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 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.
Review: Everless was a quick, but sometimes confusing story. We follow Jules as she tries to scrape currency together for herself and her ailing father. This doesn't work out so well for her, so she is forced to work at Everless, a place she had once abandoned as a child. I didn't care much for Jules. She was so lost in her memories of what Everless was that she couldn't see the things that were currently wrong at Everless. She was also shockingly open about being at Everless as a child. After her father warned her to stay away from that place and the queen, she still didn't really hide who she was. That seemed odd to me. I did like getting to know Ina and Caro, though I felt like their inclusion in the story was a tad predictable.
Part of why it took so long for me to read Everless was because I wasn't really sold on the premise. Your blood and the years of life you have get turned into the currency of this world. It's also a thing you ingest as a way of extending your own life. I didn't feel like this was explained terribly well. There was a scene that kept confusing me. Jules gets paid in blood-iron which she can use to extend life, and she's put in a position where she tries to assist a friend. Instead of using this blood-iron, she tries to trade away some of her own life. I didn't follow the logic in this. It felt like an unnecessary attempt at self-sacrifice in order to move the plot forward. There were plot twists that I definitely saw coming, but there were others that I genuinely didn't expect. The overall story was engaging and I enjoyed my time with it.
Quick book that I flew through, but it needed some better development.
3 howls
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