Without sounding overly dramatic there were times this book left me breathless, like physically trying to catch my breath. I loved it

when i first read the blurb, i was so excited to start reading this - it sounded so intriguing! unfortunately i didn't vibe with this as much as i wanted to.

the characters weren't that well fleshed out. they came across as 18 or younger by the way they were speaking to each other and the "EDs" as they were called were also giving off high school bully vibes. if this was YA, it would've made a lot more sense.

the writing style was simplistic but easy to get through. i did think this book was gonna be better written since it spoke a lot about mental health issues.

i did sometimes like the conversations between natalia and lindsay about the mental health disorders and different issues they were experiencing before being admitted to the facility, but it didn't make me love this story.
it was taking a long time for the plot to start plotting to be honest. nothing remotely interesting happened for such a long time, we just followed natalia's day to day life and it got boring.

this book just wasn't for me but i'm glad i gave this a shot!

wow. wow. wow. this book had my heart and juggled it around inside its cages.
stunning.
after and throughout this book i needed to breathe. i needed to stop. but i never could for long because i had to read on. and sometimes what i felt was also so big i couldn't allow the dwelling. you need to be strong for this book. and if you've been impacted by these themes even as a family this book will get you strongly by the shoulders that have carried these topics.
Natalia is battling a sleep disorder which causes some things she does asleep to be quite drastic. she has no control over these things. one such times its so bad she is sent to a mental facility. and to be honest my anger at these places wasn't healed at all by reading this stuff. argh why are the most vulnerable treated in the worst of ways? power? because they can? because some people are evil sh*** who just want to control and make others feel bad and vulnerable people allow them that?
she does meet someone special this time. in her roomie Lindsey. Lindsey is bright, a ray of a friend. watching these two's friendships bloom is one i felt honoured to read. these two are true beauties. and for each other they couldn't be a more perfect match. a relationship of trueness if ever there was one.
Gabriel is also another brilliantly portrayed character to this book. a stunning story for a character who never deserved the weight on his shoulders of the life hes been dealt. he was a beautiful characters. isn't it weird, you see the theme here? all these people as is most often the case are some of the most nicest,caring beautiful people. and yet and yet....oh i just want to cry for the injustice played on people with these illness.
i want to hold all three of our characters. and i genuinely cared. i cared far too much of how they would fair. and it made me, remind me of how i want to do better for those similar on the outside. i new this already but this book was another sucker punch of how much these wonderful human alongside us need our support and love never judgement or disdain.

i would say to those who are quite close to the themes(and those people will know what i mean) then it might be healing and ok but it might trigger little pieces of you, you know deep down you should possibly just skip by for now. and this ISNT weakness its awareness of the rawness this sort of illness can bring.its always a good thing to avoid things the illness will play with. and i will say that this book will do that. for those even unsure, dont do it to yourself. its ok to do that. its better than ok. and if anyone see a family member you know struggles with these things be aware. be there. and maybe steer them knowing its ok not to read it at this time.

Starting with the good: positive female friendship representation and a mental health story that ends happily. Other than that, however, this book had its drawbacks.
Same Place, Same Stars felt like the epitome of corny mental health lit I thought we left in the 2010s. Some scenes, like the one where the love interest kisses her scars and tells her they are just memories of the toughest battles she's fought and won, felt unbearably cheesy, and the romantic chemistry just wasn't there.
I wish more research had been done on parasomnias in order to write this book. I had a feeling while reading this book that research into parasomnia had been minimal, and the fact that there were no doctors, experts, organizations, or patient advocates mentioned in the acknowledgements further hints at that. Parasomnia is a complex disorder with mental and physical components, and I wish we as readers could have been more informed about it.
Writing about any disorder, but especially rare, stigmatized ones, requires an immense amount of research to portray properly. This book unfortunately missed the mark.

Thank you to Netgalley and Katey Taylor for the ARC! This in no way impacts my review, all opinions are my own.