Reviewer: @an_ordinarybooklover (Instagram)
Rating: 4/5
Anna O stabs 2 of her best friends one night…..and she’s been asleep ever since…. 4yrs later, Dr Benedict Prince, a sleep specialist (and not really a doctor, but he’ll take the title if you give it to him;) ) has been called in to help wake Anna so that she can finally stand trial for her crimes.
I went in blindly with this one as there wasn’t much given in the blurb when I requested the book, but I definitely was intrigued from the first page.
The book is told from multiple POV’s and there are also diary entries belonging to Anna, to seemingly lead us up to the night of the attack. I will say that these did not read like diary entries at all and I found myself going back to check if the chapter title was indeed ‘diary entry’ vs a regular chapter. Also, the book did drag at some spots and there is A LOT of talk about the psychology around Resignation Syndrome (the cause of Anna’s sleeping beauty stint) which I personally didn’t need. That aside, the book kept my interest. The author was very clever with how he left us clues that we didn’t realise were clues across the pages.
This was a very cleverly written book with a refreshing plot, though some may argue they’ve seen something similar before…….there’s tension, plot twists, some interesting and endearing characters….and a deliciously twisted ending…my favourite kind 😉
Reviewer: @enchantments_of_books_and_tea (Instagram)
Rating: 5/5
I can’t say much about this one, except that it held me with every page. I couldn’t put it down – ironically, the book about people going into sleep-comas kept me awake.
This book has a twist and some turns that you’ll never see coming. It begins with a girl who kills her two best friends and falls asleep for four years and ends with a meeting between the past, the present and the future.
It’s an excellent example of how the sins of the past, affect the people of the future.
Read this if you like:
- Macbeth references
- Interesting psychology facts and cases
- An excellent who-dunnit
- Wild plot-twists
Reviewer: @roelia_reads (Instagram)
‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙮-𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥.’ 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧, 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙢𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬. ‘𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤?’
‘𝙔𝙚𝙨.’
‘𝘼 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧?’
‘𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥.’ 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 ‘𝘿𝙧’ 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨. 𝘿𝙧 𝘽𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩 𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙮, 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥. 𝙉𝙤𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙄 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧.”
“Anna O” offers a unique and captivating premise, blending psychology, mystery, and suspense. The ending twist adds depth and left me pondering. While some characters may not be immediately likable, their flaws make the story more intriguing. Unanswered questions leave room for curiosity, making it a compelling read for fans of slow burn mysteries.
In general, it seems as if this book is getting a lot of flak on the various book review platforms, but I quite enjoyed it!
Anna O is available at:
