A review by kamin8882
Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Sarah Pinborough does it again !! Ever since I read Behind Her Eyes last year, I have been obsessively waiting for this book !! It is definitely one of my most anticipated books of 2022 and it did not disappoint.
"My insomnia is making me question everything, even my own guilt or innocence."
Emma has the perfect life- a successful law career, a great husband, 2 beautiful children, all of which she has worked really hard for. But she is approaching her 40th birthday, the same age her mother "went mad" and her whole like flipped upside down. Her mother always told her she had bad blood, and she would end up mad just like her, so this birthday has had her on edge..experiencing all the same symptoms her mother showed right before- insomnia, paranoia, periods of memory loss, obsessive tendencies. If the fear itself isn't enough, the insomnia is now effecting her life- her sister shows back up randomly (a reminder of her past), her son is acting withdrawn and scared, her daughter is having "dating" problems, her husband doesn't believe or support her and she is exhausted. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Is she truly beginning to lose her mind, or is something sabotaging her life?
I loved this book !! This book is told from the POV of Emma, on a countdown to her 40th birthday. The book did start out a little slow, but we get closer and closer to the big day, the story gets crazier and crazier. Pinborough does an amazing job making her characters seem as crazy as possible, but also making you want to root for them the whole time. She plants little seeds throughout the book to make you think you have it all figured out and then the WTF moment happens that you weren't expecting. The way she mixes paranormal ideas with real life and the end results leave me speechless. I love her books and she will continue to be an author I will read no matter what!!
Thank you to Netgalley UK, HarperCollins UK, and Sarah Pinborough for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
"My insomnia is making me question everything, even my own guilt or innocence."
Emma has the perfect life- a successful law career, a great husband, 2 beautiful children, all of which she has worked really hard for. But she is approaching her 40th birthday, the same age her mother "went mad" and her whole like flipped upside down. Her mother always told her she had bad blood, and she would end up mad just like her, so this birthday has had her on edge..experiencing all the same symptoms her mother showed right before- insomnia, paranoia, periods of memory loss, obsessive tendencies. If the fear itself isn't enough, the insomnia is now effecting her life- her sister shows back up randomly (a reminder of her past), her son is acting withdrawn and scared, her daughter is having "dating" problems, her husband doesn't believe or support her and she is exhausted. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Is she truly beginning to lose her mind, or is something sabotaging her life?
I loved this book !! This book is told from the POV of Emma, on a countdown to her 40th birthday. The book did start out a little slow, but we get closer and closer to the big day, the story gets crazier and crazier. Pinborough does an amazing job making her characters seem as crazy as possible, but also making you want to root for them the whole time. She plants little seeds throughout the book to make you think you have it all figured out and then the WTF moment happens that you weren't expecting. The way she mixes paranormal ideas with real life and the end results leave me speechless. I love her books and she will continue to be an author I will read no matter what!!
Thank you to Netgalley UK, HarperCollins UK, and Sarah Pinborough for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Car accident
abandonment