It kept me listening but nothing I'll remember any time soon.
Thank you for the opportunity of an advanced copy.

Don't Go to Sleep is a historical fiction based on the Axe murderer of New Orleans who went on a killing spree against the Italian immigrants living in New Orleans while the city was in the grips of the 1918 influenza pandemic.

I listened to the audiobook and I feel I should have opted for the printed version instead. When I listen to audiobooks I put a lot of importance on how the narrator narrates the story and I felt Daniela Acitelli's narration was not for this book. Her narration for the most part was slow, breathy and almost robotic and when she did try to infuse some emotions during the intense scenes, it just came out very loud and I had to constantly decrease and increase the volume throughout the audiobook.

The historical aspects of the book (the city of New Orleans in 1918 and the fear gripping the community as a result of the pandemic and the murders) were described very well as was the gory attack/murder scenes. I admit I was confused about the supernatural aspect of the book though and didn't fully understand how it came about. Maybe I missed it while listening to the audiobook. I was also a bit disappointed when the axe murderer was not identified in the end but then I googled about him and found out he (like Jack the Ripper) was never identified in real life as well!

I think the book might have worked better for me if I had read it instead.

My thanks to NetGalley, the audiobook publisher Tantor Audio and the author for the audio Arc of the book.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫

This gripping historical fiction thriller from the author of The Perfect Place to Die pits a seventeen-year-old girl against the legendary axe murderer in 1918.

The book's depiction of actual events that I was unfamiliar with was one of my favorite aspects of it. It was particularly appropriate that the murders were represented as occurring during the influenza outbreak as we had just gone through one. It made the narrative more relatable.

The supernatural component was fantastic.

The tale progressed rationally, and the book was well-written. I admired Enzo and Gia for their bravery. But I didn't care as much as I had hoped about what happened to them and their families.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of Don't Go to Sleep by Bryce Moore. This thought provoking thriller had me on the edge of my seat! Loved this one!

Rating: 2.5

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. I started listening to the audiobook and quickly found that the narrator wasn’t right for this book. She spoke so slow and was very breathy at certain points. The voice she was putting on did not match the age or personality of the main character. I stopped listening about 5 chapters in and decided to read the physical book hoping that would be better. Sadly, it wasn’t. My main issue with this book is the writing. It felt way too basic and didn’t have a good flow in my opinion. The pacing was all over the place and the reader can really feel it in the end with how rushed it felt. I will say the author did a great job writing the gore/murder scenes but that’s about it. The main characters weren’t my favorite and I struggled to relate or find any care for them. They felt very flat and didn’t have any unique qualities. While this claims to be historical fiction as a reader I never felt like I was transported to a different time. When that happens it's always harder to connect to a story that claims to be from years ago. Ultimately, I just had too many issues with this one to find it enjoyable.

What I did love about this one is the creative cover and the story idea. I wished it would have been executed better. I think I would recommend it to teens because I feel as though they would find it fun. I’m not sure if I would recommend it to adults or older young adults. However, if you find it intriguing definitely give it a try and let me know what you think!

Thank you so much @sourcebooksfire for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Don’t Go to Sleep
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Historical Thriller
Format: Audiobook
Date Published: 8/2/22
Author: Bryce Moore
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Narrator: Daniela Acitelli
GR: 3.30

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Tantor Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Gianna is the average seventeen-year-old girl living in 1918 New Orleans. She worries about her family's store, the great war, and a mysterious illness that's about to take hold of the city she loves. There's a killer out there, and the police can't seem to figure out how to stop him. Gianna enlists the help of her friend Enzo to investigate. And as they study the crimes, they see a common link between the victims, and Gianna can't help but wonder if it's the same man who attacked her family years before.

My Thoughts: The cultural aspect of the Italian Americans in 1918 was well researched by the author, it came off feeling very authentic. The story is loosely adapted to the Axeman serial killer in New Orleans. The narrator was a bit monotone at times, which was not a bad thing, I just like the voice changes and it offers another element to the story with voice changes. I loved the epidemic flare in this book, just going through COVID, it gave an element of relatedness. I have always been fascinated with serial killers, so this is right up my alley. The characters were developed well, flawed, mysterious, and creatively written. The author’s writing style was complex, historical, intriguing, and kept me engaged. I love how the author included a bit of actual history sprinkled throughout the story, it keep it authentic and real. I recommend picking up this book if you like historical fiction or have a fascination with serial killers like I do.

For some reason I couldn't access the audiobook in the NetGalley app, so I didn't get the chance to listen to it...

I have so many mixed feelings about this book, because on the one hand I enjoyed a lot of the mysterious elements of it, but there were still some things that did not work for me. When I listen to audiobooks, the narrator’s voice plays a big role in how gripping the story will be for me, and for some reason the narrator in this book did not work for me. This is probably just a personal preference thing, and did not affect my overall enjoyment of the story itself, but it did impact my listening experience.
The strongest parts of this book come with the mystery that Gianna is attempting to solve. There is a supernatural element woven into the story, which I had a love/hate relationship with. I really enjoyed the moments where Gianna would almost embody the killer’s mindset as she was walking through a crime scene, because those scenes were so utterly chilling that I was completely hooked.
The weakest part of the book is only based on my personal preference. I don’t read pandemic books because they hit a little too close to home to me. Even though this book is exploring the pandemic in the 1910s, the parallels would distract me from the main plotline. While it was interesting to learn about how similar the experiences were for people in that time period to our experiences in the last few years, it was not something I necessarily wanted to relive. This, once again, does not take away from the quality of the book itself, it’s more based on my own personal feelings while listening.
Overall this book was a compelling read. I really enjoyed the mystery plotline, and the chilling connection between Gianna and the killer, and if you like historical fiction mixed in with a supernatural slasher story, then I encourage you to check it out.

First I will say that I enjoyed the story a lot. I know a lot about the axeman case and I think the storyline included elements from it but also created a whole story around it. I feel like the area and New Orleans was captured well and the characters were developed beautifully. Historical fiction is not generally my thing but since I have prior knowledge of the axeman and I enjoy crime content I figured I would give it a shot and I am glad I did.

This was not a book I was on the edge of my seat with. There were times I put it down and it was a few days before I started listening again. But while I was listening to it I was invested and the descriptions were vibrant enough to pull me into the story. I liked the ending and I liked the threads of wisdom throughout the book about focusing on negative things and pushing through rough circumstances.

That all said I did not enjoy the narrator at all. This would have been 4 stars if not for the narration. The narrator had a Siri quality to her that was grating. There was a lot of Italian and Italian accents in this book and it felt like a middle school level one language presentation with awful pronunciation and even worse accents. This book could have benefited from someone with a better handle of foreign languages since that was such a core theme to the book.

I definitely recommend this book but I do not recommend listening to the audiobook.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tantor Audio for the ARC of this audiobook

This book is alright. It has a bit of a paranormal element that goes along with a little bit of true-ish serial killer stuff going on.
In 1918, WWl was going strong. The outbreak of the Spanish Influenza was on the horizon, and in the middle of it all the people of New Orleans were being stalked and killed by a man with an ax. Gianna and her pal Enzo are investigating the crimes and she soon realizes that she has a very strange connection to the killer.
Gianna is just your average everyday 17 year old girl. She’s living in New Orleans and is worried about her family’s store, the war, and the illness that is sweeping over the city. Of course, the mad axeman on the loose isn’t helping either. His attacks may have started out as burglaries but soon enough they turned into murder.
Gianna gets her friend Enzo to investigate with her and as they learn more about the crimes they soon see a common link between those who became victims. Gianna can’t help it as she wonders if this is the same man who attacked her family so many years ago.
This is pretty good. I remembered that American Horror Story used the axeman tale in one of their seasons (Coven, I think). For some reason it took a while for me to get the two stories to click. This one is definitely one that is less brutal than that other one!
As for the writing and characters, they are well written. It just had moments that were so slow I did find myself drifting out of the story here and there. Still it’s a fairly solid book that I think many would really enjoy.

I wanted to like this one SO BAD but man...it fell so flat. I couldn't vibe with the narrator, the story was boring and a slow and also...confusing? I'd try something else by Bryce Moore, but this one was not it.

I don't think this was the book for me. The characters and setting were rich, but I feel like some elements were introduced too late and a bit clunky. Graphic body horror descriptions were well-paced and even used from scene to scene. Suitable for readers just beginning to dip their toes into horror.

I had a really hard time getting past the narrator of this one. I just didn't love it as much as I hoped I would, and I wonder if I would feel differently if I had read it as an ebook rather than listen to it.

Liked the story,good characters kept me interested well paced. The Spanish flu has parallels to covid.
The narrator has done a good job though it took me a bit to get used to her.
I received this audiobook from Tantor and Netgalley for a review.

I wanted to like this one more than I did. I love New Orleans and the story of the axeman so I was very excited for this book. I think I will likely read the print version before making my final opinions of the story. I have not read much historical fiction horror, and I would like to read more.

Moore set the tone well and created a rich atmosphere. I enjoyed the story line around the Spanish Flu, and it will young readers will be able to make connections to present day experiences with Covid 19. I liked Enzo's character but felt Gianna was rather childish and she felt much younger than 17. She felt more like a middle grade character, although the content was very dark.

I did not care for the narrator. The voice was rather robotic, and I did not feel like I was listening to a teenager or an Italian immigrant. I will likely read the print version when it comes out, because the story is very promising, and I would like to read Gianna's terror building up that I could not feel through the narrator,

2.75 stars, The narrator wasn't great, and the ending was unsatisfactory. It was just overall a meh book. I did like the parallels between today's pandemic & the Spanish flu. But other than that it just fell flat. The characters were okay, but a bit flat. Only the one MC was really explored at all. There were too many unanswered questions at the end.

There needs to be some kind of rule where you cannot write and publish a pandemic book IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC.

I'm so exhausted by this book that I don't even want to give it the time of day, so here is a quick summary of all the things that didn't work for me.

The narrator was downright awful and caused 95% of my problems. She sounded incredibly old and not at all like a teenager, not to mention there was very little variation or life given to the characters or narration. The Italian actually hurt to hear and I feel disrespected on behalf of the entire community.

Gianna is not a great character. Being inside her brain was kind of like hiding inside a golden retriever with a penchant for bloodthirst. She felt all over the place. Over the top enthusiastic and somewhat naïve in everything she approaches. Like, she has all these specific ideas of how things need to be and how they will pan out when it's very clear that that is not and never will be the case?

Weirdly gory and graphic. And not even artistically so. It was just so awkward to read and a highly unpleasant experience. I think there was some kind of paranormal aspect to it, but it kind of flopped in execution.

Did not like the Spanish Influenza thread one bit. It was literally like reliving conservative, anti-vax twitter. Wear a mask, how dare you don't, don't you care? Wait, why are you wearing one, you sheep, how dare you take this crap seriously. I should have DNF'd on that point alone.

Apparently this is based on of a real life event, but this was truly the crappiest axe murderer I've ever encountered. I thought her parents were brutally murdered by the axe man, but apparently they're just fine? The beginning of the book made it out that they were completely torn apart, but all daddy dearest struggles with is lifting his arm higher than his shoulder.

The ending was kind of ridiculous and all-around disappointing. I'm just glad I was able to get through this quickly and not waste too much time on it. Certainly won't be reading more from this author.

I had really high expectations for this book and I'm glad it reached them. The historical context and the supernatural aspects of the book were really well developed, and the writing was really smooth and pleasant. Also, side note: I really love the cover.

The relationships were really genuine so none of them felt forced and the progression of the book was really organic.

My only issue with the book was that the dreams got a little repetitive by the end, and some of them weren't actually important to the plot of the book which made some parts of the book kind off boring.

Even with that tiny issue I have to say it blew me away. I enjoyed the twists and the main character's growth throught the book was great. Really recommended.

Gianna is a seventeen year old Italian girl from New Orleans. It is 1918 WWI is happening, the Spanish Influenze is sweeping the nation and on top of it all the ax man is back and Gianna has a frightening connection to him.

Seven years go Gianna’s family had a run in with the ax man and survived. Now after all this time the torment has returned to the Italian community. While the police are on the search for the perpetrator, Gianna is having nightmares that connect her to the ax man. In result she recruits her friend Enzo to help her track down the ax man through her visions from the dreams.

Don’t Go To Sleep was written by Bryce Moore. I really enjoyed the concept they came up with. It was easy to relate to the pandemic and the fear. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read it myself. Daniela Acitelli was the narrator and they did a good job with the book I was just not a personal fan of how robotic their voice was. It made it more difficult to ger fully immersed into the story.

Overall I gave it a 3 stars. I enjoyed the concept and the characters. It was a fun story and I think I will buy the book and see if I can immerse myself more into the story. Thank you NetGally for the ARC of Don’t Go To Sleep by Bryce Moore read by Daniela Acitelli.

#DontGoToSleep #TantorAudio #BryceMoore

This is an advanced review of the audiobook.

Gianna is the 17-year-old daughter of Italian immigrants, in 1918 New Orleans.

WW I casts a pall over the country. To top that, a serial killer known as the Axeman, terrorizes the city and the Spanish influenza is in the air.

Gia's parents as well as Enzo's, who were storekeepers, were terrorized by the Axeman a few years earlier. It now looks like he is back again, emerging from the shadows.

Gia has these vivid visions of these killings in which she feels what the killer feels and the killer seems to be able to see into her soul as well.

The story is about how she and her friend try to find out the killer's identity.

It is a dark story, highlighting the woes of middle-class, immigrant families, struggling to survive under the harsh realities of a world war and a pandemic, with a killer on the loose.