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Thanks to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: Available Now
336 Pages
Synopsis: 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 an her father were servants at Everless, the Gerling’s palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers her father is dying, she knows 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.
Huh. Okay, so this was different. Of course I mean that in a totally good way because Everless is definitely a YA fantasy that stands out from the pack.
I’m going to start with the world-building and mythology, which except for the very beginning, I LOVED! I’m not sure if it was just me, but for the first couple of chapters, I floundered a bit. I felt as though I was immediately dropped into this strange world where time is extracted from people’s blood and used as currency. It didn’t feel like there was quite enough backstory as to how this all came about. To be honest, I’m still a little confused. But this is a minor complaint because I was still completely sucked in.
The main characters are fully formed and seemed to be ready to walk off the page. Jules is a wonderful heroine who will appeal to readers. She’s clever, resourceful, courageous, and intensely loyal, yet also stubborn which leads her to making mistakes. I was a little disappointed that a couple of interesting characters were introduced, only to disappear for the majority of the story. I’m hoping to see more of them in the next book. There’s a little bit of romance which I found somewhat “meh”, but as it wasn’t the sole focus of the story, it wasn’t really bothersome.
The central mystery kept my attention, and the plot was filled with little twists and turns, but it was the last fifty or so pages that had me racing to the conclusion. The huge reveal left me completely gobsmacked and I found myself re-reading the passage just to confirm that my eyes hadn’t deceived me. The ending is absolutely perfect and sets things up nicely for the second book.
Overall, Everless is a wonderful debut by Sara Holland. It’s left me quite excited for the sequel and I can’t wait to learn even more about Sempera. I highly recommend this for teens and adults who are looking for something unique in YA fantasy.
salmahsbookshelf said:
So glad you liked it! This is one of my anticipated reads! Too bad the romance is meh, the jacket copy makes it sound like it was a big part but its good to hear it wasn’t the central focus
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Salmah. I’m hoping this and the world-building is more developed in the next book.😊
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raistlin0903 said:
Time as currency? Ugh, I already have way too little time on my hands. If I were to lose even more time that would really be bad 😂😂
This sounds amazing though, especially like the idea itself and the world building aspects. As usual I’m not suprises that I have to add yet another book to my list lol. Great review as always Kim 😊😊
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Michel. Yeah. I’d be in so much trouble.😒
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Carrie said:
Fab review as always! I really wanted to try for this one but it had been up for quite awhile already when I saw it since I wasn’t watching EW that closely until recently but I’ll definitely look for it at the library sometime. 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I think you’ll enjoy this Carrie.😊
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Carrie said:
I definitely would have clicked if I’d seen it sooner, it does sound really good!
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Trang (Bookidote) said:
OMG YESS!! I’ve been eyeing this book for a few months now 😀 SO happy you like it !
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Trang! This is a solid beginning and I think you’ll like this.🤗
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Crystal said:
Great review! I’m defiantly more interested in this book now.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Awesome!😊
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Pingback: Everless (Untitled #1), by Sara Holland ~ 4.0 Stars — By Hook Or By Book | Fantasy Gift Sources: Book Reviews, Article Resources, News
fragglerocking said:
Reminds me a little of the movie In Time. Nice review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Fraggle. It is a a bit only more fantasy than futuristic.😊
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beetleypete said:
Maybe not one for me, but the cover is sumptuous. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I can’t see you liking this beyond the cover Pete.😁
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beetleypete said:
🙂
Not too many books now, Miss Kim. 🙂
Pace yourself…
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Pete.🤗
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thebookdutchesses said:
This is one of my anticipated releases. I’m waiting for my copy.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Awesome! I’d love to know what you think when you read it.😊
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thebookdutchesses said:
I will let you know when I read it 😊
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lucindablogs said:
I can’t wait to read this now! Great review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!😊
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James J. Cudney IV said:
Sounds good. Was this your first 2018 read?
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I technically started it New Years Eve, so no.
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Erica Mae said:
Heard a lot of good things about this book! Can’t wait to finally read it. Great review! 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Erica. I hope you enjoy it.😊
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fanofthefiction said:
Sounds very unique!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
It definitely is.😊
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Raven @ Dreamy Addictions said:
Great review, Kim! I’m glad you enjoyed this book! I’m so looking forward to read it this month. I really hope I enjoy it as much as you did! 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Raven! I can’t wait to hear what you think.😊
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Beware Of The Reader said:
I waited to have written my own review before reading yours Kim but it’s perfect! I also floundered in the beginning (I’m happy I’m not the only one who was lost) and yes the romance is “meh”. When you speak of interesting character I guess you are speaking of my favorite Liam? And I agree100% on the ending even if it felt rushed somehow.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Sophie! And Liam is the one I was referring to. I can’t wait for the next book.😊
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
Such an amazing review Kim!!!! Gosh, I want to read this so bad after your review even though the romance is meh!!!😍 This sounds very similar to that movie with Justin Timberlake, In Time. I enjoyed that movie. This sounds like a great and solid plot for sure! TBR for sure! Xoxoxoxo
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
It’s has a few elements of that Dani, but this is fantasy instead of science fiction. I have a feeling you’d like this Book Sister.🤗
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
Sounds great!!!!💙💛💚💖 Thanks for the recommendation! You’re the BEST!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
🤗🤗🤗🤗
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
😗🤗😗🤗
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theorangutanlibrarian said:
Well this sounds really good, apart from the meh romance- I’ve honestly seen it around but wasn’t expecting too much from it- I’m glad it ended up standing out from the crowd!! Great review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thank you! I really didn’t mind the bland romance since it wasn’t a huge part of the story.😊
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theorangutanlibrarian said:
You’re welcome! Fair enough!
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K. D. Dowdall said:
Kim, you write the most fantastic reviews ever! Wow. Karen 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Oh my gosh. Thank you so much Karen! You just made my whole day!🤗
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The Cozy Pages said:
I could just frame that cover though. Gorgeous!
Thanks for sharing such a well-balanced review.
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Lashaan (Bookidote) said:
This absolutely sounds wonderful. 😮 Such an original concept. I have been seeing this book around and I’m glad to see how much you enjoyed it, Kim. Great review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Lashaan. I have a feeling the second book will be even better.
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Jen said:
This book keeps getting stuck in my mind because of the time is currency—extracted from blood….I don’t think I’ve ever heard that concept before while reading. So I’m so happy to see how much you enjoyed this story! And here’s hoping that you love the next book even more!
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lostartofreadingblog said:
I just love the idea of time as currency, although I don’t read a lot of YA these days, I might have to make an exception this time 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Ooh! You have to let me know what you think if you read it!😊
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lostartofreadingblog said:
Of course…Knowing me it might be a year from now haha
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’m patient.😏
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mlbradford said:
Another amazing Review, Kim – thanks, your work cheers me up.
What a lovely start to th New Year: last week my blog was suspended for “violating” th Terms Of Use; but – altho I managed to get it back 24 hrs later (a tech error in the anti-spam facility, not surprisingly) my latest Post may not have appeared on anybody’s Reader
You’d love it: it’s a compilation of book reviews(!):
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Brad! That’s awful. Something similar happened to Dani at https://touchmyspinebookreviews.com recently. She had a horrible time getting reinstated.
Thanks for the link. I’ll be sure to check it out.😊
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mlbradford said:
And just when I reassured u I’m not going to give up – one glitch and I couldn’t get in to write anything anyway!
Good job I still make notes – otherwise all would b lost!
Shame about Dani: her success has come so fast and been so well-deserved – it would b horrible to lose her from th blogosphere!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Grr. Another blogger was just complaining about losing her posts. I know WP can be glitchy, but what’s going on? I hope your problems are resolved quickly Brad. As for Dani, she’s back and stronger than ever!😊
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mlbradford said:
Now, my site is fine, but my writing is glitchy!
When new stuff does emerge, I hope it shows up in your Reader!
Cheers!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’ll keep stopping by bradscribe periodically even if I don’t see a post of yours in my reader.🤗
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mlbradford said:
Now THAT’S what I call a Follower!
Bless your heart, Kim 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
🤗
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Literary Dust said:
I just bought this one! I’m hoping it’s good, but I’ve been let down by a lot of fantasy books lately!! Excellent review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
It’s not perfect, but I think it’s a promising beginning. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it. Candace!😊
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Literary Dust said:
I hope tp start on it this month!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
👍🏻
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