A review by rosepetals1984
While She Was Sleeping... by Isabel Sharpe

3.0

I was surprised by how much I liked this, and not for the reason that you might think. The opening premise didn't intrigue me all that much, though I wanted to see where it went. Alana wakes up with a strange man in her bed, after unwittingly making out with him in the odd after-effects of a sleeping pill. He also just so happens to be a romantic interest of her careless sister. I thought it would be a stereotypical, over the top story, but it turned out differently than I expected. Decent sexual tension in places (when it wasn't borderline unconsensual), though it could've been fleshed further out. I did roll my eyes at some of the scenes, but there's such a sweet, self-discovery element to this book that it made it so different than most of the titles I've read in the Harlequin line. I liked the interaction between Alana and Sawyer in the discovery elements and when they spent time with each other. Sawyer's actually quite romantic and he's a likable character if followed throughout the story (rather than just the brash lead that he starts out in the beginning of the book). Alana may seem uptight, but when she starts opening herself up and finds herself in casual relations with Sawyer, she's a decent character to get to know.

There's a side story with respect to Alana's flirty, careless sister Melanie. I didn't care that much for Melanie's character, but I'd argue that the sidestory shows her perspective and make her less hollow than what she would've otherwise been if she hadn't been shown at all. I tend to harp on typical Harlequin Romances not giving enough focus on character and story, but this one actually did more to establish its characters. I listened to the audiobook version of the book, and I liked the narration by Christine Carroll, who brings both the male and female characters to life and in appropriate context.

Overall, a decent read for the line, and it was worth the time.

Overall score: 3/5