ARC Review: Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Title: Sleepless
Author: Cyn Balog
Available: Now
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Number of Pages: 224
Reading Level: Young Adult




3 out of 5 Stars










Description from Goodreads:


Eron De Marchelle isn't supposed to feel a connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce human charges to sleep. While he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to--after all, getting too involved in one human's life would prevent him helping his other charges get their needed rest. 

But he can't deny that he feels something for Julia. Julia, with her fiery red hair and her sad dreams. Just weeks ago, her boyfriend died in a car accident, and Eron can tell that she feels more alone than ever. Eron was human once too, many years ago, and he remembers how it felt to lose the one he loved. Eron has always felt protective of Julia . . . but now, when she seems to need him more than ever, he can't seem to reach her . . . 

Sandmen are forbidden from communicating with humans outside their dreams. But will Eron be willing to risk everything for a chance to be with the person he loves?


My thoughts:


Julia is a teen who is trying to forget a nightmare she experienced as a child. She finally found Griffin, a boy who sees her for her, and not the girl who made the paper’s front page. Always the joker, Julia thinks he must be at it again when she receives a phone call telling her that he was killed. Only this time it isn’t a joke. He was killed in a car accident after leaving her home. 


Instead of going where the dead usually do, Griffin was offered the chance to serve as a Sandman. Yep, like the ones that sprinkle sand in your eyes and help you sleep. Julia’s current Sandman is responsible for Griffin’s training. After the training is complete, Eron will have the chance to live a human life. Eron isn’t supposed to develop an attachment to his charges, but there is something about Julia he can’t ignore. When he gets a taste of humanity he can’t stay away from her. Griffin is mad, and sets out to complicate things even if that means violating the Sandman rules he is expected to live by.


This book was cute, but not without faults. The plot moved slowly, and I didn’t connect with the characters like I’d hoped. Maybe if it had been longer the author would have had a chance to make the characters more complex, and also create a more intricate plot. It seems a common issue that the shorter books lack the “meat” I find necessary to become attached to, and invested in the characters. With it being on the shorter side I was able to read it in an afternoon, so no regrets. I do hope to check out some of her other novels to compare.

Cyn Balog on the web:

Website | Twitter

*Received from Around the World Tours