If you enjoy end-of-the-world novels, this one is for you!

Dave, the ring leader of the survivors, is tortured by flashbacks that seem to have some clue about the future, but he struggles to understand their meaning. The flashbacks, sleeping (or should I say dead) bodies, and interspersed chapters of this apocalyptic phenomenon occurring all over the world create anxiety and dread. These feelings are heightened by the short chapters, creating a fast-paced story. With all this stress, tension, and bizarre reality, Mateo (Dave’s friend) offers levity to the story with his continual misuse of words and phrases. One moment I’m stressed out, and the next, I laugh at Mateo. Franz Drameh, our narrator, delivers ALL of this, shocking me at times that the narration wasn’t full cast but simply Franz Drameh's clever narration of all the characters and action. His talent bumped up the rating for me.

Overall, the edginess of this story will be a winner for fans of the podcast or books like Leave of the World Behind by Rumaan Alam.

✨Book Thoughts✨
The Edge of Sleep by Jake Emanuel and Willie Block with Jason Gurley
Pub Date: June 20, 2023
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️3/5

I listened to the audiobook and it hooked me right from the start. Then I got confused as it switched to random unknown characters without explanation then switched back to the main characters. In the beginning it was like a game of ping pong that I couldn’t follow but the majority of the book stayed with the main characters so I just ignored that confusing start. Following along with our main characters I was engrossed in the story and wondering where it was going to lead me. Where it went was surprising and then it ended. I was left without any answers just over here wondering if there is a second book. After looking into things I learned that this was a podcast and will also be a TV series. I think it’s a TV series I’d definitely check out. I loved the overall plot, the book just had some bumps and let downs but it left me curious about where it could go.

Thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis
What if the whole world fell asleep...and didn’t wake up again?
Dave Torres, a night watchman in a placid coastal town, knows all about sleep troubles. Since childhood, he’s battled terrors and nightmares. Sometimes those battles leak into his waking life, with disastrous consequences for those he loves. Now Dave lives alone and self-medicates to neutralize his dreams. It’s not much of a life, he knows.
The morning after Independence Day, Santa Mira, California, is so quiet Dave can hear the ocean from miles away. Traffic signals blink from red to green over empty intersections. Storefronts remain locked up tight. Every radio station whispers static.
And all over town, there are bodies, lying right where their owners left them. Dead right where they slept.
Dave—along with his ex-girlfriend, Katie, his best friend, Matteo, and Linda, a nurse he’s just met—struggle to unravel the mystery before sleep overtakes them all.

First and foremost, this is easily the best narration of any audiobook I’ve ever listened to. I wondered if the narrator was an actor, as the delivery had the cadence of someone who would be perfectly cast in the adaptation of this novel. (And it was an actor! And he was cast as Matteo in the tv adaptation!) The narration was phenomenal, with every character’s voice so distinct that I thought there had to be more than one narrator involved.

Now for the book itself. It asks the reader: what would you do if you realized you were one of only a few people still alive at the end of the world? And what would you do if the one thing you needed most (sleep) was the thing that would kill you? I don’t know if it’s because I just started watching “The Last of Us” but I feel comfortable saying that I don’t want to live in a post apocalyptic world! The narration and writing did a great job capturing the stress and anxiety of what it must be like realize the world you knew no longer exists. Our main character, Dave, holds the key to figuring out why this is happening and his journey is a thrilling one.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the ALC!

The Edge of Sleep tells the story of an apocalyptic event that causes people to die when they fall asleep. The concept of the book was interesting to begin with but became a bit far-fetched by the end. This book is classified as "horror" at my job, but I would classify it as dystopian/speculative fiction. The ending wasn't very satisfying to me and didn't feel like any big twist or revelation.

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook download in exchange for my honest review.

"The Edge of Sleep" by Jake Emanuel and Willie Block is a Blend of Dystopian and Speculative Fiction!

The day after Independence Day, Night Watchman David Torres wakes in the quiet coastal town of Santa Mira, CA to find bodies lying everywhere.

Bodies of people who fell asleep and died right where they slept.

Dave self-medicates, he knows it's wrong but it calms him. He has had debilitating sleep terrors and nightmares since he was a child and sometimes they spill over into his life which is never good, especially for those around him.

Is this what's happening now? Are Dave's dreams leaking into his consciousness?

Dave, his ex-girlfriend Katie, his BFF Matteo, and a nurse named Linda have grouped together, not only to keep each other awake but to find answers to this mysterious "sleep death" before it happens to them...

"The Edge of Sleep" is creative, different, original, and if you've read my reviews, you know that's what I love in a book. To be honest though, this story is pretty bizarre, way-way-out-there. And you know what? It kept me laughing, listening, and curious enough to keep with it to the end. And that ending. I'm still thinking about it. And thinking about it.

I must admit, Matteo's hipster dialogue was off-putting at first. The characters, the story, and the humor grew on me though and I found myself giggling at what funny-guy Matteo would say to straight-guy Dave, and how Dave corrects Matteo's misuse of words. I never grew tired of their banter and I learned to enjoy and appreciate how the humor mixed with the heavy topics balances the 'edginess' of this story. (See what I did there?)

I have both the DRC and the ALC formats and alternated between them. The digital copy is a good tool for referencing the long chapters that have multiple sections. It can get confusing. The audiobook narrator, Franz Drameh, is an amazing voicing talent and one of the reasons I enjoyed the story and the characterizations. I don't believe you would be disappointed with either format but I will say, I re-listened to parts of the audiobook 'just because' of the narrator's voicing-narration skills.

"The Edge of Sleep" is a unique and fun SciFi ride with a touch of Horror and I'm still rolling that ending around in my head to see what my brain can make of it. I'll think of something and I'm guessing these two authors had a whole lot of fun writing it.

3.75⭐rounded up and I do recommend "The Edge of Sleep" to readers who enjoy a mix of Dystopian and Speculative Fiction that's just a little bit different like I do!

Thank you to Jake Emanuel, Willie Block, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for a DRC and ALC of this book through NetGalley. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review. Due to publish 6/20/23.

3.5-3.75 Stars
It's Nightmare on Elm Street crossed with Stephen King!

I love horror and I love weird. But the ending was a bit too weird, even for me.

The concept is very similar to Nightmare on Elm Street. Essentially, if you sleep you'll die.

A group of friends (Dave, Matteo, and Katie) and a nurse named Linda are trying their best to stay awake. They found out that everyone who fell asleep last night died. How or why is this happening? No clue! Now they're scrambling to find answers before it's too late.

I like the writing and the narration. However, I didn't like the ending. It left me quite unsatisfied. Everything about the island was weird and not in a good way.

If you're a fan of horror with weird/far fetch endings, you'll probably enjoy this novel.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Jake Emanuel, Willie Block, Jason Gurley, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

I think I would have liked this book better if I read it physically vs getting the audiobook. Really cool concept and I see why people love it but it’s just not for me.

Unfortunately I made it to 70% and got bored. I feel like this story had such potential but the short clipped chapters threw me off and didn’t help me stay connected to the story. I really wanted to like it since epidemic apocalyptic books are amazing but this fell short.

I think that I double and triple checked that this one was narrated by just one person. Franz Drameh had the ability to make this one sound like it was done by a full cast and given how chaotic this book was, it was incredibly helpful. There were a lot of character in this one and some chapters were incredibly short which made the audiobook a bit confusing. This one isn't great for multitasking, it really required my attention and might have been easier in a different format. The concepts and the story is pretty cool though!

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this one.

This was a weird one! I love a happy ending so I am glad that Dave, Matteo, and Linda didn't die. But is that really a happy ending? This book was left on a cliff hanger and you aren't left with things feeling resolved. I am not sad I spent time reading the book but I still am not sure how I feel about the book! It's definitely an interesting concept.

I had a really hard time keeping things straight in the audio version of this book. I think if i got an actual copy to hold and see the text it would make more sense. I think that the idea of using a Podcast to create a book is a neat idea but for some reason this just didn't work out as intended.

DNF @ 25%

I went into this knowing there was a podcast before this, but really not much else.
I love weird books, but this was just kept being confusing and not a fun time. It took me so long to get at least this far in because I would dread picking it back up.

This is probably a great book, but it was not for me at all. The audiobook just felt so messy and the narration was making me more confused as I kept reading.

Thank you #netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was an wonderful addition to the story. Interesting concept for the story. Enjoyed. Highly recommend.

I was really excited for this book based on the book title and premise.

Unfortunately, it seemed a bit all over the place for me. Too much going on and didn’t really hold my interest. There were a lot of characters in this one too which made it more difficult to keep track of what was happening.

Maybe reading a physical copy is better than listening to an audiobook for this particular novel. Sometimes the format really matters.

I absolutely recommend giving this one a chance but don’t recommend the audiobook.

First and foremost, the narrator was AMAZING. Performing different voices with accents and tone, while then shifting into a very soothing narration. The plot of this book is very Twilight Zone (Episode 1, "Where is Everybody?") meets Nightmare on Elm Street, two of my favorites. I loved how it dove into sleep disorders and I loved how creepy the dreams were. Before I read this, I wasn't aware this book is a novelization of a podcast. I think that is why some of the chapters in this book were so short. (Some of the chapters were literally 30 seconds, which was frustrating at times. Perhaps it wouldn't have bothered me if I read it physically) I hope there will be another book installment because THAT ending....

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this book!

Wonderful audio production.

I think I needed a physical copy to keep up with some of the plot as I did get a a bit lost but solid and unputdownable.

I received a complimentary egalley of THE EDGE OF SLEEP by Jake Emanuel and Willie Block thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley. I also received the advance listener copy thanks to Macmillan Audio!

THE EDGE OF SLEEP begins with a strange occurrence. Those awake throughout the night for work or sleep disturbance or other reasons begin to notice that the world seems deadly quiet. Everyone who has gone to sleep the night after Independence Day has died shortly thereafter and the phenomenon is ongoing. Those who want to stay alive must stay awake.

Dave is a night watchman and one of the first to notice the empty world around him. He’s had lifelong sleep issues with night terrors and nightmares which impact his waking world. Now it seems this issue has saved his life and it may give clues as to what is going on.

This book was weird. And I’m still not entirely sure what I think about it. There were a lot of really interesting concepts here and the tension of not being able to go to sleep and not let the people you love sleep was well done. It overall kept me wanting answers.

The problem I had with the book is that it didn’t deliver on the answers I wanted. We get a lot of fever dream type sequences and that tends to raise a lot more questions. The end of the book brings about a little resolution, and then it takes a really unexpected twist in the final pages that left me wondering what I just read. If it was setting up for a sequel, then maybe that would have worked for me but this isn’t listed as the first in a series.

This did have some interesting elements, but if you don’t like intentionally ambiguous endings, this isn’t a book I can recommend. I did think the audio was well done!

THE EDGE OF SLEEP
Jake Emanuel, Willie Block, and Jason Gurley

This book reads like a nightmare.

THE EDGE OF SLEEP stars Dave. Dave is a night watchman with sleeping issues who often goes days without sleeping. He has night terrors and nightmares and that’s just the beginning of where his trouble with sleep starts.

He has recurrent dreams of monsters who star in them like actors. He is well aquatinted with fear.

This book might not be for you. At times it is difficult to understand and the chapters move in and out of vignettes without a pattern or real direction. It’s disorienting.

A little like a bad dream.

I lost count of the characters. I lost track of names. The storyline is somewhat easy to follow once you let go of any structure you had in mind prior to reading.

The delight in the reading experience was living in that liminal space between the nightmares of our reality and the reality of our nightmares. It felt like experiencing a stream of unconsciousness. Are you ready?

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!

THE EDGE OF SLEEP…⭐️⭐️⭐️

While I'm not familiar with the podcast this book is based on, the story maintains a unique plot, and I really enjoyed the narrative voice. If you're thinking about reading this, I would definitely recommend the audiobook. I could see how this story would have made a great, immersive podcast, but I feel that if I wasn't listening to it as an audiobook I probably wouldn't have stuck through reading the whole story. I'm definitely interested in checking out the podcast show though!

3.5/5

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Read/Listen if you like:
💤 Trying to Not Fall Sleep
🌎 Dystopian Plots
🪐 Sci-Fi
💨 Fast Paced Story Telling

This book sounded so interesting and while I don’t usually read a lot of sci-fi I just had to give this one a shot!

The narration was great and kept me engaged and made the story move so well for me personally.

This one follows for people trying to stay awake and find safety and to ensure they don’t fall asleep and die and with that there were lots of twists and turns to keep the plot moving and my interest.

This one leaves you with an ending that will leave you questioning so if you love buttoned up endings this one may not be for you.

Thank you so much to MacMillan for my ALC!