Owl's Slumber

Trials of Fear, Book 1

De: Nicky James

Narrado por: Adam Gold

Imagine what life would be like if panic ruled your world at the mere thought of going to bed at night. For as long as he can remember, Finnley Hollins has been crippled by his extreme phobia of sleep. Every night is a battle, and every morning isn’t without consequences. The root cause is something he’s ashamed to admit to anyone. It’s his war, and he will fight it alone.

When an unexpected turn of events lands the stunningly gorgeous Aven Woods at Finnley’s place of business, his life gets turned upside down.

All it would take is one night together for his secret to be exposed. Finnley wasn’t prepared to fall in love. More so, he wasn’t prepared for his phobia to completely consume his life. Not only is it affecting his job and his relationship, but now it’s affecting his health. What will it take for Finnley to finally admit he needs help?

©2018 Nicole James (P)2019 Nicole James

Moving, powerful – one of my faves

Phobia: an extreme or irrational fear or an aversion to something

Somniphobia: the fear of going to sleep

I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

How often have I said that phrase in jest? Just a joke, right? Meaning, for me, that if I need to get something done, I can forgo sleep, if only for a little while. Now, I’m someone who needs at least seven if not eight hours to function. On nights when I get less than six, I’m a mess the next day. Everyone is different, of course, but restorative sleep is necessary for human functioning. Several nights with poor sleep can be harmful. Staying awake too long can induce hallucinations. Eventually our bodies will literally shut off our consciousness in its need to get sleep. We cannot survive without it.

So what if you feared it? What if the thought of sleep literally caused panic attacks? What if you knew the fear was irrational and yet it consumed you anyway? Finnley Hollins is someone in this predicament. He fights sleep religiously. He consumes energy drinks, coffee, and uppers like they’re going out of style. He forces himself to stay awake until finally his body shuts down. He spends a day with a hangover-style headache and then goes right back to what he’s doing. Oh, and his job? Mortician and funeral director.

I know, right? Jobs that are absolutely essential in our world but so brutally difficult. My mother had a student whose goal it was to become a mortician. He knew he’d be good at it and he was. It was, for him, a calling. For Finnley? A family obligation passed down to him from a father who neither knew nor cared what his son wanted. A man so obsessed with familial obligation and honor that he literally drove his son into this phobia. I won’t go into details, but the story is beyond tragic and it broke my heart. Yes, our parents have expectations. Good parents recognize when their dreams for their children are just that – their dreams. Mr. Hollins never learned that lesson and Finnley is left to pick up the pieces of the disastrous father/son relationship. As Finn says, “I wasn’t allowed to be afraid because death was nothing to fear.” And since death was just the big sleep, everything would be fine, right? I wanted to kill Finn’s father all over again.

Aven Woods is the opposite of Finnley. He has his shit together. Often when people come to the funeral home, Finnley is meeting them on one of the worst days of their lives. Aven is not in that predicament – he is being supportive of his mother to alleviate her burden but arranging his step-father’s funeral means very little to him. I guess he also understands familial obligation. He’s instantly taken with Finnley and ensures they have time alone. Blunt man that he is, he asks Finnley out on a date. Once Finn gets over the shock, he accepts.

These two men are great together but it’s clear from the outset that it’s not an egalitarian relationship. Aven has, as I’ve said, got his shit together. Finn is crippled by his fear of sleep. Aven wants to help, Finn wants none of it. Only when there’s a catastrophe does Finn finally agree to getting help. Even then it’s a tough slog with plenty of setbacks. As exasperated as I was with Finn at times, I was also rooting for him. Mental illness is tough, no matter the circumstances. Relationships often fail because of a problem with communication and a fundamental belief if the other person just tried harder that he/she could get better. I loved that Aven supported Finn, but also challenged him. It’s a fine balancing act but he did a great job.

Aven does have issues and they also have to do with family. Them I could have shot also. These were two beautiful men who want to be happy. That they were eventually able to unburden themselves to an extent spoke to their inner strength.

Now, this is a Nicky James book so I knew my heart was going to be strained and my resolve tested. This is also Nicky James romance so I knew I was going to get my happy ending. It’s the first in a series and I’m desperately hoping eventually all the books will come out in audio. I know I’ll be first in line to grab them.

Adam Gold is Nicky’s go-to narrator and I’m glad. He’s just perfect for her books. They are set in Southern Ontario, Canada which has as close to a neutral accent as you can get (I’m from there so I’m allowed to feel this way). Adam’s narration is spot-on with that region and he also differentiates the voices well. Finally, his performance of the female characters is really good and I always appreciate that. This was another wonderful book by Nicky and as with all her other audiobooks, I can highly recommend it. I loved how Finn moved from being the ‘Broken Owl’ to the one who could sleep. I loved how, at the end, his true self could shine through. We could all use an Aven in our lives.

Oh, and you’ll never hear the theme show from Friends again without thinking of this book. Just sayin’.

New to Adam Gold

To say I’m stunned by the “extras” Adam includes in his narration is an understatement. It added a whole new level of story immersion that no other narrator has ever done before. I will absolutely listen to more.

Sweet!

This book was just a gem. It was easy to understand and empathize with Finnley‘s struggles. The way NJ wrote his character was just priceless. And of course Aven just being a gem and caring for him even when it’s painful.

A phenomenal read!

To begin, Nicky James you're an incredible writer that never fails to both entertain and entice. Adam Gold, your voice is pure sex. Your narration enhanced the story, so much I found my self leaning in to listen to every word.

Owls Slumber is an intense story of profound struggle that fortunately ends in a HEA. Without giving away too much ( you really need to listen to this book! ) this story was really personal to me.
As a chronic insomniac, most nights I struggle to turn my head off. So hearing Fins anguish and struggle was both maddening and heartbreaking. I've never both loved a character so much and wanted to punch him in the face. I guess it's like with a drug addict, you can only help them when and if they admit the issues and begin to help themselves.
I hope I haven't spoiled any details, but this is the first review where I've struggled to praise the author and story while demonstrating how it personally affected me.

Good as Gold

Adam Gold has done it again! He's brought Nicky James's characters to life.

I love this book!! I love this series!!
When I heard that Owl's Slumber was coming to audio, I knew I had to hear Adam's take on Finnley and Aven.
Audios always add another dimension to the written word, but hearing Adam narrate this book, made me feel like I was there living Finn's journey.

The book - this story is well written and Finn's struggle with somniphobia was very well portrayed. The writing is solid and the characters endearing.
The audio - Adam Gold narration as Finn and Aven was great! The emotions he presented were believable and heartfelt. Finn's struggle was hard enough to read, but hearing it, was heartbreaking.

I'm glad Mrs James found Mr Gold... together, they are Golden!!
NEXT!!!!

Beautiful story and amazing narration

Loved it. Such a beautiful story full of emotion, tenderness, love and hope. And the narration was amazing

Adam Gold was perfection

Omg this audio was everything! Adam Gold made me fall in love with Finn this time around. I loved this book, but the first time around I didn’t live Finn. I do now. And his voice for Aven gutted me. Just perfect!

Great narration

After listening to and absolutely loving Love Me Whole I had such high expectations for this book. I mean Nicky James does know how to write phenomenal books with broken characters. Sadly Owl’s Slumber missed the mark just a little bit.

First of all, where was the romance? The push and pull, the attraction, the feelings between our two main characters? I was almost at the point where some added sex scenes wouldn’t have been too out of place, just to add something. And if you know me, you know that I never say that. But I just didn’t feel Finnley and Aven as a couple. It all got lost in Finnley’s sleep phobia.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked Finnley and his phobia really intrigued me, but it also overshadowed everything else. I never felt like Aven was allowed his space, I never got to know him. Which is my second issue with this story. Not only didn’t we get to know Aven, even their relationship was on the backburner from Finn’s sleep phobia. Aven was constantly bending over backwards (no pun intended) to help Finn, find solutions and helping him, but Finn never really made an effort towards anything. He was just there, or running away. Brushing Aven off. So I never believed in their relationship, I just didn’t feel it.

Narration-wise, Adam Gold did a wonderful job bringing the book to life. I especially enjoyed the sound effects he added for the inner thoughts and phone calls, it added to the feel of the book, another dimension. It also highlighted that it was a phone call or an inner monologue. What’s more, it wasn’t overdone or exaggerated. I also loved that he added the yawns or giggles (when appropriate) in the story. It’s these small things that can make all the difference for your listening experience.

In the end, this book was a nice enough listen, it wasn’t all that I hoped for and probably not one I’m likely to listen to again, but it was still a nice way to spend an afternoon/evening before enjoying a good night’s sleep – something I know I won’t take for granted for a while to come.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

I can't express to you how much this book meant to

I am a person who suffers from anxiety I cheer the writer who wrote This Book this book touch me so deeply it was unlike anything I've ever read

highly recommend!!

This book was amazingggg. So many emotions!! I've already listened to it twice. The narration was amazing and he really brought the characters to life. I highly highly recommend this book.