Well, I’m just finding myself disappointed with this.

The Sleepless has such a great set up and magic system but unfortunately I found myself really bored by the actual book and plot. There wasn’t a lot of pay off at the end to make the slowness of the rest of the book worth it.

These characters had the potential to be amazing; a twice dead girl, a boy who becomes a demon when he sleeps?!? Cmon! I think this suffers from every single character being the same type of serious and brooding.

This is my first ready by Jen Williams and now I’m very interested in picking up her other books! Hooks you from the start

I didn't want to put this book down! The twists and turns were perfect and I loved everything about Altair, Lucian, and Elver. It was so interesting and so well written that I can't wait for more.

First and foremost I received an eARC from NetGalley.

The Sleepless felt like a world like no other. It’s imaginative and fun. There are so many characters that help bring this world together. It’s filled with magic and monsters. Take your time reading this and enjoy diving into this unique story.

DNF @ 12%

I unfortunately did not connect with this book. I was interested in the concept of two beings in one body, the romance, and the magic, but found the story unable to hold my interest.

From what I did read I did find the world building and magic really interesting so I would recommend this to readers that enjoy YA fantasy with an intriguing world!

YA romantasy that wants to be in conversation with Godkiller, but gets pulled back too much by its own adherence to general YA tropes. There are a number of things it does well, namely generally fun worldbuilding and an interesting setup in having Artair and Lucian share a body and the mystery behind that. The rest is fairly standard - not bad by any means, but not enough to make it stand out for me. I think if you're in the mood for a YA road trip quest romantasy, this will be right up your alley. For me, a lot of what I found standard and predictable might be comforting and familiar tropes mixed with the interesting worldbuilding for another reader.

The twists were a big shrug to me (and I will say that the voice Holdbrook-Smith chooses for some of the characters in the climactic scene made it difficult to understand, to the point I picked up the ebook version at times), but I did think this was a more interesting way to do a YA love triangle, with some interesting implications for what might happen in the next book.

3.5⭐️

I was lucky enough to receive the alc and arc for this book. I love immersive reading, especially with a fantasy book. I did enjoy the sleepless however I was struggling to get into it I'm a big mood reader so I think that was my problem.
With that being said I will say the narrators did a good job! And I enjoyed the author's writing style I will definitely have to read more from her.

Would recommend to anyone that loves God's, monsters and a love triangle different from all the others!

** Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ALC And ARC**

The cover of The Sleepless is what caught my eye - then the title, then the description. I haven't read a YA book in several months so I wasn't sure if I wanted to try one, but this book sounded fantastic. I am so glad I gave it a chance, because this book was AWESOME. I was absolutely hooked from the first chapter. The fantasy world was incredibly rich and illustrative, and I was fond of all of the characters - Elver, Artair, The Sleepless, even a wee mischievous creature. To be honest, I abhor love triangles, but the framing of the love triangle in this story is so interesting. I am very curious to see where Williams takes the romance. There was the barest hint of romance in this book, so I'm not sure where she'll take the story in that regard. I am very interested in seeing how the rest of the story turns out. The very end of the book was a bit of a cliffhanger. Years ago, the cliffhanger would have frustrated me, but I am pleasantly content with the cliffhanger ending and intrigued enough to want to read the next book. All in all, I really enjoyed this story and will be reading the next book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book via NetGalley!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jen Williams, and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one. The writing was not my favorite. I’m not sure how to describe it but the writing felt choppy. I didn’t feel like the characters' conversations flowed well. The concept of the book was interesting. I wanted to know what was going to happen. I would have liked more world-building and descriptions. Overall, I could see a lot of people enjoying this book. It was not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which will be available wide on Sept 30, 2025.

I will preface my review with this: This book is definitely a YA romantasy and reads as such. The world building is the main focus I felt and it is an involved one. I’m not talking Game of Thrones level but it is heavy on explaining who is who and what is what. But I still found myself lost.

We have Elver the Guardian of the wood with poison skin that was a “gift” from the gods and a metric ton of secrets and agendas

Then we meet Altair one of the Sleepless who is immune to Elver’s god given “gift” and happens to be a human host of a demon.

And finally my favorite character Lucian, the evil spirit that inhabits Altair and wants to use Elver for his own nefarious deeds.

In all the world building and ya love triangle-y storyline I found myself chuckling at the banter but it was not enough for me to give it above a 3.5 in stars.

I received this as an ARC and it was totally unexpected. It would certainly benefit from some polishing - but has a really unique premise and the bones of a really strong quest-driven fantasy.

Maybe it was just not in my ARC copy - but a map for this world would have been helpful, as would a list in the beginning of the Gods and their areas of specialty.

Overall, a really endearing YA Fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

I was not ready for how much I loved this book, but it was such a delightful read! I think it was the worldbuilding that caught me to begin with, but then I fell in love with the characters and their journeys and the rest was history!

I absolutely adore the two-souls-one-body piece of this story and the way that it was executed. It was leveraged for maximum development for all characters involved, and even though a couple of things were predictable, it was still enjoyable and made the everything so much more meaningful. And the way it factors into the romance....chef's kiss!

There was so much depth to this story as well, and I loved diving into that along with the worldbuilding. From the truth of the villainy to the wonders of the gods, this was a colorful read from start to finish!

This was a really strong start to this story, and I cannot wait to see what comes next! You won't want to miss out!

This is a young adult romance fantasy novel. It is very dark, mysterious, emotional, tense and hopeful. It had loyalty and betrayal, the nature of love and overcoming challenges, while finding hope and the balance of nature. It tells a story of a monster guardian named Elver, whom has a very deadly touch. Then there is one of the Sleepless, named Artair, who has a curse to share his body with an evil spirit named Lucian. This turns into a love triangle, as the alliance becomes dark and complex. As the story unravels, things get mysterious and very entertaining. I give the book 4 stars

I enjoyed this one, but I struggled to get into it. I didn’t connect to the characters and the plot didn’t grab me the way I had hoped. I really loved the concept but felt that the book could have used more world building and character development.

**Features:**

- A girl-turned-forest guardian with a poison touch and a boy with two souls team up on a quest
- A cute animal companion
- Explores being ‘other’ and what truly makes a monster
- Love triangle where two characters share the same body

**Synopsis:**

Once Elver was a girl. An orphan that her village was willing to sacrifice to the Gods to save their own skins. However, the Queen of Serpents decided to spare the life humans had so cruelly thrown away and Elver was reborn as a magical creature of the Jih. Though still a girl in form, Elver is a guardian of the monster forest with skin that will poison any human that touches it. Any human, that is, except a Sleepless like Artair. Possessed with an ‘evil’ spirit, Artair’s body is taken over by another man named Lucian whenever Artair falls asleep. Lucian might not remember much from before, but he anxiously awaits the chance to be free of his prison. When Artair goes on a desperate mission to retrieve a baby monster from the forest, he comes face-to-face with Elver and a shaky alliance is formed. But everyone has their own secrets and motives as they begin a journey far bigger than any of them could have imagined.

**Thoughts:**

Don’t let the YA label fool you. This book takes no time folding you into its dark, brutal world filled with wondrous creatures and demanding gods. Though the characters and themes fit well within the YA category, they are explored in a more complex way with robust writing that will still resonate with adult readers. Despite what the characters start the book believing, there is no pure good or evil to be found, just lengths you are willing to go in order to achieve your goals. Elver, Artair, and Lucian start this story with strong but naively simple views of their world and it made me a little worried. Elver’s voice in particular was a little hard for me to get into. However, this quickly changes as the characters are pushed out of their comfort zones and really start to engage more critically with the people, creatures, environment and challenges that surround them.

I have not read Godkiller or Powerless, so I am unsure if these are good comparisons. However, this book has a world in which 12 gods exist and serve as a source of power for their followers. Each god specializes in a different type of magic and has a unique set of cultural practices around it, but all require some sort of exchange in order for them to lend their powers to their followers. Elver works a little differently and understanding her relationship to the Queen of Serpents is one of the many mysteries that drive this story forward. There are other magical creatures, or ‘monsters’, as well that Elver has the ability to speak to and maintaining the balance between their world and that of the humans definitely plays a role. In short, if you like gods with questionable motives and strange magical forest creatures, you will definitely like this one.

Yes there is romance in this book, but it is a true YA and there is very little true spice on the page. The love triangle between Elver, Artair, and Lucian is definitely made more interesting by the fact that Artair and Lucian inhabit the same body. Lucian is a particularly interesting party because he is presented as the one ‘borrowing’ Artair’s body. It definitely presents some interesting challenges and I think it is explored really well.

Despite its wonderful world building and interesting characters, I was left feeling like something was missing as I approached the end. I can’t really put a finger on what it was exactly, but I guess I was hoping it would have explored some of its themes a little deeper or pushed the envelope a little more in the plot. I understand why it might not have and honestly I have hope that perspective will change once the second book is out. It is very possible that there are mechanisms at work in this book that just haven’t made themselves known yet. I’m definitely interested to see where this goes!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Elver was sacrificed by an evil mage when she was a child only to be saved and turned into a monster by the Queen of Serpents, who tasks her with rescuing another monster who has been kidnapped from her forest. The monster has been kidnapped by Artair, who was forced by the evil mage to kidnap the monster in order to exchange it for his fellow monks.

I thought this was a really interesting book. The characters were well-rounded, and the conflict between Artair and the "evil spirit" who shares his body, Lucian, felt realistic. Like some other readers, I actually found myself finding Lucian, the "evil spirit", a more compelling character than Artair. I was a little concerned that the author would resolve the love triangle by someone causing Artair and Lucian to become the same person, but that didn't happen (in this book at least). I'm glad the author didn't take the easy way out with that, and I hope Artair and Lucian remain two distinct entities in the second book as well. The way Artair and Lucian were written was a little reminiscent of dissociative disorders, so that was interesting — especially the inversion of there being an "evil one".

I found the beginning and the end of the book to be very strong, but I do think that the middle lagged a bit. It didn't seem as well-written as the other sections of the book, almost as if the author was just throwing in plot points to extend the length of the book instead of having the scenes be there for a reason. I did like the bit about the Temple of the Threshold, and I wish the middle had been more like that and more character-focused.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early.

I’ll be fully transparent and admit that this book was not on my radar until I saw the audiobook on NetGalley. I had a feeling it was going to be a book that I preferred to listen to. Well…

I started with the audiobook and actually ended up finishing with the ebook. I was not a big fan of the narrator changes mid chapter. The narration is not first person so I didn’t really see the need to do that. I also didn’t love the male narrator’s voice. I thought he sounded too old for YA characters and while it wasn’t first person, I still felt like his voice didn’t really fit with the other narrator. I enjoyed her voice a lot and felt she fit the age of the character well.

As for the actual story, it was very interesting and had some great twists and turns. The love triangle was different than anything I had seen before as well.

I would definitely read the sequel because I really want to know what’s going to happen to everyone and this book left me wanting more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lush, dangerous, and full of mythic magic ✨ This romantasy blends sentient forests, poison-skinned guardians, and a simmering love triangle. Elver, Artair, and Lucian are unforgettable, and the world-building? Divine.

Perfect for fans of morally grey characters, forest magic, and slow-burn tension. Can’t wait for book two! 🌕🌲🖤

This book started off strong, but it became boring very quickly. While the world-building is interesting and had potential, it felt incomplete. Since this is book one of a duology, I expected much of the world-building to happen in the first book. However, we only get a partial picture of how the gods and the magic systems work. As for the characters, they were sadly one-dimensional and bland as plain toast. And romance? What romance? At best, the characters can only be described as friendly traveling companions. Overall, it was a well-written snooze-fest.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book made me think. All three main characters are not perfect and each have their own monstrous ways. It questions what it means to be a monster and why they are put in that box. This had great world building for a first book and the writing was really well done.