Never Sleep
Author: Cady Vance
Publication Date: March 15th, 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Book Description:
Author: Cady Vance
Publication Date: March 15th, 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Book Description:
Thora Green had a life once upon a time. But that ended the day her parents
enrolled her in a sleep clinic prison. At the facility, her chronic months-long
insomnia is observed by scads of doctors, but she is never actually treated for
her dire disease. In a feat of desperation, Thora escapes for New York City.
Buried deep in the city’s underbelly, there is rumored to be a secret haven
called the Insomniac Café: a place where people like Thora can find relief.
As Thora joins forces with Aiden and Florence, two fellow insomniacs, their midnight quest will take them from the dusty bookshelves of The Strand, to the smokey underground clubs in the Lower East Side, to countless taxi and subway rides. Clues leading to their final destination are waiting for them at every turn. But so are Sleepers—a powerful core of sworn-enemies to all Insomniacs—who wish to see Thora and her friends destroyed at any cost.
As Thora joins forces with Aiden and Florence, two fellow insomniacs, their midnight quest will take them from the dusty bookshelves of The Strand, to the smokey underground clubs in the Lower East Side, to countless taxi and subway rides. Clues leading to their final destination are waiting for them at every turn. But so are Sleepers—a powerful core of sworn-enemies to all Insomniacs—who wish to see Thora and her friends destroyed at any cost.
Buy Links:
Excerpt
When Odin and
I step inside The Strand, my eyes sweep the store. I almost expect to see
someone inside, hard gaze focused on every person who enters. But everyone is
too engrossed in their own world to notice me and my brother, and I feel my
shoulders relax, my attention shifting to the towering shelves rising up to a
vaulted ceiling. The strong aroma of musty pages fills my nostrils so much, I
feel as if I’m walking
through an old storybook, sheets filled with impossible adventures and
fantastical far-off places.
“What should
we do next?” I whisper to
Odin, whose gaze is tripping around the store.
He keeps his voice low when he answers,
edging me forward with the slightest push against my elbow. “Find Gemma. Find the clue. We
just need to look around.”
I grit my teeth and keep moving forward,
sure we’ll somehow
be spotted. But, at the same time, I’m starting
to feel a little better, a little more hopeful. And the sharp bitterness
stinging my insides has faded, like its tiny knives have been dulled by hope.
Pushing through the crowd milling around the
tables of featured books and staff picks, my gaze is pulled up and around in an
unsuccessful attempt to drink in the sight of so many books. They crowd every
spare inch of space, stuffed shelves creating a maze of words and crinkling
pages.
Odin’s hand
becomes a vise grip on my elbow. Dread weighs on my head, but before I can turn
to see what has caused my brother alarm, he pushes me up the red staircase. My
feet feel like lead weights, but I don’t dare slow
down.
“Those guys
are here. The ones in black. The Sleepers,”
he
says into my ear when we reach the landing halfway between the first floor and
the next. “Keep moving.
One of them is standing by the exit so we’ll have to
find another way out of here.”
My heart twinges again. “Another way out?”
“There’s gotta be another way out.”
“Did they see
us?” I ask,
stumbling as we hurry up the rest of the stairs. My fingers slide along the
banister to steady my wobbling knees. The stress of the chase and the lack of
sleep is having a serious effect on my body, but I don’t want to say anything to Odin,
knowing there’s nothing he
can do for me right now anyway.
“There’s a lot of people in here.” We reach the end of the next
floor, and I brace myself as we finally take a look down the stairs behind us.
Breath whooshes out of me. There’s no one
else there other than browsing book lovers. The Sleepers didn’t see us after all.
“Maybe there’s some way off this floor. A
fire escape or something.”
My
eyes sweep across the store as we inch away from the staircase. A few women
browsing at a table of art books glance up and give me and my brother a
once-over before hesitantly returning their attention back to the books. One of
them frowns and whispers to her friends. I have an eerie feeling they’re talking about me.
“We’re attracting too much
attention,” Odin
whispers.
Something in my peripheral vision turns my
spine into a popsicle stick. Two boys stand at the back edge of the store,
hovering by the wall. They aren’t the ones
from the Clinic, but they’re dressed
the same, and even though they look completely normal other than their
all-black ensemble, I can tell by their stiff, bouncer-like posture, they aren’t.
One, wearing black-rimmed glasses, takes a
step forward when he sees me. The other stays rooted to his spot, and the look
on his face sends a bucket of ice over my heart. Dark brown, shaggy hair, the
most intense blue eyes I’ve ever seen
contrasted against sun-kissed skin. Dark, dark jeans. Black tee. I take a step
back, stumbling into Odin. The boy is staring at me so intently, I cannot find
my breath. His hands are fists of anger at his sides.
“Stairs,” I manage to breathe out.
Cady Vance is the author of YA and NA speculative fiction. After growing up in small-town Tennessee, she decided to embark on a grand adventure by packing up her bags and moving to NYC. Now, she studies for her PhD in the UK and dreams of seeing the universe.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
A paperback copy of Never Sleep.
A "Dreaming of New York" sleep mask.
International. Ends April 23rd.
Book Blitz Organised by:
Thanks for being on the tour, Alecia! :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting and has such a beautiful cover. I look forward to reading Never Sleep. Thanks!
ReplyDelete