Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Sleepless by Cyn Balog
"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?"- summary from Amazon

I really enjoyed this book, like I did with Balog's debut Fairy Tale. There's just something really engaging about the prose and the voice of her characters. Although I will say that I originally wasn't a big fan of Eron's chapters because they were a bit boring and teaching Griffin was a bit awkward to read about, but a few chapters in, I became really engrossed in both POVs. I think it may have been because Julia became more of an entity in Eron's chapters once he started becoming human. The voices are really distinct and it's fun to see both sides of what's happening.

I love that Balog used Sandmen because I've never seen it in any other YA (though I'm sure I'm just not educated enough, lol) so it made the book more original. The mythology behind it was really interesting and I liked learning about the craft of it. The ending seemed a bit abrupt in how quickly things turn around, but I'm not too hung up on it.

Overall, this is just a really fun, quick summer read and it's out in paperback now, which is even better! I look forward to reading Starstruck and anything else Balog writes.

Cyn Balog will be signing copies of her books at the PAYA Festival later this month, so be sure to stop by if you're in the area!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit will go toward funding contests.