Loved this book, great descriptions and a new type of book. It was a book which I didn't want to put down. Was she seeing things or was it just from exhaustion??

This is marketed as 'the book that will keep you awake'. Unfortunately, for me, I didn't find it that gripping. It's a decent read about a college student who suffers with insomnia and who feels she is being stalked, or, is it her imagination?
I liked the premise and quite enjoyed the overall read. I found the first few chapters extremely frustrating as she consistently told the reader she couldn't sleep, but, also couldn't bear to tell you why? This wore a bit thin after a while.

There are some good characters and an element of 'whodunnit' so, overall, an easy 3* Good Read as it is surprising in parts and maintained my interest to find out the 'what'? and the 'why'?

Thanks to NetGalley and Goodreads for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.

Great book! I love my sleep and can't imagine not getting enough so the premise of the storyline appealed to me. Becky goes through a lot and I veered from sympathy to distrust of her throughout. Great ending that I won't spoil.

As an insomniac, I was drawn to this book and fascinated to read the treatment of this issue which can have such an impact on a person’s quality of life. This book genuinely kept me guessing. While it was fast paced throughout, I think it was wrapped up a little bit too quickly at the end. A really gripping read - highly recommend for people who love psychological thrillers.

This book is a gripping psychological thriller,which will take away the readers into a completely different world.
When a tragedy strikes Rebecca Braithwet ,it changes her life forever.She confronts a paranoical situation and starts becoming a victim of insomnia.She feels some one is following her,someone is trying to harm her.How she tries to come out of this problems forms the basis of this story.
Narration is brilliant and simple.Readers are taken along with all the sufferings that Becky goes through,her sleepless nights,her mental sufferings,her internal conflicts and her fears.
Ending part is the most interesting one.The plot develops into a beautiful suspense thriller,with a completely unexpecting twist .
I loved the whole concept and the cover page is intriguing .

A well written fast paced psychological thriller. Told from Becky’s perspective. Becky is a young woman who suffers from insomnia following the death of her brother. The story see how this impacts on Becky’s daily life. What is interesting is that from only reading the book from Becky’s point of view, you don’t understand until the end of the book how little information you are receiving about why she is is the way she is. The ending of the book was nice surprise as I hadn’t expected it but, I would have liked a little more of an expansion on the ending to allow for complete closure from the story as I had a couple of questions unanswered at the end. But all in all a fantastic read.

J E Rowney is a new author for me and I truly enjoyed her work so much I read it in two sessions.
I found that I just wanted to keep reading to discover the mystery of the past, the excitement of what would happen next and the thrilling finale at the end.
Most enjoyable and I look forward to reading more of her work.

I absolutely love psychological thrillers and a lot of authors just use the same theme over and over. But J.E. Romney found something new and refreshing and this book is a winner. We all know that insomnia is real and can affect your life and mood and relationships. This book details what happens when you go too long without being able to sleep and how your mind starts playing tricks on you and can make you paranoid. It’s a great read and I definitely recommend it

This wasn’t a bad read but a really slow burn up until the last chapter.
Wasn’t quite The thriller as I had suspected.

Rebecca (Becky) used to have no trouble sleeping. However, she has had insomnia since June 16, 2018! Yet, Becky passed her A levels and went on to Wessex University. This, to prove that what had caused the insomnia would not stop Becky from living her life. (Also that what did happen was not for naught.)

At uni, Becky makes friends with Cally - who also lives in her dorm house. This is difficult because Becky does not want to be "watched" - she wants to blend in...Having just given up on therapy (now 300 miles away from home) Becky still needs her meds. She goes to the uni physician who recommends counselling for the insomnia, but does write Becky a prescription.

To be truthful, Becky never has told anyone the whole true story of what really happened with Jordan. .
Also, she has flashbacks having to do with Jordan, who is now dead. An Overall OK read. Great character depictions.
..
The reader is kept in suspense as to what really happened to Becky and Jordan...


Many Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for a chance to read and review

I liked the book until I got to the final chapter preceding the Epilogue, and then, I felt cheated and terribly disappointed by the ending. The author had a good thing going but, unfortunately, blew it with the ending. We meet Becky, suffering from insomnia since the tragic event that killed her brother. Becky’s insomnia leaves her questioning what is real and what is her imagination. Does she have a stalker? Is someone entering her room lighting candles, or did she light them herself? We move along in the book, getting to know Becky bit by bit, as we listen to Becky’s internal dialog. I loved the way the author tackled the internal dialog because I could imagine the mundane thoughts and the back and forth conversation Becky was having with herself. But then the ending came. One question was answered, but I’m sad to say the the ending left more unanswered than answered. The ending felt rushed, to the point I went back to make sure I hadn’t accidentally skipped over a portion of the book before reaching the Epilogue. Super disappointing for a book that was enjoyable up to that point.

Also, this was not an LGBTQIA book! Having a character or two who are possibly LGBTQIA, or curious, or questioning, does not make a book fall into the LGBTQIA genre.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It is set to be published in October 2020.

"I Can't Sleep" by J.E. Rowney made for a very disappointing read.
It's neither a thriller, nor a mystery and definitely not a suspense novel. It's exactly what it says on the cover and - sadly - nothing more: the self-pitying inner monologue of a whiny, completely passive teenager who complains non-stop about her insomnia and does pretty much nothing else. For the WHOLE book.
She also has very poor vocabulary (has the author ever heard of something called a thesaurus?) and no logic thinking at all. "I realised that I was sitting in silence, and that I probably looked like an idiot. I think a lot about what other people think. Apart from when I don't. Sometimes I don't think about that at all." This paragraph is one of many examples of both flaws.
The narration drags on and on and on about the tiniest, most insignificant details of the protagonist's boring days, and nothing much happens.
Basically, the protagonist is the walking and talking caricature of the sulking, moody teenager, she "can't be bothered" to do just about anything. She repeats it again and again.
Yes, there are A LOT of repetitions in this novel. And typos. And grammar slipups.
And let's not even go into how many times the word "f#@k" is used. I counted it three times in one paragraph, six times in one page... I understand there can be swearing in a novel, but ANY word that gets repeated that often is going to annoy me, not just the word "f#@k".
As for the supposed thrill, or mystery, it's a pure travesty, and the "big reveal" in the end is anything but that.
And please, don't tell me this is an LGBT novel, because it's not! Just because a couple of characters obscurely imply in passing that they might - or might not - be attracted to people of the same sex? That's not enough to make a story an LGBT novel!

#ICantSleep #NetGalley
Thanks NetGalley, BooksGoSocail and J.E. Rowney for an early copy to review.
A short fast intense gripping thriller that will keep you up till you know what's going on. The ending is sudden and you will keep questioning yourself along with Becky regarding all the events. Did that really happen or her sleep deprived mind created all this?
I loved it and do recommend it.

First, a thank you to NetGalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a strangely difficult read for which to write a review. I very rarely read novellas and I have to say that for such a short books it packs rather unusual punch. Minimal action occurs externally, however, an awful lots happens internally. A few reviewers have indicated that they didn't find the protagonist particularly empathetic - this was not the case for me. Perhaps it's because I've been there done that and I can say with authority that severe insomnia and it's true, a prolonged deprivation of sleep does result in physical and mental lethargy - imagine your brain encased in an enormous cotton ball - and does ultimately lead to a questionable reality. Unfortunately, this particular brand of familiarity did make it difficult to enjoy. However, this is not to say that it's a good book and in this age of mammoth books, it's brevity is a delight!

I can’t Sleep is a fascinating read about a girl, Becky who struggles with insomnia as her past is still hunts her. Is Becky’s brain really tricks her, or someone is after her? A kind of fast paced book that most of us want to finish in one sit eagerly chasing after more and more. The reader can get involved very quickly with the characters and the story itself. Absolutely number one read for anyone who likes thriller and mystery genres. After this book I’m looking forward to read more from the author.

This book is not easy to read, if you have no prior knowledge of the true effect of insomnia. Several times I found myself backtrack to make sense of what had just happened. When the truth hits you, it hits you hard. I’m trying to express my enjoyment of “I Can’t Sleep” without spoilers and it’s hard. It is hard because almost every page has a minute detail of what our main character is experiencing.

This is a riveting read, unlike anything I’ve read in a long time.

Thank you NetGalley for the review copy of “I Can’t Sleep”.

First up I would say that this book is a quick read, I would catagorise this book as a novella.

I Can’t Sleep is told from the first person perspective of Becky Braithwaite as she begins her first year at university. Becky has had a severe form of insomnia, triggered by a traumatic event which she is still struggling to come to terms with. Which, we as the reader slowly get information about as the story unfolds.

It’s a thriller, where we, as the reader try to understand Becky’s world and try to determine, as she also tries to determine, if she is indeed being harassed and stalked by someone, or if the incidents Becky is experiencing are due to her sleep deprived mind being utterly confused.

This booked hooked me in right from page one and I really enjoyed the story… then by about 88% in, I really started watching the page count…considering it was coming to an end, but REALLY wondering where this story was going…what is happening here?

I don’t want to write a spoiler here in my review, so from here on out I am going to be a bit vague…

The ending does have a twist, a twist I was not expecting at all (which was great) but also confusing and left me with more questions than answers. At first I simply did not like the ending because I think it does not work, or make sense being written from a first person perspective. I didn't think it worked.

Then I gave myself time to digest the book a bit more and have a think overnight about it. I really don’t understand exactly what happened at the end of the book (what was ‘real’, what was not ‘real’?) …and again, the first person perspective still REALLY bugs me at the end…but, I started to wonder, what if that is the exact intention of the author?

What if, with the theme of the book being focused on uncertainty, confusion and mental health that we are meant to be left wondering…wondering ‘what did I just read? what happened…?’ So, what if we are meant to be left confused? And if we are meant to be left that way…what an absolute genius ending!

To sum it all up…I do recommend this book to anyone seeking out something quick to read, that can also really get you thinking about the ‘what ifs’.

This story about Becky, the girl who can't sleep, has been stuck in my head for a while now. It was a quick, but thought provoking read about a girl with insomnia after the loss of her brother who goes to uni but when there things start to get weird.
The complete book is told from Becky's point of view and she's speaking to you directly. which drew me into the story even more. It opened my eyes to see what insomnia can do to your brain, it makes you doubt everything that happens and functioning as normal human being is near impossible. The tension in this book was drawn out well and I got increasingly more uncomfortable about the events unfolding as the story progressed. The ending came as a surprise and left me with the big question: what was true and what wasn't? What did really happen? Did anything really happen? Downside for me was the epilogue, that felt a bit like wanting to put too much information all at once and it didn't clear anything up just left me with more questions. For me personally the ending would have been stronger without this epilogue that felt a bit rushed.
But all in all a book I would highly recommend if you like a psychological thriller.

*** An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review ***

Becky can't sleep. She's being haunted by the ghosts of the past. She's a broken girl, doesn't matter how much she tries, she can't fit in.

After the tragic events Becky tries to start afresh. To fulfil her brother's dream she enrolls in University and starts journalism course and moves away from home to live on a campus.
The girl's lucky to have really cool house mates. They get on well. When her next door neighbour Cally finds out Becky suffers from insomnia she very understanding and offers her support.

The stress caused my the change of the environment makes Becky even more edgy, her sleeping problems get worse. She's constantly exhausted and starts doubting herself. She's being paranoid about someone constantly watching her. Feels threatened as she receive silent calls from the unknown caller.

She feels like someone is taunting her. The chain of unexplainable events makes her question herself even more. Everything that's happening around her seems unreal.

I read this book almost in one sitting. I loved that the story was narrated by the main character. We could take a deep look inside of her mind.
It was gripping read, a real page turner. I enjoyed every minute of it. It kept me guessing right till the end.

The only thing I can fault this book is a few unexplained things. I guess it will give me a sleepless night trying to figure out if I missed out on something.

Overall, I think it's worth reading. The lovers of psychological thrillers will definitely enjoy it.

I Can't Sleep by J. E. Rowney is a gripping psychological thriller. Becky's past is traumatic, which has caused her to have insomnia. She's tried everything to get some sleep. She goes away to college, hoping that things will get better. Instead, strange things begin to happen.

The book has some creepy moments and hooks you from the start. It's a quick read but has you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The book clearly shows what people go through when they have chronic insomnia and how it creates stress on the mind and body. I Can't Sleep is a great read and one I would recommend.

#ICantSleep #NetGalley