I admit I was skeptical about this book when I saw the description provided because I am kind of tired of the Gone Girl/Girl on a Train kind of books. However..THIS book is very well written. I became quickly engrossed from page 1 and could not stop reading until I had finished it. I look forward to lots more books from this author

Anna, a beloved school teacher, is attacked and brutally beaten in the parking lot of the school. As she lays in a coma fighting for her life, her family and friends try to figure out who would have the motive to hurt her. This novel follows twists and turns into it's surprising conclusion.

This book was just okay for me. The writing flowed nicely but there were just way too many people with hidden motives in my opinion. Also, all of the people ended up being weirdly intertwined in each other's lives. It's odd that a teacher who was so loved could have so many people with motive to hurt her.

I received this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley.com, to Aria publishing company and to Jessica Jarlvi.

This book was way to erotic for me It took forever to tell the storyline because of all the sex going on.

Anna is laying unconscious and fighting for her life. While she is in the hospital her husband is trying to find out what happened and who did this to her. There are more than a few possible suspects, including a student who was obsessed with her. Characters are not what they seem and everyone seems to have a secret to hide.

Most of the characters are unlikable and it seems everyone is cheating on each other. It did move at a fast paced and it kept me engrossed in the story.

I enjoyed but just wasn't blown away by what I thought would. The book was good but it needed more memorable story

Anna lives in a small Swedish community. Voted teacher of the year, she is a competent, hard-working mum of twins. As we learn more about her, we find out she’s not the goody two-shoes she’s cracked up to be. Her life starts getting complicated as she enters into an extra-marital relationship and a troubled young student who wants her to be his mother starts posing a threat to her. The book starts with Anna being severely beaten into a coma and her story gradually unfolds from there. Will she ever wake up? And if she does, will she remember who nearly killed her? I was taken by surprise by the ending – there were a number of suspects and I changed my mind about the culprit several times. I thought the book could have been a bit shorter, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Absolutely loved this book!! I couldn't out it down until I finished it. The characters were well written & the storyline was easy to follow. It kept me guessing until the very end. Would highly recommend it to all my friends and family.

4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a really good mystery/thriller, and kept me guessing from start to end. I kept thinking I had it all figured out, and then I didn't! It's always nice to find a story that keeps you guessing. The story is told from the perspective of multiple people, and goes back and forth in time - about a 6-9 mo period.

I know that when I’ve read the synopsis to When I Wake Up I thought, wow. What a promising, intriguing book it’s going to be! I really didn’t need a lot of coaxing and agreed not only to read it but also be a part of the blog tour. The older I am, the more I appreciate and enjoy mysteries and thrillers, and this novel really promised something unique and exceptional. Did it live up to my expectations? Well, yes and no.

Anna lives with her husband and her twin boys in a little village. She’s a teacher and she’s actually the main support and bread winner – her husband Erik is a house painter but what he really wants is to be a rock star. I absolutely loved Anna’s passion to her job – she was a great teacher and she truly deeply cared about her students – however, her commitment was one of the things that made her marriage this bit complicated, as Erik felt he and the family are only on second place. But why was Anna so heavily beaten? Did she have enemies?
Here starts a story full of twists and turns. It is told from multiple points of view, jumping between past and present and we are invited to be witnesses to slowly unrolling web of lies, secrets and tragedies. The author casts suspicions on each and every character and it is only at the very end of the story that we see who was the perpetrator. Yes, it has crossed my mind but really, with the tangled web of shadows and misunderstandings I was never sure if I am right. The fact that all the characters’ lives became intertwined at some point made it, however, not more suspicious and tense but this tad unbelievable and far too fetched. The changing points of view were clearly separated and I was never confused where we are and who’s talking.

The characters were not too likeable, but I’ve already learnt that they don’t have to be in this kind of book. They must be convincing, and they rather were. They were complex and all so very different, but still I couldn’t find any depth in them, and perhaps this is why I couldn’t get into the story so much, perhaps this is why I wasn’t so concerned with who has done this to Anna. I am also not sure if I am so really, totally happy with the end – when the attacker was revealed, I wasn’t sure what to think, how to digest it.

The writing style was engaging but it felt somehow flat and it dragged on a little. I am also not sure what the story wanted to be – erotica, or psychological thriller, or mystery, as there are elements of all of this. However, I very much appreciate how the author has managed to complicate the story, how much there was hidden beneath the still waters. It is all about appearances, there were lies and secrets and tons of questions. The story jumps between past and present, which only makes it more compelling and slowly provides us with all the needed information.

It was not a bad book, guys, but there was also nothing special in this. Yes, it kept me guessing but to be honest I was not terribly intrigued who has beat Anna, even though there was a small bunch of characters that were also the suspects. In the end, when the perpetrator was revealed, it left me so lukewarm, with not many emotions or feelings. I am not sure why it was like this, why I couldn’t engage completely and properly. The author has tried to diversify the story with some twists and turns but they also didn’t keep me so much on my tenterhooks. Maybe it was because she has also tried to complicate the things so much by connecting all the characters on every possible lever? I really don’t know. Altogether, it was different, interesting mystery. Maybe because it is a debut novel the author has tried too much and overdid, the delivery was not what I have expected, but still I liked some elements of this story and the writing style was really unique and interesting.

This book was a wonderful roller coaster ride full of twists and turns and surprises! A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The book description had me intrigued right away. This was truly a very good suspense novel. Right at the beginning, Anna, a beloved high school teacher, is badly beaten outside her high school. There are no witnesses and the beating is so bad that she is in a coma in the hospital. The story is told in flashbacks through several alternating points of view and flip flops between past and present. As it does, it leaves the reader with several ideas of who may have harmed Anna making for quite an interesting read. The ending is one you probably don't see coming until closer to the end. There are quite a few descriptive sexual scenes, which is not always indicative of this genre. However, it did not take away from the story.

Anna is a well-loved teacher who is married to Erik and has twin boys. One day she is attacked and left for dead. The whole town is shocked, especially one of her students who has fallen in love with her. It was a really well-written story which kept the suspense growing, however, at times it felt like I was reading a cheap porn novel. Too much crudeness which was unnecessary in the story.

Brilliant book. What more can I say?

Every page and every chapter took me on a journey I wasn’t expecting. I changed my mind about each character so many times my head is still spinning now.

The book begins with Anna being attacked. Whilst she is lying in a hospital bed in a coma, we start learning about the people around her. We learn about her husband Erik, who drove me absolutely potty and I can only describe as Anna’s third selfish child, who on the surface seems like the devoted husband. Nut has secrets of his own.

We learn about her student Daniel and his unhealthy obsession with her, but who could blame him, taking into account his own painful background.

And we also start learning about her other relationships - the ones from Anna’s second life that she hides from everyone else.

This book journeys into the deep, dark corners of every character’s soul and takes you through all their dirty laundry, their deepest secrets and desires and just proves that not all is what it seems.

I don’t like giving the plot away and you wouldn’t want me too. This book is a page after page of discovery and really worth the read. Very clever writing with many plots and twists and turns. Just my cup of tea – surely life would be boring if we could work everything out from the start?

Thank you to the author and Aria Fiction for access to this book in return for this honest review.

Who would assault and almost kill a young mother and popular teacher, so much respected in the community that she has recently won the “teacher of the year” award? According to Anna’s friends and family, she had no enemies, no one who would wish her harm. Fighting for her life in ICU, Anna herself is unable to shed any light on the situation. Anna’s little twin boys are devastated that their mummy is not coming home, and her overwhelmed husband Erik is becoming convinced that the police have hit a dead end investigating the assault.

The more we delve into the storyline, brimming with dysfunctional and sometimes outright obnoxious characters, the more we become aware that not all is as it appears on the surface. Each and every character in this book has a nasty secret or two, and, ultimately, a reason to kill. Jarvli does a good job setting a dark and disturbing scene with an underlying sense of menace throughout, and reveals snippets of each character’s life through alternating POVs.

I love a good Scandinavian thriller and their honest exploration of the darkest corners of the human psyche, and although I did not get the same sense of locale and atmosphere as a lot of others in the genre, Jarlvi is certainly not afraid to shy away from controversial topics in this novel. Unlike many other murder/mysteries, the police investigation features only very peripherally in this book, and the main focus always rests on the various characters involved in Anna’s life, who each could turn out to be her attacker. Perhaps the main “investigator”, if you could call him that, is Anna’s husband Erik, who has a lot of questions regarding his wife’s attack, and starts looking into her personal affairs a bit more closely – and there is nothing better in a mystery than a spouse who discovers that their loved one may have had secrets they know nothing about.

I was not so fond of some of the explicit sexual scenes in the book, but that is just my personal opinion and other people may enjoy the way they spice up the story and add further complications to the already rather complex relationships featured. Since I am not a fan of romance novels, I could easily have done away with quite a lot of the sexual tension, which would have moved the story along a bit better. As it was, the middle of the book dragged a bit for me, only to gain momentum again towards the end, as we begin to narrow down the suspects. And whilst I did not find the resolution of the mystery totally satisfying (for reasons I will not divulge here), it certainly had a surprise element.

When I Wake Up is a well-written mystery from a new voice in Scandinavian crime fiction. Focusing on a young woman’s brutal assault, it explores the relationships surrounding the victim from several POVs and takes the reader on a dark and sinister journey into the deepest, darkest corners of the human psyche. Lovers of Scandinavian noir and domestic noir, who are not put off by some sexual tension and explicit sexual scenes, may find this novel exactly what they have been looking for.

Marketed as “a heart-pounding thriller to delight fans of The Girl on the Train and Before I Go To Sleep”, When I Wake Up is a story told through multiple perspectives and flashes back and forth between past and present. A teacher, Anna, is in a coma after being savagely beaten. Only two people know the truth: Anna, who is lying silently in a hospital bed and the attacker.
As mentioned, the chapters move back and forth through time and feature various character perspectives. Anna’s chapters discuss events prior to her accident, her husband Erik in the present, struggling to find out what happened to his wife and random alternating chapters between a woman, Iris, working in a bookstore, Iris’ eccentric husband (an artist) and one of Anna’s students, Daniel. Each character was intricately developed and three dimensional; Jarlvi brilliantly is able to make these characters jump off the pages. I was left struggling to piece together how all of this would fit together, and by the end, when all was said and done, my jaw dropped at the twist.
I was drawn into this one immediately; the main protagonist is an educator working with troubled youth. This mirrors my job exactly so I felt especially connected to Anna as she tries to remain politically correct, show the student she cares and keep some distance for self-preservation.
By the time I reached the half point in the plot, I was completely immersed in the story and, as I mentioned, was baffled trying to figure out all these pieces were going to fit together; each situation became more intricate and involved and, soon, there was quite a complicated web. However, although I loved it in the middle, I found by the ¾ mark, I was feeling quite confused. It was as if the plot was becoming too complicated. There were too many things unfolding and it seemed to be happening randomly. However, Jarlvi flips the switch brilliantly in the end and I was left feeling impressed with the resolution of the novel.
There is quite the amount of explicit sexual material within the pages; I, personally, prefer my thrillers to be “thrill focused” so I did find this a little bit distracting but I did applaud the author for her choice to be true to the characters and their sexual exploration.
Overall, I enjoyed When I Wake Up and feel like it would suit fans who like character heavy thriller. Lots of developed faces, intricate webs and fast paced plots.

I have been in a mystery book slump for awhile. As you know the mystery genre is my favourite so I have read a lot. If a mystery can keep me guessing or keep interested I am sold on that author. Jessica Jarlvi is an author I am going to be looking forward to in the future!
WHEN I WAKE UP Written by Jessica Jarlvi

June 2016; 272 pages (Aria)

Genre: mystery, suspense, psychological thriller, swedish, coma

(I received an ARC from the PUBLISHER via NETGALLEY)

RATING: ★★★★

Anna, a teacher and mother of twins, has been savagely beaten and is now in a coma. Her husband, Erik is in limbo and it is driving him crazy. He must take over as the sole parent and figure out how to support them if Anna does not wake up. While juggling his family life he is also out for justice for Anna. In this small town, in Sweden, there does not seem to be any suspects until you look beneath the surface of those around her.

This would make a great Midsomer Murder mystery for sure! There is so much scandal in this small town…and I was so intrigued. The first half of the novel had me gripped as I didn’t know what was going on with the people around Anna. All I could think of was how did they fit in and what was their purpose? I love when I “have” to figure things out. I figured out who the murderer was but Jarlvi had me right till the end. I wanted to see how it wrapped up but also enjoyed the ride to the end. I didn’t necessarily identify with the characters or love them but they were so interesting I was hooked. I really recommend this novel for those that like a scandal suspense story.

WHEN I WAKE UP by Jessica Jarlvi sounded like a fascinating psychological thriller and I hoped that it would be worth a read but nothing prepared me for this shocking story that was completely unexpected, clever, and sharp.

When Anna is savagely beaten and left in a coma, this small community in Sweden is shocked that something like this could happen to such a lovely woman. A brilliant teacher, Anna takes her job seriously and really wants to make a difference in her student's lives and in her personal life she is married to Erik and a dedicated mother to her two adorable little boys. But as her husband and the police begin their investigation, confusing secrets begin to turn up and as the list of suspects starts to grow, will Anna wake up in time to name her attacker?

WHEN I WAKE UP by Jessica Jarlvi is told from different points of view and at different times ranging from a few months before the attack to after it has happened, and this really worked in holding my attention. There are plenty of characters, most of which are unlikeable and highly suspicious, which had me questioning the attacker's identity numerous times. There are a lot of sexual scenes throughout this book which may seem unusual for this genre but like everything this author writes, there are reasons for this too. WHEN I WAKE UP by Jessica Jarlvi is absorbing, dark, and refreshingly different and I highly recommend it.

Story and characters are shallow, unproductive and not very enjoyable. Filled with unnecessary sexual encounters and partners of all varieties contributing very little to the story. Goodreads reviews and ratings seem significantly stronger than warranted. Either that or I miss a whole bunch somewhere.

Intriguing plot with lots of twists and surprises. The book kept my interest from beginning to end.