Insomnia by J.R. Johansson

Insomnia by J.R. Johansson

First in The Night Walkers series

4.5 stars

Parker hasn’t slept in four years and after a trip a doctor he starts to suspect that he’ll die soon from lack of it. Instead of sleeping, Parker enters the dreams of the last person he’s had eye contact with. Parker’s tired. Exhausted to the point of death and dealing with other people’s haunting dreams and nightmares, Parker just wants sleep. If he doesn’t sleep he could face psychosis or even death. Then he meets Mia. A stranger whose dreams are calm and Parker is finally able to get sleep in them. As Parker becomes obsessed with making eye contact with Mia and getting sleep he starts to lose friends and his touch with sanity. Everyone thinks he’s crazy and now that Mia has a real stalker, everyone thinks it’s Parker. Parker’s been blacking out and after notices strange things he realizes that he might be the monster after all. I was supposed to write this review about a week ago, but I have testing and haven’t been on the computer so I’m just now getting to it. Before I say anything else I’m going to say this. Insomnia is a fantastic debut and if you don’t pick it up you’ll be missing a great psychological thriller. This book is thrilling and I was never bored when reading Parker’s story. I started this book with somewhat medium expectations. I was hoping to be blown away, but wasn’t expecting anything. I’d been let down by the few of the titles I had recently received from Netgalley and wasn’t sure if I would like this. The concept is brilliant and reminds me a little bit of Wake by Lisa McMann, but it’s completely different. If you’re a fan of Wake pick this up. If you’re not pick, Insomnia up anyway because I can honestly say that it is a lot more fleshed out and enjoyable. This book has a very strong concept when it comes to dreams. We have some information, but we don’t know much about Parker and his condition. I think the concept was executed brilliantly and I really enjoyed this book. The opening dream scene even catches your attention and even though I was confused I was sucked in and wanted to know more.

 The main male character is Parker. Sometimes I really liked Parker and other times I wanted him to be locked up. Parker is definitely a hard character to like, but he is also easy to sympathize for. Starting Insomnia, I wasn’t sure if I would like Parker. I’ve been reading a lot more YA books with male POVs (usually alternating between male and female, but it still counts in my book) and I wasn’t sure if I would like him. Complete male POVs make me suspicious. Either I’ll really like the book or I’ll hate it. As the story progressed I would really like Parker. When Parker’s with Addie and Finn he is a regular teenager (not exactly but close enough). Once Parker met Mia and started to stalk her I stopped liking him as much. Here’s my biggest problem with Parker, he’s a good guy with good intentions. But that still doesn’t excuse him stalking Mia. You can argue that he’s not stalking her, but I beg to differ. Waiting outside someone’s job just to make eye contact with them is stalking. I eventually thought that he was done stalking Mia, but then he had to bring Finn into it. So while I don’t like the fact that Parker stalked Mia I understand why he did. I just don’t agree with it. Parker is also completely oblivious to Addie and the fact that she likes him. I hate this rule that he kept bringing up about not dating your best friends brother or sister. I think that’s a dumb rule. If my friend has a hot brother chances are I’ll be checking him out. This made up law is irrelevant and goes out the window pretty quickly. Parker, I think, was using this “rule” as a way to not end up committed to anybody. He’s afraid of commitment and I think it has a lot to do with his father.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 8

The main female character isn’t Mia! It’s Addie. I actually really like Addie. She was a great character and I instantly liked her. I think what Parker and her have is completely sweet. There’s this one part, a flashback dream, about Addie and Parker and it was one of my favorite part in the whole book. I don’t want to say a lot about Addie because I think she’s a character that still hasn’t gotten to fully reveal herself, which I hope we get more in the sequel.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8

The Villain- Mwahahahahahaha
Somethings, especially with this book, are better left a mystery. I love psychological thrillers.

Villain Scale: 8.5

Finn is my favorite character hands down in this book. He’s hilarious and he has such a relieving personality compared to the dark tone of the book. I love characters like Finn and he’s my definite favorite one. Then there’s Mia, who I personally don’t like. I still don’t like her and I think she’s only going to mess up things between Parker and Addie. I don’t want a love triangle and Mia seemed at the end like she decided that Parker was a hero and she wanted a piece.


Character Scale: 9

This book has a lot of great things in it. There’s a definite air of fear and a thrill that will leave you on the edge of your seat or bed (depending on where you read). I love the air of mystery sounding Parker’s condition and the psychology that is focused on. I can’t wait for the sequel and what this author brings to the table, because I know I won’t be disappointed.


Cover Thoughts: I absolutely love this cover. It is completely creepy and just bone chilling. I love it! I hope the rest of the series has just as amazing covers.

A copy was provided by Netgalley and Flux in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!