Never to Sleep
(Soul Screamers 5.5)
Publisher: Harlequin, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Don't Close Your Eyes.
Sophie Cavanaugh is not going to let her freak of a cousin's strange psychiatric condition ruin high school for them both. Not after all the work she's put into cultivating the right look, and friends, and reputation. But then, Sophie sees something so frightening she lets out a blood-curdling scream—and finds herself stuck in a bizarre parallel world where nothing is safe and deadly creatures lurk just out of sight, waiting for her to close her eyes and sleep...forever.
Could this world be real? Or does insanity run in the family...?
My Review:
Everyone—and by that I mean I—was concerned about this novella. Let's face it, with silly, conceited, and irritating Sophie as the main character in a first person POV the odds were that we (I) would end up throwing our e-readers against the nearest wall. But after reading all the Soul Screamer books, especially If I Die, I trust Rachel implicitly to take me on thrilling story rides and rock my world. So, I gave Sophie a chance… *Bows to Rachel*
I love Sophie. From a character I barely cared about in the other books and often wanted to slap, I now want more Sophie time! She is super stubborn like Kaylee, incredibly brave, and does it all with fashion flair and a sharp tongue. Seriously! This girl cannot keep her mouth shut to save her life. Mouthing off to the big bad hellion, check! That scene was hilarious.
The novella focuses on Sophie, her encounter with a mysterious young man, and how they accidentally cross over to the Netherworld. Their meeting starts with a bang, in the very literal sense of the word, as Luca opens a door banging it into Sophie's head. I immediately liked him for his charming way of talking.
"Good. I think you're okay, Sophie, but just to be sure—and this is for purely medical purposes—what's your phone number?"
I laughed out loud. "Does it usually take blunt-force trauma for you to score a phone number?"
"This is a first, but a potential concussion does seem to be an icebreaker."
They make a great team. As in, Luca won't take silly crap from Sophie and she will actually listen to him! That’s a first for Sophie. I was very impressed to see her grow through this short novella. Her hate of Kaylee is understandable when one realizes that Sophie really has no idea what the crap is going on. Even when her world is turned over, she will fight this preferring to stay blissfully ignorant. In the end Sophie says that there are things she must find out about her family even if they're not to her liking. And she ultimately realizes that she'll have to deal with it, so that was great.
This novella left me supper excited. I want more of Sophie's snark, more of Luca's wit, and more Sophie and Luca time! I so can't wait for when Sophie finally realizes that Kaylee has been battling the Netherworld for a while now and that none of it was theatrics or attention seeking gimmicks. My brain has been working overtime trying to figure out what role Luca will play in the upcoming Before I Wake. That book scares the crap out of me because I honestly don't know where this is going to go! *excitement overload*
Favorite Quotes:
"Okay, time out. That's all the crazy I can take for now. I want to go home. What do I have to do? Click my heels together?" My shoes weren't ruby, nor were they slippers, but for what my dad paid for the designer label, they damn well ought to take me wherever I wanted to go.
~
"You want me to walk into a dark hole in the wall, where some horrible Netherworld creature is probably waiting to eat me alive. Obviously you've mistaken me for Lara Croft."
Luca's brows rose, and I couldn't tell whether he was irritated or amused. "Apologies, Your Highness, I meant to mistake you for someone who wants to survive."
~
Luca lifted my chin and kissed me again, and this time instead of pulling away, I pulled him closer. His hand slid around my neck, his fingers curling my hair.
"What was that one for?" I asked, when he finally let me go.
"Just for fun. Because I'm not sure I'll get another chance."
~
I was truly awake, for the first time in my life, and if asleep was what I'd been before, I never wanted to sleep again.
