I recently had a birthday. (No, I’m not fishing for birthday wishes. Just stating an unfortunate truth.) And I think it’s truly unfair that we must age based on the decomposition of our skin versus how we feel inside. On the outside, I’ve got hereditary wrinkles no serum can defeat. But on the inside, I still feel and act twenty-five. I mean, I read YA faster than a Keith Richards’ dialysis treatment.
So naturally, Everless by Sara Holland was the prescription to my dying youth. Everless is a YA fantasy where time is literally money. Need money for rent? You can bleed a month of your mortality to feed the local aristocracy. Sound a bit creepy? Yup, in the most delicious way.
About Everless
On the cusp of her eighteenth birthday, Jules Ember is faced with an impossible decision: return to work for the ruling family, the Gerlings, or let her father bleed the last month of his life to pay the rent. Only the last time they worked for the Gerlings, Jules was seven when her father was the blacksmith and she witnessed an accident that put her family’s safety in jeopardy. Unwilling to let her father die, Jules returns to serve and earn the time her father desperately needs.
Once her childhood playmates, the two Gerling lords, Roan who is set to marry the kingdom’s crown princess and Liam who is a ruthless tyrant, recognize her—making every day she spends in the manor dangerous, but Roan owns her heart while Liam haunts her nightmares. When the Queen comes to stay and Jules becomes the princess’ handmaid, she discovers a plot to kill the princess and learns a bigger secret about her past.
Watch the Book Trailer for Everless
Why I loved Everless:
It’s definitely creepy in all the best ways. Built around the legend of The Sorceress and The Alchemist who figured out a way to bind time through blood and meld it to edible metal, allowing man to live for centuries. You definitely don’t want to walk through the forest alone where thieves may cut you and bleed out your time. Plus the queen, who has lived for centuries, is the epitome of lived-too-long creepy.
The Gerling lords don’t disappoint. Both Liam and Roan run the gambit of feels. These two are mysterious and surprising. I’m excited to see where the second book goes.
Everless is an entertaining mystery with surprising twists and turns. There is definitely magic in the storytelling and world. A fast page-turner, you can get lost in the story.
Everless is the first book in a new series. I would recommend Everless to anyone who likes fantasy with just a touch of magic. So far, there aren’t any fairytale creatures, just the magic of wielding time. And when Jules works at the manor, it is sorta reminiscent of Downton Abbey. I mean it’s magic and it’s medieval but sorta Downton. Or maybe I just desperately miss Downton Abbey.
Read it, and tell me if I’m crazy. You can buy Everless now on Amazon. The second book, Evermore comes out January 2019.
Also, you should check out Sara’s Spotify playlist for the book. I don’t know why I love this soo much but I do. I love adding music to a story, especially music that inspired it.
Have you read Everless? What did you think?
