Thank you for the ARC! This was a fantastically written, creative and overall pleasure of a read! Two outcasts from society (one part monster and one possessed by one) embark on an adventure that showed them both the positives and negatives of humans. It's a shorter read than I would have liked, I didn't want to give up this world just yet, but am looking forward to the next book!

"The Sleepless" is a delightful tale about a girl revived by a god who gradually develops feelings for another monster. Get ready for magic, betrayal, and a love triangle! It's a bit of a slow burn but still charming. I can’t wait to read the next book!

First and foremost I’d like thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the honor of reading this book before its release date on September 30th. I am honored by your generosity and my review is a honest reflection of my feelings towards this book.
What got me interested in asking for an ARC of this story was the cover. I’m 100% one of those readers that bases a lot of what I read on the cover. This cover is gorgeous and mysterious and makes you want to pick it up and study every detail.
Welcome to a world where Gods and Monsters are free to roam the earth. We meet Elver, a guardian of the wolf and dangerous monster forest. Saved by her God patron after she is sacrificed Elver has some unfinished business with the ones who sacrificed her. Her touch is deadly to anyone who comes in contact with it and she is baffled when she meets Artair. But the thing is, he isn’t human. He is a sleepless. Cursed to share a body an evil spirit.
Lucian, the said evil spirit, comes out when Artair goes to sleep. This is a love triangle you won’t soon forget as they embark on a journey of revenge, deceit and love.
This book was for sure one I didn’t see coming. I was hooked from the first page and couldn’t stop myself from inhaling this book as fast as I could. My favorite character hands down was Fleet, a little cub of a monster who was so adorable I wanted to cuddle him.
This book ends on a promise of more from this world and I can’t wait for it. This book was soo good that I want a physical copy and that rarely happens.
For sure 100% recommend this to anyone who loves over triangles, revenge and gods and monsters.

Honestly I tried multiple times but I just couldn’t get into this book. This one just wasn’t for me sadly so I had to DNF

Obsessed. This felt like a breath of fresh air, a story full of vibrant descriptions and the most twisted love triangle I’ve read about in all these years.

I really really enjoyed this book!! I found the characters very endearing, and I absolutely loved the super original love triangle. It was so well done, and like Elver, I just couldn’t choose lol. It took me a little while to get into the story at first because some things felt a bit too obvious early on, but in the end, it didn’t bother me. There were some great plot twists that I really enjoyed. I also loved the worldbuilding and how the characters discover the world together. I do wish there had been a bit more tension between the characters.
I’ll definitely be recommending this book when it’s released, and I can’t wait to read the sequel!

Thank you Jen Williams and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Read if you like:
- Romantasy
- Gods & monsters
- Multiple POVs
- Love triangle
- Slow burn
- YA romance level
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forbidden Touch
- A Serpent Queen
- Vibrant Fantasy World
- Two Spirits, One Body

The Sleepless by Jen Williams is a brand new gods-and-monsters romantasy.

The premise is so intriguing. You have Elver, who's sacrificed to one god and then saved by another. Her touch is poisonous and she lives in the Jih forest. Artair is a a monk who lives with fellow people who are 'Sleepless'. They share their body with evil spirits. When Artair falls asleep, Lucian takes over. I absolutely adored this triangle of characters and seeing the dynamics between them.

There's rich world building and packed with amazing characters. The twelve Gods were pretty cool, there's an adorable yet naughty Keltraxia cub and some interesting side characters.

The misunderstood villain is totally my vibe so it's not a surprise that I am team Lucien! IYKYK!

The story was fast pace but it helped keep the reader engaged.

I liked the concept and storyline, with two souls trapped in one body whilst yearning for the same person as they work together to save others. The love triangle between these characters was messy and mesmerizing at times.

This book is full of twists and turns and the ending will have you begging for more!

Thanks to NetGalley and pan macmillian for the gifted eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5 stars - Okay, first of all—The Sleepless is exactly the kind of gods-and-monsters romantasy I’ve been craving. Elver is a poisonous touch queen (literally—her skin is deadly) who’s been cursed and isolated her whole life… and then we meet Artair, a broody monk who’s also cursed, but in a whole other chaotic way. He’s got a literal ancient spirit (Lucian) sharing his body and taking over when Artair is asleep, and let me just say… that man is trouble. I DEVOURED this story. The worldbuilding? Immaculate. The vibes? Divine chaos.

Lucian…. I did not expect to fall that hard for a sarcastic, manipulative spirit trapped in someone else’s body, but here we are. The dynamic between Elver, Artair, and Lucian is complex, intense, and ridiculously addictive. This book gave me forbidden touch, soul-splitting angst, morally gray energy, and a love triangle that is actually interesting. I totally recommend this book! The Sleepless is going to ruin you in the best possible way.

The Sleepless was a very quick read. This is a first for me by this author but I enjoyed their writing style a lot.

This was a solid 1.5 stars, but I thought I’d bump it up a little bit. Aside from just saying negative things, let me provide some helpful feedback/review.

The writing in this was surprisingly good, if not a tad too descriptive (think, “pulling me out of the story to work through this mess of over-descriptive nonsense”). The synopsis and the cover of this book had me HOOKED. The idea? Impeccable. The execution? Not there.

It started off confusing, the characters’ journey was a touch weak and I found myself constantly re-reading because there was so much description of the surroundings it appeared we forgot to work on the plot.

The characters unfortunately had no dimension, but there was a lot of potential there. Monster girl not so monstrous. Humans are the real monsters.

The idea of a love triangle where they share one body? I was so excited, and honestly it fell flat. The characters were clearly not in love and felt like it was forced.

The middle was a lot of filler, and the end was ok. Now, you might say, “perhaps this wasn’t the genre for you and maybe you shouldn’t have read this book”. I think you can still write a meaningful YA romantasy/romance novel appropriate for YA audiences that still has some depth to it. I say this as someone who has children and reads quite a lot of YA books both with them and on my own.

I’m sorry if this is too harsh, it’s perhaps I should’ve DNFd it and been on my way, but I was really trying to stick it out to give a full, honest review.

*these thoughts are my own, thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I devoured this book pretty quickly, the story took hold of me and refused to let go. I stayed up til 4 in the morning reading it, which I haven’t done in a very long time. I found myself at first very annoyed by elver and her hot headedness - but then I learned to love her. I found that the book did not start off slow at all, I was intrigued and maybe a little confused. The world itself was wondrous, It needs more fleshing out (I hope this is a series) but overall I enjoyed it. I

Sadly, this book didn't really grasp my attention at any point. I do love YA fantasy, but maybe this is just a little too young of writing for me. Overall, it's unique and I do think if you enjoyed Powerless, that you'll enjoy this book.

I wanted to love this but I feel that the writing was a touch too YA for my personal tastes - but the world building was so epic/lovely!

Everytime I say I’m going to stop doing YA Fantasy I lie to myself and get pulled back in. Sadly that’s what happened with Sleepless. I loved the pitched concept and cover for this book. Plus the synopsis spiels for fans of GodKiller and Powerless. Two books I really enjoyed. However, Sleepless didn’t measure up and ended up being a pretty lackluster read.

I’ll be honest the only thing saving this from a 1 star read was the middle half of the book. But it shouldn’t have to take 52% into a book to truly draw me in. The beginning was so freaking slow. So slow that I almost DNF several times. My biggest issue with the beginning was the lack of explanation. You have 12 gods, all with individual roles to play. But there wasn’t enough depth for them. I kept having to flip back to remember who was who.

Even with those struggles I still managed to push through. Thankfully I did because the back half was full action and the world building was finally coming together. Be warned though the ending does end on a cliffhanger. But thankfully not a bad enough cliffhanger where you want to pull your hair out.

The character aspect of the book was honestly kinda of meh. No specific person stood out. I did enjoy the interactions between Elver, Lucien and Artair. But ultimately I wish we could’ve spent more time with them. Instead we spent more time setting up a love triangle. And we know how much I loathe those. Maybe if the love triangle was done well I wouldn’t be gripping but it wasn’t. The romance was underdeveloped and insta-lovey. And honestly I don’t care who ends up with who in the next book.

Which leads me to my final verdict. Sadly this isn’t for me. So regretfully I will not be continuing on with the series nor can I recommend it. At least not to the 30+ crowd. I think if I was still under 19 I would’ve enjoyed this more. Lastly big thank you to NetGalley & Wednesday books for providing me an arc to read and review.

This was a quick YA fantasy read. I think this book had more potential than what it turned into. It left off at an intriguing point so maybe the sequel will be better. This is such an intriguing world/magic system and more can be done with it.

The Characters:
Elver was sacrificed as a child to a god in exchange for the protection of her city. But she doesn’t die. She is saved and is cursed to poison anyone she touches. Until she meets Artair.

Artair is cursed in his own way, he is one of the Sleepless, bound with an evil soul who takes over every time he falls asleep. Altair's goal is to keep the other soul contained in order to prevent the evil from causing chaos and mass murder. But the other soul may not be as bad as believed.

Lucien was a mage before his soul was cast out from his body in an act of betrayal from his mentor. He remembers nothing of his previous life and spends his nights trying to escape the prison Altair keeps him locked up in.

The Premise:
Artair’s fellow sleepless are kidnapped away and in order to save them he must capture a magical creature from the forest Elver now guards. He must deliver the creature to an evil acolyte of the very god who demanded Elver’s sacrifice as a child. The two of them set off on a journey to save the other sleepless and protect Elver’s forest friends, but things become complicated as Elver gets to know Artair’s other half Lucien and learns he might not be as evil as he is thought to be and that it will take all three of them to save the day.

Thoughts:
This book started off slow… so slow and confusing I almost DNF. But I'm glad I kept going because at about 50% it picks up and gets so good. The back half of the book is quick paced, full of twists and turns that kept me wanting to turn the page and left me wanting more when I got to the last page. In a good way! There is a slight cliffhanger ending, but the main story arc resolves enough to not leave you pulling out your hair.
What made the book so frustrating in the beginning is not a lot of background is given describing the world or the 12 gods and the roles they each played. Most of this could be fixed with a detailed map and descriptions of each of the gods in a little chart at the start of the book. But because there wasn’t one I kept having to go back to remember what each god does or figure out where in the world they were at. Most of the book is spent traveling from place to place and by the second and third towns I was lost. Give me a map!
I really did enjoy the different interactions Elver has with Lucien and Artair. I wish we could have spent more time in these, building up the love triangle more. As it was it just felt underdeveloped and a little jarring when suddenly everyone has feelings. Hopefully this is better explored in the next book which I'm looking forward too!

The book presents a compelling concept—a world where some people no longer need sleep—and blends sci-fi with noir elements in an intriguing way. The atmosphere is rich, and the setup had me hooked early on. The writing is sharp, and there are moments of genuine tension and intrigue.

However, the pacing felt uneven, and some character motivations were hard to connect with. The story occasionally lost momentum, and I found myself wanting more emotional depth from the leads. Still, it’s an imaginative read with strong ideas—just not quite as gripping as I hoped.

I was pleasantly surprised by the originality and intrigue of this book, and I really enjoyed reading it!

I really liked the magic in this book, especially since we're introduced to it right off the bat with the FMC Elver being turning into a non-human as a child and becoming a protector of a magical forest. I loved the descriptions of all the various magical creatures that live in Elver's lands and felt very immersed. The MMC Artair is equally, if not more, fascinating as he shares his body Lucien, another non-human, who awakes when Artair sleeps.

This story is definitely more YA than adult and since it's marketed that way I feel like it definitely succeeds in being what it says it will be. The system of gods is very interesting without being too complex, though I wouldn't have minded learning a bit more about them since I found it so intriguing! The plot itself was a lot of fun to follow and had its fair share of twists and turns. It kept me continuously wanting to know what was going to happen to the characters next.

The relationships between Elver, Artair, and Lucien were of course complex, but I really liked how the romance developed a bit more naturally and slowly as it just felt right for this cast of characters. While it mostly felt more like a friendship than a romantic relationship, it did feel like romance would be the realistic next step, which is how it started to develop at the end.

I really liked this book and will definitely want to read the sequel and I'd happily recommend it as a great YA fantasy in the meantime!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me an eARC to review this book. I think the comparison to the Godkiller series on the back of the book didn't do it any favors. It's a decent book but having just read the Godkiller books, its not a fair comparison.

In this book, a girl was sacrificed to a god and was saved/transformed by another and a man has two souls who switch whenever one falls asleep. It's an interesting concept for a magic system and I enjoyed getting to learn how that came to be throughout the story. The involvement of so many gods offered a lot of twists and turns but I did feel the ending was a bit predictable for me personally. Still glad I read it and I'll probably read any sequels if those happen but definitely a 3.5 ☆ for me given some of the middle bits seemed unnecessary.

** Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher on providing me with this eARC**

Wow—this book had me turning pages long after I should have been asleep. The Sleepless drops you right into a world of risky magic and double-crosses, and it refuses to slow down.

Things get wild QUICK when Elver is CHILD and thrown off a cliff and everyone thinks she’s dead…until the Queen of Serpents drags her back from the brink and turns her into the Jih.

Artair is her a monk who is forced to steal from the forest and in turn Elver when his friends are kidnapped by Mother Maura, but he’s also Sleepless and sharing head-space with Lucian, who was a soul that ended up in Artair's body he was a mage apprentice at one point. Their first job—conning the creepy Mother Maura—goes off the rails fast, when a priest captures them, delivering them to Dalesh—yes, the same woman who once threw Elver off a cliff. Though Dalesh appears remorseful and helps them escape through a portal, it turns out she’s been working with Mother Maura all along, which puts everyone in serious danger.

From there the action never lets up: surprise portals, secret bargains with gods, and twist after twist. My heart pounded hardest when Elver rushed straight into Mother Maura’s trap—only to learn Maura had been hunting her from the start. Watching Artair and Lucian race to save her—even while arguing inside the same skull—was tense. Watching them scramble to reunite is as nerve-wracking as it is thrilling, especially now that the one person they thought was an ally is actually part of the problem.

And then the ending! Mother Maura thought killing the Bloody Claw God would hand her all his power, but Lucian-inside-Artair got there first and begged the god for a slice of that strength. The god agreed, keeping a chunk away from Maura. Now she can’t ascend unless she finds him and rips the rest back, and the whole world might burn while she tries.

Just before the final page, Artair and Elver finally kiss. Lucian feels it, sees it, and the triangle inside one body gets even messier. Who does Elver really love? Who will she choose? I’m a sucker for this twisted romance and can’t wait for answers.

A few more shout-outs:

- Sunay and the other side characters shine.

- Each god has a sharp idea behind them—their symbols, their moods, their price.

- The magic feels dangerous and fresh, never just window dressing.

If you like fantasy that
- shoves its heroes into impossible corners,
- mixes sly humor with real danger, and
- makes you yell “just one more chapter” at 1 a.m.,

then The Sleepless belongs on your nightstand. The cliffhanger is brutal, but that’s okay—there’s only one more book to go. I’m counting the days until the second half of this duology hits the shelves. Sleeping can wait.