Title: Everless
Author: Sara Holland
No. of pages: 336 (ARC I read: 362)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Date Read: December 16, 2017
- First book in a duology
Blurb:
Something glints among the pebbles before me. Automatically I reach for it, and for a blissful second, thoughts of my father recede as I gape at the glittering thing in the palm of my hand.
It’s a coin. Gold and shining and big as a plum, with twelve notches around its edge.
A year of life.
A joyless, half-hysterical laugh rises in my throat. Only a Gerling could drop something so precious. What’s a year when you have centuries? (Holland 96)
Review:
One of the things I love about where I work is that we are encouraged to pick up ARCs and read them in order to be able to tell customers about them. When I saw this in the break room, I actually had a bit of a heart attack because I was so looking forward to this book releasing in January. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED.
Everless is the first book in a forth-coming duology, and is the debut novel for Sara Holland. In this book, the world revolves around time and blood as currency. 17-year-old Jules is a product of this unfortunate circumstance. All she’s known is that time through blood were commodities that you don’t want to give up or lose. She’s also always been told that the Gerlings are dangerous, but never was told whether it stemmed from fear or protection. Sick of seeing her father lose blood, and years off his life, she decides to take matters into her own hands and go back to the place where she and her father ran from years ago; Everless. From there, it’s a flashback into her past, her present, and her future. She struggles to find out who she is, and who is out to get her, and why time works differently for her than for others.
This book, as a debut novel, was stunning. At the beginning, the world building seemed to drag on, but it was fast and easy to catch on to what was happening. The backstory was dispersed throughout the book so as not to overwhelm the reader with all of it at once. This helped with the suspense and also drove my mind into a million different things that could have happened. Everless was full of twists and turns. There were so many times that what I thought would happen was the opposite of what actually happened. And I was here for all for all of it.
One thing that I loved about this book was that the characters and the plot were never what you expected. It gave it an air of mystery while still keeping with the fantasy genre of the book. Jules’ parentage, Liam’s character, Roan’s actions, Caro’s overseeing eye: all of it made for a great story of a rollercoaster of emotions and great storytelling that I didn’t want to end.
I HIGHLY recommend this book. It was full of action, suspense, secrets, high-quality fantasy, and characters that you could love and hate. Sara Holland has created a world that has me hooked, and I can’t wait for the next one.
Adventures and Reading 