“Everless” by Sara Holland
Description: “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.”
Review: I love the concept of this book, everyone has a certain amount of time in their blood (aka how long they are to live). Currency is not money or goods but instead time, if people need currency they have to bled themselves of time. The concept was hard to grasp at first but after a while it makes perfect sense, the poor die quickly and the rich live long lives. I thought this was such an original idea but I have been told that it is very similar to the movie In Time (I haven’t seen it).
I really enjoyed Jules as a character and the dynamics between her and her father. Jules will do anything to save him and he will do anything to protect her. Jules meets a lot of interesting characters (mute Tam, old woman in the tower, etc) and I wish these characters were explored more deeply. All of them have really unique qualities and intriguing backstories, hopefully in the next book these characters will be more prominent. I also liked how the romantic aspect wasn’t the center story of the plot, too often a story gets overtaken by romance. With that being said…I didn’t really enjoy the romantic aspect at all, I felt it hindered the story and growth of the character (I also was hoping she’d chose the bad boy brother).
While I enjoyed the concept of time as currency I still felt that the plot was trite. The story line of poor girl going into dangerous territory to save your family and then finding out a big secret has been told many times before. While I was able to guess part of the plot twist and other plot pleasantly threw me (I love being surprised by a book). I don’t plan on reading the second book in the series but I do look forward to seeing what else Sara Holland writes.