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Sleepless Duology #2
The Dreamless
Win a free print copy of this book!
11 days and 19:35:41
50 copies available
U.S. only
Jen Williams stuns in a heartrending sequel to The Sleepless that is as romantic as it is deadly.
Will Lucian pursue chaos and power?
Will Artair choose isolation, or will he choose to walk out into the wider world?
And Elver, perhaps, has the hardest choice of all.
After being sacrificed yet again at the hands of Mother Maura, Elver has returned from the dead even more jih than human. A strange new power simmers beneath her skin alongside a warning from the Queen of Serpents: though she’s been granted another chance at life, someday soon, Elver will be called from the land of mortals.
Now that Artair knows the spirit with whom he shares a body, Lucian, is an ordinary human, the two have formed an uneasy truce. While they attempt to wield their shred of Maura’s stolen power—the only thing keeping her from ascending to full godhood—they’re also confronted with feelings for Elver that are impossible to deny.
But Maura is out for revenge. As dangerous new alliances brew among the Twelve, Elver, Artair, and Lucian must set out to find the only being in existence capable of killing a god. And Elver will need to decide once and for all with which of the Sleepless her poisoned heart lies.
Will Lucian pursue chaos and power?
Will Artair choose isolation, or will he choose to walk out into the wider world?
And Elver, perhaps, has the hardest choice of all.
After being sacrificed yet again at the hands of Mother Maura, Elver has returned from the dead even more jih than human. A strange new power simmers beneath her skin alongside a warning from the Queen of Serpents: though she’s been granted another chance at life, someday soon, Elver will be called from the land of mortals.
Now that Artair knows the spirit with whom he shares a body, Lucian, is an ordinary human, the two have formed an uneasy truce. While they attempt to wield their shred of Maura’s stolen power—the only thing keeping her from ascending to full godhood—they’re also confronted with feelings for Elver that are impossible to deny.
But Maura is out for revenge. As dangerous new alliances brew among the Twelve, Elver, Artair, and Lucian must set out to find the only being in existence capable of killing a god. And Elver will need to decide once and for all with which of the Sleepless her poisoned heart lies.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 7, 2026
5 people are currently reading
6344 people want to read
About the author
Jen Williams
36 books1,693 followersJen Williams lives in London with her partner and their small ridiculous cat. Having been a fan of grisly fairy tales from a young age, these days Jen writes dark unsettling thrillers with strong female leads, as well as character-driven fantasy novels with plenty of adventure and magic. Her debut novel, The Copper Promise, kicked off the Copper Cat trilogy in 2014, and since then she has twice won the British Fantasy Award for her second trilogy, the Winnowing Flame. Her first thriller, Dog Rose Dirt, was published with HarperCollins in July 2021. Jen has two upcoming releases in 2023: Games for Dead Girls with Harpercollins, and Talonsister with Titan. When she’s not writing books she enjoys messing about with video games and embroidery, and also works as a part-time bookseller and a freelance copywriter.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 30, 2026
What a wonderful way to complete this duology. I can see myself rereading this series multiple times.
Jen did a wonderful job at exploring power, relationships and self-discovery all while keeping a very whimsical and witty tone.
I’m so glad that I got to spend more time with my fave MMCs (yes, there’s 2) and our admirable FMC. I feel very attached to these characters and it’s hard to believe that they aren’t actually real 💔
This series just feels like a warm hug and I look forward to reading more by this author.
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Jen did a wonderful job at exploring power, relationships and self-discovery all while keeping a very whimsical and witty tone.
I’m so glad that I got to spend more time with my fave MMCs (yes, there’s 2) and our admirable FMC. I feel very attached to these characters and it’s hard to believe that they aren’t actually real 💔
This series just feels like a warm hug and I look forward to reading more by this author.
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What I just don’t get is why Jen Williams is not one of those authors everyone is absolutely screaming about! Every book I have ever read by Jen Williams has been an absolute cornucopia of world-building, character creation and development and blow your mind, stunning plots and craft that always transport me away from this absolute mess of a world we live in.
The Dreamless is the conclusion to the duology that began The Sleepless truly and richly deserves, a duology whose originality raises it head and shoulders above the vast number of YA romance fantasy series that plague our bookshelves. Williams world building is so well structured, layered, complex and rich that the atmosphere raised the hairs on my neck. The structure of the story of conflict between gods, monsters and magic that at its heart puts the world itself at peril.
I absolutely adored each and every one of the characters in this duology, even those I loathed, as their structure, creation, arc and development was so comprehensively and beautifully created to bring out those distinct facets of their personalities. From Lucian and Artair’s initial conflict in The Sleepless to the dynamics in their relationship in one and the same body as they faced foes and enemies in their journey with Elver to fight Maura and keep the Jih safe, to Elver’s arc as she grew and changed throughout both The Sleepless and The Dreamless, plus of course Fleet growing from baby to adolescent, pack, pack, pack.
From the first page to the last I was totally immersed in their journey and the dynamics of their relationships, which most definitely did not have the most auspicious of starts, and I absolutely adored my return to the magical world of gods and monsters, where not all monsters are seen through the seeing eye. I am full of admiration for how Williams challenges the distinction between the internal and external monster, and just how like you cannot judge a book by it’s cover, you often can’t judge a monster by it’s appearance.
I’m not going to go into the details of the plot as this will only take it away from those fortunate enough to read it for the first time but, the bitter-sweetness of the story is perfect for this world and if you are truly looking for your next auto-buy author, pick up The Sleepless and The Dreamless to be transported to a world where beauty and monstrousness are not defined by what the eye sees.
Thank you so much First Ink, MacMillan Children’s Books, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
The Dreamless is the conclusion to the duology that began The Sleepless truly and richly deserves, a duology whose originality raises it head and shoulders above the vast number of YA romance fantasy series that plague our bookshelves. Williams world building is so well structured, layered, complex and rich that the atmosphere raised the hairs on my neck. The structure of the story of conflict between gods, monsters and magic that at its heart puts the world itself at peril.
I absolutely adored each and every one of the characters in this duology, even those I loathed, as their structure, creation, arc and development was so comprehensively and beautifully created to bring out those distinct facets of their personalities. From Lucian and Artair’s initial conflict in The Sleepless to the dynamics in their relationship in one and the same body as they faced foes and enemies in their journey with Elver to fight Maura and keep the Jih safe, to Elver’s arc as she grew and changed throughout both The Sleepless and The Dreamless, plus of course Fleet growing from baby to adolescent, pack, pack, pack.
From the first page to the last I was totally immersed in their journey and the dynamics of their relationships, which most definitely did not have the most auspicious of starts, and I absolutely adored my return to the magical world of gods and monsters, where not all monsters are seen through the seeing eye. I am full of admiration for how Williams challenges the distinction between the internal and external monster, and just how like you cannot judge a book by it’s cover, you often can’t judge a monster by it’s appearance.
I’m not going to go into the details of the plot as this will only take it away from those fortunate enough to read it for the first time but, the bitter-sweetness of the story is perfect for this world and if you are truly looking for your next auto-buy author, pick up The Sleepless and The Dreamless to be transported to a world where beauty and monstrousness are not defined by what the eye sees.
Thank you so much First Ink, MacMillan Children’s Books, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What an amazing way to finish this duology.
I bought the first book without ever reading anything by Jen Williams before, and I completely fell in love with it, so I was incredibly excited, and very grateful to get the chance to read the ARC of The Dreamless. Somehow this second book captured everything I loved about the first and gave me the perfect conclusion to the series.
This duology honestly felt like a warm hug. The world-building is magical, immersive, and so easy to get lost in. I was pulled straight back into the story from the very first page and didn’t want to leave this world behind again.
Sometimes with duologies, one book ends up stronger than the other, but that definitely wasn’t the case here. Both books are equally brilliant in my opinion, and together they create such a beautiful YA romantasy series.
I can already see myself rereading this in the future, and now I desperately need the special edition from Waterstones to match my copy of the first book.
I bought the first book without ever reading anything by Jen Williams before, and I completely fell in love with it, so I was incredibly excited, and very grateful to get the chance to read the ARC of The Dreamless. Somehow this second book captured everything I loved about the first and gave me the perfect conclusion to the series.
This duology honestly felt like a warm hug. The world-building is magical, immersive, and so easy to get lost in. I was pulled straight back into the story from the very first page and didn’t want to leave this world behind again.
Sometimes with duologies, one book ends up stronger than the other, but that definitely wasn’t the case here. Both books are equally brilliant in my opinion, and together they create such a beautiful YA romantasy series.
I can already see myself rereading this in the future, and now I desperately need the special edition from Waterstones to match my copy of the first book.
May 9, 2026
What came to mind reading this one:
- Adventure storyline with high stakes
- love triangle but not main focus
- unusual love triangle, definitely not the norm!
- mythical creatures
- funny, lovable animal companion
- fights with gods
- narrative around being different and acceptance
- quite fast paced
- short chapters, quick read
This is the 2nd in a duology and wraps up quite nicely with a sprinkle of a hint that maybe there will be more from the world to come.
One thing to note is this series is marketed as a fantasy romance but I would say it's fantasy with romantic subplot. The romance doesn't even start until the very end of book one.
Overall I enjoyed the Duology! I have read three series by this author now - The Ninth Rain remains my favourite but this one has earned second place. :)
- Adventure storyline with high stakes
- love triangle but not main focus
- unusual love triangle, definitely not the norm!
- mythical creatures
- funny, lovable animal companion
- fights with gods
- narrative around being different and acceptance
- quite fast paced
- short chapters, quick read
This is the 2nd in a duology and wraps up quite nicely with a sprinkle of a hint that maybe there will be more from the world to come.
One thing to note is this series is marketed as a fantasy romance but I would say it's fantasy with romantic subplot. The romance doesn't even start until the very end of book one.
Overall I enjoyed the Duology! I have read three series by this author now - The Ninth Rain remains my favourite but this one has earned second place. :)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What a way to end the duolgy 🥹
I knew if I wasn't in a funk with reading at the moment I would have devoured this book quicker. I loved how this book picks up immediately after the events of the Sleepless and now on this new journey there are plenty of new things to discover and gods too.
The ending did get me abit emotionally (no spoilers) but my heart it suffering from that final decision made 😭
I knew if I wasn't in a funk with reading at the moment I would have devoured this book quicker. I loved how this book picks up immediately after the events of the Sleepless and now on this new journey there are plenty of new things to discover and gods too.
The ending did get me abit emotionally (no spoilers) but my heart it suffering from that final decision made 😭
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is such a brilliant duology, and I'm so glad I gave it a chance. After the turbulent events of The Sleepless, this sequel is an exciting and non-stop adventure of Gods and magic and "monsters". The world building is clever and I loved every page!
I received a copy form the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy form the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews