This has been a highly anticipated read for me this year. I was thrilled to get access to the ARC having seen multiple outstanding reviews on bookstagram.

Anna O is a very interesting character. Her whole demeanour was questionable and the topic of sleep psychology very intriguing. It is something I have always been very interested in so to read about it within the book and it be very focussed on was great.

The premise was so intriguing and I was gripped from start to finish. Blake had done his research and this was shown throughout the book. Thank you to Netgalley and Matthew Blake for allowing me access to this ARC.

I was delighted to get an ARC of this highly anticipated thriller following Anna O who was found asleep next to her friends dead bodies. Dr Benedict Prince is given the opportunity to try and wake Anna which could be career defining for him. I was intrigued and gripped throughout the story and enjoyed all the twists and turns. It is a very hard novel to review without giving spoilers but if you enjoy thrillers, you should enjoy this.

I was so excited to read this book as the premise sounded fantastic!! Also, I had read ALOT of rave reviews.

Unfortunately it just didn't work for me. As much as I was intrigued by the concept I found it a bit of a chore overall. The author has obviously done alot of research about sleep psychology , and I know alot of people will find it interesting, however I didn't enjoy all the related minutiae ....there was just too much and for me it detracted from my main interest, the murders.......I just wanted to know who killed who and why and have a bit of excitement turning the pages until all was revealed.

I did like how it all turned out, I thought the reveal was great......just not all the complicated, overly analytical, laborious process to get there.

I think I might be in the minority here, I know many loved this book, but when I read a book I want to read a story, not attend a tutorial and for me that's what it felt like at times

I don't normally go into books blind, and when I was accepted to read Anna O, I was excited and apprehensive as I just didn't know what to expect. Well, I was not disappointed. Dr Benedict Prince is tasked with the classified job of awakening Anna O, but all is not what it seems. Mysteries are there to solve but are all secrets meant to be uncovered. I loved the twists and turns and I thought Matthew had an engaging way with words. I also have to admit to going down the rabbit hole of resignation syndrome myself. It's quite fascinating

Interesting concept for a thriller book, the fmc is found sleeping next to the bodies of her two best friends who have been stabbed to death.

Anna is suffering from a sleep disorder and has somehow committed a crime whilst asleep. From a bit of googling this is actually a real thing?! So reading this story I was very critical of the information given but I have to say it’s obviously been very well researched as it the author has written this spectacularly.

I enjoyed the premise of this book, and whilst it felt like a bit of a brain work out (lots of information, not ‘twisty’ thriller quite slow paced) that certainly didn’t detract anything from the overall story.

This was an interesting book and kept me intrigued and I had to keep reading and find out what happened. It was different which is what I was expecting from the cover and the blurb but it works in its way. It kept me involved which is what you need from a book.

I had this book to read since 2023, but when I saw that it had so many pages I postponed it until I decided it would be one of the first reads of the year. And so it was and I don't understand why I didn't read it before because the truth is that it was a roller coaster of emotions.

Anna O. tells us a story, or actually many at once. It is divided into several parts, and I feel that each of them are really super different stages of the story, of Anna, or of Benedict... one ends up confused and amazed at the same time.

A big unknown in this story and one that I felt like they never really wanted to explain to us what was happening is Anna. I feel that although answers are given to many questions, along the way many unknowns are revealed and that few of them were solved... and I don't know if it was that way on purpose or if the answers were not managed (because it is all quite intricate). .

Did you see that meme from The Office where there is a man with a cigarette in his hand and a panel full of red lines that indicate connections, while he has a totally crazy face, trying to explain something... that's how I imagined myself trying to make a summary with spoilers of this. It is impossible. One is really confused.

The theme of dreams seemed very cool to me and it even made me want to start looking for information about certain cases and topics that touch here.

Thank you HarperCollins UK for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Media-sensation Anna O has been in a deep sleep for 4 years, ever since she murdered her two best friends. The time has come to find out for sure, is Anna a victim of chronic sleep-walking or vindictive killer?

I loved the premise of this book, I was so excited to receive the ARC. Exploring sleep psychology, wrapped up in a murder mystery? It sounded right up my street.

I think huge parts of this play out really well. Unfortunately, there are a few too many false-finishes. In my opinion, two of the “big reveals” were predictable from pretty early on.

I didn’t find any of the characters particularly compelling, although there were brief flashes where I was nearly invested in them as people.

Overall, a good crime read, but didn’t quite reach the dizzying heights it could’ve.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my unbiased review.

Anna O is a twisty, complex novel following the story of Anna, the well educated daughter of a minister who has been in a state of sleep for 4 years after she was found in a cabin having apparently murdering two of her friends.

Dr Benedict Prince is an expert in sleep psychology and is tasked with waking Anna in a last attempt to charge her with the murders or have to let her go.

What follows is told in multiple POV (Ben and Anna’s own amongst them) as Anna’s life and the murder are linked to another case of sleepwalking murder committed exactly 20 years before the cabin deaths.

Anna O is a gripping novel and just when I thought I had figured it out, a new clue unravelled. I needed the final chapter to tie all the loose ends and residual questions answered.

Some parts were packed full of psychological science and I will admit to scanning over these slightly but this was only because I was fully invested in the plot and needed the reveal!

I page turner with revelations right to the end.

I found myself thinking about this book long after I’d finished reading it. It had me gripped right from the start, I just had to know what was going to happen and OMG ! what a twist !

Absolutely fantastic gripping read, and I really did not see the end coming (and that's coming from someone who usually always sees the twist)

Sleepwalking Murderess?

The premise was making me look forward to a gripping read but I was sorely disappointed and found it very hard going. In my humble opinion, if after 400 pages of plot, the author feels the need to fill another 20 pages explaining what happend, something went wrong. Not for me, sorry

This book wants to be The Silent Patient, which I enjoyed, but it was such a stretch. I wasn't a fan of this one, but the writing was good, so wouldn't be put of picking up another book by this author.

✨My Thoughts✨

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The mystery and the intrigue from the opening pages had me so excited to read further and find out about Anna O.

Ben Prince has been tasked with waking up the infamous Anna Olgilvy ( Anna O) , he’s woke up one night asking to go into work ( The Abbey Sleep Clinic) immediately then he gets the news that Anna is to be moved to his place of work and he’s got to wake her up so the government get prosecute her before she’s released on humanitarian grounds.

The only problem is she’s been asleep for four years and apparently murdered two people but they think Ben and his theories could work and they want him to wake her up before it’s too late.

I can’t really describe how good this story is.

I was utterly transfixed from the first page right until the very last and even then I didn’t want it to end, it has so many branches to the main story that have you thinking how and why is this connected but I knew it was all connected somehow.

The huge twists just kept on coming, I honestly thought I had it all figured out in my head but I was oh so very wrong.

I’m going to have the biggest book hangover ever after reading Anna O

It’s only February but this will be on my list for my favourite books of the year that’s for sure and I’m sure it will be on many others too.

The premise of this book really intrigued me, and this book has been super hyped up!
So was really excited when I got the opportunity to read an early copy!

Matthew Blake writing makes this novel feel like a non-fiction, true crime book. It felt so real! His writing is also so visual, and the entire time I was picturing it as a Netflix/tv series. (I think it would make an excellent tv show!!) I loved all the twists and turns, and feel so bloody stupid that I didn't 'get' the big twist at the end.

I'm a big thriller reader, and I'm so sick and tired of the same sort of scenarios - but this book was so original and unlike anything I have read before! Hallelujah! If you're an avid thriller/crime novel reader, and feeling in a funk... this one is for you!!

A very enjoyable book filled with twists and a mass of interesting information and facts into sleeping disorders.

I enjoyed seeing each new chapter being told from the different characters' perspectives - it certainly leads you to second guess yourself while trying to figure out who the unreliable narrator is!

There has been a lot of online hype about this book, and I certainly think it has been well-deserved.

Anna O by Matthew Blake

I originally chose this book because it seemed like it would be similar to The Silent Patient, and it definitely was. I enjoyed the psychological and scientific aspects to the novel, which always adds another level to thriller books like this. I liked that our main perspective was that of the doctor/psychologist treating Anna O, but also enjoyed that there were also a mix of POVs. This meant we got a wide range of insight into both the backstory leading up to the first murders and the current events surrounding Anna O. I especially enjoyed reading Anna's perspective and the way the author portrayed her rapid mental decline through the use of her diary entries.

The characters were all very well crafted, each hiding secrets from the reader and each other. The readers are left feeling suspicious of everyone, which leads to a lot of suspense that will keep you hooked. However, I did find the ending to be a bit underwhelming and certain scenes were repetitive or overly long. There were also some further explanations that seemed to be missing throughout. One example would be when Dr Prince suddenly begins to feel really connected to Anna, and believes her to not be a killer, even after only spending a few days next to her sleeping self.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book and would recommend it if you're looking for a good, fast-paced psychological thriller. I rated this 3 our of 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Matthew Blake for this ARC.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Very cleverly done. Really enjoyed this and I didn’t see the ending coming!

I'm not a crime/thriller book reader so admittedly, I'm easier to please or displease than those who are. Personally, I had a whole lot of fun with this book. I saw many people saying it dragged, I read it all in one go over a gray Saturday, cosied up on the couch with a blanket and warm tea. The multiple POV, including Anna's diary was great, some of the twists were easy to see coming (likely most for those who read a lot of the genre) but it was an entertaining story with a well flowing writing style.

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’

Can you kill someone without knowing it? Whilst you’re sleep walking say? Is it possible? Did Anna kill her friends whilst she was asleep? That’s what Benedict Prince (Ben to his friends) needs to help find out … by waking the Sleeping Beauty, a feat no one in four years had managed…

Blake delivers me a story from different narrators. I start with my MC in Ben. He’s a man with history but he is the sleep whisperer. He is Anna’s last hope of being awoken…or maybe she doesn’t want to be awoken as then she’ll have to face trial for the murder of her best friends.

Interwoven with Ben’s narrative are others with a vested interest in Anna, including Anna herself. These additional voices give a different dimension to the narrative. The intrigued intensives particularly one voice which I’m very suspicious of!

Anna O is one addictive read. I was desperate to know whether Anna was guilty or she’d been set up. Blake sent me down so many different thought avenues only for me to retreat and try another. But my mind never considered where he finished my journey. So so many questions I was left with but in the main I was stunned… blooming brilliant!