The Girl In Between

The Girl in Between #1

by Laekan Zea Kemp

Librarian's Note: Alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here. Bryn Reyes is a real life sleeping beauty. Afflicted with Klein-Levin Syndrome, she suffers episodes of prolonged sleep that steal weeks, and sometimes even months, from her life. But unlike most KLS patients, she doesn’t spend each episode in a catatonic state or wake up with no recollection of the time she’s missed. Instead, Bryn spends half her life in an alternate reality made up of her memories. For Bryn, the past is a place, until one day a boy she’s never met before washes up on the illusory beach of her dreams with no memory of who he is.

But the appearance of this strange boy isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Bryn’s symptoms are worsening, her body weakening as she’s plagued by hallucinations even while awake. Her only hope of finding a cure is to undergo experimental treatment created by a German specialist. But when Dr. Banz reveals that he knows more about her strange symptoms than he originally let on, Bryn learns that the boy in her head might actually be the key to understanding what’s happening to her, and worse, that if she doesn’t find out his identity before it’s too late, they both may not survive.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Paranormal, Ebooks, Mystery

289 pages, ebook

First published December 31, 2012

About the author

Laekan Zea Kemp is a writer living in Austin, Texas. Her debut novel, Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet was a 2022 Pura Belpré Honor Recipient. She has three objectives when it comes to storytelling: to make people laugh, cry, and crave Mexican food. Her work celebrates Chicane grit, resilience, creativity, and joy while exploring themes of identity and mental health.

Find her on social media @LaekanZeaKemp
http://www.laekanzeakemp.com/

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sure wasn’t expecting this one to take me by storm with its sheer brilliance and originality! Sit back, let go of those niggling little doubts about “could this really happen just like this,” and enjoy a strong teen heroine in an unimaginable situation! THE GIRL IN BETWEEN by Laekan Zea Kemp is complete entertainment from start to finish.

Bryn is like a real life sleeping beauty. She could fall asleep and remain that way for days, weeks or even months, but while the world moves on all around her sleeping form, what is going on in her mind? Bryn isn’t in a suspended state, only to awaken with no memories of what happened, she goes to an alternate reality where a boy waits for her return. Is he real? Is he a figment of her imagination?

Doctors are baffled, or so they say, but will Bryn find they know more about her condition then they let on? Who is the boy? What does his existence in her dream world mean?

Wonderful writing, great pacing and a cast of characters that range from a quirky grandmother to the best friends a girl could have! I enjoyed THE GIRL IN BETWEEN and definitely recommend it for young adult readers looking for something just different enough to be mesmerizing!

Series: The Girl in Between - Book 1
Publication Date: September 30, 2014
Publisher: Laekan Zea Kemp
Genre: YA Fantasy
Print Length: 370 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Keighley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was wonderful & FREE!!

Why havent more people heard of it?!

I found this book when looking through the Fantasy / Paranormal Freebies on Amazon and so glad I did!

Plot
The story is about Bryn, a 17 year old girl suffering from a rare illness:

Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS) is a rare and complex neurological disorder characterized by recurring periods of excessive amounts of sleep, altered behavior, and a reduced understanding of the world. The disorder strikes adolescents primarily but can occur in younger children and adults. At the onset of an episode the patient becomes progressively drowsy and sleeps for most of the day and night (hypersomnolence), sometimes waking only to eat or go to the bathroom. Each episode lasts days, weeks or months during which time all normal daily activities stop. Individuals are not able to care for themselves or attend school and work. In between episodes, those with KLS appear to be in perfect health with no evidence of behavioral or physical dysfunction. KLS episodes may continue for 10 years or more. KLS is sometimes referred to in the media as “Sleeping Beauty” syndrome.

When Bryn is having one of these episodes she dreams of a place made up of all her memories and things shes lost in her short life. Shes alone here until a boy, Roman, washes up on the beach and she saves him from drowning.

So begins the race to discover if Roman is a 'coping mechanism' her mind has devised to combat the loneliness the disease has caused, or a real boy.

What I Loved

The 'Between' where Bryn and Roman spend there time together really intrigued me. Maybe I'm a meglomaniac but I've always wanted a universe I could change and control, and represented your personality and passion, a la a move i Love, What Dreams May Com..

I loved the parts of this book which took place in this setting.

The real world Bryn had a lot on her plate, dealing with a crippling condition which affected all parts of her life, the strain that put on her relationship with her mum and the guilt she felt for that, a waste of space father who showed up jsut often enough to hurt her, a constant struggle for normality and permanence that just broke my damn heart

Bryn fought for her dreams, and I found it actually inspiring!

Her Friends being ill so often left Bryn outcast and unpopular,

"that slight twinge in my stomach wasn’t because of Drew or Jessica, or Dani and Felix, or that one weird kid who sat behind me in Stats and always smelled like mayonnaise, or my Freshman algebra teacher whose name I could never remember and who was standing by the exit flirting with my old gym teacher who always called me Stacy. It wasn’t Carla Friedman who was kind of my friend until she got a nose job and became a cheerleader. It wasn’t the pretentious tree hugging vegans who shunned me for shaving my legs, or all of the people who’d had classes with me and sat next to me for years and never said a word other than to ask for a pen. In fact it wasn’t the faces I recognized at all. It was the ones I didn’t. It was me standing alone in that dark corner, watching the culmination of four years of trying to skate under the radar finally working.

I’d spent most of my life hating them, avoiding them, pretending like they didn’t exist. When I was the one who never really existed."

That really struck a nerve with me, the feeling of being on the outside of the popular crew took me right back to high school!

but her cousin Dani and best friend Felix brought some much needed laughs:

"“Or maybe you read too many romance novels,” he said. “Well, maybe you should try one. Might learn something.” “Like what?” he said. “How to cradle a baby while flexing my biceps? Or how to stalk someone and convince them I’m their soul mate as opposed to just some creepy fuck who gets off on watching chicks shave their legs? No thanks. I’ll just stick to porn.”

The Ending although the book continues on to a sequel, the ending isn't a superfrustrating cliffhanger. I was ALMOST tempted to pretned next book doesnt exist Now that they out of the 'Between' i am apprehensive the next book will be able to live up to this one! But I just love the concept and the writing too much to turn down the next book


What I didn't love so much NOT MUCH! But If I am pushed:
The Reveal of the night of Riomans accident felt a wee tad rushed, but guess it will be developed more in book two. Same with the German doc spilling his guts about his daughter.
Drew, ick, only time I put this book down was when his skeavy ass showed up. Didnt like how the domestic abuse / sexual assualt was alluded to without ever being out right stated. Poor Bryn!

So... TLDR:
If You looking for a well written, YA Paranormal with a unique concept, excellent world building, well rounded characters and HEART. pick this up 'cos its free and so UNDERRATED!!!

[Carol (StarAngel's Reviews) Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 KLS Stars

FREE

This book BLEW ME AWAY!!

A unique and emotional book centering around Bryn and her battle with KLS or otherwise known as "Sleeping Beauty Syndrome"

This is her journey trying to juggle school, getting accepted into college, her ex, graduation, prom all while battling her coma-like sleeps lasting anywhere from a few days to months.

Normally she would retreat into her dreams that would consist of her past memories until it was time to wake back up ----- until suddenly a mysterious boy appears washed up on the shore. He has no recollection of who he is or why he is even there.

Bryn must figure out why this boy is there stuck in her dream world or if he is even real. It seems though that he isn't the only thing Brea must deal with...a shadow seems to be following her around and it has every intention of killing her.

Action packed...thought provoking and original!

The only problem I had with this...the editing wasn't just a few mistakes - there was a bunch of problems with it.

[Kenchiin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept is good, but the story itself is quite uninteresting (same for the characters).
I wouldn't say "don't read it" but I wouldn't say "read it" either.

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Review:
I’m going to preface this review with notes about the series as a whole, before I get to my thoughts on this book in particular.

1) I’ve read this whole series (I’ve read Books 1-3 twice, actually), and this book and the first half of Book 2 were great, but the paranormal stuff got really inconsistent after that.

2) The series gets significantly darker as it goes on.

3) In regards to how the chronic illness is handled, *MINOR SPOILER (I don’t consider this a spoiler, but it’s something you don’t find out for sure until later in the series)* the illness turns out to be something paranormal, not a real chronic illness, and I often find that a frustrating trope. *END SPOILER*

But despite my complaints about things further in the series, I do still recommend this series because what I disliked about the later books may not be something you dislike, and, to be fair, I still liked a lot about them.

Now, onto my thoughts for this book.

This was the best, most realistic portrayal of chronic illness that I’ve ever read, at least in terms of the emotional aspects, as well as how it affects your life and those around you. As someone with a chronic illness, albeit a different one than Bryn, I can tell you that the author nailed what it feels like, all those little things that would never even cross the mind of the average healthy person. It will make you realize and appreciate things you’ve taken for granted or even complained about. It was never exaggerated, Bryn was just a normal girl trying to have a normal life, but her illness was still a constant part of her, and the realism was what made it so powerful. And it doesn’t matter that this character had just one chronic illness out of the thousands that are out there because understanding one is better than understanding none, and there are some thoughts, emotions, disappointments, strengths, and experiences that carry over among many different illnesses.

Because the truth was I was tired. I was tired of fighting but more importantly I was tired of losing, of being disappointed.

But maybe I could give myself something too—permission to keep trying. Even when it felt like it was all for nothing. Even if trying was all I ever did, I shouldn’t stop.

If I had to pull an all-nighter studying for a test or too many looming deadlines had me pulling out my hair, I wouldn’t end up with just some trendy coffee addiction. I’d end up in a mini-coma, face down in the middle of the studio or on the floor of the community showers.

My lip trembled, my throat raw, and I started to cry. But not because I didn’t look perfect. But because I looked healthy and because I wasn’t sure how long I’d stay that way.

Everything else in the book was well-written and (aside from the paranormal aspects, obviously) realistic too—Bryn’s imperfect and sometimes strained but still loving family, her strong and solid friendships, the general teenager/high school-ness of some of the characters and situations, the manipulative words and actions of Bryn’s on-again-off-again ex-boyfriend and the way he always knew exactly what to say to reel her back in when she tried to cut the ties between them, the lingering feelings she still had for him and the difficulty she had trying not to get reeled back in, the pain she felt over her father abandoning her when she was a kid, Roman’s terror and confusion at waking up in some strange world where no one but Bryn existed and worrying if maybe he really was just a figment of her imagination…

I also liked the writing. It was pretty without being overly frilly or metaphorical. And the plot was good too, slow-paced but never lagging. The real life parts were good because of their realism and relatability, Bryn’s relationships with her friends, family, and ex, and her experiences with her illness, but the dream state parts were interesting and had a kind of intimacy to them since it was just her and Roman, all alone, getting to know each other, trying to figure out who he was. And it was all kind of mysterious. I also enjoyed both Bryn’s and Roman’s POVs.

So overall, this particular book in the series was realistic but still mysterious with a hint of paranormal, pretty writing, and a fantastic portrayal of chronic illness!

*I’ve read this book multiple times. This review was written after my 2nd read.*

Reread Ratings:
3.5 Stars (1st Read – 2015)
4 Stars (2nd Read – 2016)

Recommended For:
Anyone who likes dark paranormal fantasy and character development and doesn't mind changing paranormal aspects and an open-for-interpretation ending. Anyone who wants to read an amazingly realistic portrayal of chronic illness (in Books 1 and 2).

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[Tanja (Tanychy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review also posted at Ja čitam, a ti?

It's been over a year now since I've got to read Breathing Ghost, I believe Leakan's first book and I couldn't believe that I had a chance to read such an interesting book. I fell in love with her writing then and I couldn't wait to read her new books. So I have finally got a chance to read The Girl In Between.

Knowing little about the author, I assumed that I'm going to read something unusual here and I did, in fact. It's a story about Bryn, who suffers from KLS, a thing I didn't know existed until I started this book. It's a real deal people, a real disease when people unexpectedly fall asleep and spend some time sleeping. The same has been happening with Bryn. She would suddenly drift of and sleep for days and of course that influenced her teenage life. She missed a lot of school and what is more a lot of deadlines. But the biggest problem was how the others behaved as if she was a freak. But there is one thing that almost no one knew about and it's what happens while she sleeps. Here we enter a new imaginary world where things don't always go according to the plan.

It's not only writing and how unusual this book was that made me like it so much. It was also how things seemed real at the same time, there was this background to the story which was really interesting and I cannot wait to read more about it. Besides, I always wondered what happens in human brain while it's in some sort of coma, and like the answer here (well, all but scary parts).

I won't even start about the romance in this story which was really sweet. Anyhow the only thing that bothered me a bit here, were the moments when there seemed to be too much coincidence for my taste. Still, I cannot wait to read the sequel, The Boy in Her Dreams!

[Aja: The Narcoleptic Ninja · Rating 4 out of 5]

What sort of horrible cliffhanger is that!?

I have like 4 other books I've been WAITING to read, but I need the fricken sequel for this!

GAH!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was gifted this book from Laekan Zea Kemp in exchange for an honest review. A lot of times gifted books are hit or miss. This book was a hit. It broke my heart in the best way possible. Laekan does an amazing job at world building. She's very descriptive and I found myself never question what the atmosphere around the characters looked or felt like. Everything from the her real world to her dream state is described in such a beautiful way. 

Not only did I love the places in this book I also loved the characters! Bryn is PERFECTLY written to portray the age she is. I remember being 16-18 and thinking and talking just like her. The relationship between her and her mom is just like mine and my fathers. Totally lax and easy going. As far as our leading man goes for this review I'm just going to call him "R", the reason for that is because the way she introduced his name was really cute and I don't wanna spoil you. The relationship between them is subtle, simple, and sweet. The only thing (and this is my only real complaint about the book) is that she spent a lot of time describing the setting and I wish she would have spent more time telling us what the characters looked like. I was left feeling so/so about what their complete appearance was. Besides that "R" seems like total boyfriend material and Bryn is a very interesting and quirky leading lady. As far as sub characters goes this story might have some of my favorite... Dani and Felix OMG LOVE! Espically Felix... If I was Bryn I would be laying it on a brother like a pop-tart. He sounds so cute, and he is beyond witty. Dani and Felix relationship gives so much comic relief to this book, and the times they are in it are some of my favorite moments. The things that Felix says and does had me dying and swooning. 

"Are you going to keep interrupting me or are you going to let me help our sick friend who has a guy in her head who may or may not be the link to some parallel universe where you are not a bitch?"

I know I know, he's not the LM but I just liked him so much. (You can even ask Leah I always tend to go for the sub male characters. I have no clue why.) Plus he does something SUPER cute and romantic, and I think you'll see why I loved him. Oh and then there's this guy named Drew, don't even get me started on that D. He's Bryn's ex and UGH HATE HIM!!! Wanted to kick him where the sun don't shine every time he showed he's face! Whoosh, just breathe! *composes self*. Her family is so well built even down to her Grandma whose obsession with left over food and worrying about them losing their V cards had me cracking up. "R" and Bryn's background stories are slowly uncovered as the book went on and "R's" tale had my heart hurting.

This story truly is like I said a heart breaking tale. Under the witty one liners, and mysterious search for answers this book is about enduring. It constantly had me thinking how hard it would be to have no control over my body. How I could just fall asleep and just miss huge chunks of my life. I can't even imagine how hard it would be on a person. The way Bryn handles it shows truly how strong of a character she is. I really enjoyed how this book both dipped into a sort of If I Stay feel and how it touched a little on the paranormal side. Another thing that I love about this book was the build up to the ending. There were a few small sections that were a little on the slow side but overall this book kept a steady pace the whole time leading up to the perfect cliff hanger ending...  All I can say is how can you leave me hanging like that Zemp?!?! It's not okay! My heart has a hole in it and you're to blame!



I can not wait to read book two and I'm very jealous of whomever wins the free E-copy. I want to hear more of "R" and Bryn's story, and I can't wait to see if their romantic relationship continues and I want, no need to know what happens to them!
Doesn't this book sound awesome? Well lucky for you guys, this book is now available for FREE! You can find it on Barnes and Noble and Amazon, but if for some reason the price hasn't updated to free yet, you can also find it here: Smashwords at no cost. 



Laekan was awesome enough to not only let us read this book in exchange for a review, but she is now letting us provide you guys with a giveaway! The sequel to TGiB is now available for purchase! The Boy in Her Dreams  is available on Amazon and Smashwords and will hopefully will resolve that killer cliffhanger that we were left with in TGiB. One lucky reader can win a free copy of it! 

CONTEST RULES!

This contest will be open November 1st through November 5th. On November 6th, one lucky winner will be chosen at random. In order to be eligible to win, you must complete all of the following:

-Follow us on our Instagram (@southernbredbooks)

-On Instagram, repost our photo of the books with  #sbsr

-Become a fan of Laekan on Goodreads

The more you repost and comment on our Instagram, the more likely you are to win! Also, it never hurts to comment on this blog post as well ;-) 

GOOD LUCK! We will contact the winner on 11/6! May the odds be ever in your favor!



 
Thank you Laekan Zea Kemp for the ARCs

[Dzenita · Rating 2 out of 5]

So our main character Bryn spends most of her days asleep due to her Kleine-Levin Syndrome (spelled Klein in the book). Because of this, Bryn doesn't have very many friends apart from her cousin Dani and friend Felix. This is Dani:

Nine years of riding bikes and chalking the sidewalk and copying each other's homework and spying on the neighbors. Nine years of growing up together...

You'd think that Bryn would love someone who has stuck by her even when she wasn't conscious. Instead Bryn is constantly - and I mean constantly criticizing her cousin.

But I wasn't like her. I didn't have a new boyfriend every week just so I didn't have to feel alone. I wasn't weak...like that.

Dani's eyes were swollen, red freckles spotting her cheeks. I wasn't really in the mood for Dani's drama.

Dani's mild eating disorder was definitely the most annoying thing about her.

Every mention of Dani is filled with hate and judgment - about her choice in boys, her eating, her clothing. It made it hard to connect with Bryn as our main character.

Bryn also does one of those "I'm different than everyone else" things. It's true her condition sets her apart and she struggles with wanting to be normal. But her comments are, again, more judgmental.

I'd never been the typical kid who wanted a pony or a goddamned trip to Disney World or a new car or a closet full of designer clothes.

There's another lengthy quote as well about Bryn looking into the mirror and how some "other girl" like Dani might see flaws but Bryn is just happy to look healthy. It's important that Bryn wants to look healthy and has a positive body image but why does that come at the cost of slandering "other girls?"

The actual story itself was an interesting premise. Bryn is unique with her syndrome in that she dreams and goes to a place of her memories. One day a boy washes up on the beach in her mind and he is a new mystery. I am definitely curious about what happens next. What is really going on with Bryn? What are the shadows following her? Is she the only one?

The writing was slow (and needs editing in places) and so I would hope that in the next book (which I may or may not read) the pace picks up.

Overall the premise really was unique and intriguing but Bryn's character was hard to relate to and was often unlikeable. The pacing can also use some work but I can see this idea being developed more and potentially being more action-packed.

[Melissa Levine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting, yet really boring story. Way, way, way too much fluff! A good majority of the book I was just skimming because there was so much crap that didn't really need to be said. Needless to say, the ending sucked! All that work skimming to get to that big cliffhanger! ;)

I wasn't a fan of the writing style because the author jumped around too much. There were many instances where I was confused due to the characters suddenly being somewhere else, and no it wasn't because I was skimming more than reading.

Overall, it was an interesting idea, just badly executed I think.

Questions/Comments:

"Two years earlier they'd lost Bryn's uncle, Dani's dad". I'm a little confused about this part.
Notes:
-Bryn and Dani are cousins
-Bryn's uncle (technically Dani's uncle also), the guy who is a twin to Bryn's father
-There were three brothers then?

Sulfur tears? How would someone have tears that what? smelled like sulfur? So the person is crying fart smelling streams from their eyes?

How was Bryn that deluded to where she thought she'd actually be able to go off to school? I mean seriously. Did she not realize the additional stress she was causing her mother?

So apparently Bryn had a birthmark next to her lip that we, the reader, don't find out about until the near end of the story.

"I love you." Bryn's last words to Roman before she woke up. How does she love him exactly? She doesn't even know him.

So the majority of Bryn's episodes involve her sleeping for several weeks, yet there was never any mention of a nurse or anyone coming back. Assuming that was the case, her mother was administering the catheter and whatnot for Bryn?

[Elena Johansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 23%. Where do I even start?

First, if the main character has a disease or other medical issue so serious that it affects every aspect of their life, and therefore the story, I would hope the name of the condition would be spelled correctly. I'd never heard of KLS before picking up this book, and I'll admit, it sounded so "out there" that I looked it up to find out if it was real. It is. But it's constantly spelled wrong throughout the text. I Googled "Klein-Levin Syndrome" only to discover it's actually Kleine-Levin Syndrome. I wouldn't take a book seriously if its main character was afflicted with AID or neumonia...just because I didn't know the name of this condition before doesn't mean the author should get away with getting it wrong.

I finally lost patience with the book when another medical error showed up: "What she lacked in precision she made up for in southern charm but it still wasn't enough to coax one of my arteries to the surface." If your nurse is trying to draw blood from an artery, she's doing it wrong. Words have specific meanings. Artery and vein and blood vessel are not interchangeable terms.

This particular sentence also displays one of the two major grammatical failings that appeared constantly. That sentence lacks clarifying commas and is just trying to do too much at once. It's far from the worst offender, but I'd put a comma after "precision" and "charm" if I kept the sentence that length. Were I the editor, though, I'd split the whole thing into two sentences. And fix the "artery" goof.

The other consistent problem was sentences with dangling clauses tacked on with no regard for their antecedents. There's pronoun confusion a-plenty, one sentence where I swear the "it" meant three different things the three times it was used, but this problem seemed especially egregious whenever scenery was being described: "I looked down the beach to where the water seemed to disappear behind the tree line, and then just past the next sand dune, the beach giving way to tall grass and a narrow dirt road that spilled into a bright blue sky."

I'm fine up until the first comma. Beach, water, water disappears at the tree line, makes perfect sense. But "and then just past..."? There's no verb there. No subject. Is the narrator looking past the next sand dune? Does the tree line extend to the next sand dune? And what "next" sand dune when it's the only one mentioned? Doesn't there have to be a first sand dune in order for there to be a "next" one? Why on earth are seven different landscape features all a part of a single sentence? (1. Beach, 2. Water, 3. Trees, 4. Dunes, 5. Tall Grass, 6. Dirt Road, 7. Sky. In case you didn't want to count yourself.) So, again, one sentence trying to do far too much at once.

And both of these issues are truly constant, to the point where I'd have to reread at least one sentence out of three to make sense of it. Some of them, I'm still not sure what the author intended to convey, and that's a serious problem.

Okay, so I haven't even touched the story yet. Because I'm 23% of the way into the book and there really isn't much of one. Girl has KLS. Girl has issues with school and personal relationships because of it. Mysterious boy shows up in her "dreams" that she shouldn't even be having, medically speaking. That's as far as the plot has progressed in the first quarter of the book--but keep in mind, the boy shows up in the very first chapter, so the only progression of that storyline is that the girl and boy meet and talk to each other during one of her episodes. In the "real" world it's all treading water, going to the doctor repeatedly, having episodes repeatedly, being miserable all the time, oh, and getting partially mauled in a closet at a party by her (maybe)(ex-)boyfriend.

I'm not hooked. I'm not even interested, because nothing about the story is engaging enough to make me want to wade through the constantly atrocious grammar.

[AHeartFullOfBooks❣️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*
What a phenomenal book. A book so sensual and real and thoughtful that I couldnt help but drown in it’s world. The story follows a girl who has a rare disease called Klein-Levin Syndrome. It causes the patient to sleep for long periods for an indefinite amount of time. We follow Bryn through her life between the real world and her dream-like state, trying to put her life back together into a sense of normalcy for her own sake as well as others around her. Then this boys who has no past, no memories shows up in her head. At first, she believes he is a figement of her imagination until it becomes apparent that he is more real than most things in her life. We go through a whirlwind of a story trying to figure out who this new boy in Bryn’s dream is and how he came to be in her head in the first place, live through Bryn’s eyes and heart to learn how she’s coping and moving on with her life. Add to that some drama of her ex-boyfriend, her cousin’s denial of a love for her best-friend who has been in love with her since they were 8 years old, not to mention that her father keeps showing up- undesired- by everyone after leaving her and her mom 6 years ago and claiming that he wants forgiveness even tho he’s not really working on it, and lastly her mother’s miserable life who she dedicates entirely towards her daughter and is never happy. This book is nothing like you would expect when getting into it. It’s so full of raw and real emotions from every character in the story.

I picked this book up randomly, not knowing what I was getting myself into, and I’ve lived a wonderful experience in such a complicated and heart wrenching story. I urge you to do the same and you will not regret it.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I'm just somewhat underwhelmed? The premise was good, but it kinda drags at certain points and it needs some editing. I feel no connection with any of the characters, and that makes it hard to care about them at all. There's more books in this series, but at the moment I don't feel inclined to read them, although I might eventually.

[Charlie · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5/5 Stars

DNF at 47%.

The cover is lovely. The blurb promising. But at 47% I'm finding it more and more difficult to keep interest in a story which I find to be dragging, the plotline disappointing so far which is giving me trouble to engage, especially when I have no emotional connection to any of the characters at all. So it's a DNF sadly.

[Sarah Hadd · Rating 5 out of 5]

NO WAY THAT JUST ENDED THAT WAY!! AAAHHHH ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?! Cliffhanger and there is no sequel?!?! DOES THE UNIVERSE HATE ME?!?

[Astrid Miles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please allow me to start by saying, OH MY! Sadly, I do not mean that in a good way. This book has so much potential. On some parts, it is pretty good, but then on the rest, it is difficult to read and understand. The author tries to add these…poetic (?) parts. The ideas jump around, and there are moving objects within.

Let me back up to what this book is about, because as I said, it is a really cool idea. This girl is diagnosed with a disease that makes you sleep randomly and for an unknown amount of time. When the main character, Bryn, is in this state she becomes a zombie-like person to those around her. She can still eat and drink, but she is unresponsive. When she is in this state, in her mind she is in this…alternate world that consists of places she has been in her life. In that world, she is the only person there, until this boy washes ashore. Now she needs to figure out why and what is really wrong with her.

How is that not interesting!? It is incredibly captivating all on its own, but then you get details and bits thrown at you at random. Oh and back to the poetic (I do not know how else to describe it) parts. Here is an example: “I liked to make things with just my hands- calloused fingers, heat from my palms, the sharp corner of my thumbnail.” That is the whole sentence. I would like to know who read that line and thought, “Yup, that makes sense.”

Oh! I cannot forget to mention the amount of fragment sentences this book contains. For Example: “He wasn’t the sentimental type. The desperate, divulging type.” What about the desperate divulging type? Was he that? Or is she listing other types that the guy is not?

There are also inconsistencies. For example in one chapter Bryn is complaining about the nurse she got because the nurse is bad at drawing blood and then a chapter later Bryn is saying that she has had so much blood drawn that she does not even feel the needle anymore. Just so you know, it had only been at most one weeks since the blood was drawn and she had not gotten more since that day. There were others like this one throughout the book and throughout the characters personalities.

Overall, I am disappointed. I was really looking forward to a new and interesting book. Right now the book is free on Kindle so give it a shot if you want. As for me, I am done with this series. Such a bummer.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Girl In Between is unlike any book I’ve read before and is an excellent start to a YA paranormal series. Even better is that all books in the trilogy are now available to read.

I was a little unsure about this book at first, but once I got a quarter of the way into it, the story really grew on me and grabbed my attention, and I found it very difficult to put down.

The story focusses on a teenage girl named Bryn who has a rare sleep disorder called Klein-Levin Syndrome or KLS. This illness is often referred to as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome, and this book can be seen as a unique take on that fairy tale.

I really loved the idea of this story where Bryn enters a curious realm during her extended sleeping episodes and it is also where she encounters a mysterious boy. Bryn tries to work out who he is, why he’s in her other worldly realm, and if he’s real or not. Happening at the same time are Bryn’s visits with medical specialists, hoping to find a cure for her disorder. The last part of the story was simply mind blowing and I can’t wait to continue on with the second book in the series.

All the characters in this book are complex and three dimensional, as well as being real and believable. I really liked Bryn, seeing her strengths as well as her weaknesses, and I really felt for her as she deals with her illness and attempts to maintain a sense of hope that one day there will be a cure for KLS and she will have some normalcy in her life. I especially enjoyed the character of Bryn’s grandmother who made me laugh a lot and who seems to have some sort of mysterious connection to Bryn’s illness.

The Girl In Between is a captivating tale full of surprising twists and turns and I found it to be very intriguing and suspenseful. A perfect paranormal story with an original premise, wonderfully written with interesting and real characters, that also handles a variety of teen issues and how a debilitating disease not only affects the individual but how it affects those around them as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to lovers of paranormal stories.

[April Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

“People don’t exist in just the light or the dark. They exist in the contrast. In the shadows where the two overlap.”

Author Laekan Zea Kemp adds her own twist to the complex neurological disorder, KLS, in this fascinating young adult urban fantasy about a real life sleeping beauty.

Teenager Bryn Reyes spends more than half of her life asleep. When her eyes shut, she wakes up in an alternate dreamland reality where she navigates through a world of her own mixed memories. During one of her episodes, a real boy washes up on the shore in her dreams with no memory of how he got there, or of who he is.

I loved the nostalgia Bryn experienced as she navigated dreamland. Bryn’s dreamlike states felt dreamlike to me. When Bryn was in her alternate reality, the story unfolded much like a dream would — kind of confusing, hazy, mixed memories of the past. Basically, it was very convincing.
I loved the twist with the boy who washed up on the shore. The discovery of his former self was heartbreaking.

I enjoyed the race against time and the super sweet ending.

BUT I HATED THAT CLIFFHANGER! :) because I wanted more! Holy wow, what a place to conclude the book!
Five stars, loved it.

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My dearest Bryn, dream with your heart and the universe will bend at your will"

I loved The Girl In Between. I loved that it made me feel that I was trying to figure out what was happening right along Bryn. This is the story of a girl that suffers of Klein-Levin Syndrome, which means she sleeps for days and even weeks in a row. She doesn't dream during her prolonged sleep but she goes to a place in her mind fill with memories, and so has been for the last four years until things start to change.

Even though the protagonist is Bryn she depends a lot of other people to help her catch up in the real world when she is finally awake, she hopes one day to be free of her sickness and be able to be normal. Her mom is a strong woman who has a huge weight in her shoulders, Bryn's uncle is the father figure she has always needed, Dani is her wild but loving cousin, grandma is a little weird, and Felix is her funny best friend. All these great characters created a wonderful story.

This book is weird and I was consumed by the plot, at times I was a little scared but I'm glad I didn't miss a thing about it. The Girl In Between was cute and had me a little on tears but mostly I was laughing so hard, mainly laughing at Felix and Dani.

“Are you going to keep interrupting me or are you going to let me help our sick friend who has a guy in her head who may or may not be the link to some parallel universe where you are not a bitch?”

"I just think sometimes you’re a little too comfortable with being alone. I know you like your privacy and everything and that’s fine but being alone isn’t all that great, not all the time.”

I'm jumping right into the sequel... try to stop me.

[Anna (Unquenchable Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

********I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own********

Bryn is a sleeping beauty. She has Klein-Levin Syndrome. It makes her sleep for weeks and weeks. But when she’s in this state of sleep, she’s not like the other patients. She dreams. Except the dreams feel extremely real and she’s not alone there. Her symptoms are worsening and if she doesn’t figure this out soon, she’ll run out of time.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I enjoyed this book quite a lot. I’ll start in the reverse order than I usually do these reviews in and talk about the plot first. The plot was my favorite. It kept me on my toes the entire time wondering what was actually going on. I really enjoyed the whole mystery of it. What was actually happening? What’s fake? Could she be unreliable? I honestly don’t know. There were so many great things that caught me by surprise. I can’t say them though be spoilers.

The characters were okay. The main character, Bryn, was either unreliable or reliable. I couldn’t figure out which. I loved how driven she was to try to have a normal life. Dani, who is one of her only friends, was a cool character. I loved how she supported Bryn. Then there’s Felix, the love interest for Dani. He was my favorite character. In the book, I thought of him as a geeky person. Dani and Felix’s relationship was just a relief to all that was going on. It could be all about the mystery then go straight into arguing about the relationship. Now onto Drew. First off, let me say I hated him. Like, I really hated him. Drew is Bryn’s trash of a ex-boyfriend. He was just to jerky and annoying in the book. And how did he just keep popping up everywhere? Just wondering.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and it was a lot of fun to read.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, pretty good but slightly underwhelming. I'm just getting tired of series' first books being pretty boring and drawn out, only to lead to an overly predictable and not all that tempting cliffhanger. I don't want to spend an entire day trying to get to one moment or realization that is given to the reader on the LITERAL last line of the book.

Also, the author misspelled the disease. The entire plot revolves around Kleine-Levin Syndrome. The author referred to the syndrome as "Klein-Levin" the entire time. How was that not caught? It takes a simple google search.

Overall, the book had an odd feel to it, something like The Lake House but somehow even less realistic. I eventually got tired of trying to follow some of the random plot twists that did not flow with the point of the book.

I did enjoy the characters (though many were underdeveloped--possibly on purpose to emphasize the main character's independence). I did enjoy the realistic interpretation of a controlling (ex)boyfriend.

Overall, the book could use some work, but I have to give props to a book that keeps me up all night and has me finished within 24 hours.

[Ben Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than expected. Not a bad read for anyone who likes real-world YA romance with a twist.

[Amanda Damiao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good

Execellent book. Very creative and well written. I really enjoyed. Couldnt put it down,even though it was a little predictable !

[Ayah · Rating 4 out of 5]

" That was one of the worst things about being sick. Someone was always waiting on you, which meant disappointing people was inevitable."

As a person who has mixed headaches ( Migraine + Tension headache), I almost cried upon reading the quote above. I missed out on a lot of University events because of my headaches, which obviously made me upset. But then I have to call someone to apologize about missing an outing,etc..Now that always made feel so much worse. I remember missing out on our senior photoshoot day because I literally couldn't get out of bed, and the number of people who called me, or asked me the day after why didn't just come.... Ugh, it makes it so much worse because now guilt, that is not supposed to exist, takes over my thoughts and emotions for a while.

So this is a story about Bryn, a girl with KLS ; aka, Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. When she is sleeping (not the type of sleep that we usually have because yes, she can also sleep like everyone else), she lives in a house that is created from her memories. No-one but her goes to that place. When she is awake, she is torn between hustling all of the schoolwork that she missed, and visiting her Dr & trying new treatments. Oh, and she has to deal with her annoying on-again- off-again ex boyfriend.

Okay, but what is KLS?

A rare sleep disorder characterized by persistent episodic hypersomnia and cognitive or mood changes.

But then someone ends up on the shore of her memory land, a boy who doesn't remember anything. Scary Shadows begin to follow her. Is her KLS getting worse, and will she fall in love with boy that lives in her dreams? Maybe...

The book is for free on kindle by the way, so if this sounds like your cup of tea, the get it. Beginning this series would cost you nothing.

I like how MH was integrated into a Fantasy novel. I believe that we really need more MC with Mental Illness that participate in all sorts of genres.



The book doesn't ignore how the illness is probably going to affect Bryn as she grows up. The Discussion of applying for college, and enrolling as a college student was done in a really good way.

Having high hopes isn't healthy; being realistic is the best thing to do, but never stop trying or dreaming . This is me summarizing that part of the book, and it hits close to home.

When I finished this, I didn't feel like I read a MH book. But as I write this review, I can see how strongly this book has affected me.

I was disappointed to know that the rest of the series almost completely ditches the MH concept, but I am still interested to see where the story goes.

[Joana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, I was so pleasantly surprised :) I wasn't completely sure that I would like this - the description was somewhat interesting, but it was the cover that sold me on it, because it's probably the most beautiful cover ever!!
The plot itself turned out to be very interesting, and there were a few times I feared that it was going in a wrong direction, but it didn't and it continued on a great path. I have no idea how faithful this is to KLS, but it was interesting to see the doctor's appointments and the way it affected her family - the family aspect of the book was great, you really got to see Bryn's relationship with her mother, grandmother and uncle.
The best part was definitely the friendship between Bryn, Dani and Felix - it was so natural, caring and always so much fun, they just really supported each other!! So I always wanted more of them, but it was stolen by an unnecessary love triangle, I'm normally not against this trope, but it really brought nothing to this particular story and sadly filled awake time when Bryn could have been with her friends or family
The main love interest was good, and it's really fascinating how you meet him very slowly, since there's some memory loss in the mix, and there's quite a few surprises in there
A very entertaining read, with great relationships (of all types)!! I got this book for free on Google Play and you can check if it's still available. Sadly the rest of the series is not free...

(tw: suicide)

[Katie B (Bisforbookiemonster) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll admit it, I’m extremely skeptical when it comes to the free YA books I find for my Kindle. They all seem to be the exact same plot with the exact same characters, regurgitated over and over in different settings and in different guises. It’s gotten to the point where I rarely even read the YA freebies anymore. But this one is different.

First of all, the premise struck me as something new and exciting. I love a paranormal teen romance as much as the next YA reader, but the fact that this doesn’t fit into that category is extremely refreshing. It’s about a girl who has been diagnosed with Klein-Levin Syndrome, meaning that she falls asleep for long periods of time – anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. While she’s asleep, she goes to this dream world that strikes me as being super similar to that creepy city-on-the-beach limbo world in Inception. You know, it’s built out of memories, she can control what happens…sound familiar?


Personally, I love Inception, so I am a-okay with that.

Anyway, one day this boy shows up washed up on Bryn’s beach. He’s nearly dead and Bryn saves his life, but the first half of the book (and maybe even the first three quarters) are spent with her trying to decide if he’s real or not.



SPOILER ALERT: He’s real. Super real. And he’s in her head, which is a mystery that Bryn sets out to solve in the real waking world. Meanwhile these shadow beasties are out to get her (kind of like in Kingdom Hearts) and she’s pretty much running for her life.

The plot itself is refreshing – no love triangles, no teenage angst, no fake best friends. Bryn does have her worries and obstacles to overcome, of course, but they relate to the real complications that her illness causes in her daily life, as well as how her “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome” affects her family. This is real, you guys.

Bryn herself is a pretty kickass main character. So she’s not running around shooting people and saving the world like Katniss and Tris – this isn’t that kind of story anyway. I feel like the series may have the potential of becoming a bit more action-packed due to the creepy shadows that are after her, but mostly it’s a mind game. Bryn lacks the self-doubt that most of the protagonists in these YA novels seem to have. She never walks around thinking that she’s ugly when she’s actually super pretty, she never obsesses over what other people think of her, and even better, she doesn’t freak out about whether or not the boy she loves actually loves her back. She’s got more important things to worry about, such as if she’ll be able to live a normal life as a college student with her disease. Or, you know, how to escape from these shadow things with her life.

Then we have Roman, who is probably the most average love interest I’ve ever read in a YA novel with fantasy elements. He doesn’t have big muscles – in fact, he has no muscles at all. There’s a cute little scene about that, actually:

“‘You were checking yourself out. While I was gone.’
‘I was just, you know, looking for clues like you said.’
‘By looking at yourself naked.’
‘I wasn’t naked. I was…never mind.’
‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘If it turns out you play an instrument you won’t need muscles.’
He cocked an eyebrow.”

Little moments like that in this book lightened the mood and made me smile. Anyway, back to Roman! He’s cute but not “hot” and not once is he described as being an “Adonis.”


Thank goodness for that.

He’s a real teenage kid who makes mistakes and has issues with his home life. He’s far from perfect, and I love him for that. So does Bryn.

That’s the one thing about this book that kind of gave me pause: Roman and Bryn fall in love, as does every other teenage couple in the history of YA. While it’s not completely out of the blue, it does seem a bit intense. But hey, maybe this Inception-like dream world makes you more likely to wear your heart on your sleeve. Who knows?

Though this book didn’t completely blow my mind, I definitely enjoyed it, which is more than I can say for a lot of the other YA freebies out there. Plus it intrigued me enough to convince me to buy the second book in the series, so that has to count for something, right?

Final Rating: 4 stars

[JoyLynn Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is actually really good, especially since it was a free ebook 😱😁 Only half way done but I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

OMG!!

NOT A CLIFFHANGER!


Ok, to finish this review. This book was really interesting and I can't wait to read more! The whole idea of *SPOILER ALERT* something dark, a shadow, following her both in her dream world and then while she is awake? It SMILED at her?!? Her grandmother's flowers rotting and turning black and it spreading? It's so good and so creepy I can't believe I've never heard of this book before.

The only real BOO! 👎 I have is that this whole series is ebook only, and while it's great the 1st one is free, I was really hoping that I could have physical copies to put on my shelf.

[Magen - Inquiring Professional Dog Trainer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not bad, but I'd recommend passing on it

2.5 stars A few years ago, I unexpectedly became chronically ill and disabled. It is an isolating process, one few people understand, so I was excited to try a book where the protagonist deals with chronic illness. I was hoping to see some of what I struggle with, what I feel, and how it affects my soul, but there wasn't evidence of a deep understanding of what it is to be chronically ill. It's not that my experience varies from the protagonist, but that the discussion of what it's like to be chronically ill is referred to in very general terms as though the experience is not fully understood. But to be fair, the book was lacking on writing that could transport one into the world, let alone inside the characters' heads. For example, there are two narrators, but if it wasn't for their names appearing at the top of each chapter, it would take awhile for a reader to know who is narrating. Their voices are the same and neither character is flushed out or given enough depth to be memorable. This is pretty typical of Kindle First books, so it in and of itself isn't​ the reason for the low rating. It's the story, or lack of one, that is the reason I'm not recommending this. What storyline there is, is pretty boilerplate​: girl without many friends and with a dysfunctional family has two love interests to choose from, one who is a sweet, caring guy and the other who doesn't take no for an answer and she can't get over. That storyline​ drags on for longer than strictly necessary and doesn't add much tension to the story as it's pretty clear where she will land. There is a mystery the girl is trying to unravel, but it's not very interesting and at no point did I get drawn in enough to really want to know how it plays out. The other storyline centers around her worsening illness. Two of the three storylines are wrapped up by the end of the book and the other one will be addressed in the next book along with an obvious new storyline, which is also revealed by the title of the second book. Neither the unresolved storyline nor the new storyline are interesting enough for me to want to read the next book in the series. If you read the plot description and find it interesting, don't mind lack of depth and engaging writing, and want an easy read, then this book would be a solid pick, otherwise, pass on it. I received this book free through the Kindle First program, but it did not affect my review.

[Carina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished reading this book at lunch today so the initial 'shock' I felt upon finishing this has somewhat faded. Now I am amazed that this book is only 289 pages! It certainly felt a lot longer - especially as it took me over a week to finish it (granted that was only reading it on the train in the morning and for a few minutes at lunch).

I've noticed that because I am reading more books whilst I am unable to access the site I tend to forget some of the niggles that irritate me whilst reading the book. As such I will say there were times when I felt the writing was perhaps a bit weak (though it could simply have been the characterisation) but this certainly lessened as I neared the end of the book.

Now, I don't make it much of a secret that I do not appreciate books that make you have to read on, and this book pretty much falls squarely in the camp of, if I want a conclusion, I need to keep reading. (Best way I can think to describe this - take the Anita Blake series by L K Hamilton - each book can be pretty much read as a stand-alone with very few things that pass from book to book (mainly the lovers and powers) - I never felt like the author was *making* me spend money to get my conclusion as each book had a clear start, middle and end). Now of course there are some exceptions (the Dark Tower series by Stephen King springs to mind here, as does all of the books by Tamora Pierce) and this feeling only ever goes for the first book in a series (you can hardly expect book two of a trilogy not to set-up the next book really!). But the ending here, I put it down and was rather miffed at the author for ending it just there - I mean... seriously how can you end it like that? Had I been around my laptop at the time there is a pretty decent chance I'd have downloaded the next book in the series then and there! So very well done on the author for managing to not quite exasperate me.

That said, I am now 7 hours on from lunch now and I don't really know if I liked this book that much to buy the next in the series (especially as I now know this is going to be a four part series). I would say it is certainly more likely that I will read more of this series than some other recent books of mine though.