I received this book in exchange for an honest review - for a full review check out my YouTube or Goodreads account

Thanks very much to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. Many thanks, Dave

Everless is a fantastic magical fantasy novel, which a unique twist.

I loved how all of the magical elements of this fantasy world revolve around time and life. It made it very focused and very different from anything I've read before. The idea of money being intrinsically, vitally linked to our length of life is a great way to present class inequality, where the rich literally live off the lifeforce of the poor, and it was done in a suitably creepy and disturbing way with the actual letting of blood to turn into coins.

This made the decadence of Everless, the castle, even more outrageous and the trials and tribulations of the servants harder to witness.

The mystery plot also kept me gripped throughout, with links back to old fairytales, myths and legends and hints around children's stories, as things slowly unfolded to reveal exactly what was going on in a very dramatic climax.

My only complaint is that I would have loved more of some of the elements. I'd have liked to have seen more of the noble decadence, and definitely would have welcomed actually seeing more of those old stories. But little hints and suggestions were definitely enough to keep me gripped.

Oh, and there was a Liam in it, who was a really nasty piece of work. So bonus marks for that!

Everless is destined to become a timeless classic.

DNF. I couldn't connect with this book at all and found it really hard to get into. I had high hopes for this, which is a shame.

A fantastic book full of mystery and intrigue - I loved the world building and the subtle horror elements.

The hype is real for this One!! I understand why it's been compared to Red Queen but this still stands as a story on its own. Giving it 4 stars for now but I strongly suspect it will be 5 stars upon reread! I found the story confusing and muddled in parts but I'm putting that down to trying to learn a new fantasy world and also that anything to do with time messes with my brain. So brutal and so much betrayal and I loved It!!

Interesting story with an interesting plot line and an interesting twist. I found the book enjoyable, but there was something about it that didn't quite grab me. I would still recommend it to anyone who loves the fantasy YA genre.

Everless is a unique fantasy that I was intrigued by on reading the synopsis. So I was very excited when I was approved for it on NetGalley and I’m glad I read it because it was certainly an interesting read.

Time is currency in the kingdom of Sempera and the rich control everything. Jules Ember and her father are behind on rent and struggling to survive. Ten years before, they were servants at the grand estate of Everless, home to the wealthy but cruel Gerling family but one night, a terrible event forced them to flee in the middle of the night. Now, the Gerling heir Roan is getting married and more staff are required to help with wedding preparations. In order to help save her dying father, Jules returns to the Everless household.

The basis of the power system in Sempera is so intricate and fascinating. Time -via blood- is extracted from veins, bound to iron coins and then consumed in order to add to a lifespan. It’s a gruesome process and to make it worse, the rich of Sempera pile unfair taxes on the working classes and consume the bloodiron for themselves, meaning that the Gerling family all have incredibly long lifespans. Therefore, the older members have an almost vampiric quality to them that I found really intriguing.

There were several scenes where I got a little choked up. Jules seems to go from one tragedy to another and I did spend the majority of the book wondering when or if she was ever going to catch a break. My heart was with her because she seemed so resilient and brave. Unlike a lot of YA fantasy heroines, she lacked pettiness and she appeared to be able to put a lot of her previous romantic feelings for Roan aside whilst maintaining an understandable sadness that he was marrying the beautiful Ina Gold. I also loved how she wasn’t afraid to drop her prejudices as she got to know the truth of Everless and the family.

Everless isn’t an easy read. There is a lot to take in and I found the mythological aspects quite confusing. Near the start of the book, we hear an ancient myth involving an Alchemist and a Sorceress but then there is little mention of it again until the very end. By the time I got to the end and the part where it all came into play and relevance, my memory of the exact original story was a little hazy -bearing in mind that I didn’t read the whole book in one sitting. Perhaps if I had, I would have a better memory of the start. I did feel that I was missing certain parts of the true meaning of climax, which was a shame but it was still very exciting. I loved how secrets kept being revealed slowly in the last 20% of the book though and it certainly held my attention as it raced towards the dramatic end.

There will certainly be a sequel to Everless as we were left wondering where it was going to go. I’d certainly be interested in picking it up as I can’t even begin to guess what comes next. All in all, it was a fast-paced YA fantasy unlike any other that I’ve read, which is always refreshing and fun to read.

It was nice to delve back into fantasy, a genre I've not really touched in a while. This story revolved around myths of a feud between the alchemist and the sorceress, the alchemist stole the sorceress's heart and now people pay with their blood that is forged into coins. I enjoyed the setting and the slow pace of the book, but I did not enjoy the secrecy surrounding the main character, I understand that things were hidden from her but she's obviously intelligent and a survivor, I don't see why her father couldn't have opened up with her in the first place. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

This book was a debut that I'd heard a lot about, and when I was approved for an ARC, I dove right in. Everless is the story Jules, who has had to go on the run with her father from the palace of Everless, after saving the life of prince Roan. After struggling for so long to earn time - as time is a currency in this world - Jules agrees to take a job at the palace, hoping that the Gerling family don't remember her from her youth, in order to save her father from sacrificing himself. Roan is getting married to the daughter of the queen, Ina, and Jules is hired to help work the wedding. When Jules is chosen to be the queen's handmaiden, she soon finds herself at risk of being discovered, especially once she discovers her true identity. As she works to remember her true childhood, and not what she's been told, Jules realises that no one is quite how they appear, and she must learn who she can trust.

I really enjoyed the world building and premise of this book. Jules character was a bit weak at first, but as she started to come into her own, and really discover herself, I found myself enjoying her, and the story, a lot more. There were a lot of twists and turns in the book, some I saw a mile off, and others which I didn't realise until the very end. I am looking forward to book 2, Evermore, which I have preordered, so here's hoping that will be a good one!

There was something about this book that intrigued me from the start. I thought that characters were great and the story had some great twists in it

I liked the world the author created, the idea that time is a tangible tbjnv that can be manipulated, used, bargained or stolen from others is an intriguing one.

As a character Jules is quite interesting, and the fact that even she doesn't know who she is or where she comes from adds credibility to the fact that she is so desperate to belong that she trusts the wrong people.

On the other hand, she totally trusts the wrong people, and it's obvious from the beginning who those people are. There's the bad guy is actually the secret romantic lead trope, which doeantvreally work, cos it's obvious he is the good guy.

I did enjoy the book, but there were few niggles. I still don't really know who or what the Alchemist is, if she stole the Sorcerors hearts, if she did, why did she? I get the impression these question will be answers in book 2, but I still felt a bit unsatisfied with the ending of the book.

A friend of mine has been pestering me to read this book for a while, and it has been on my shelf for a while now. But after a super long slump I'm feeling much more invigorated to read, and I have to say, being off ill actually helped me to find the time to just sit, relax, and read a book. It's been a while since I've done that!

I wish that the plot itself had been a little better organised. I felt that most of the build-up didn't really point towards or contribute to the finale of the story? There were a lot of twists along the way but most of them I found myself saying 'where exactly is this going...?' rather than being super on edge. I think there was just a bit too much exposition. I also didn't really find that Jules, the MC, had a whole lot of personality? It was really hard to connect with her for some reason. And some of her thoughts completely contradicted her actions. How can you be terrified of a member of the family you work for, yet so quick to shout at and insult them repeatedly? Or be trying to keep a low profile so that no one will recognise you but telling anyone who will ask that you know the place super well because you used to live there? Nonsensical.

But this book had some really cool stuff! Firstly, the whole concept of time being a currency was so cool! I went into this thinking that it would be a dystopian but it was much more fantastical - rooted in lots of myths and legend, and I loved that! There's so many YA fantasy books that are filled with the same tropes when it comes to the world-building but this put a totally different spin on things and I appreciated the fresh feeling I got from this. The finale of the book was pretty intense too - it definitely was enough to keep me invested in the series generally.

Everless has been lurking on my TBR since late 2017, and I’ve only just had the chance to pick it up. I had heard amazing things about this book, but wasn’t sure about how much I’d enjoy it -- I had thought I’d seen this kind of plot many times before. I was so wrong -- Everless is a gorgeous, fresh fantasy novel that I lost myself in.

I was really impressed with the world of Sempra and the magic system that keeps the wealthy classes rich and ageless. Holland did a great job of establishing a class system within Sempra and how time as a currency affected the world and social structures. Although the country is contained with strong borders, Holland didn’t skimp on the details of the world building and wove so many details of surrounding towns and areas in to the narrative. The magic system is what really won me over -- it is incredibly impressive and ties in so well with the world. I feel that anything that messes with time can be incredibly complicated and has the potential either be confusing or filled with plot holes, but Holland covered all her bases. The magic system in Everless is one of my recent favourites and will remain so memorable to me.

The story is told from Jules’s perspective, and I really loved her as a main character. She’s clever and brave and strong, but has the hopes and sense of romance that a teenager does. I understood her thoughts and actions, even when she was distracted from her main goals, and thought she was realistic. I particularly enjoyed the fact that her romance with Roan didn’t overshadow the story or her character -- this is definitely a book that keeps the romance as a side plot and it works perfectly. Jules is, in my mind, exactly what I want a YA heroine to be.

There is a wide cast of characters in Everless, but I have a few other favourites. Liam is high on my list -- who doesn’t love a grumpy, brooding, villainous aristocrat? -- but I also really liked Caro and Ina. It was so good to see friendships in Everless -- I wasn’t expecting them at all and they enriched the story so much.

Overall, I really liked Everless -- it is a clever, fresh, and incredibly fun book with high stakes and a twisty plot. Although the pacing wasn’t the most consistent, I flew through this book and am so happy I read it -- in fact, I really wish I had read it sooner! I am, however, thrilled I did wait because I can pick up the sequel now and devour this duology.

While not a huge fantasy fan at the best of times, I was interested in checking this one out and thought it was alright.

I really did try to like this book. The story takes a very long time to take off and it is so utterly predictable I could not force myself to continue past 100 pages - skipped to the end and skim read to find that I had predicted almost everything.

I can't say I loved it but I'm intrigued enough to read the next book. I hope Evermore lives up to this standard.

I've had this on my TBR for a while, I receieved a copy for review via NetGalley but didn't get around to it before it came out, and then I picked up a finished copy. In the month of December I've decided to catch up with my NetGalley back list and this is the first one I chose and I don't know why I left it so long. I really enjoyed it. Here are my thoughts...

What I Liked
• This story is set in a world where your blood can be converted into time. People are able to drain their blood and, as a consequence, their time to give to others as well as consuming 'blood-iron' to give themselves more time. I think this was a really interesting concept and I loved the ideas behind this novel.
• The writing was fast paced and easy to read. I flew through this book and I didn't want to put it down. We were carried along with the main character and were fully immersed in her story. There was lots of mystery in this novel and we experienced all of the twists and turns alongside our main character. At no point did we have more information than she did. It was a journey of discovery we experienced together.
• I enjoyed our main character, Jules, for the most part. She has a good heart and always put other people before herself. She was independent, strong willed and determined although, this was sometimes her downfall. I also really enjoyed Liam's character. He was dark and mysterious and even right from the beginning I thought he wasn't all that he seemed, and I was right. I can't wait to see how his and Jules relationship develops over the course of the next book.
• I can honestly say I didn't know which direction this story was going to take. As I said before there were a lot of twists and turns and I had a lot of theories about what could be happening but none of these were correct. The plot twists surprised me.

What I Didn't Like
• I wasn't a massive fan of Roan's character. He was very generic and didn't really have any personality or development. Because of this I also wasn't a fan of the relationship between him and Jules although, this didn't really last very long and it wasn't a huge part of the plot. If I'm honest it could of been left out and it wouldn't have affected the story.
• Although I enjoyed the writing style and the twists and turns kept me intrigued throughout, as I was nearing the end I was beginning to get a little bit frustrated with the lack of reveals. You find out a lot of information in the last quarter of this book and I think it might have benefited from a few reveals, or even hints, being dropped a bit earlier on. Although like I said, the plot twists did surprise me. Maybe this was done to mimic Jules's frustration at lack of answers and, if this was the case, then it did the job.

Overall this was a really enjoyable fantasy novel with an interesting and unusual premise. There were definitely some of your usual YA fantasy tropes within this story but it had enough difference about it to make it intriguing and fun to read. I would recommend this one to fans of YA fantasy and I'm excited to read the conclusion to this story.

I received a copy from Netgalley.

This is one of the most original fantasies I have come across in a while. While I can’t say I was that invested in any of the characters, I found the actual story itself and the world building totally captivating and the combination of the two made it book impossible to put down. In this fantasy time is a commodity that can be bought and sold.

The world building was quite complicated, or at least for me, the combination of magic and science and the whole buying and selling time. The setting was a small, town on the edge of a huge estate where the wealthiest family in the district ruled over everything.
The heroine Jules used to live at the estate where her father was a revered blacksmith, but a secret caused them to flee in the middle of the night and now they are barely eeking out a living in a tiny cottage on the edge of the forest. Her father is in debt and sick. So Jules hatches a plan to sell her own time and repay his debts

Yet she finds herself presented with an opportunity for employment at the estate, Everless, where she once lived. Seizing the moment, Jules makes herself a plan to save her father. She worms her way into employment at Everless.

Jules is one of the brighter YA heroines, she’s smart and thinks things through. She plans and doesn’t seem to act recklessly when things don’t go according to plan. She was a little bit two dimensional but likeable enough. Back at Everless while in a different capacity than she was previously, she’s of course flooded with memories of her time back then, and the mystery of why she and her father fled in the first place.
And she has to deal with the two sons of the Lord of Everless. One of whom was a great friend and played with her when they were children, who has grown up to be devastatingly handsome and quite the ladies man. He’s engaged to the Queen’s daughter. And his brother – who was a mean bully.
The plot gets quite twisty, there’s a legend on how time came to be used as a commodity, a vicious queen who everyone’s terrified of visiting Everless, Jules discovers she has time letting abilities that are beyond normal, a hidden vault where Jules believes she will get some of the answers she seeks, there are plenty of secrets – including a mystery to solve about Jules’s deceased mother, and some things her father neglected to tell her. And people who turn out to be nothing like you thought they were.
I read this quite some time ago so I can’t remember all the details. Just that it was a really good one, quite different and I liked it. I’ve already pre ordered the next one.

Thank you Netgalley and Hatchette Children’s Group for the review copy.

This book is a real page turner. The descriptions of the lives of the downtrodden masses compared with the opulence f he ruling class acreage old but very well drawn. The element of fantasy and witchcraft that flows throughout, the hints of the bygone age hat makes these magical elements of life seem possible are beautifully crafted and take you away safely into this other world until suddenly you reach the last page wanting more..