Review: Everless (Sara Holland)

started: 12/26 finished: 12/29 read time: ??? pages: 366

"Suddenly, I feel that I have to tell the truth, or I might suffocate with the weight of it."

this one i picked out of the ebook library again because it was 1: available and 2: sounded interesting.
not much YA fantasy (that i've read) gets into time bending/time travel, so i figured this one would open up a new pocket of potential in the genre. 

I’m reminded that in this world, people drink to enjoy themselves rather than to dull the sting of a hard life.

i was right! the concept here is that currency in Sempera is time: years/months/days of peoples' lives. you can cash out some years to pay for rent or food, and you can sell goods to earn days/month (in coin form smelted from blood). VERY clever and well fleshed-out; i rarely found myself thinking "wait, but what if...". 

The Good:

• Jules is a fairly tolerable protagonist. she's had a tought go of it but that doesn't stop her from making friends and trusting people (although that gets her into some jams, it's much easier to read)
• the romance is believable and for the most part doesn't drive the plot (at least before SPOILER roan gets murdered, RIP roan) 
• present tense narration gives the book a bit more of an action feel. not much action actually happens, but if this was in past tense, i probably would have struggled through it
• Jules having a presence in the higher echelons of the palace helps the story move along at a decent clip, as it is somewhat of palace intrigue with myth sprinkled in
• strong female friendships! no super-creepy dudes!

The Bad:

• it felt way too thin at times. there were very few pauses and times to recollect; all of the text is story story story. holland created a very interesting world but rarely spends more than two paragraphs summing up the mythical backstory! why?!
• there's not really an overarching plot to the novel with the exception of Jules' identity crisis. a lot of the time, it's hard to tell that she's trying to work towards that. i'd bet book number 2 (which i am going to go search for rigth after i finish this review) has more to hold on to. speaking of...
• hidden mystical identity is something i am totally on board with, but the "i've had weird things happen to me as long as i can remember" angle is a little tired. doesn't detract here, but would have been made better if there was a back story to that that was a little more inventive

loved it:

tbh i am SO GLAD AND THRILLED that SPOILER roan died! i really was genuinely surprised!

hated it:

i can't think of anything that really frustrated me in this one, which is why...

4 stars! feels like the start of something fantastic