Everless (Everless #1) by Sara Holland

🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The movie In Time would have been a better movie if it was based on this book!

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. 

I've seen how a lot of reviews have compared this book to the movie In Time with Justin Timberlake. While I can definitely see the similarities, Everless is far better. I loved the world that Sara Holland created wherein blood equates to a person's amount of time left to live as well as currency used. I could easily see how a society could equate to a shortened life span and corruption. These types of things were spoken or hinted about in Everless and I'm hoping that Sara Holland will take it a step farther in the sequel. I think that she can easily do this considering how Everless ended. I think that the sequel needs to be even darker in order for the tension to grow. 
I thought that the addition of the mythology was interesting but a bit difficult to follow at times. I think that that portion of the story line would have been better served by the author sticking to one version of the story of the sorceress and alchemist. That is...unless the reader is supposed to be confused much like the main character was. 
I thought that the heroes and villains were easy to guess. It seemed fairly obvious due to big reactions to information by certain characters. I didn't feel that some of the characters in the book were necessary. It felt like they were just there to be some sort of filler for the story. 
The romance, if you want to call it that, felt forced. Then there was the weirdness between the main character and another boy. It seems like that might turn into more which happened a bit fast for my taste. I mean how can you hate someone and then suddenly think you could have a thing for them?! It makes no sense.
I was able to overlook the minor annoyances I had with pieces of the book because I thought that the idea behind the book was amazing. It seemed so different from what I have read before and I enjoyed the novelty.