Set in the fictional kingdom of Sempera where your life is measured by the time in your blood and exchanged as currency, Jules is a normal girl trying to get by in life. She and her father were cast out of the Everless estate where the Gerlings rule and where they were once servants, but now her father is struggling to pay their rent with his blood so Jules is forced to return to the palace to earn their keep and protect her family.
I really liked the world that was built in this novel – the idea of blood being currency and your lifeline was really interesting – and the history behind it was brilliant too. It was fantasy without being too out there, mixed in with a bit of YA. I believe it’s part of a series so I’ll look forward to reading the next!

Oh my wowza!

In my opinion, young adult fiction just keeps getting better and better. Everless by Sarah Holland is no exception to this rule. It is bloody brilliant.

Set in a world where blood means survival, our young heroine, Jules, has to make some hard decisions to ensure the survival of herself and her beloved father. However, the decisions that she makes can be costly but without choosing to give herself up to work for the Gerling family – a family whom she and her father fled when she was younger – Jules knows that she and her father will die.

Everless blew me away. With dystopian fiction becoming ever more present due to its current ‘on trend’ status you would think it would be increasingly difficult to make something new, original and damn right gripping but Sara Holland has managed to do so with her impressive novel. Furthermore, the book promises more stories from the mysterious yet dismal society in the land of Sempera.

I will warn you, if you are anything like me then Everless will make you antisocial. Be prepared to cut yourself off from the outside world because you will get sucked into this one.

Everless by Sarah Holland is available now.

For more information regarding Sara Holland (@Sara_Holland) please visit www.sarahollandwrites.com.

For more information regarding Hachette Children’s Books (@HachetteKids) please visit www.hachetteechildrens.co.uk.

Everless by Sara Holland is a surprising read. At first I was expecting a run of the mill YA fantasy with sparky heroine, love interest, magic etc. Well, I suppose the boxes are all ticked (which is good as I do like all of these ingredients) but there seems an awful lot more depth to Everless than other fantasy YA I've read. There's a real depth of emotion felt by the main characters and you really feel for them during the story. At times things turn pretty brutal to be honest and there are a few gasp out loud moments when I genuinely was surprised by the turn of events taken. The ending was very unexpected and has set up rather nicely for a follow on title so I am hoping that is in the works?

Gosh what can I say .. I absolutely loved this book.

Jules lives in a world where the common currency is blood coins, time that is drawn from blood and forged into coins. The rich and wealthy drink them to live longer, while their people die at a younger age because they use their time to help their families.
So does Jules’ father. To save his life Jules has to return to the one place, she swore herself never to go back to. Everless.

I’m going to keep this short because there are no words to describe how much I loved this book. The writing was AMAZING. It drew me in at page one and I got so invested into Jules story and her wellbeing. The worldbuilding was so complex, yet so well done that it almost felt simple. The pacing was just right, not too slow or fast. And gosh the characters. They were so well written.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next book to come out.

An unpredictable page-turner, fantastically written! Really enjoyed this one.

What an amazing, captivating and completely breathtaking ride this story was!

This book became straightaway my new favorite novel, and for so many good reasons.

✰ The back story and universe? Clever, original, so so close to the truth, with the few powerful abusing that power in the expense of the more, but with a vital twist. They are not just taking their money. They actually steal their years of life through their blood. This is literally the currency of this world, and despite how frightening it sounds to live in such a world, I loved every bit of it!

✰ The heroine? Brave, intelligent, ready to sacrifice herself for her loved ones, even if that means she will get in trouble. Or, worse... One of my favorite protagonists of all time, hands down.

✰ The characters revolving around her? Her father paying the rent (which translates to "giving his blood and his remaining life") behind Jules's back to protect her and not let her give away her years.
Her strong friend, who I suspect has a lot more to give to the story, and I really missed not seeing her for the better part of the book.
Her childhood friends, who inspired strong feelings in me, because I knew something was not right immediately. But, I was very, very, very surprised when I actually found out what was wrong, and I have to admit, I wasn't completely right...

✰ The writing style? Fantastic, smooth and really making me wonder how this could be the author's first novel? We really need more books by you, Ms Holland.

✰ And, my fifth star goes towards all the things I really want to talk about in this book, but I can't, as they will be extreme spoilers. Such as the incredible revelations you would never imagine, the exceptional villain, and all the amazing twists and turns of the story.

All in all, five stars to a book I will definitely read again (how could I not go back and re-interpret all the shady people's behaviours?), the amazing start to an extremely promising and captivating new series. And, - I really can't contain myself, so - five stars to Jules.

So, I read Everless in 2017 and I never reviewed it… until now.

I really loved Everless - it’s set in a world where time is currency, and the poorer folk in this kingdom pay with their blood… literally. They go and have their blood drained and turned into coin. It’s a really interesting concept that I enjoyed a lot. (Does that sound creepy?)

Jules and her father fled from the nearby aristocratic estate (Everless) years ago, but she finds herself back there again after taking a job there to earn some money, to help her dying father. Everless is full of royalty, court drama, mystery, intrigue, secrets and magic.

When you’ve read as much YA fantasy I have, it’s sometimes easy to predict how the story is going to play out - but Everless is full of twists and turns and surprises, and I really loved the world-building. Put simply, Everless was a joy to read.

I’m really looking forward to the next book in this series (at least I think it will be a series?) and if you’re looking for some fun fairytale fantasy, give this one a go.

Everless is bound to be a hit among many YA fantasy lovers. It is not something completely new, it doesn't give us amazing new storyline, but it gives us an engaging plot that keeps you late at night reading just a few more pages. Everless is in some ways similar to many others YA fantasy novels, we have a young female protagonist that suffers a horrible loss at the beginning of the story, this loss forces her to pursue a somewhat dangerous path to find out the truth about herself.  And all of this ends up in her finding out how special she is. Nothing new, right? The point of good YA fantasy is to make the details fresh and fun for readers, and Sara Holland did just that.

First of all, the idea of blood as a currency is great and makes the whole world of Sempera intriguing. How can your blood be used? How are the coins made? Why is blood linked with time? Can you extend your life? We get all the answers, maybe a bit too quickly and too many at the same time, but I didn't mind it that much. I think the idea behind this world is compelling and makes the story engaging.

Jules is a likeable character, even though she makes all of the 'mistakes' of humans. I call them mistakes only because as I reader I can clearly see that those decisions are just means to an epic argument, dire situation or fight. So they are sometimes a bit annoying for me, but at the same time she just makes decisions based on her feelings towards other people. She makes the decent decisions, ones that are directed by heart, not brain. She's nice to others, she loves and cares for her father, she is eager to help others.

What often bothers me in YA fantasies is romance. It's too quick, too cute and just too much. Everless has none of this. There are clues here and there about the possibility of a romance, but it never comes to a full-blown love. Jules has feelings towards a guy, but those particular feelings are not the main drivers of her actions. I can expect a more focus on romance in next book in the series, but I'm happy it wasn't a big part of this book.

Everless will keep you guessing who you can believe. I had complete 180 on few of the characters. It was fascinating discovering different characters together with Jules. What would next book in the story bring? I can't wait to find out!

Set in a world where your blood and your time is currency. Blood is extracted and bound to iron which is then used to pay debts or consumed to add time to your lifespan. The rich Gerlings tax the poor and seem to live forever, whilst the poor are bled to pay their debts. Jules Ember finds herself in a difficult position. Her father is bleeding his life away to pay their debts, and Jules has a way to earn more blood iron than they could ever need, but this means working for the Gerlings. Jules and her father had lived on the estate previously but were forced to leave after an unfortunate accident. Torn between wanting to save her father from dying to pay their way, and returning to a place which could be dangerous for her, Jules returns to the Gerling estate and finds herself wrapped up in something more complicated than she could ever have imagined.

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I thought this was going to be a fairly predictable read. It seemed obvious to me that certain characters would turn out to be something other than what they seemed and that Jules’s story would take a twist. I had even gone so far as to guess the ending. I was wrong. When the big reveals for this story began to appear, they were nothing like what I had expected and I was pleasantly surprised.

The detail in Sara’s writing is exquisite. I feel as though I know Everless as well as my own world and it is a setting which has stuck with me since reading. It reminded me a little of novels like Gilded Cage and The Sin Eater’s Daughter where a rich few control the rest of the population, but where nothing is quite what it seems. The addition of Briarsmoor, a town outside of the estate where time is 13 hours behind the rest of the country fascinated me.

Jules is an interesting character, drawn to Everless to help her father, she finds herself still having feelings for Roan (which is rather unfortunate as he is due to marry the Queen’s adopted daughter, Ina) and trying to avoid Liam, who got her expelled from Everless in the first place. She seems oddly headstrong at times motivated by a need to look after her father, but also by nosiness and determination to discover the secrets that are hiding in the Gerling estate. At other times though she puts herself in danger by being careless and seems to lack respect for her own vulnerability. When she is warned by her father that the Queen is dangerous and he begs her to come home, she turns away from him and applies to be a maid for Ina, which doesn’t seem like the most sensible course of action. I was also intrigued by the fact that time misbehaved around Jules and that when she does try to bleed some of her time, odd things happen.

Jules is the main character of this story, but the other characters are all very well-developed with wonderful and intricate back stories. Liam is a complicated character who fascinated me from the start. Ina has a wonderful history that I wanted to know more about. Caro intrigued me; she was so secretive and revealed so little about herself. There is also the gradual reveal of the story of the sorcerer and the alchemist which is gently woven into the main story and adds a different dimension to the story.

Everless turned out to be a far better read than I thought when I started and I cannot wait for the second installment.

This is a very saturated genre and much of it is the same. Everless is different enough to keep you reading. I enjoyed it and I’m sure it will appeal to its target market.

Welcome to Everless, the most generically generic YA novel ever written!

Starring…

Generic protagonist girl! From a village! Super poor since the death of her mother! Thinks people won’t recognise her if she covers her hair!

Generic love interest boy! Playmate from childhood grown up all sexy! Lives in a generic castle!

Generic evil Queen! Straight out of Disney! Pale and cold! Rumoured to eat the generic hearts of other generic characters!

Generic insta-love! Between two generic characters not attracted to each other for 95% of the book!

Also featuring…

Generic peasants! Generic horse riding! Generic kitchen staff! Generic taverns! Generic guards!

With a special appearance by everyone’s favourite… generic honey pastries!

Critics have given it 3 stars, calling it “middle of the road” and “mildly enjoyable”.

Available now!

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A few months ago, I read this hilarious post by the lovely Orangutan Librarian entitled “Worst Fantasy Novel Plan Ever”! And we laughed, because satire, and then we commented with more satire, and laughed some more because surely no-one would include ALL of the generic fantasy tropes in one novel?

Cut to a couple of months later, when I started reading Everless and lo and behold – all of the tropes. In. One. Novel.

Wow.

Everless is the story of Jules (ok, so maybe the stupid fantasy name trope was avoided – although her surname is Ember, so I’m not sure – it depends if she goes on to set the world alight in books two and three) who lives with her father in a small village. Struggling to make ends meet, she volunteers to work at Everless, the castle and estate owned by the local nobility (the family are hiring extra staff for the wedding of their son to the adopted daughter of the Queen). Jules is already familiar with the castle, having lived there as a child, and quickly works her way up into a senior servants position. Her access to the royals gives her an insight into what really goes on, and as she starts to uncover some of their closely guarded secrets she begins to make sense of her own puzzling background.

Yes, the “my life has been a lie!” trope.

Despite the incredibly obvious plotline, the saving grace of this novel was the idea that time could be “bled” out of people (literally – by making them bleed) then bound into metal coins. These coins could then be used as currency or eaten to give the owner additional time. This meant that rich people could live for centuries, whereas poor people had to sell their own time to stay alive. Now, there are many, many flaws in this idea (how does someone’s youthful essence get bound into their blood? What happens if you just cut your finger? Do people who die of anything other than old age have their bodies bled? The very idea of cutting your life short to stay alive is counter productive? etc…) but if you don’t think about it too hard then the concept is interesting, and adds a new dimension to the story. (I’d like to add in here that I’ve not seen the movie “In Time” but I believe it’s broadly the same idea. So perhaps the concept is not as interesting/unique as I’d originally thought.)

Unfortunately, there were quite a few parts of the book that didn’t really make sense. Some are big gaping plot holes, like why Jules flagrantly disregards everything her father warns her about or why, considering she was banished from the castle as a child, everyone is fine with her return. On the other hand, there’s also quite a few small inconsistencies throughout the text that really, REALLY got on my nerves. For example, here is a direct quote from the text;

“We’re both startled by the deep, clear peel of a bell…As a child, I’d heard many of Everless’s bells – there are bells for weddings and deaths, New Year’s and royal proclamations. I’ve never before heard the bell of the Crown, reserved solely for the Queen.

Of all the bells I remember from my childhood at Everless, this song is the deepest and most beautiful. It means that we are to assemble for Her Majesty’s arrival.”

So, um, you’ve never heard this bell before but you instantly know what it means? Despite there being literally loads of other bells that must be hardly ever used, like royal proclamations? And you know that it means you should assemble somewhere? And you also know where that assembly point is?

Unless this bell sound is actually a public service announcement, you cannot possibly have obtained that information. Aargh!

Also – bells do not sing songs, they chime or toll.

There’s a similar inconsistency later on when Jules is asked to pick the incredibly rare, so-prized-we-built-an-entire-garden-around-it ice holly, which takes pride of place, um, growing underneath all the other flowers that have been planted on top of it. I hope there is some significance to the ice holly (as it was never mentioned again) otherwise I’ll have spent an entire chapter reading “ice lolly” and having to go back and correct myself.

I also had a problem with idea that the security protection on the family vault door consisted of a dye to stain your hands. If the dye was rare and permanent then fine – but it washed off after a couple of days and was commonly used in the castle for other purposes (so presumably lots of people had stained hands). And yeah, ok, the door could bleed time from you, but if you’re breaking into a vault stuffed with magical time money then you could just eat it all back again, no?

Apart from that, I got very, VERY annoyed at the ending. There’s a real opportunity for Jules to take charge of her own destiny and actually get a little bit of agency (something she completely lacks) but no – she just “develops” a total insta-
love crush over the space of two pages. I CALL BULLSHIT!

However….

The very, very weird thing about Everless is that despite it’s myriad flaws, generic storyline and annoying characters it isn’t actually a bad story. Yes, I kept getting annoyed, and yes, parts haven’t been fully thought through, but if you don’t analyse the storyline too hard then the novel is fast paced, there’s lots of action and Jules keeps discovering things which suggest a far better premise for books two and three. I think younger readers, or those who absolutely love YA will lap this book up (indeed, there’s a hell of a lot of hype surrounding it). It was just too much like a manufactured pop song for me – ticked all the boxes associated with the genre, squarely aimed at teenagers, easy and catchy – but ultimately lacking in depth and meaning. I’m afraid it’s been done before – and far better than this.

I thought I had a good idea of what to expect from this book, but even so I was pleasantly surprised by just how fantastic this book is. The idea of time used as currency is what first attracted me to Everless, it's a really interesting concept, and I was curious to see how it was handled. I liked how it was an integral part of the world building, with the first couple of chapters showing exactly how the world worked, including the class divide and the effects of poverty when money is literally the time in your veins.

Jules is a very down to earth main character, she's practical with a very realistic view of the world. Life has not been kind to Jules, at the start of the book she is living in poverty with her father who has been selling his time to pay the rent. Work is scarce, by she tries to make ends meet working a number of jobs and hunting in the woods nearby. I really liked how strong-willed and loyal Jules is, she's not perfect, occasionally she is reckless, but she is kind, and supports those she cares about. 

Something that I really liked about this book was that while Jules has an undeniable soft spot for her childhood friend Roan, she does not automatically see his fiance Ina as a threat. If fact they become friends, and while Jules is occasionally envious of Ina's privileged life, she does not hold it against her. It's so refreshing that these two characters aren't pitted against each other, as is all too common in the YA and fantasy genres.

World building is an incredibly important aspect of any fantasy novel, and can really set a book apart from its peers. The world building in Everless is particularly rich, with the world's history, mythology and folk tales adding extra depth to the story. I really appreciated how the country's history was revealed over the course of the book, revealing the truth and expanding the scope of the story, without being too heavy on the exposition. I'm a fan how consistent the world building is throughout this book, and I'm really looking forward to learning even more about this world in the sequel. 

There are a lot of mysteries woven throughout this book, and what makes the ending so satisfying is that a lot of those questions are answered. There are a lot of dramatic revelations, some more predictable than others, and by the end of the book I had a good idea of where things stand. However, this does not mean this story is wrapped up. There will clearly be a sequel, and the conclusion of Everless does a good job of setting up for that, leaving me excited for the next book already.

I never really thought of myself as a fantasy fan. I loved Harry Potter as a child – and still do – but I didn’t get on at all with The Hobbit, I’ve never read or watched Game Of Thrones or Discworld. But then I was told to read Gilded Cage and I discovered actually maybe I am a bit of a fantasy fan after all!

The premise of Everless intrigued me so I requested it on NetGalley and was lucky enough to be given a copy to read and I am so pleased I did! In Sempera time is money, quite literally, in ancient times a way to remove time from a person’s blood and bind it to iron coins was discovered. The only currency in the land the poor pay their debts with them, and if you can’t afford it, don’t worry just pop round to your time lender and he’ll extract a week or two, whatever you need to pay your rent. Meanwhile the wealthy collect the coins, they get to live for centuries, it’s easy when you can dissolve a year in your tea whenever you feel like it! Wealthy families such as the Gerlings who live at Everless.

The central character in the story is Jules Ember, Jules was once happy at Everless, the daughter of the blacksmith she grew up friends with one of the Gerling brothers but then there was an accident and Jules and her father were forced out of Everless, left to try and make ends meet to pay their taxes. Concerned with how much time her father is giving up, and now classed as an adult herself she tries to persuade her father to let her visit the time lender instead, when that fails she’s left with one option, find work as a servant and make her way back to the Gerlings and Everless. I found Jules to be such a captivating character and I adored going on this journey with her.

Sara also creates a rich cast of supporting characters, from Roan Gerling Jules’ childhood friend and his older brother Liam, to the Queen, Ina Gold her heir and Caro her handmaid. Each character felt developed in their own right and I really enjoyed discovering more about them as I made my way through the story, and believe me my opinions on each of them kept changing with each bit of new information I discovered!

And the plot! As I said the premise intrigued me and the plot didn’t let me down! Without going into details that would spoil it I will say the story is incredibly well paced, with little details that will keep you turning the pages eager to find out a little more. I especially loved the depth of detail within the book, for me it was clear that Sara had put a lot of thought into the history of Sempera and I really loved the gradual reveal of the story of the sorceress and the alchemist. I thought the level of detail included within the plot was just right to provide the needed information without slowing the main story but I would happily read more about the sorceress and the alchemist, or discover more about Sempera’s past and the queen.

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Would I Recommend?
I wanted to start of my 2018 on a reading high and this certainly didn’t disappoint! Following Jules’s journey through the novel, and discovering more about her and the characters around her was a complete delight, I may have read this on the first day of 2018 but if this isn’t on my top ten reads of the year I’ll be amazed! Magic, nobility, and characters to love and distrust, what’s not to love – Definitely one to read! I’ll be picking up a copy to sit permanently on my shelves and I’m hoping there’s more to come from the land of Sempera!

In the world of Everless, time in bound to the iron in your blood. This allows time to be extracted from the blood and used as a type of currency. As might be expected of such a society, the nobles bleed the wealth (literally) from the poor. This allows them to live centuries while the poor literally pay with their life to survive.

Jules is poor and living with her father in a small village outside of the Everless. Her father used to work as a blacksmith in the Everless and as a child, she played with the sons of the the ruling family there. Unfortunately circumstances forced them away and she returns as a servant when her father needs the time to pay his debts. In her time at Everless, Jules will discover the truth about herself and the world in which she lives.

This book was written by a debut author, Sara Holland, and it was amazing. The writing was strong and the story incredibly well thought out. The plot took several twists and though they were hinted at throughout the story, some of them caught me by surprise. My only criticism is that it did suffer from a bit of an info-dump of the world mythology at the beginning, however, the mythology was quite interesting.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and strongly recommend it for anyone looking for an interesting YA read. I can’t wait until the sequel!

Sad to say, I thought this was quite bad - patchy world-building, generic fantasy characters and plot, repetitive writing, and a hook that didn't hold up in the end (blood-iron just isn't sustainable? Or it wasn't explained well enough).

Wow. Wow. Wow. I'm honestly so surprised by this book in a really good way. When I seen the cover and read a bit about it I had a feeling it was just going to be something similar to Red Queen or Throne of Glass and I was slightly dreading it (don't shoot me, I actually love both these series') but boy was I wrong! Sara Holland created such a unique story and world and I was drawn in straight away. 

In a world where time is used as currency, allowing the rich to live longer as they bleed the poor of their time leaving them to struggle, Jule Embers and her father are left in a desperate situation after having to flee from their comfortable home at Everless, home of the Gerling family. When Jules finds out her father is running out of time and is behind on the rent and bills, she realises she doesn't have a choice but to return to Everless as a servant to earn more time for her father so she doesn't lose him forever. During her time here she discovers secrets and is reunited with two people she never thought she'd see again all in the while meeting new friends. As things start to twist, Jules realises her actions are more powerful than she ever thought and only she has the ability to change the world as she knows it. 

I was honestly blown away with this novel. The whole plot was just captivating and interesting and that alone makes you want to pick up the book and see for yourself what kind of world Holland has created. Sempera is the main kingdom (if that's the right word) that the novel is set in with Jules coming from a small village called Crofton. Pretty much straight away we're told about bleeders, the people who steal/take time from others. The way it works is that people bleed people of their time and then turn that blood into a coin which is consumable. It's all about the rich taxing the poor leaving them struggling to survive whilst they add centuries on to their own lives and have all the time they could want. 

The characters in this book were all so well written and I fell in love with just about all of them. One of my favourite characters has to be Hinton and it honestly makes me so sad that he was only a minor character as he was just the sweetest wee thing and I instantly adored him when he was introduced. 
Ina was another character I really, really liked. As the daughter of the queen she was the complete polar opposite and was kind, caring and a really sweet friend to Caro and Jules, even if it was their job to look after her. 
I found Jules to be a really lovable main character. You could tell how much her father meant to her and it was clear she would go to whatever lengths she could to save him. I just really can't wait for the next book to find out more about her and her background!
Like I said at the beginning, I was expecting it to be similar to Red Queen and when I seen there were two brothers, one good, one evil I was a bit sceptical about how it was going to turn out but I was actually pleasantly surprised. It wasn't similar at all and I actually enjoyed both the brother characters in this novel.

'Everless' truly is a masterpiece and if this is only Holland's debut novel then I honestly can't wait to read more of her writing. She's definitely someone that is going to be huge within the YA community! With so many twists and turns and misleading characters, you'll really struggle to put Everless down, everything about the story captivates you whether it be the characters, the world or the story building. I also forgot to mention there's some slight mythology throughout the novel as well so if you're into this type of thing as well as Fantasy and strong, brave, female characters then this is definitely the book for you!

The blurb of this book pulled me right in. A world where time and blood are literally money - what an interesting new fantasy concept.

A lot of the world building was fairly sparse, I still have no real concept of how Sempera fits with the rest of the world. The 'magic' system of bleeding yourself to turn the time in your blood into coins was well explained though- fitting nicely into the story without being an info-dump.

This book avoided a lot of the standard YA tropes such as insta-love (although it skirted the edges a bit) but I still could have done with Jules doing less pinning over Roan. it didn't really add anything to the narrative and she was 7 years old the last time she saw him - not an age one generally falls in love.

I found the story really picked up in the last third to become a proper page turner. Some of the 'twist' seemed fairly obvious while other parts did manage to surprise me which is always nice.

Overall an enjoyable story and I'll be looking out for the next in the series.

I had thought this was much more of a ‘fairy story’, but it was actually quite dark and I really enjoyed it. The concept at the heart of this world was an unusual one, and it was well written and interesting. I particularly loved the way the author used the concept of memories being unreliable, and the twist regarding Liam, which I will not reveal here! Read it yourself!

I finished my 2017 with this book, and I’m very glad to say it meant I rounded off the year with a fab read. Full of intrigue, wonderful world building, plot twists, and some strong characters that were able to evoke some strong emotions.

Since it’s a YA, let’s start by talking about the romance, because we all know that 99.99% of YA fantasy has a predictable romance. Finally, a YA fantasy book without the most inanely predictable romance that’s thrown in your face from the outset! Things are definitely not what you first think with this book, and I loved that. Don’t get me wrong, I did ultimately see what was happening romance-wise before it became obvious where the story was headed, but I still appreciated the slight twist. I am so incredibly glad to see a slight deviance in the normal YA romance trope.
I have seen other bloggers say they wanted more romance, but I was happy with the romance in this. It wasn’t overpowering, didn’t make me want to spew, and to be honest, if I want to read romance then I’ll pick up a romance book, not a fantasy book. Of course I don’t mind some romance but I loathe when it overpowers the rest of the story. I’m glad that wasn’t the case with Everless.

I loved, loved, loved the whole concept and the way magic worked in this world that Holland created, what a marvel that was. I’m 25, I’ve read a lot of YA and watched it develop over the last decade or so, it’s so rare to come across a concept that’s new to me. I’ve seen other bloggers say there’s a slight similarity between this and the film In Time, in regards to the way the magic works, but as I’ve never seen that film I’ll remain in happy ignorance on that front and cling to this new magical concept that Holland has given me.

Not to get too deep, but I do feel that this book offered something of a social commentary on the world we live in. The poor dying young, your time being short if you’re not among the wealthy, people living off of the hard work of others, and of course within the book people are literally bleeding themselves to give their children a better life, which one can only imagine would happen in our world if this magic truly existed. Of course, this social commentary may not have been intended but it’s there regardless.

Not only was there a bit of a twist in the romance aspect, but there were other things too that I just did not expect. I can’t get into much detail for fear of spoilers, but this book made me happy to read because for once I got to the middle of the book without having predicted the ending, who was good, who was bad, and any ideas I did have were proved wrong by the end.

Overall, a great way to end 2017. Yes, this book isn’t mind-blowingly original, but it’s also not mind-numbingly just rehashed tropes and plot themes. The characters didn’t feel overly juvenile, which I find sometimes happens in YA (is it older authors trying to remember what they were like as a teen and missing the mark hugely, who knows?). Definitely give this book a chance if you’re a fantasy fan.