Everless

"'Time is a prison. She is the key.'"Everless is the first book in the Everless Duology by Sara Holland. It features sixteen year old Jules Ember and unfolds the secrets of her past.

Blurb
''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.''

Description
Jules Ember is sixteen years old and is desperately looking for a way to repay her father's debt before it was too late for him and his time ran out for, in Sempera, time was money.

When Jules learns of a chance to work in Everless, the capital of Sempera, from her friend she recoils at the idea for her father had warned her not to set foot in Everless after the incident during her childhood. However, desperate times called for desperate measures. Jules finds herself in Everless facing the sexy boy, she thought she would never see again-Roan Gerling- and the boy she loathed her entire life- Liam Gerling.