A Thousand Sleepless Nights (Teri Harman) – Review + Giveaway

Posted 31 May 2018 by Katie in New Releases, Review / 0 Comments

~ About the Book ~

Is love stronger than grief?

After the death of her Aunt Jetty, the woman who raised her, Matilda White packs a single suitcase, leaving behind her home, her small town in Kansas, and the man she’s supposed to marry.

Henry Craig is a writer—if only he could find the right words. While sitting at a worn table in a Detroit library he sees a new librarian, Matidla, and suddenly the world erupts with words.

Six years later, Matilda and Henry load their young daughter Lucy, two antique typewriters, and a box of Henry’s love letters into the car and head off to a new life. But one snowstorm and a slippery road take it all away. In that black moment of tragedy Matilda turns to Henry and says, “I wish I’d never met you.”

The world goes dark.

Matilda wakes up in Jetty’s dilapidated house with no memory of the last six years. Beside her on the bed, a book and an antique typewriter.

Henry wakes up in his familiar spot in the library, a book and old typewriter squatting on the table beside him. He can’t remember the last six years.

Can words on a typed page, sent from one typewriter to another, push aside tar-thick pain and resurrect love?

Genre:  Speculative/Romance
Release date:  1 May 2018
Pages:  272
Publisher:  Sweetwater Books

Amazon US // Amazon AU // Goodreads

~ Excerpt ~

A Thousand Sleepless Nights by Louis Winston.
Henry read the title three times, hoping it would sound familiar. It didn’t. And in all his extensive reading, he’d never heard of an author named Louis Winston. The only connection he had—which seemed meaningless—was that his middle name was Winston. Heart pounding, it took Henry several minutes to gather the courage to pick up the book.
The cover was dark blue, with mountains, a field of grass, and a big full moon. Henry opened it. The air suddenly smelled of snow. His chin jerked up to look out at the warm spring day beyond the window. He turned a page and nearly dropped the book.
On the title page, in a round, elegant, feminine hand, the words: For Henry.
For Henry. This is my book? But . . .
The smell of snow grew stronger and the room felt like it would close in on him. He looked from book to typewriter to window, feeling flustered and antsy. Henry thought about leaving the two anomalous things behind, but found he couldn’t. Quickly, he shoved the book into his backpack, scooped the typewriter under an arm, and fled. Standing on the steps of the library, he tried to catch his breath. The typewriter felt like a cinderblock in his grip, the book an anvil on his back. He turned to look up at the massive gray Italian Renaissance-style building. The many large arched windows looked the same, the big trees rustling in the breeze were the same. He scanned the street, Woodward Ave. It all looked the same and yet slightly different.
Confused, and moderately dizzy, Henry slowly descended the steps. He stopped next to a row of newspaper bins. His eyes focused on the one closest. The date caught his attention and the street seemed to quake under his feet.
Sunday, May 3, 1998.
He tried to swallow the knot in his throat. He looked around, frantic, heart punishing his ribs now.
That’s not right!
To Henry, it was Friday, May 1, 1992.

~ Review ~

This novel was an interesting way to explore the question of whether love is worth the grief that sometimes accompanies it. When Matilda tells her husband “I wish I had never met you” in a moment of utter grief, the two are instantly transported to separate locations whereupon they wake with no recollection of the last six years. What they do have are a book and a typewriter each—typewriters that can communicate with one another, no less! What would you do if you discovered the last six years had been erased from your mind, and then found your typewriter produced messages of its own accord? Messages of an intense love to parallel Song of Solomon. Maybe you’d think you were going a little crazy?

For me, the driving question in this story was how and when Henry and Matilda would work out what they once were to one another. It was often a tumultuous emotional journey for them, with both feeling the kind of visceral connection to one another that would be natural for a couple who had been married for nearly six years, but all the while believing the other person to be a stranger. The author captured well what a confusing and unnerving experience this would be as they encountered one another and began to get to know one another again.

There’s definitely some suspension of disbelief required for this story, which was fine for me until a particular part at the end involving a ghost. I won’t mention specifics so as to avoid spoilers, but ghosts really aren’t my thing. I was also a little uncomfortable with some of the support Matilda’s ex-fiancé gave her when she reappeared in her hometown. I hasten to add that he didn’t do anything wrong, technically, but considering he was married, I found myself a little jealous on behalf of his wife at times.

Those things aside, this was an engaging read.

I received a copy of this novel from the author. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.

~ About the Author ~

Teri Harman has believed in all things wondrous and haunting since her childhood days of sitting in the highest tree branches reading Roald Dahl and running in the rain imagining stories of danger and romance. She’s the author of three previous books: Blood Moon, Black Moon, and Storm Moon. She also writes about books for ksl.com, and contributed regular book segments to “Studio 5 with Brooke Walker,” Utah’s number one lifestyle show. She lives in Utah with her husband and three children.

Connect with Teri: Website // Facebook // Instagram