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Review: The Sleepless by Jen Williams

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The Sleepless by Jen Williams

The Sleepless
Jen Williams
Wednesday Books
Published September 30, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Sleepless

Godkiller meets Powerless in this epic gods-and-monsters romantic fantasy from British Fantasy Award-winning author Jen Williams.

Welcome to a world where gods and monsters roam the earth . . .

Elver is the guardian of the wild and dangerous monster forest. Saved from the brink of death by a god, her skin will poison anyone she touches.

Artair is on a mission—one that takes him face-to-face with Elver at her most ruthless. But her defenses are useless when she discovers he’s the only human impervious to her deadly gift. For Artair isn’t human: he’s one of the Sleepless, cursed to share his body with an evil spirit.

Lucian inhabits their body while Artair sleeps, and he is hell-bent on manipulating Elver for his dark purposes. But Elver is harbouring secrets too, and she has her own reasons for feigning an alliance with these two souls.

Caught in the crossfire of gods, monsters, and a dangerous magic they can barely understand, it is only a matter of time before the paths the three of them choose to take will set alight the very foundations of their world.

With a love triangle like you’ve never seen it, incredible world-building, brilliant writing, and a dangerous quest, The Sleepless will have you spellbound.

My Review

Yeah, I have to give the cover copy credit; this book definitely had me spellbound by the end. The story world is so different. In some ways, there’s so much worldbuilding that I felt really immersed in the pantheon of gods and their history with each other. Both main characters are deeply devoted to their way of life. They come from very different backgrounds, but they find some critical common ground. Both are incredibly isolated, and they’ve each assumed their lives must be that way. Their experiences make it impossible for them to return to those isolated, closed lives, though. I loved that for them, and I love that as part of their character growth.

Lucian is also a really interesting character. I flip-flopped back and forth on how I felt about him multiple times. Is he misunderstood? Evil? Has he changed because of Elver’s kindness? What happens if he recovers his memories and remembers who he was?

There’s also a very slow-burning romance/love triangle in the story. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but actually, I think the author pulls the romance together nicely.

This is the first part of a duology, and the ending shows that. There’s a partial resolution, but it’s clear that the characters have more still to do before they can be truly free.

The Sleepless is the first novel by Jen Williams that I’ve read, and I definitely want to read more. Currently, the conclusion to the duology is scheduled for publication in May 2026. I’ve already got it on my list to read next year!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used a few times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Brief, very vague reference to sex.

Spiritual Content
The story world contains a pantheon of gods, each of whom have different abilities, temples, and followers. One god demands blood sacrifices in exchange for power or attention. Another god uses light to burn away the presence of magic from other gods, which sometimes causes death.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A group of people throw a child over a cliff into the sea to appease a god. (She does not die.) Some characters do not sleep. Instead, when they go unconscious, another person “wakes up” inside them and that alternate person is sometimes violent. These Sleepless are imprisoned in a monastery where their others cannot hurt anyone. One character intends to sacrifice others to their god in exchange for power. One character’s touch is toxic to humans. She uses this to incapacitate or hurt those who wish to harm her or her allies. Brief battles between characters occur. References to the death of children as a result of a conflict between gods.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol at one point. It’s unclear whether they knew the drinks were alcoholic. They received them while hiding from pursuers.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: We Fell Apart by E. Lockhart

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We Fell Apart
E. Lockhart
Delacorte Press
Published November 4, 2025

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About We Fell Apart

This gorgeous edition of We Fell Apart will feature stunning sprayed edges, unique printed endpapers, and an exclusive foil-stamped case!

#1 New York Times bestselling author E. Lockhart returns to the world of her TikTok sensation We Were Liars with all her signature beachy gothic atmosphere, family intrigue, and high-stakes romance.

The invitation arrives out of the blue.

In it, Matilda discovers a father she’s never met. Kingsley Cello is a visionary, a reclusive artist. And when he asks her to spend the summer at his seaside home, Hidden Beach, Matilda expects to find a part of herself she’s never fully understood.

Instead, she finds Meer, her long-lost, openhearted brother; Brock, a former child star battling demons; and brooding, wild Tatum, who just wants her to leave their crumbling sanctuary.

With Kingsley nowhere to be seen, Matilda must delve into the twisted heart of Hidden Beach to uncover the answers she’s desperately craving. But secrets run thicker than blood, and blood runs like seawater.

And everyone here is lying.

My Review

I was so excited to return to the We Were Liars story world, which is weird, because it’s a trauma-filled landscape. I love the characters and the way that everything feels a bit distorted, like looking at a story through funhouse mirrors. While this isn’t a Halloween-themed story, and it has an eerie quality that makes it feel like the perfect October read.

Matilda is great. She’s vulnerable because of her abandonment issues and desperate search for identity and permanence. But she’s fierce and practical and not easily pushed aside or silenced.

When she arrives at her father’s house, she finds a community of people who seem adrift in their own ways. It’s a strange group, and I felt driven to keep reading as much because I wanted to understand why everyone was behaving so strangely as wanting to know whether Matilda would finally meet her father.

At first, the secrets unravel slowly, and they seem fairly innocuous. Okay, so her brother isn’t great at cleaning up after himself. Not too serious. Then, things start to unravel more quickly, and Matilda starts to wonder how deep the treachery goes.

Once I hit the 60% mark, I read straight through to the end of the book. I remember really being enamored with We Were Liars when it came out, but I think I like this book just as much.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used a few times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. At one point someone holds a pair of scissors to another person’s throat, threatening them. Someone injects another person with a sedative without their consent. This happens a second time, off-scene. References to a fire that killed several teenagers. (Happens before Matilda reaches the town where it occurred.) References to a car accident that killed two people. A dog kills several young birds. Characters discover the body of someone who has died.

Drug Content
References to addiction and recovery. Matilda and some friends drink alcohol together one night. They wind up sick and faced with terrible hangovers the next day.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Crimson Throne by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

The Crimson Throne
Sara Raasch and Beth Revis
Sourcebooks Fire
Published October 7, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Crimson Throne

Powerless meets Reign in this new historical romantasy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Night of the Witch.

Samson Calthorpe’s curse has isolated him from everyone he has ever cared about. So, when the opportunity arises to break the curse, he grabs it. All he has to do for his freedom is risk his life and become a royal spy, using every bit of the skills and resolve he’s picked up on the streets of London to infiltrate the court of the Scottish Queen and uncover a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.

For years, Alyth Graham has been protecting Mary Queen of Scots from threats both physical and magical, including the Queen’s own husband, Lord Darnley. Alyth is more than meets the eye though, the child of a fae prince and a human mother, she is among the most powerful protectors in Scotland: guardians sworn to defend against the Red Caps, a bloodthirsty fae clan . . . that Lord Darnley is in league with to overtake Scotland.

As Alyth and Samson circle each other in the volatile and glamorous Scottish court, both seek to uncover threats to their own countries. They have one unifying link: their shared hatred and suspicion of Lord Darnley…and their undeniable pull towards each other. Using secret codes, hidden messages, and a little bit of magic, Alyth and Samson unravel a plot centuries in the making. Lord Darnley is only a pawn, and in this game, the queen takes all.

“A biting historical fantasy series launch that fuses Tudor-era courtcraft with Celtic fae legend… …confronting duty, destiny, and betrayal” —Publishers Weekly

“An atmospheric fantasy brimming with intrigue and heart.” —Kirkus Reviews

My Review

I really liked Night of the Witch, so I had this book on my reading list as soon as I saw it announced. This one is steeped in Scottish history with legendary creatures threaded throughout. I liked the way the authors blended history and myth together to tell a sort of alternate, magic-infused account of the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.

As you’d expect with a romantasy, Alyth and Samson have an immediate, powerful connection, though it takes some time for them to stop denying it. I think it really works because though they should be enemies, they both have many reasons to question what’s happening and whether they really belong on opposing sides. I like that it takes a bit for them to overcome their resistance to their feelings of attraction. It created a lot of tension, which really kept me reading.

I’m very happy that I read this book. I think I like this even more than Night of the Witch, though I enjoyed that one, too. The sequel will absolutely be on my reading list next year.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
References to Queen Mary’s Catholic faith. Alyth is part fae, and has some ability to do magic. Other characters share similar lineage. The story contains other characters and creatures from Scottish folkstories.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Characters use magical artifacts to control and/or kill others. Brief descriptions of characters attacking and killing someone.

Drug Content
One character is often drunk.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews

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Hazelthorn
C.G. Drews
Feiwel & Friends
Published October 28, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Hazelthorn

CG Drews, acclaimed author of Don’t Let the Forest In, returns with another deeply unsettling and yet hauntingly beautiful tale of murder and botanical body horror, perfect for fans of Andrew Joseph White and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Evander has lived like a ghost in the forgotten corners of the Hazelthorn estate ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, when he was a child. For his safety, Evander has been given three ironclad rules to follow:

He can never leave the estate. He can never go into the gardens. And most importantly, he can never again be left alone with Byron’s charming, underachieving grandson, Laurie.

That last rule has been in place ever since Laurie tried to kill Evander seven years ago, and yet somehow Evander is still obsessed with him.

When Byron suddenly dies, Evander inherits Hazelthorn’s immense gothic mansion and acres of sprawling grounds, along with the entirety of the Lennox-Hall family’s vast wealth. But Evander’s sure his guardian was murdered, and Laurie may be the only one who can help him find the killer before they come for Evander next.

Perhaps even more concerning is how the overgrown garden is refusing to stay behind its walls, slipping its vines and spores deeper into the house with each passing day. As the family’s dark secrets unravel alongside the growing horror of their terribly alive, bloodthirsty garden, Evander needs to find out what he’s really inheriting before the garden demands to be fed once more.

My Review

If you wanted to read The Secret Garden as a horror novel, you need this book. It’s intense from the early pages. Events unfold so quickly and with so much suspense that there’s hardly a moment to catch your breath.

If you’ve read C.G. Drews work before, the loveable, tortured characters won’t surprise you at all. Evander is so eager to please and so desperate to see the good in others, even if he can’t imagine any good in himself. He believes some truly toxic things as the start of the story. As the plot unfolds, he begins unpacking some of those ideas and discarding the uglier ones.

From the beginning, he’s obsessed with Laurie, the boy who apparently tried to kill him years before the story begins. I was a little hedgy about the obsessive feelings because I struggle to get into a story where the enemies fall for one another too easily because *plot*.

However, by now I should know that I can trust the author to reveal reasons the obsession makes sense, and eventually, Evander’s feelings do make sense.

While this isn’t exactly a Halloween story, it’s got all the goopy, gory, darkness the genre promises, and Drews’ signature tortured, yearning romance. Reading this book was such a wild ride. Sometimes I wanted to look away, but more often, I wanted to know what happened. I’m already looking forward to what the author publishes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. In one scene, the kissing leads to some violence.

Spiritual Content
Sentient or paranormally responsive plants.

Violent Content
Body horror, blood and gore. Some scenes show child abuse (locking a child in their room for extended time periods, physically harming them, forcing them to take medication), and disordered eating. One character feels intense shame about the way their mind works, which seems to result, at least in part, from ableist caretakers. Some scenes show a character eating or wanting to eat strange things.

Drug Content
Evander’s guardians force him to take a sedative, telling him it will help with his “episodes”.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

MMGM Review: Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign by Sara F. Schacter

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Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign
Sara F. Schacter
Fitzroy Books
Published October 14, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign

After years of moving, Georgia’ s family is staying put. What’ s the best part of her new forever home? Fellow science fan Izzy!

Georgia feels lucky to be starting sixth grade with her first true friend. But when Georgia’ s science project accidentally reveals a secret— one Izzy trusted her to keep— their friendship unravels. Even worse, Georgia’ s archenemy swoops in to steal Izzy away, leaving Georgia cut off and lonely. How can Georgia fix her mess?

She’s surprised to find the answer in a science genetically, all human beings are more than 99 percent the same. Really? Georgia can’ t believe she and the friend-stealer are even 1 percent the same! But as Georgia fights to win Izzy back, she discovers that enemies can struggle with loneliness too— and Georgia is stunned to discover why. It will take a 99 percent campaign to make things right.

My Review

The sticky note campaign in this book reminded me of a nonfiction title I read years ago called I Wish My Teacher Knew by Kyle Schwartz. The campaign in that book wasn’t the same, but the use of sticky notes is similar.

At its heart, this book is about a girl who’s struggling to find her place among her peers. She feels like she only has one friend, and thinks the relationship is threatened when someone else wants to be friends with her bestie. That problem feels pretty real for the age group.

In the story, Georgia also thinks about herself as a scientist, and thinks of that as being really different than both her parents. Her dad is an actor, and her mom is a baker. I like that the story kind of spun that idea around to show how important creativity is to the field of science. It helped Georgia see herself as a creative person, even though her creativity looks different than her parents’.

I also really liked the 99 Percent Campaign. When Georgia learns that humans have more than 99% of their genes in common, it changes how she thinks about her classmates. She begins identifying ways they’re similar rather than focusing on their differences.

I love that lesson, and it certainly resonates as an important reminder for today.

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy books by Gillian McDunn or Kate Messner. It would make a great class read-aloud or book to read with a small group. The group could then recreate the 99 Percent Campaign from the story and note the effects.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a crush.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Brief references to adults saying cruel, critical things to their kids. Georgia uses a photo editor to make an unflattering picture of her classmate. A group of boys picks on another boy.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.

Review: The House on Rondo by Debra J. Stone

Book Review and Content, Historical, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

The House on Rondo
Debra J. Stone
University of Minnesota Press
Published October 7, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The House on Rondo

A young girl reckons with the demolition of a Black Saint Paul neighborhood to make way for the Interstate in the early 1960s

When thirteen-year-old Zenobia has to leave her friends and spend the summer at Grandma’s while Mama recovers from a stroke, life seems so unfair. But then the eviction letters start arriving throughout her grandparents’ neighborhood, and white men chalk arrows to mark the gas and water lines, and a new world of unfairness unfolds before her. It’s 1963, and Zenobia’s grandparents’ house on Rondo Avenue in Saint Paul—like all the homes in this thriving Black community—is targeted for demolition to make way for the new Interstate Highway 94.

As Zenobia gradually learns about what’s planned for the Rondo neighborhood and what this means for everyone who lives there, she discovers how her story is intertwined with the history of her family, all the way back to Great Grandma Zenobia and the secrets Grandma Essie held close about the reason for her light skin. With the destruction of the neighborhood looming, Zenobia takes a stand on behalf of her community, joining her no-nonsense neighbor, onetime cowgirl Mrs. Ruby Pearl, in a protest and ultimately getting arrested. Though Zenobia is grounded for a month, her punishment seems of little consequence in comparison to what is happening all around her. Even though the demolition continues, she is proud to discover the power and connection in protesting injustice.

The House on Rondo captures the heartbreak, resistance, and resilience that marks a community sacrificed in the name of progress—a “progress” that never seems to favor Black families and neighborhoods and that haunts cities like Saint Paul to this day. As Zenobia learns what can be destroyed and what cannot, her story teaches us that joy, community, and love persist, even amid violence and loss.

My Review

This is part novel and part historical account of the destruction of a Black neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1963. The characters are fictional, but the home where Zenobia lives was a real place with the history mentioned in the book. The book includes photographs of the places mentioned or of similar events and people.

The narrative begins and ends with Zenobia’s perspective. As the story introduces new characters, a short chapter shows readers pertinent scenes from that person’s history or present. For example, after Zenobia’s dad drives the children to their grandmother’s house, he thinks back on his wife’s recent stroke.

Zenobia is a curious, intelligent girl who’s old enough to have questions about what’s happening to the neighborhood. She visits neighbors and talks to her friends. This creates a picture of the neighborhood as a whole unit. It shows how the individual families can relocate, but the community is lost. It also shows how hard people worked for their homes and how poorly the government treated them.

The historical information throughout the book really sets this one apart. It anchors the story in a particular time and paints a vivid picture. Lots of young readers won’t know about the events described in the book. The compelling characters keep the story engaging, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. (Between adults)

Spiritual Content
Zenobia encounters a spirit of a boy who died in her grandmother’s house long ago.

Violent Content
Two people participate in a sit-in protest and are arrested by police. A child finds a woman who has passed away from a medical issue.

Drug Content
One character’s mom is an alcoholic.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.