Sara Holland

Full review: https://wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/review-everless-by-sara-ho...

The concept of this book is soooo interesting. It kind of reminded me of a movie I saw a few years ago called In Time staring Justin Timberlake (surprisingly, it was a good movie) but they really don’t have much in common aside from the currency of their worlds being time and a few other small character details. There are lots of readers saying that they are very similar, but in my opinion they are not. It would be like saying any book containing sorcery or witchcraft is the same story as Harry Potter (Okay, that’s a really extreme example because for me Harry Potter is the epitome of its genre and nothing will ever be at that level again even if another story has witches and wizards in it.) Meaning that just because Everless utilizes the same concept as In Time does not mean they are the same. (For one thing, how time is transferred is completely different! For another, there’s more “magic” going on in Everless than In Time.) …Anyway, back on task here;

The premise of this book is very interesting, but also extremely sad. A world where people are struggling to get by and have to “bleed” themselves of time – literally from life; years, days, hours, et cetera – in order to survive is so, so, so depressing to consider….but also incredibly ironic as well as compelling. Certainly adds layers of controversy and intrigue to the plot. This story is well thought out and full of mystery. There’s also some magic and just the barest hints of romance. It starts off as a small and shallow plot and then grows and expands as you move through the story, which is fantastic since there is another book to come. As you read along, you find that the story is adding more and more questions to the already long list of unanswered questions and by the time I got to the end I was HOOKED and craving more! I definitely do not fear a lackluster sequel from Holland on this one, friends. Yay! *jazz hands*

The characters are mostly felt out. There were a couple of them that I just couldn’t connect with (and for the sake of spoiler free reviews, I wont say which ones), and couldn’t understand why our main character was so caught up on them despite their role in the story.

As for the narration, Eileen Stevens did a decent job with this story. She didn’t blow me away, but she didn’t make me cringe either. In which case, I’ve no complaints.

I dinged it a star for a few different reasons. First, it is a slow buildup. Not an altogether bad thing, but I sometimes have a hard time focusing on a story if the buildup is slow and I found my mind drifting for the first quarter of the book. Second, the magic aspects of this story are a little unclear. I like to know how some thing works, not just that it does. The “blood irons” are a good example of that; made of blood from a person, but formed into iron coins as currency in society (yes, I know there is iron in blood – not the point), but somehow they are easily melted down in a cup of tea to add time to a person’s life? Where in the world is there iron that can be melted by tea that is hot but not so hot that you cannot drink it right away? *baffled blinking* Third and last, the dissonance with how well some characters are developed and how poorly others weren’t developed was a disappointment. If a character’s role in the story can cause grief or joy for our main character, then I need to feel that interpersonal relationship to really appreciate where their story line goes and what it will mean to the overall story.

All in all, it was a good story. Definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy and magical world building. Fair warning though, this book leaves you with quite the cliffhanger, but in the best way possible. I’m definitely looking forward to the second book. Write faster Holland!… (more)

*I got this book for review for the publisher for my honest thoughts*

I really did love the concept of this book. I thought the mysterious inn that connected three different world was unique and I really did like the main character as well. I also like the way this story was structured. I struggled to feel super connected to the character and also felt like the pacing of this book was not as strong. I thought the book was very short and not enough "action" happened tp keep me engaged. I found the end top be unique and will def being reading book too. The highlight of this read for me was def the inn and the world building.… (more)