cover image Everless

Everless

Sara Holland. HarperTeen, $17.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-265365-9

Set in a world in which blood, iron, time, and currency are inextricably entwined, Holland’s complex debut novel blends myth, palace intrigue, and magic into a tale of self-discovery. To avoid eviction, 17-year-old Jules Ember takes a position at Everless, the estate of the powerful Gerlings. Jules still has feelings for her childhood friend Roan Gerling, but she’s terrified of his cruel brother, Liam, who is the reason she and her blacksmith father had to flee Everless in disgrace years ago. Roan is to be married to the sweet-natured Ina Gold, the adopted daughter of the queen of Sempera. Jules’s father has warned her about the queen, but Jules makes a shocking discovery and must get close to her at any cost. Holland’s lush, intricately drawn world hides an undercurrent of darkness underneath a veneer of beauty and finery, and the twists are genuinely surprising. Jules’s first-person narration reveals a smart, resilient young woman determined to reconcile her past with an uncertain future. Readers will eagerly await her next journey. A Glasstown Entertainment property. Ages 13–up. Agent: Stephen Barbara, Inkwell Management. (Jan.)