Bleak and horrifying in the best possible way. I loved the depths this book goes to and was surprised by how relatable I found it. Examines feelings of shame and regret in such interesting ways. I didn't see any of the twists coming and gasped out loud at some of them.

I found that I enjoyed the first half of Awakened a lot more than the second - I appreciated the slow pace and emphasis on the characters within the tower. However, as focus pulls towards Vladimir (and the science becomes more metaphorical), I wasn't always as engaged. The ending follows this trend - it feels very abstract and inconclusive, and lost me a little. That said, whilst my enjoyment fluctuated throughout, Awakened held my interest from beginning to end. This is a debut packed full of big ideas and interesting character development - although it fell slightly short of my expectations in the execution, I'm very keen to see what Laura Elliott writes next.
3.5 rounded up to 4.

This was fascinating and my first read from Laura Elliott. What is the premise of Awakened? Think dystopian London and science gone wrong. To be more specific, a neural chip suppresses human's ability to sleep and is connected to every human who also has a chip. At first it goes great, people with these chips are healing better and their physicality in general is boosted making them stronger. Then, things change. The chips regress their mentality into animalistic, violent, and sleepless aggressors.

This explores a variety of aspects around sleep, and it follow characters exploring what it means to play God and who the real victims of this circumstance really are. We follow main character Thea as she tries to find out if there is a solution to the sleepless and if anything can be done to reverse the social fabric of society that this event has ripped into. I highly recommend it to horror fans, I thought it was great. There is a character introduced in the book that I did predict would turn up, but honestly that didn't take away from the story or the reading experience. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to Angry Robot and NetGalley for providing this book for review, it was a blast.

The premise of Awakened by Laura Elliott intrigued me straight away. I loved the idea of scientists trying to fix their own mistake, and I love a good dystopian setting. The idea of a chip that decreases the need for sleep, thus allowing humanity to increase productivity, and the lack of sleep leading to unpredicted side effects over time, was simply amazing. I loved the world Elliott created, in which a handful of scientists are locked away in their tower trying to find a cure while zombie hordes control London.
I read and thoroughly enjoyed the first about 80% of the book, but the plot veered away from the scientific element towards the end and to be honest, I struggled to follow what was happening at the end, and finished feeling confused. I would have liked an ending that felt more like a resolution.

Awakened is set in the near future, when technology gone wrong causes many folks to be "sleepless", which is basically when their implants glitch, they never sleep, and they become basically zombies. We follow Thea and her cohorts who are still human, living in the Tower of London, trying to fix the problem they created (and also stay alive). Thea and some of the others are scientists who originally made the tech implants that caused this mess, but some of the others are survivors who have joined them in their quest and/or safe dwelling.

Then someone shows up who is neither "sleepless" nor human. He seems to be some sort of combination of the two, and of course the science-minded are fascinated by this. He brings with him a human woman who is unable to speak, so she can't shed any light on the situation. The rest of the novel explores how Thea and company got to the point they're at, and what they're willing to do to move forward.

The book is, as a whole, very introspective. Thea spends a lot of time mulling the intricacies of sleep, and its effect on the body, as well as what makes humans different than the sleepless. There's also a lot of commentary on the messiness of the current health system, as Thea's mom has been dealing with chronic illness without reprieve for quite some time. Because of the level of introspection, the pace can feel a bit slower, but the questions Thea poses are thought provoking and worthwhile. There's a lot of The 100 Season 4 morally gray questioning, and obviously I loved that.

I did not understand the ending though. Like, at all. I hope some of you read it so we can discuss it, because as much as I enjoyed the rest of the story, the end left me confused and as such, rather unfulfilled. My only negative to this otherwise engaging story, frankly!

Bottom Line: Thought provoking and relevant, I enjoyed this morally gray novel, but I really need someone to walk me through the end.

Brilliant! My first time reading this author but it won’t be my last! I love post apocalyptic fiction and this delivers all of that but so much more! It’s very deep, got me thinking about so much that happens in life! I felt like I was in a dream for parts of this! Loved it!

this was a book that was very slow beginning and after the middle went faster, it was almost like a diary that our main character did, and where she made light of what was happening and what took place in her past, and how that brought her to today… I couldn’t really connect with the characters that were introduced, but strangely enough I keep coming to know how it would end… it focus much more on consequences and choices… to be honest when the main character told us the names that the other habitants of the tower had give to the new survivors, I had a bad feeling… one is Helen of troy… and the other is Vladimir, shall I explain more? Nahh, thats for me to know and for you to find out…

its a very slow story and theres something that you find out about the new survivors during the present of the story, that gives us a foreboding that something will happen at that time, and since the book gives us dates when things happen, its more daunting… yes, even if it is slow, I came coming back for more… and something I loved about the book, is that it took place in London, survival closer to home gets more real I guess haha.

Thank you Netgalley and Angry Robot, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

"I looked at us and felt joy, and in that joy I was horrified."

When I started reading this I didn’t have much in the way of expectations as I hadn’t heard anyone talk about it. When I read the first few chapters I sat up at attention like a cartoon character because the writing is BEAUTIFUL.

"There is a yearning within me, to relinquish control and sink into oblivion. To cease."

We’re following a doctor in the wake (ha) of an apocalyptic event where science has taken away sleep to feed the corporate machine. In a devastating effect, those who become Awakened can no longer sleep and become monstrous, roaming the world. In a secure tower in London, two Awakened show up entirely coherent, and now they have to figure out if they are the world’s salvation or destruction.

"We are all of us victims of our own recollections and servants to what they make of us."

This book genuinely feels like it was made for me. It has so many of the things that I like, giving into your inner monster, commentary on economic class, autonomy, and medical ethics. This was messy and fever dreamy in all of the right ways.

I’ve got to say, the beginning of this was slow for me to get into. I went into it expecting a more thrilling/action dependant apocalyptic read, and instead the story is a dark, intimate, and emotional exploration of the characters mind through topics of survival, ethics, sickness, despair, and humanity.

We’re focused on Thea, she’s one of the scientists who created a chip to stop sleep. Turns out we really do need sleep-now the world is plagued with the “sleepless,” zombie-like beings.
whilst our crew are residing within the tower trying to figure out what they must do, and whether a cure is possible. Some “vampires” show up, unlike the rest.


Such vivid writing that inserts you within the characters mind on a personal level. The story is interesting and still very engaging, however this book primarily shines with Its well-written & dynamic characters.
Now, as a big S. King fan I feel like I see similarities to him lots, maybe I make them up sometimes (🤷) but the characters here really remind me of Kings greatest work.

In short: I’d recommend this to any horror, sci-fi or dystopian fans. I think it’d be a perfect read on a cold, dark winter night!
It’s an uncomfortable and philosophical book at times that will leave you with questions!
Great debut book!

This book asks a lot of questions, both literally and metaphorically. it asks what one would do in the pursuit of caring for someone you love, in particular whether you would be willing to unleash hell on the world on the offchance it would save a loved one. Thea faces those questions and book records what they do to her.

This book felt like such a mixed bag. I thought the idea was brilliant. The idea of a group of scientists trying to undo the crisis they created was fascinating, and the whole setup of a neurochip that stopped people from needing sleep and at the same time led to a global disaster was amazing. It very much felt like 28 days later with the unsettling vibes of abandoned London.

I thought the characters introduction was a little clunky. I struggled at first with following who's who aside from our main character and even with time I wasn't sure who was hiding in the tower. But then the middle of the book really delved into deep questions about late stage capitalism and how sick people but also people with disabilities are treated both by the medical establishment as well as society as a whole.

I thought what really brought the book down was the deeper focus on Vladimir. I didn't care either for the love triangle he forces into the story or the more... Supernatural element he brings with himself. I would have preferred if the book focused more on the actual scifi-ish concept of technology bringing humanity to its knees.

All in all this was an interesting book with a concept that doesn't fully deliver but still makes various interesting commentaries on the state of the world as it is now.

Awakened by Laura Elliott was an excellent and a very powerful read, it will have you hooked from the beginning and it will have you wanting more. . . . . Imagine civilisation as we all know it has ended. A group of scientists develop a neutral chip to allow all the population to turn off Sleep! This chip is funded by a benevolent billionaire.

"I wonder what it will be like not to to sleep or go to bed ever again!!!! - I Love my bed! 😂 "

First they used this chip on the Military, those who were fitted with the chip developed strengthen metabolism and only in the space of a year, and everyone had one. The best thing is You could turn the chip off at will. . . . .

What could ever go wrong?

Then, one day you could not turn this chip off!!!!

Now, deprived of their sanity that sleep brings, the population are quickly descended into madness, and the world has changed and for the worse. NOOOOOOO! . . . . . . . . .

Marooned in the Tower of London, the only surviving scientists struggle to find a cure in this new world, are caged in by the screams of the Sleepless. Thea Chares is consumed by so much guilt for her part in the initial experiments, and is now longing to know what has happened to her mum whose illness had been the focal point of her previous life.

Two survivors, a man and a woman, stumble into the Tower, where a the seed of hope grows in the form of a new start. But all is not as it appears, the survivors display strange, dangerous habits and refuse to tell the scientists their names. Thea finds herself inexplicably drawn to the man, then her life begins to spiral into a fever dream of hallucinations, violence and dark attraction, with a startlingly reveal waiting for them at daybreak.

This book is "Soooooo good", I want to get the audiobook to listen to it, when it comes out, instead of reading it all over again.

I am so glad this book cover caught my eye, it may look a simple picture of a raven, But take a look 👀 closer. . . .
WoW very clever 5 ⭐️ for this cover.

I highly recommend this wonderful book, You will love your sleep even more now after you have read this! I know I do.

Why so slow? The premise and idea was so good but it dragged all 400 pages through and nearly brought me into a reading slump. Sad to say because I think I would've enjoyed this alot if the pacing was a little bit faster.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I featured Awakened in my June 2025 new releases video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q31xhbo1tE, and though I have not read it yet, I am so excited to and expect 5 stars! I will update here when I post a follow up review or vlog.

Alas, DNFed at about 51%. I'll not be giving it a star rating because I didn't complete it, but it would be at about a 3 star if I did. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I agree with the reviewers that describe this as more of a literary fiction type of book, and that's all fine and dandy, but really not what I'm looking for at the moment. I didn't really latch on to the characters (beyond finding the contradictions in Dolly's character interesting), and I found the switching around in time a little confusing. The prose was also a bit purple in a way that I didn't particularly enjoy. It really became a slog to get through, to the point where I stopped reading it all together.

However, the explicit comparison of zombies/vampires/whatever to chronic illness was really cool! That framing was thought-provoking, and I liked the way the text struggled with the implications of that. Unfortunately, the execution of this was just so not for me. The very philosophical conversations that Thea and Vladimir have were at first interesting, then just a bit needlessly pretentious. I have never been one for this kind of philosophizing, so it makes total sense to me why I wouldn't care for it.

I totally understand why a lot of people loved this book, and there are many people in my life that I would recommend it to. However, it was not for me.

Wasn’t for me, sorry, but thank you for the opportunity to read - first 20% or so was a little slow for me so couldn’t get into it.

The author really has it in for the medical profession and scientists.
The main plot has the crazy idea of implanting chips into the brain and do away with sleep to make everybody more productive. Crazy idea to me but the majority get the implant and surprise surprise things go wrong and they all turn into powerful zombies and society collapses. The scientists tend to consider these zombies no longer human which allows them to treat and experiment on them in a different manner compared to normal humans.
The author often compares this behaviour to that of the medical profession’s dealings with post viral syndrome where lack of knowledge and understanding and compassion makes them regard these patients as not normal and to be suffering from anxiety at worst. The scientist Thea’s mother is a sufferer from chronic fatigue and gets no help at all and slowly declines. Thea is determined to cure her.
The scientists are ensconced in the Tower of London and the zombie hordes are kept out. But one of the Awakened seems different from the rest and he is allowed in. Vladimir and Thea have many philosophical discussions about everything but the other scientists want to examine Vladimir to find out what is different about him.
This not my usual type of book but I quite enjoyed all the debate between Thea and Vladimir. And the ongoing thread regarding the potential cure of the Awakened Zombies keeps the story focused and not become too philosophical.
Because of dream like state I am not sure if I understood the finish or whether it was meant to be understandable. A very thought provoking read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the ARC

Thanks to the Author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

This book isn’t my usual genre for reading but I do often enjoy films or tv shows of the dystopian and horror category.

I liked the premise of it and a few parts of it seemed really interesting. It was written like a diary but I couldn’t necessarily see a direction that it was going in.

It wasn’t my preferred writing style but I do appreciate how much effort it takes to write a book like this.

Unfortunately for me it was a DNF at 30%. But I can tell people who read these genres would really enjoy it.

3.5 Stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Awakened is set in a dystopian world, where the Sleepless are wandering the streets and a handful of scientists are retreated in the Tower of London trying to undo what they have caused.

The book is written from the view of Thea in diary format, who is one of the scientists in the tower. The chapters are quite short, which was very engaging for me and a reason I finished the book quite fast.

It is a slower book, that focuses mostly on the inner works of the main character and their interaction between the scientists. We also encounter flashbacks and dream sequences frequently. If you expect an action packed dystopian sci-fi, this is not the book that delivers that. But if you like some deep exploration and discussions about moral, ethics, exploring illness/disability etc. Then this is the right book.

I enjoyed the book and I was surprised in how many different themes are explored and discussed it certainly gives a lot of food for thought. At times I was confused about the timelines/flachbacks, what is real, what is a dream. I assume it is on purpose and if you are an enjoyer of confusion(like me at times) I highly recommend it.

Unfortunately the ending left me a bit too confused and I did not get what was happening and did not feel like a lot of questions were answered. hence why it is a 3 star read for me. It was entertaining and thought provoking and I hope it will find the right audience out there. As I am very sure it has the potential to be THE book for many people, who enjoy character driven stories and exploring themes of moral and ethics.

Although the premise was met with this book, the delivery of the subject matter wasn’t quite as I had expected. It was a bit more philosophical and heavy than I had expected. This isn’t a bad thing, just not as I had anticipated. I would have perhaps approached it differently, and read it elsewhere had I known. I did find the premise very interesting, but it did take a while to get into. It’s not a light easygoing thriller, but it’s still a book I would recommend.