While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Zoe Adams needs to get away. Recently separated from her husband, she rents a newly renovated home on a remote Scottish island. It doesn’t take long after arriving at McBride house for her to discover that some places hold long memories.
Soon Zoe begins researching the history of the house and what she uncovers is far from comforting. Ailsa McBride, the original owner, was reportedly a witch who murdered her own child. In fact, just the previous year, another boy had disappeared from the grounds.
Constantly on edge, Zoe sleeps fitfully and begins having visions and visitations from the past. She can scarcely make it through a few hours at the property without something going awry.
Befriending a few men in the village, she begins to discover long-held island secrets and in turn, finds herself the hot topic for the island rumor mill.
The number of different leads and exposed secrets in this left me spinning. The lore of the island and overall atmosphere was excellently portrayed. I enjoyed the melding of past and present and the characters were well fleshed out.
At times, bordering on erotic, this was an unexpected twist of a classic ghost story with the incorporation of an incubus; something I had never read about previously and certainly was not expecting.
Although this was a slow burn, there was definitely enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages. The last 10% dropped my rating down a half star. I wasn’t sold on the way the story ended. It seemed to wrap-up a little too neatly after the strong build-up.
Overall, I was impressed by Merritt’s writing. If you are a reader that enjoys a bit of sexy times with your horror or mystery stories, you will definitely want to check this one out. Also, haunted house fans, this is worth a read. There were moments that I was absolutely freaked out while reading this.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Pegasus Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I always appreciate the opportunity!
Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2019 — I have read 86 books so far this year. It is really hard to choose just one as the ‘best’. I have given out a lot of 5-star ratings. For the purposes of this list however, I will choose just one and say that Julie Kagawa’s, 2018 release, Shadow of the Fox, swept me off my feet. I love this story so much. Japanese-inspired YA fantasy that incorporates dragon lore and a quest. Y’all know I am down for a quest. I am currently reading the sequel, Soul of the Sword, which releases on Tuesday, June 18th.
Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2019 — I have actually read quite a few sequels this year as one of my monthly TBR challenges is to ‘read a sequel’. My favorite has been King of Fools by Amanda Foody. This second book in the Shadow Game trilogy takes the story to a whole new level. Foody’s writing has matured in leaps and bounds. The characters, the world, it was so good! I cannot wait for the final book of the series releasing in 2020.
To learn more about any of these titles, just click the cover photo above!
Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year — Hands down, The Institute, by my idol, Stephen King. This all-new, 576-novel, by arguably the most important writer of our times, features a sinister institute housing children with paranormal gifts. A good versus evil tale where the good guy doesn’t always win. Set to release on September 10th, I have already preordered my copy and will be reading it immediately upon arrival. I feel like I have been waiting my whole life for this book.
Biggest Disappointment — I won’t dwell on this but for me, my most disappointing read so far this year has been Internment by Samira Ahmed. I say disappointing because I was anticipating it so highly. It’s not a terrible book. I didn’t hate it. I just wanted it to be so much more. This is a YA-dystopian novel dealing heavily with 
Biggest Surprise — For me, this easily goes to Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk. This gender-flipped retelling of the legend of Spartacus blew me out of the water. I had heard one person discuss this previously on BookTube, where she discussed how sadly under-hyped it was. When I saw it on Book Outlet for super cheap, I couldn’t resist picking it up and, oh man, am I glad I did! This action-packed story was so well written. I absolutely adored this! Read it.
Newest Fictional Crush — The newest would probably be Carlos Ibarra from Jasmine Guillory’s, The Proposal. I first met Carlos in, The Wedding Date, and although I didn’t know him well, I was excited when I heard he was getting a companion novel to tell his story. I have an ARC of the next companion book in the series, The Wedding Party, which I hope to read very soon! Carlos is set to be Drew’s best man, so that should be a really fun time.
Newest Favorite Character — Alex Claremont-Diaz, of course, from Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. This book basically broke the book world when it was released in May and I was all aboard that hype train. I had an ARC of this and finished it just before release. I raved about it and will continue to for sometime to come! Alex is just the best. I love him with my whole heart!
Book That Made You Cry — I cried, actual tears falling down my face, while reading different parts of Too Much Is Not Enough, a memoir by Broadway Golden Boy, Andrew Rannells. His writing was so raw and heartfelt. When he lost his Father…ugh, man, it got me. A lot of his reflections were so relatable, I just found myself breaking down. Really well done with equal parts humor and weight. I loved this book!
Book That Made You Happy — One of the most humorous books I have read this year is Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez. This great Middle Grade science fiction novel is part of the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. I have been blessed to received the last few books by this imprint in ARC form and they have all been so good. I was super impressed with Hernandez’s use of humor to tell this story. He is a funny man and a great writer! I cannot wait for the sequel. But seriously, just looking at this gorgeous cover makes me happy!
Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought This Year — This is a tough one. I have loved a lot of beautiful books this year but I think a standout for me has been The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad. Honestly, I could just stare at this cover for hours and in person, it just has the most glorious muted metallic shimmer. I cannot even express its beauty!
If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kahn — I received this ARC through a Goodreads giveaway from the publisher, Swoon Reads. I was so happy to hear I would be getting an advanced copy of this but as with life, I didn’t actually get to it before release day. This came out on June 4th so you can pick it up now! This YA Contemporary follows Winnie, a high schooler who works at her Grandmother’s Southern diner. She has big dreams but needs money in order to make them happen. Her solution is to compete in a cooking competition for prize money. This just sounds like a fun summer read and I am really looking forward to picking this one up!
While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt — This chilling psychological thriller follows Zoe Adams, who fresh from America, moves into the McBride house on a remote Scottish island. The house has a mysterious and disturbing past and it doesn’t take long before Zoe begins to suspect something is seriously wrong there. This has the hints of a ‘things that go bump in the night’ kind of story and I am so down for that. I received an ARC copy of this from the publisher, Pegasus Books, but unfortunately, again, did not get to it before its March 8, 2019, release date. I am most excited for the location of this one and am hoping for a super spooky atmospheric tale.
