Mundie Moms

Friday, November 19, 2010

Book Review- Sleepless


By Cyn Balog
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Released on July 13th, 2010
Source- Bought
2.5 stars- It was Okay, I didn't like as much as I wanted to.

Eron DeMarchelle isn't supposed to feel this connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce his human charges to sleep. Though he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to do so. After all, becoming too involved in one human's life could prevent him from helping others get their needed rest.
But he can't deny that he feels something for Julia, a lonely girl with fiery red hair and 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. In the past, Eron has broken rules to protect Julia, but now, when she seems to need him more than ever, he can't reach her. Eron's time as a Sandman is coming to a close, and his replacement doesn't seem to care about his charges. Worse, Julia is facing dangers she doesn't recognize, and Eron, as he transitions back to being human, may be the only one who can save her. . . .
Even once they've become human again, Sandmen are forbidden to communicate with their charges. But Eron knows he won't be able to forget Julia. Will he risk everything for a chance to be with the girl he loves? (quoted from Goodreads)

I was really drawn to Sleepless by both the cover (it's a catchy cover) and the premise. The story follows Julia, who's just lost her boyfriend in a tragic accident and Eron DeMarchelle, who's a Sandman and has been one for the last 100 years. Now that his time is set to expire, Eron will become human again as soon as his replacement takes over. To not giveaway any spoilers, the new Sandman wants to stop Eron from becoming human, as Eron has fallen for Julia, the girl he's watched over since she was a baby and recently sworn to protect, it's not the first time he's protected her.

I found Sleepless to be very unique, as I've not read a book about Sandman before. I liked that part of the story, and I liked Eron, but I had a very hard time really getting into the story and liking any of the other characters. The story is told from both Julia and and Eron's point of views, which worked great for the story. I really wanted to like Julia more, but I felt like I didn't get to really know her until towards the every end of the book.

I felt like I was able to get to know Eron more, as he reminisces about his life in Italy and why his family immigrated to The United States, and seeing how he struggled with being human 100 years after he has been a sandman. In watching Eron and Julia's relationship grow, I felt that there was a couple things missing. I didn't feel a connection to them, nor did I feel they had a strong connection to keep me invested in the story, until the last few pages of the book.

I felt the ending was a little too sudden and wrapped up things a little too quickly. I was hoping to get to know more about the characters and to see where their story would continue, especially with one character who's choices through out the story directly effected Julia and Eron, and in the end, I felt his actions were excused a bit to too quickly.

While I had wanted to like Sleepless more than I did, I think it's a book that will appeal to many readers who like unique spins on fairy tales and myths. It's not a read with strong character chemistry or in-depth characters, but a short, light hearted read you can easily read in a couple hours while sitting on a warm sandy beach, or cuddled up under the blankets, sitting in front of a fire.

3 comments:

  1. I read this book a month or so too and I have to agree with everything that you said. I think that the take on sandmen as being the fantastical beings are super unique, and I think that the book had a lot of potential to be really great, but unfortunately it did not live up to that potential... :/

    Avery
    http://averysbooknook.blogspot.com/

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  2. I own this book but haven't read it, yet. I'm looking forward to the mythology. V balanced review, MMs.

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  3. Avery- Thank you for your comments. I really appreciate them. I really wanted to love this book. I agree with you that the sandman aspect of it was very fascinating. I agree, the book did have a lot of potential, but it just didn't live up it like I was hoping it would.

    Sophie- I can't wait to hear what you think about it.

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