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Never Wake
Emma Webster is the victim of a brutal assault. Because of the resulting terror, she spends two years as a self-sentenced prisoner locked inside her condo, living a lonely but safe existence - at least she thought it was safe until the world outside her window goes silent.
Troy Nanson, a bicycle messenger, awakens in a hospital with an excruciating headache, but she has no memory of how she was injured or how long she has been there. When her calls for help go unanswered, Troy leaves her bed to search for hospital staff members, only to find them unconscious in the hospital lounge. They have pulses and are breathing, but she cannot rouse them. Are they comatose, drugged? In a trance-induced sleep? She calls 911, but no one answers. As she explores downtown Portland, Oregon, Troy's suspicions are confirmed - the rest of the world has fallen asleep, and nothing she does will wake them. Fear and desperation cause Troy's tenuous grip on reality to slip. She's ready to give up, but then she finds Emma.
Believing they are the only people awake in the entire world, these two women who are as different from each other as they could possibly be, come to depend on one another to find their way through the insanity that surrounds them. Their initial need for simple companionship turns into an attraction that they are just beginning to explore when Troy stumbles across evidence that results in some startling realizations.
There are at least two other people still awake in Portland, but one of them is a murderer. Can Troy and Emma find a way to outsmart the killer, or will they, too, become those who NEVER WAKE?
Troy Nanson, a bicycle messenger, awakens in a hospital with an excruciating headache, but she has no memory of how she was injured or how long she has been there. When her calls for help go unanswered, Troy leaves her bed to search for hospital staff members, only to find them unconscious in the hospital lounge. They have pulses and are breathing, but she cannot rouse them. Are they comatose, drugged? In a trance-induced sleep? She calls 911, but no one answers. As she explores downtown Portland, Oregon, Troy's suspicions are confirmed - the rest of the world has fallen asleep, and nothing she does will wake them. Fear and desperation cause Troy's tenuous grip on reality to slip. She's ready to give up, but then she finds Emma.
Believing they are the only people awake in the entire world, these two women who are as different from each other as they could possibly be, come to depend on one another to find their way through the insanity that surrounds them. Their initial need for simple companionship turns into an attraction that they are just beginning to explore when Troy stumbles across evidence that results in some startling realizations.
There are at least two other people still awake in Portland, but one of them is a murderer. Can Troy and Emma find a way to outsmart the killer, or will they, too, become those who NEVER WAKE?
228 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Gabrielle Goldsby
10 books35 followersGabrielle Goldsby is the author of several novels including Forward Magazine finalist, Remember Tomorrow, the Lambda Literary Award winning Wall of Silence, and The Caretaker’s Daughter, recipient of the Alice B. Lavender Certificate. A Northern California transplant, Gabrielle currently resides in Portland, Oregon. When not writing, she enjoys reading, camping, hiking, and lifting the heaviest things she can get her hands on.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 1, 2021
This to me is more alternate reality(non-scifi) than romance kind of story, nevertheless, I enjoyed the after coma hope of romance.
On the downside, I got confused a bit trying to understand the pov's of each character especially how Jake is tied to the characters but later I got accustomed to the writing and of course Jake's role.
On the downside, I got confused a bit trying to understand the pov's of each character especially how Jake is tied to the characters but later I got accustomed to the writing and of course Jake's role.
January 27, 2020
3.8. Una buena idea con problemas en el desarrollo y los diálogos. Creo que lo que más me molesto fueron los espacios en blanco que tuvo en ciertas partes de la historia, pasaba de un tema a otro sin una transición adecuada y eso molesta. En otras partes sientes como si hubiera pegado ideas sin conexión en un parrafo y por eso te da la impresión de que algunos eventos ocurren precipitadamente y sin desarrollo. Lo sentí específicamente cuando tienen sexo la primera vez.
Otra cosa es esa forma de escritura... la que siempre le peleo a los editores, en un mismo parrafo con 10 mil puntos seguidos y en cada punto... Ella dijo punto, Ella penso punto, ella cree punto, pero ella no sabe, punto... ¿en serio? Horrible y también super molesto de leer.
Por otro lado la idea estaba super buena y los giros de la historia también, las historias paralelas y la forma de despistar las uso bien. El final fue muy adecuado y me dejó con la sensación de querer más de la historia general y no tanto de la de Troy y Emma, no se, es mi opinión, que le vamos a hacer.
Creo que podría haber pulido más todo el libro y sería una excelente obra, pero por como fue, pues es bastante aceptable y lamentablemente se quedó en algo más, nada épico ni remarcable.
Otra cosa es esa forma de escritura... la que siempre le peleo a los editores, en un mismo parrafo con 10 mil puntos seguidos y en cada punto... Ella dijo punto, Ella penso punto, ella cree punto, pero ella no sabe, punto... ¿en serio? Horrible y también super molesto de leer.
Por otro lado la idea estaba super buena y los giros de la historia también, las historias paralelas y la forma de despistar las uso bien. El final fue muy adecuado y me dejó con la sensación de querer más de la historia general y no tanto de la de Troy y Emma, no se, es mi opinión, que le vamos a hacer.
Creo que podría haber pulido más todo el libro y sería una excelente obra, pero por como fue, pues es bastante aceptable y lamentablemente se quedó en algo más, nada épico ni remarcable.
February 13, 2020
Le falta muy poquito para ser un 4 y algo, es bueno, es diferente, atrapa, tiene algunas puntas sueltas pero nada que no se pueda dejar de lado.
March 12, 2017
Kind of scary! But good!
June 14, 2012
Picked this book up on a whim because it was on sale and I am really loving it. Very well written with characters I really like and a good mystery to figure out what is going on.
January 8, 2014
Couldn't get into it to stick with finishing it.
November 5, 2016
Very strange setting. Even when the explanation in the end solves some of the problems, there are enough left to feel unsatisfied.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews