my hardback copy of Evermore pre-ordered and can’t wait to jump in and find out what happens next!
I actually did not think this was going to be a good novel not because of the Author but by the discription on the book, wasn’t something I usually read about. It was amazing, bit dark (Which I love), betrayal, love, adventure, strong female lead. 🙂
The estate of Everless is formidible in Sempera. For Jules it is a symbol of what life was. Both she and her father had been cast out several years before and now live in squalor in the village of Compton, struggling to survive. In Sempera however there is a way to make money, it is terrible and dangerous and has brought her father close to death – blood iron. Time distilled through bloodletting. An hour, day or even a year can be taken but clearly with a toll for those who rely on it to as a means to survive on only the most basic of means. When an opportunity arises to gain work on the Everless estate, Jules sees an opportunity to lift her and her father out of debt, as long as she can remain unnoticed by the Gerling children, her childhood playmates. However, the work being offered is preparing the estate for the upcoming wedding of her childhood beau Roan and the Queen of Sempera’s Ward, Ina; will Jules be able to stay away from her past?
As Jules becomes more embroiled in the wedding preparations she finds herself forging an unlikely friendship with Ina and stumbling down a path that reveals more about her past than she ever could have imagined and also a danger which shakes her to the very core.
Everless for me was a really enjoyable read. When I read the first chapter, I had to eye roll massively as we start out with Jules, the young female protagonist out as a huntress in the forest, searching for food for survival, this was thankfully one of only a few tropes and it quickly found it’s own feet. Despite the shaky start for me, Jules is an immensely likeable character. She feels horribly wronged by the Gerlings and with good reason, she saved Roan’s life, but in one of Everless’s best kept secrets she was simply blamed for the burning down of her fathers forge on the estate and they had to flee. Her father, once highly skilled, has now suffered so greatly by the giving of time through blood iron that he hangs on by barely a thread. She shows immense bravery by wanting to attend the blood letters herself to pay the rent debt, but like so many things in the story her best intentions are always taken out of her hands. Only just 17 and having been treated so badly in the past, she is incredibly trusting, despite outwardly projecting otherwise. I was surprised how easily she was able to forge friendships, however there is much to be said for solidarity.
Her inquisitiveness far outweighs her common sense though and despite many warnings she continues to follow a path of investigating her heritage born out by a strange ability to slow the passing of time when she is emotionally heightened. The twists and revelations in relation to this are fantastic, there was so much I didn’t see coming and I really enjoyed the excursions out of the Everless Estate (perhaps a lovely map wouldn’t go amiss in book 2) which really helped prevent the story becoming stagnant in a single setting.
Everless was a huge page turner for me, I really love this kind of traditional fantasy and although there were a few points that didn’t really work for me (like why would she throw away a year blood iron into the lake a breath after saying she would search through the mud if she has lost one) for the majority I found the story to be utterly engaging with a huge amount of originality. I am looking forward to hopefully having some aspects of the story explored further in book 2 as the true story of Jules’s heritage for me was captivating.
4*
Core concept of time blood coins as a currency is sort of creepy and took awhile to buy into.