Sunday 31 December 2017

Isabella's Reading Corner: Everless



Everless
Author: Sara Holland
Publication Date: January 2nd 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen




Everless, a debut fantasy novel by Sara Holland, is set in the kingdom of Sempera where time has been bound to blood and iron and its inhabitants must sell it to survive. Jules Ember and her father have been expelled from Everless, the estate owned by the powerful Gerling family and now live in poverty in the village of Crofton. When Jules suspects her father is dying, she must do whatever she can to buy him more time, even if it means returning to the home of the Gerlings whom she holds intense hatred for. 

Jules is fiercely loyal and brave. She loves her father and is concerned for him as she soon discovers he is selling his blood iron to support them. She is willing to take enormous risks to save him and anyone else she cares about. Danger and intrigue await her at every turn, as not everyone she meets is who they appear or claim to be. 

The story has a unique and unusual premise – a world where time is taken away or added to through the blood. There is a description of villagers waiting in line to have their time extracted from them which made me shudder, as being bled brings them closer to death. The rich live for centuries in opulence, while the poor, having to sell their time to survive, live in squalor and fear.

Everless is a compulsively readable, beautifully written novel with gorgeous imagery, lush settings and strong characters that kept me mesmerised. The details revealed of the history of the Semperans and their Queen are fascinating. I highly recommend this book and am anxiously awaiting the sequel!

Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for the ARC provided to review.




From the publisher:
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.

Fans of Victoria Aveyard, Kendare Blake, and Stephanie Garber will devour this lush novel's breathtaking action, incredible romance, and dangerous secrets.


You can read my original Isabella's Reading Corner post on Everless here.

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