I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all of its little fantasy elements mixed in with an original but yet familiar mythology and god based magic system.
The world never stumbled! We had so many different locations (a physical quest allows us to see lots of the land) and I love the wild woods and then the busy town and how we see it through Artair’s naivety and Elver’s cynicism.
I love trhe Sleepless – people who have two souls inside them and when one goes to sleep the other wakes up. It is a very Jekyll and Hyde style situation but neither of the souls have any control over it. The Sleepless are kept inside a monastery guarded by archers because their secondary souls are a danger to society. Artair/Lucian was just perfect and honestly I need more double soul love interests in my fantasy reads because why not?

Once again, Jen Williams has created a world and a story and knocked it out of the park for what I expected.

Elver is a young woman who has suffered the worst of humankind's cruelty and comes out of it to find a simple life living in the forest of Monsters. Artair is a young man who has been locked away for the safety of everyone around him, after all when he falls asleep bad things happen. Fate has woven the lives of these two people together, to save a young monster and maybe the world. But does the human world deserve to be saved by those it vilifies?

This is another wonderfully rich fantasy world from the mind of Jen Williams. She has brought it off the page so artfully that it lives in your mind as you cheer her lead characters along their paths. The characters are complex, full, flawed, and sweet and are brought to life in realistic ways. A wonderful step into the young adult arena that many are going to love.

The Sleepless is Jen Williams first tale for an YA audience and after reading and LOVING her previous adult series I couldn't wait to get my hands on this... and it didn't disappoint. Fast paced and full of magic and monsters I couldn't stop turning the page.

Introducing a world full of gods and monsters who roam the world alongside mortals and whose games and arguments often get people caught in the crossfire. The Sleepless follows Elver a guardian of the forest, who was once human, Artair a boy who's freedom was taken away when it was discovered he was one of the sleepless whose body is shared with a evil spirt and Lucian the one who awakes when Artair sleeps. They are complex characters who find themselves constantly questioning what it means to be monstrous. Is one monstrous merely because of what they are, or is it there actions which make them so. I adore Elver, her rage at the world feels real, she's complex and I couldn't stop wanting to find out what would happen next.

The villain felt real, as did their motivations though the actions were wrong you can understand what drove them into the darkness. Overall, the I adored this tale, I loved the gods and the magic system, the world was intricate and well developed and I found myself drawn into the plot in a way that just wouldn't let up.

There are so many wonderful elements to this book; beautiful writing, solid world building, interesting characters and a truly unique magic system.

The world itself is probably the strongest hitter here, it felt immersive and interesting, and I love the idea behind the magic system and the gods in this world

Unfortunately, there were just a few bits that pulled my rating down.

The plot ends up being a little meandering – while I understand the need for the side quests, ultimately, they made the primary goal feel unimportant as there was little sense of urgency or pace around it. It was hard to feel the time crunch for the goal when there were constantly other tasks leading us astray.

My biggest gripe though is the lack of romantic spark. While I enjoyed the characters, it felt like we never got to see them truly connecting. It seemed that we kept getting glimmers of this romance and tension but it was always snatched away too soon, which ultimately meant the romance didn’t feel particularly believable. I wish we had seen more of them connecting and more tension here.

Overall, this was an enjoyable YA Fantasy that was a solid read. It was very obvious to me that the author is a seasoned professional and someone who knows their craft. While this might not have hit the spot for me, it has definitely made me interested to see what else Jen Williams has created.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

Elver, an orphan, has been bought as a sacrifice to a God. Dropped into a sea of writhing serpents to her death, she is saved by another God and given the gift of life with a unique ability to communicate with the jih (magical creatures). She is also poisonous to anyone through touch so has never felt closeness with humans.

‘Welcome home, poison child.’

Athair is one of The Sleepless and lives within a monastery that keeps him safe behind bars at night. While he sleeps the evil thing possessing him awakens causing chaos.

When their unlikely paths cross, what chaos will reign.

This is another unique World and magic system from one of my favourite authors. Jen Williams has the ability to build characters with complex back stories that you become so attached and addicted to the pages. This is the beginning of an exciting new series and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.

Thank you to Jen Williams and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Alas, this one was not for me! The characters and plot never fully came together for me and I found myself struggling to continue reading. Despite this, I do want to note that the writing was absolutely gorgeous and there's a ton of creativity on display here - I would be interested in reading more from this author in the future. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance.