This is really unusual book. I honestly did not know when she was sleeping and awake at times. Yet it was very interesting. I wasn't fan of the ending. I mean really I did expect happy ending. On the other hand....I kind of get it?...

Very interesting read!!! I am still not sure how I really feel about this book. I did enjoy it and was very intrigued with the storyline. This book was very mysterious and had me guessing and in suspense until the end. I was able to read this book in 1 day. However, the ending has me somewhat confused on what actually happened. I honestly was not happy with how it ended. However, the ending was shocking but yet I am still somewhat confused. I honestly would never guess that this book would end the way it did. I honestly can not get this book out of my head.

I Can’t Sleep is a new psychological suspense novel about an English university student struggling after the death of her beloved older brother. If you like unreliable narrators, and don’t mind being kept in the dark about key information for no particular reason other than to create plot tension, you will probably enjoy this. I’ve stayed away from this genre for a while as I was sick of the same old rehashed tropes, but was seduced by the positive reviews and promise of a killer twist at the end. I should’ve followed my instincts.

Becky Braithwaite has recently started university, and hopes that the move away from home will help ease the crippling insomnia that started two years earlier with an incident that killed her brother, Jordan, but she refuses to talk about it to anyone, not even her kind flatmates or psychiatrist. When she starts receiving silent phone calls, hearing someone call her name then disappear, and feeling that someone is stalking her, she fears she is losing her mind. What terrible secret is she hiding, and can she get help before it’s too late?

This is told in Becky’s increasingly paranoid and repetitive first person present voice: at times it reads as if she’s telling someone her story - so the present tense doesn’t really make sense, but the rest of it reads like the tedious rambling internal monologue of an insecure selfish brat who is desperate for people’s good opinion but can’t be bothered to do anything to earn it. She almost takes pride in refusing to tell her therapist anything. She earns some sympathy for revealing how she was bullied at school for possibly being a lesbian, then loses it with her callous disregard for the feelings of her parents - she’s irritated every time her mother reaches out and promises to try to remember to call her. Delightful. It’s about three quarters of the way through before we find out what happened to Jordan, and the reveal is rather a let down. I can’t talk about the ending without spoiling it but will just say I felt cheated.

I think reading this so soon after listening to Normal People was also a mistake - I really need to stay away from self-consciously damaged navel-gazing students in fiction as there are enough of them out there in real life. There’s also a lot of gratuitous swearing and a brief mention of animal abuse thrown in for shock value. The best thing I can say about this was that it was short - more than a novella, but a quick enough read for me to push through to the end, and competently written. Note to self - no more psychological “thrillers” - also I was amused by Becky’s own musings about the repetitiveness of the genre.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review.
I Can’t Sleep is published on October 16th.

I Can’t Sleep by J.E. Rowney is depressing, disturbing, and dark.

Traumatized by the loss of her brother, Becky has been unable to sleep for months. Depressed and unsure if her mind can be trusted, Becky sets out to prove that someone is stalking her.

I have never read a book that demonstrated depression so well in the main character. As I was reading the book, I felt as if I was suffering from insomnia and depressed. The author did an awesome job of building up the suspense as the reader slowly learns what is going on in Becky’s world. The ending was quite clever, and I didn’t see it coming.

If you like your books a bit quirky and enjoy the main character as the narrator, you will love this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and J.E Rowney for the opportunity to read and review this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book.

Firstly I just want to say that this is an ARC so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This book is about a young woman who has just started university after the tragic loss of her brother and how she struggles with insomnia. It is written in first person and feels very much like reading a diary and it is a really interesting spin. Rowney drip feeds you little bits of information that help you build up a picture about Becky, or so you think, and then just when you think you've figured it out she blows your mind at the very last chapter in a huge reveal that leaves your mind racing with questions. It is such a great read! The only reason I dropped it down a star is because it is a slow burner up until the end but I highly recommend giving it a read. This book is due to be published on 16th October so keep your eyes peeled for it.

I’d like to thank BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘I Can’t Sleep’ by J E Rowney in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Becky Braithwaite suffers from insomnia caused by what happened to her brother Jordan. She wants to make a fresh start and continues her education at Wessex University where she thinks someone is entering her room lighting candles. Is it her imagination due to her inability to sleep or is someone there watching her?

When I read the synopsis of ‘I Can’t Sleep’ it sounded interesting and the type of novel I enjoy but I couldn’t get into the story and found myself skipping chapters. I couldn’t empathise with the narrator, Becky, who annoyed me with her lack of motivation and desire to be part of university life, and her indifference to her fellow-students. I kept feeling that the author intended it to be read by a younger audience than myself. It started with so much promise but didn’t live up to my expectations.

This book had great promise, and I was super keen to read it but I feel at some points it did let me down a little bit.

The book is based on Becky a journalism student who experienced a traumatic event in her life that turned her into an insomniac, who throughout the book becomes increasingly more paranoid and jumpy.

From the get go I was intrigued by this book, but I do feel a lot of that came down to us not knowing what said trigger event was and obviously wanting to know... That being said, as the book built up we were able to piece together elements of said event.

As the book was written entirely from Becky's POV I felt we didn't get to see much of the other characters, which was a good thing as it made us super aware of how little Becky observed and how her life had been overtaken by her insomnia.

The writing itself was good but I do feel the author tried a bit too hard to build suspense into every sentence. The chapters were the perfect length though and helped me devour this book in a day!

The ending was what put this book so high in my rating, I had goosebumps when I was reading it and now I have no idea what to trust or who to believe when I think back on everything I read during it...

I wouldn't say this is the best thriller I've read but it definitely pulled me and made me question everything I had read previously.

Rebecca Braithwaite (Becky), 18 years old, is in her first year of university. She shares a flat with three other first year students. She cannot sleep. Since her older brother, Jordan, died a couple of years ago, in circumstances we are not privy to until nearly the end of the book, Becky has suffered insomnia. Oh sure, she survives on micro sleeps which add up to a handful of hours a day but it is not enough.

Still, she is tackling her journalism course with as much gusto and dedication a chronically sleep deprived person can muster. But weird things are happening. At first it’s the crank calls where she can hear breathing but no one talks. Then she feels she is being watched. She feels her space is being invaded. But it all sounds so silly when she tries to explain it to her friend or to campus security. Is someone screwing with her? Or is her sleep deprived brain conjuring up paranoid delusions? There is a sense of creeping menace as the situation comes to a head. Then the ending! That ending...

It was a quick read, not particularly original or deep but nevertheless enjoyable and quite engaging. While I haven’t read many books where insomnia is almost a character, the result is still a classic example of the unreliable narrator. And it works well - I really wanted to know how Jordan died and whether Becky’s paranoid imaginings were just that, or dangerously real. This book will appeal to those who like a quick psychological thriller that is not too complicated. While I often prefer a more complex story, this sort of quick read is also excellent for a change of pace or as a circuit breaker from heavier and more demanding texts. Thanks to Netgalley, BooksGoSocial and J.E. Rowney for the review copy. My opinions are my own.

Becky Braithwaite can't sleep. She is trying to run from her past and to keep her brother's dream alive. As Becky starts experiencing strange things, she can't tell if her lack of sleep is making her crazy or if she is being stalked. Reality seems to be slipping away from her as her insomnia gets worse. Is something happening to her or is it all in her head?

If you like thrillers and a fast read, I recommend this book. The ending is definitely a surprise.

Book 53 of my 2020 Reading Challenge
read from August 12 - 17

Note: I read an ARC provided by NetGalley (full disclaimer in my review)

I Can't Sleep
by J.E. Rowney

Summary (via Goodreads)
published 2020

“I can’t sleep.
Not since June 16th, 2018.
Not since what happened…”

Traumatised by the events of her past, exhausted by insomnia, Becky Braithwaite believes that a new start will help her to recover.

She leaves home to fulfil her brother’s dreams, and honour the life he never had…
but she soon finds that escaping from the past is not as easy as she imagined.

Is her fatigued mind playing tricks on her, or is danger really lurking in the shadows?

This unputdownable psychological thriller will keep you turning the pages to find out the truth.

My Opinion
4 stars

**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**

This book was a good length with great pacing. The details were sprinkled throughout but it also didn't give a million hints before any payoff. This was the kind of book that I thought about when I wasn't reading it. The ending had a good resolution but also didn't answer all questions.

Eh.....I've read better but still this kept my interest enough to fnish.

Still this is almost like an entry into thrillers. Nothing really happens and yet everything happens. Terror is built into every sentence.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A good read with an unexpected twist.

When Becky goes to university she sees it as a way to get help to help her finally put her past behind her. She hasn’t slept since 2018 following the death of her brother. She thinks someone is stalking her, calling her name and watching her. Is this really happening or is it because she is paranoid from the lack of sleep.

Becky has had a traumatic past and this book keeps you hooked to find out why.
Read the book in two sittings as couldn't wait to find out what had happened to her and why she couldn't sleep.
Descriptive book and couldn't imagine what it must be like to have no sleep for all that time.
Good twists in the book and made me think was it real or not.

I feel like this book had great promise but didn’t entirely deliver. That’s not to say it isn’t worth reading, it is, however there were parts which felt like ‘Fillers’. There were many brilliant parts and I definitely enjoyed reading it.

First thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. This was my first book by JE Rowney but won't be my last! This was a fast paced read and right up my alley. The main character Becky Braithwaite had a traumatic experience in 2018 where her older brother died. She's not been able to sleep since and has seen multiple doctors and psychologists to try to help her deal with her trauma and be able to sleep again. She's trying to start out on her own away from her parents and leaves for university. She's living in residence and starts to feel like she's being stalked but isn't sure if it's symptoms from her insomnia or if things are really happening. This had a few twists that I really enjoyed and kept me guessing back and forth on whether it was in her head or actually happening and if her roommates were as genuine as they all seemed. Would highly recommend if you want a quick psychological thriller.

Shutter Island on sleeping pills is the best description for I Can’t Sleep.
Bloody hell I’m terrified after finishing this! The big twist is magnificent, I had to take a five minute breather before I continued reading. It’s not a long book but I promise it isn’t lacking in any other way!
I’ve been thrilled and entertained and that’s all you can ask for at the end of the day!

Buy this book! 4/5

Becky has insomnia, bad insomnia, debilitating, life affecting sleeplessness. But she is trying to get on with her life and starts Uni. But there's the shadow of her brother's death looming over her. The event that started her spiral into, well, her disconnection from the real world some two years ago. Her insomnia brings paranoia with it and she starts to struggle with reality. But is she really in danger or is her imagination going into overdrive?
This is a relatively quick, short read but it definitely packed a lot in. With little waffle or padding, the story gets on with itself very well. Characters are well drawn and all act their parts well.
There's the intrigue of what happened to Becky's brother on the night that started all her troubles. She obviously has some unresolved things to deal with, even with the therapy that she has already undertaken. She relies on medication to try and get through the days... along with power naps! I found this side of things very realistic. Her obvious mental troubles and whether the things that were happening were real or imagined... But as we delved into her past, as the truth of what happened two years ago started to be revealed... well... I'm not giving it away... but it'll hit you like a sucker punch!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A young student has just enrolled in university and started living with three other students. But she is suffering from insomnia and riddled with guilt. She was always a lonely girl but had a brother she loved dearly.

One day she has the feeling someone is saying her name, someone else staring at her. Is her mind playing tricks with her or is someone after her?

It is a short but thrilling read.that keeps you enthralled and wondering till the end.

My friend Marc is gay and he is always telling me that being from a sexual minority most novel characters are heterosexual and that makes it not always easy to relate to them for him. Other people complain that the gay characters in novels and movies are often the GAY characters. In this novel you realise Becky is a lesbian but it is only mentioned or hinted at a few times in the novel (like when her classmates picked at her over it in Grammar school). It is just a small aspect of her like for instance a character having red hair and not something that rules her life.or the story. I like that!

“I can’t sleep. Not since June 16th, 2018.Not since what happened…”

Becky hadn't slept for longer than a few minutes for 2 years, since something happened to her brother. Now she's paranoid, scared and someone is stalking her, messing with her mind and maybe they're also out to get her...or is it all a figment of her insomnia?

A bit self absorbed (as expected from a first person narrative), slow burning thriller with an unreliable narrator who doesn't even trust herself. Well worth a read and I liked the ending.

#netgalley #icantsleep #jerowney

(Also shared on good reads but it wouldn't connect on this link)

Rebecca can’t sleep. It’s been 2 years and every time she closes her eyes she sees his face. Her beloved brother, whom she loved more than anyone. One fatal night changed her life forever. Now at Uni away from home, she is hoping to get better. She feels like someone is watching her, in fact, she’s sure someone is stalking her... or is she imagining it because she can’t sleep. No one at uni knows her past. She doesn’t want anyone to know either.

This book held my attention, I kept wanting to know more.