Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - None Shall Sleep

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None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney

27 reviews

mj_86's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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taylorc19's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was such a creepy book. I have recently been reading strictly romcoms, so I was in the mood for a darker, eerie story. Boy, did this deliver. Emma is a strong, badass female protagonist with her fair share of nightmares. I wish we had more flashbacks or insight into her kidnapping and how she escaped because that felt relatively glossed over, given how big of an impact that experience had on her personality. I felt I knew enough to understand her motives and why she responded to situations in the way she did. However, I still am not totally clear on why she went to the FBI in the first place. I liked Bell, although he felt slightly more flat than Emma. He seemed very straightforward and lacked complexity in his character. I don't fully understand why Agent Cooper thought Emma and Bell would be the best duo for the job since they had very different experiences. Still, I can overlook that because I did enjoy the friendship and camaraderie they formed. Side note:

was it necessary to make Cooper die??? I was just starting to like him!!!

Simon might have been the most interesting character to learn about, and I would love to know more about him. I feel like Kristin might have known more than she let on during his murder spree. I am intrigued about what he sees in Emma and why she enthralls him. However, I don't understand the end where

he basically eats (?) Hoyt while screaming, "You're not even the same species as me." Like part of me thought this would turn into some weird vampire novel

. Overall, I definitely liked this book and would recommend it.

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whatsounddoesagunmake's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a book club read so it gets a full review!! Beware of spoilers if the book club girlies are reading this review 😌

The main reason I rated this book what I did is because it does a very good job at selling what it is - which is ultimately, a YA thriller. YA being the key here - I did not expect this book to have a plot as well constructed or covered as an adult thriller would, which is why I am more lenient with it.

Parts of the book I enjoyed:
- Writing style and pacing. This will be different for everyone, but in my personal opinion, I prefer medium/fast paced books to slow ones (I HATE slow books :) ) and Marney's writing style complements the pace of the book really well - I wasn't bored throughout the book and managed to finish it much quicker than I had initially expected
- I'm no expert on these FBI terms and such so I did have to research a lot of the language and jargon used, but from my (note: meagre) research, it seems like the investigative aspect of the novel seems fairly accurate to what you would at least see in crime shows like Criminal Minds
- the ending! Usually, with tense books like these, the ending is what will disappoint me. However, I would argue that the end of this novel was well done - it was honestly just as dramatic and insane as I expected it. It did end rather quick (you could argue "rushed") but I honestly think it's pretty accurate to how Emma would have been feeling in those final scenes - with the rush of all those final events happening.
- surprising detailed gore for a YA book!

Parts of the book I did not enjoy:
- I did not care too much for any character, really. At most, I really started to like Cooper, and then he was killed so at the end, I finished the book with no real attachment or fondness for anyone. But considering that I would say this is more of a plot-driven book than a character-driven one, I'll let it slide.
- it's so incredibly unrealistic. Look, I'm no FBI expert, but I don't think they would ever let a pair of teenagers investigate and interact with perpetrators while breaking several rules to do so. But I guess all is possible in Emma's world.
- speaking of Emma, girl had it WAY TOO EASY. I swear everytime she hit a challenge, it ALWAYS worked out for her and she barely fights for it - for some reason, many authority figures just allow her to do several things she realistically shouldn't be allowed to do. A story is more enjoying when your main character doesn't get everything handed to them on a silver platter - and they actually have to fight for it.
- the time setting is so irrelevant tbh. The only reason it's set in 1982 is probably so that technology isn't as advanced and hence Hoyt couldn't be caught faster. But other than the models of the cars (I'm assuming - I am not a car person), you could've told me this was set in 2012 and it would still read the same.

Anyway, overall, despite the flaws I did really enjoy the book, and once again it delivers itself well as a YA thriller.

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ross_emm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Had me 100% from the beginning! Emma and Travis are great characters and I love their relationship dynamic throughout the book, their bond is very strong and it becomes that way quite quickly. Simon is such an interesting character to me

and I relished watching him go absolutely batshit on Anthony during their final battle.

I liked having a few chapters from the butchers perspective, but having information that the characters don't possess did drive me a little crazy (in a good way)
Definitely interested in reading more from Ellie Marney!

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flip_chester's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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mmadill227's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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designy808's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

the book was surprisingly gory for a YA book, but i enjoyed emma and travis' story. the premise overall was very unrealistic and to my surprise, it worked. i would recommend this book for true crime lovers.

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