I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Slumber by J.L. Weil Narrator: Caitlin Kelly, Gary Furlong
Series: Beauty Never Dies Chronicles #1
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on April 4th 2017
Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
Pages: 304
Format: Audiobook
Source: Provided for review through Audiobook Blast/Boom
Goodreads
There is no such thing as happily ever after. Everything Charlotte Winston thought she knew has been thrown out the window. From the moment she opens her eyes, the world she remembered ceases to exist, and in its place is a post-apocalyptic realm filled with unimaginable dangers. And one very smoking hot guy who has an uncanny ability to make her blood sing, then boil in a blink of an eye. Dash Darhk is everything her parents would hate. He's six feet and two inches of dark temptation and a killer smile, that's surely left a stream of broken hearts in his wake. But her parents are nowhere to be found. Charlotte is alone in this new world. Destroyed by a toxic mist, the land isn't the only thing altered, but the inhabitants as well. As Charlotte begins the hunt for her family, gifts she's never fathom awake inside her. And with the gifts come problems. Enormous ones. Charlotte is running out of options and places to hide. If she can't figure out who to trust-and fast-she will lose more than her heart. Fans of Hunger Games, The 100, and Divergent will fall in love with Slumber.
Julie’s Review:
Slumber is a book that both intrigued me and infuriated me and then left me needing the next book.
It is set in a dystopian future, where a toxic mist has deformed and mutated the earth. Somehow, and I wish this was explained better, people were frozen in slumber for a hundred years, to wake up the same age as when it first happened. Yet, the world is in shambles and tech is gone, there was the tech to “freeze” everyone. I’m confused but intrigued.
Our protag Charlotte (aka Freckles) awakens with a kiss to a world she was not expecting and is being sort-of rescued, sort-of brushed off by the guy that wakes her up, Dash. And here starts their we-can’t-be-together-because-I-say-so romantic tension that comes and goes in waves through a few somewhat steamy scenes throughout the book. That’s the infuriating part, Dash always seems to do something that is very Dash.
The romance building between them pulls most of the plot along, as otherwise, this is a “journey” book where they are out there running and hiding from the Institute guards while trying to find their families, Charlotte having convinced Dash to help her in searching for her kid sister and parents. During their adventures, we find out the “gifts” Charlotte has gained from the mist. Her abilities are quite exciting and help them out of a pickle or two or three. Dash’s ability is lethal and quite useful though he sure broods and is weighted down by all his guilt.
I very much enjoyed the audio production. The narrator has a lovely voice that is so pleasant to listen to, and I’ve heard my share of voices. She has the perfect YA princess but I’m still a strong woman tone for Charlotte, and her voice for Dash worked for me as well. We had a few scenes completely from Dash’s POV (one at the start, and one at the end) are narrated by someone else, and it would have been interesting to hear all the voices done this way, but this still worked well to differentiate the POV and character’s internal voice.
By “journey” I do mean the end is EPIC. All the bombs are dropped, all the feelings felt, and oh yea of course betrayals occur. The book ends with Charlotte and Dash in trouble and I have to know how they get out of this, and will they finally get together. So, next book, please?
