What a wild ride! This book has a few of the most unlikeable characters I've ever read. There were quite a few twists throughout the book, and a few caught me of guard. At times, the naive thoughts and actions of the characters was cringe worthy, but overall, a fast paced thrill ride that I enjoyed.

This book grabbed my attention from the very first page and kept me coming back. I admit to being very confused through the majority of the book. Took me awhile to figure out what was going on. There were several story lines and narrators and nothing much made sense. But boy when it all came together I was so glad I stuck with it. This was such a good read by one of my favorite authors.

I recommend this one to lovers of chaotic, confusing, fabulous suspense books. This was a really good one.

Thanks to Netgalley for a chance to read and review the arc

What do you get when you blend up “That’s So Raven,” “Final Destination,” “Butterfly Effect,” and a bunch of tropes from your favorite suspense and thrillers? Something that looks a little like Liv Constantine’s “Don’t Open Your Eyes.”

You follow Annabelle, a career woman with a loving family who one day begins to have dreams that are more like premonitions. When certain details from her dreams become reality, Annabelle must keep it together lest she wants to be gaslit by her husband (pulled straight from the trope store) and balance being a mom to two daughters, one who is keeping a secret from the rest of her family. She’s of course not alone, but spoilers so I’ll keep mum.

It’s an interesting premise but it quickly overstays its welcome. Funny enough, one of the characters shares my sentiment at one point, telling Annabelle (and us, the reader) her premonitions are getting old. It’s almost as if the author is running out of steam just as the novel is meeting its end which is unfortunate — the premise is great and unlike anything I’ve read in a thriller but the execution stalls as you ultimately can’t build a novel on the same course of action of “sleep, dream, share, be gaslit, repeat” without getting bored.

It all culminates in a final act breakdown of dismal proportions of everything the author had set up, from premonitions, to the mysterious “wife” chapters, and whomever “Ben” is. I’m having a hard time sharing my feelings here without spoiling but just know the ending is laughably bad with a twist I don’t know if anyone cares about mostly because it wasn’t what we “signed up” for nor makes much sense.

“Don’t Open Your Eyes” is an interesting book but after sleeping on it, not one I’ll be having (positive) dreams about. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC.

A woman is tormented by nightmarish visions of her future and then they start to come true. Annabelle Reynolds has everything she’s ever wanted. A devoted husband, two wonderful daughters, and a career she loves. She couldn’t be happier. So why is she suddenly plagued by disturbing dreams of a future where she hates her husband and her daughters’ lives are at risk? At first, she chalks the dreams up to an overactive imagination. But when details from her dreams, details she couldn’t possibly have predicted, begin to materialize, she realizes these aren’t just dreams but rather premonitions of a terrifying future! Good book! This book had a wild storyline! It had good suspense, mystery, murder, heavy gaslighting, intrigue, and a few shocking twists! I would recommend reading this book, it wasn’t one of my all time favorites but still a very interesting book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of Don’t Open Your Eyes!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
😴 have ever had a premonition
👀 enjoy multiple POVs
❤️ once found love but lost it
🍨 despise chocolate ice cream

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Annabelle Reynolds has everything she’s ever wanted. A devoted husband, two wonderful daughters, and a career she loves. She couldn’t be happier. So why is she suddenly plagued by disturbing dreams of a future where she hates her husband and her daughters’ lives are at risk? At first, she chalks the dreams up to an overactive imagination. But when details from her dreams, details she couldn’t possibly have predicted, begin to materialize, she realizes these aren’t just dreams but rather premonitions of a terrifying future. They all point to a singular choice, an unknown moment that holds Annabelle’s life in the balance.

Then Annabelle has a dream that her daughter Scarlett is in immediate danger. Someone wants Scarlett dead, and Annabelle has no idea who or why. Suddenly, every choice she makes is fraught with peril, with no inkling of which move could bring this terrifying vision to life. As Annabelle’s present life starts to collide with the future in her dreams, she wrestles with how much control she really has over her destiny and whether she can change what is meant to be.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was such a unique read! I absolutely loved the inclusion of premonitions because I’ve actually had one or two myself that ended up coming true a year or so later. I still can’t explain how, but it’s wild, so I enjoyed this story a lot! I really resonated with Annabelle’s character, not only as a mother, but because of the love that she lost. She had a hard life, and things just kept on hitting her when she was already down and out. This story has some really incredible twists, and the inclusion of the multiple POVs helps to bring them out. Overall, this is a great psychological thriller! Pick up your own copy today!

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. This author did it again! This book was absolutely amazing with so many twists. The storyline about dreams was definitely right up my alley. I highly recommend!!!

Thank you to the publisher for granting me an advanced copy of this book.

3.5 stars. Surprisingly, I’ve never read Liv Constantine, and while I would give her another shot, this didn’t blow me away in any way. Her writing style is incredibly simplistic and characters are lacking in any discernible personality traits, and dialogue is contrived and boring, bordering on unrealistic. That being said, the story itself was compelling and held my interest, and as much as I thought I was predicting the twists correctly, I didn’t. Other writers have this same style and I’m able to enjoy them occasionally (Mary Kubica for example), which is why I’d try this author again. Sometimes I can just be here for the story and let go of wanting a fully immersive experience.

But if books that draw you in and give you all the feels and chills and tears are your thing, this isn’t it.

This was a fast read with a lot of twists and surprises! I really enjoyed it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ooh. Don't trust anybody. I thought I had everything figured out a million times. And nope not at all what I thought was going to happen. Such a great book!

3 stars-First let me say, I am a big fan of the author, but for me this was not her best. We are introduced to Annabelle, wife and mother, whose fatalistic dreams seem to be coming true. In flashbacks we learn that Annabelle dated her college professor and got pregnant, only to learn that he was cheating on her during the whole relationship. She got close to his roommate James after the discovery and the two ended up married. Now, Annabelle is dreaming of troubles between them and of a mysterious stranger she is in a hotel room with…meanwhile, her daughter has been communicating with someone who says he is her brother?

I liked the fast pace of the book and was eager to see where it was going. James’s obviously obsessive control and mansplaining were over her was over the top and I was getting furious at her Annabelle for putting up with it. He would rage then apologize and then she would apologize. (Enter me shouting Leave the POS already in my head!) The last 20% was just too soap opera-ey (yup, made that up myself) for my taste. I found myself skimming at the end just to be done.

I will still look for this author in the future, this one was just a miss for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. All opinions are my own.

Let me start with a plot summary before diving into my thoughts on this highly anticipated thriller:

Meet Annabelle: a social media marketing specialist with a seemingly perfect life - a devoted doctor husband and two beautiful daughters. But her world turns upside down when she starts having dreams that feel like premonitions... and keep coming true. These dreams force her to question everything: her marriage, her life choices, a devastating loss from her past, and her own secrets. They also warn her that her husband is hiding something big, and that her elder daughter Scarlett might be in serious danger. Could her dreams be real warnings? Who is her daughter secretly chatting with? Is Scarlett falling victim to something more sinister than catfishing? Annabelle is about to find out the hard way.

Now, here's the thing - when you review a favorite author's new book, people might think you can't be objective. And I'll admit, I struggled with this one. For most of the book, I felt disappointed by the slow pace. We mostly follow Annabelle's prophetic dreams, deal with her husband's frustratingly controlling behavior, and watch Scarlett flirt with a mysterious online guy named Ben. By the halfway point, I'd figured out the connection between Annabelle's past and present - it felt a bit too predictable. I even understood what the dreams really meant (not just as premonitions, but as subconscious warnings).

I was ready to give it three stars and call it a day, but then the last quarter of the book kicked everything into high gear. Even though I'd guessed the major revelations, the action-packed finale delivered what I'd been waiting for since page one. The ending really saved it for me.

For my love of the author, I'm rounding up my 3.5 stars to 4. While it's not my favorite of her books, it's still a solid popcorn thriller that keeps you turning pages. I'd recommend it to fellow fans and anyone looking for a quick, entertaining psychological thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine/Bantam for the advance copy of this anticipated thriller in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this psych thriller! It was a little far-fetched at times. I’m a fan of this author!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for the copy of Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine. The characters were good, and while they weren’t very interesting, at least I felt like I got to know them. The writing drew me in and I raced through the book. I loved the story but the ending didn’t work for me. I felt like I was reading a completely different book because there was really no lead-up to the big reveals. If you want to read a book with a surprise ending, you will love this one. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I enjoyed most of the book!

Just want to say you guys have done it once again another page turner that will be talked about one it’s released!!! I love how the story slowly develops how the dreams and everything came together the character development was a great build up to the story ahead will recommend once it’s released

Don’t Open Your Eyes by Liv Constantine
4⭐️

Annabelle is a successful marketing rep with 2 daughters Scarlett and Olivia, with her husband James. She starts to have nightmares that are now coming true. She’s afraid what will happen next when she dreams her daughter is badly injured.

The psychic element was really far fetched for me but it all came together at the end. Though it’s not my favorite book by this author(s) I enjoyed the twists.

What a fun psychological thriller! It kept guessing until the very end. But the dreams that came true didn’t line up with the second half of the book for me.

Annabelle is married with two daughters, Scarlett and Olivia. She suddenly starts having disturbing dreams of the future involving her doctor husband James and their two daughters. Her dreams become real.

Scarlett is texting with a boy named Ben, who she never met and who she never told anyone except a friend about him.

There were different POVs: Annabelle, teen daughter Scarlett, the wife and unknown. It’s also told from before and now.

There were some twists that surprised me. Some parts had me guessing. There were some parts that were far-fetched. The title didn’t really fit the story. I enjoyed the outcome in the end.

The book dealt with premonitions, accountability, dangers of meeting someone on the computer, who you can trust, guilt, a mother’s love.

I didn’t really care for the characters. I felt like I needed more twists and development.

Pub date; June 17, 2025

Thank you #netgalley, #random house, #bantam

I loved all the POV. This was a fun read that kept me guessing. This was totally up my alley and way better than the senators wife.

“May your dreams come true” is precisely why Annabelle, a successful marketing expert in Connecticut, is experiencing an overwhelming impending sense of doom. Her dreams have been coming true — first little things like the renaming of a restaurant or a colleague going home sick; then dreaming about a more serious airplane crash in Atlanta before it happened; and now more personal nightmares: her happy marriage being strained, her oldest daughter getting suspended from school, a possible affair with a strange married man, a head-on crash that will kill her family.

Annabelle starts to believe these are the same precognitive dreams that plagued her grandmother and are really premonitions — to the point that she starts trying to change the future. Her normally reasonable husband, James, is a doctor who doesn’t believe in precognition or women’s intuition. Her oldest daughter is living a secret love life via text messages to a “16 year old boy in Chicago” who avoids FaceTime.

The story is mostly Annabelle’s increasingly desperate POV, but there are some chapters narrated by her oldest daughter Scarlett, and an anonymous “The Wife” (another woman worried about her marriage).

I love Liv Constantine’s books (in this case, it’s only Lynne, her sister Valerie is not a co-author). The author’s well-developed main characters are always a bit on the edge, making you wonder if you’ve stumbled into unreliable first person narration or gaslighting from other characters. “Don’t Open Your Eyes” had me wary until the very twisty end. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Annabelle and Scarlett have green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Annabelle does dream about sunflowers popping up randomly.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine/Bantam and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

I absolutely flew through this book! Although there were some aspects that I found a bit far-fetched, the story was engaging and I found myself wondering how it would all come together until the very end. I would definitely recommend trying this book. Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this ARC.