Reviews - Sleep No More | The StoryGraph

217 reviews for:

A fantastic novel!

I originally requested this thinking it was an InCryptid book, as I hadn't read an October Daye one, but then decided, well, in for a penny, in for a pound -- if I was going to hop in on book 17, at least it was one where she also had amnesia and didn't know who she was!

And I don't regret it. I DID (after chapter 2) read a quick summary of the series just so I'd have some sense of who is being referred to and what was different, but it was a solid story regardless of my background knowledge. The breaking down of the illusion and the cracks of injustice as people wanted to know how things really were was fantastic, Toby's recovery of who she was without losing what she gained was beautiful, and I was along for the whole ride. The pacing was a bit slow at first -- I could have used some of the early stuff cranking up a bit faster, and maybe could have used fewer other-people-need-fixing subplots to stop the middle part from dragging a little (though given, like, the sheer number of characters important to Toby and the plot 17 books in, I understand why they were in there!), but I deeply enjoyed it.

Now more than ever I do WANT to read the rest -- I actually already own most of them in paperback, just haven't gotten around to them yet -- but I have to read the Tybalt side novel first!

desperatecheesecubes's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

spaceodditee's review against another edition

3.0

This was a tough one, because for most of the book, the "October" viewpoint character was distinctly NOT the Toby Daye we know; she had been heavily enchanted into docility, subservience, and an earnest belief in her own happiness via embracing her inferiority. The lack of self-awareness stretched credibility at times, when she would do things like secretly helping changeling refugees or face overtly ugly prejudice and oppression ... but then think about how much she loved her life and her position in the world. Sure, you can handwave that as magic brainwashing, but it became almost unrelentingly frustrating; I could frankly relate to Tybalt's attitude towards this almost-imposter by the time he arrived. It would have helped a lot if we could have seen a bit more ... Tobyness shining through at moments of stress, cracks in the facade other than blood memory flashbacks excerpted directly from other books (which felt a bit cheap).

Similarly, one of the most appealing aspects of these books is the rich supporting cast, the chosen family, etc - and their absence did not help. (Throwing out your status quo can be refreshing, but not when you lose the things that make your story world engaging and don't adequately replace them!) All the bright spots in the first two-thirds of the story came from meeting familiar characters who challenged October's acceptance of "reality" in various ways (whether literally, like April, or from within the terms of the alternate universe itself, like Arden). Once the Luidaeg showed up to put some cynical brashness back into the tone of the narrative, kick October's waffling ass into gear and really start gathering allies, things improved rapidly.

But that said, the climax was a bit ... anti, as well. The book was really set up with the main conflict being the one within Toby, so once she regained her memories, breaking Titania's ride felt like a bit of an afterthought.

I don't think following Be The Serpent, one of the most compelling and well-structured books in the whole series, did Sleep No More any favors. That said, I AM left looking forward to what comes next. I'm more curious about the upcoming Tybalt-centric companion novel than I would have expected, and honestly, I'm ready for Baby Daye shenanigans and (I hope) more of the teen fae squad contending with the addition of Rayseline to the household. And Maeve, eventually.