Do I have midterms right now? Yes. Did I make time to read this book despite my tests? Also yes. Count me all the way in.

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I am an avid love triangle avoider (only because it becomes the main conflict over the plot!!). But Williams did a great job at everything.

The characters. Elver Elver Elver. I liked her a lot. She’s jaded, she’s violent, yet she’s clearly hurt and traumatized. She’s complex, definitely morally grey, and even more a product of her environment. Her tenderness towards her monsters and other jin was touching. Her development as the book progresses—her yearn to be better than Elver the Poison Forest Girl—was just…ugh no words besides love it. And Artair/Lucian. Loved them both. If Elver’s complex, those two are beyond convoluted. Williams’ portrayal of their backgrounds and growth, as well as their internal struggles was amazing. The concept of the Sleepless was super cool. I do wish, however, we explored more of the bonds between Elver, Artair, and Lucian. Honestly there wasn’t much romance, and it definitely was for the better. However, I wish there was more of that slowburn feeling (lingering looks, cute little accidental touches, etc) because at times, their bond felt underdeveloped and lacking a foundation.

Beyond that, the worldbuilding was great. The antagonist and her goals made sense. The 12 gods and their mages were really cool, and it was interesting seeing the traditions and cultures associated with each. I do hope that in the future, we’ll get a description of all 12, as this novel seemed focused on 4 or 5 of the gods.

The worst part about this book is that it isn’t released yet </3. Need the sequel right now.

* I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. This book has a very interesting premise, involving Elver, saved by the Queen of Serpents as a child, and Artair, who has a dangerous spirit (Lucian) control his body when he sleeps so he is locked into a tower. But Artair received a mission to steal a monster cub under the protection of Elver, which sets Elver and Lucian on a mission that will inevitably have them question everything they've ever known about their world.

This was certainly a different book than I have normally read. It is a sort of love triangle, except two of those are part of the same body. There was excellent world building in this book, and all sorts of different creatures and characters, so a lot of imagination and thought went into creating this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A journey with creative interesting characters, one girl deals with two different male personalities in the same body. I liked the origin of their stories, although there is tension and high stakes in accomplishing goals, the plot has a slow pace (for me) but it doesn't upset the story. Gods, evil, sacrifices, threats, promises... the cover is pretty.

I couldn’t put this down! When something is stolen from her god, Elver goes on a quest to bring it back only to find herself helping a sleepless human. I fell in love with the author’s writing style - it is very descriptive which makes the story feel so much more alive and colorful. The unique storyline, characters, world building all tied together beautifully to give you a stunning story!

Also, Sunay and Tisk *chefs kiss*

I believe this is marketed as a romantasy, and saw marketing items with team Lucian and team Artair, however the romance was very minimal and maybe leads up to have more in the sequel?

This doesn’t come out until the fall 2025 and I’m already left questioning when the next book comes out to find out what happens next!

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

Thank you Wednesday books for the arc!

Overall the concept of this book sounded so interesting but it eventually fell flat for me. It felt too much like every other YA book with characters that couldn’t really differentiate themselves from other stories. I couldn’t get into the story or behind the characters all to well at all.