Spoiler Free Book Review: Everless by Sara Holland

Everless [Everless, #1]
by Sara Holland

Genre: YA fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★

Description: 

Never go back to Everless. 

In a world where time is money -- literally -- the rich like the Gerling family live for centuries while the poor bleed their years to pay their debts.
Jules Ember's father warned her never to go back to Everless. Since a fateful accident forced them out of the noble's estate, she and her father have lived in fear and hatred of the Gerlings.
But now, with her father's life hanging in the balance, Jules returns to the manor to help prepare for the wedding of the younger Gerling brother to the Queen's heir, Ina Gold.
Her pockets may now be heavy with time, but there are more secrets and temptations at Everless than Jules ever dreamed of. Her search for answers drags her into a centuries old struggle that could change her future... forever.

Overall Thoughts:

Everless impressed me. At first, I was unsure of it: the pacing seemed a little slow, and Jules's motivations were weaker than I would have liked. But by the halfway point in the novel, I was engrossed. The worldbuilding and characterization was clever, and the plot twists were well-crafted. I'm very excited to read book two, Evermore now. 

The Characters

Jules was an interesting character. I didn't immediately like her, and some aspects of her personality grated on me -- her obsession with Roan annoyed me considerably -- but I enjoyed seeing her relationship with her father, and the way she genuinely cared about him. 

Many of the secondary characters were likeable. Hinton, Tam, Lora, and Ina Gold all seemed like well developed personalities in their own right. Caro was also an interesting character.

The villains near the beginning seemed to have rather weak motivations, but I was surprised at how well the author resolved this. I thought it was just a mistake. But Holland very carefully set up the motivations, and by the middle of the book, I knew there was more going on than what Jules was aware of. And then the reveals started coming.

Plot

The story goal itself was a little watery. For the first ten or so chapters, I really didn't have a good grip on what Jules' goal was, apart from earning money for her father. Some of her character motivations early in the story didn't seem to make sense -- why would she want to get closer to the Queen if she's been warned away? This was explained more fully a few chapters later, but I wish that Jules' motivations had been clear from the beginning.
The pacing was a little slow in the beginning, but picked up after the first half. Several plot twists caught me off-guard, though they were foreshadowed.

Worldbuilding

The overall vibe I got from Everless was one of 18th century Europe -- the manner of dress, social order, and the style of some of the buildings gave me this impression immediately. 

I liked the lore and history of the world -- it seems as though there's a lot there, more than Holland reveals right away. The rules of the storyworld itself seem clear from page one -- time can be bought and sold, stolen and hoarded. The rich can live for centuries, while the poor can squander all of their time to pay their debts. It's an interesting concept, and somewhat frightening at the same time.

Content

Recommended for ages 14 and up. 

Time is bound into blood in the context of the storyworld, and thus there are quite a few descriptions of blood; characters cut themselves to bleed their time; mentions of a character being poisoned; one woman gossips about another character eating the hearts of children to stay young; a character uses a knife on another character in self-defense. Several descriptions of characters being murdered on-page.
In terms of sexual content, it is stated several times that Lord Gerling only hires young and pretty servants, with the implication of sexual affairs. One character attempts to touch the main character in a sexual manner. There is a scene where one character notices another character is disheveled and makes the connection that they have "been with" their fiancee, no details. There is an implied affair between two unmarried people, no details.
Characters consume alcohol and become somewhat drunk.
Minor swearing used very infrequently.