The Sleepless (The Sleepless, #1)

THE SLEEPLESS is an engaging YA fantasy with a lot of action/adventure and a touch of romance. Elver was an orphan, selected to be a sacrifice to the eels in the name of a god, and though she died as a human, she was transformed by the Queen of Serpents into a jih of poison and serves as a guardian for the jih in the forest. Her skin is poison to humans - but not to Artair.

Artair is one of the sleepless, so named because anytime he falls asleep, his body is inhabited by an evil spirit. He lives at a monastery where he serves his days in quiet simplicity and spends his nights locked in his room while the spirit takes over. Lucian is the spirit who takes over at night, having been locked into a room at the monastery for too long. However, he is not quite the evil being Artair thinks that he is.

When a mage comes to the monastery and traps and threatens to kill the sleepless, Artair is forced to do her bidding and capture a baby jih from the forest. However, Elver cannot allow that to happen, and together, they hatch a plot to save the other sleepless and keep the jih cub safe.

What I loved: This is a lush world that the reader gets to explore as Artair and Elver embark on their quest. The gods walk amongst the people and have different flavors of followers, requests, and magic, and it was interesting to explore these as they encounter them. The world-building was really strong, and I am curious to see how this will continue in other books, as the reader is only introduced to a few of the gods and their followers in this one.

Elver, Artair, and Lucian are all really compelling characters. Elver has complicated feelings toward humanity for what happened to her as well as a bit of kinship with them. As she continues on her journey, this will become even more complex. She has a desperate will to live and is quite clever and passionate - it is easy to see why others are drawn to her. Artair is a quieter character, who has been happy with his lot and the safety he feels that it brings the people around him. As the reader gets to know him and his past, this becomes easy to understand. He cares deeply for the people he knows and will do anything for them.

Lucian is a character that we slowly get to understand during the story, as he is a bit of a mystery. He himself does not know his own past or how he came to inhabit Artair. That being said, his life since then has been a challenge, trapped in a small room with no memories of himself. As the reader gets to know his past, he continues to grow in complexity with a mix of morality. His arc will be interesting to see followed in future books. Other secondary characters like Sunay and Tisk were also really fantastic.

In terms of the romance, it was very slow burn and took a backseat to a lot of the action/adventure. There are some good building scenes, particularly with their journey through a particular temple, that grows this and the complexity of it between Artair and Lucian with Elver. This may continue more in the next book.

Themes around freedom, morality, sacrifice, friendship, and honesty were all really interesting in the story and could spark some good discussions in a book group. As this is the first book in the series, there is a strong lead-in to the next book with a bit of mystery teased about a bigger future and where the dust will settle with power shifts. That being said, the main plot is wrapped up nicely with some riveting and shocking scenes towards the end to bring it all together.

Final verdict: THE SLEEPLESS is an engaging YA fantasy with intriguing world-building, thought-provoking themes, and compelling characters.