Drown Me With Dreams

✨4.75 stars✨

Wow wow wow!

I loved this book so much! I really enjoyed the first book when I read it last year so I was really looking forward to this sequel! Honestly I am so happy that it didn’t disappoint😂

The writing, the plot, the characters were amazing!

Just fair warning this is the conclusion to the duology… I didn’t realise this until the end because I didn’t even read the blurb before starting this!! I just want more of these characters and this world!

The only negative (whilst tiny) would be that it seemed to wrap up a bit too fast but maybe that’s me just being greedy for more!

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the first book and are intrigued by the how this story wraps up, and I would recommend this duology to fans of the ya fantasy genre with a really cute romance…Hayes😍 I can’t wait to get the finished physical copy!

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

This is not my usual genre but the cover and storyline drew me in instantly. It just seems so action packed and full of adventure . Love the romance aspect as well. Will be sharing a full review and thoughts very soon.

Following on from the events of SING ME TO SLEEP, Saoirse, a siren - and a wanted fugitive - is forced into hiding in the palace. Hayes, now King, is struggling to gain support and live up to his promises for a better Keirdre. Things take a further turn for the worse when Saoirse is accused of another crime, and she and Hayes are forced to send her beyond the barrier. But the only way for Saoirse to escape is to team up with her ex-best friend. Together, they discover the world beyond the barrier is not all they were led to believe. And as they learn more about themselves, each other, and the world around them, Saoirse must also come to terms if Hayes is the best choice for a better future for the kingdom... or not.

What a treat it was to return to the world of Sing Me to Sleep! Gabi Burton continues with the captivating world and characters of her previous novel, picking up and building on everything from the first book with no slump in sight. Once again, Saoirse is the stand-out, a badass, morally-grey MC whose internal struggles keep you turning pages. The redemption arc for Carrik is also brilliant, and a real highlight for me. I would love to see more of his character!

The worldbuilding continues to amaze, especially all the different creatures, and the plot was again, tightly-woven and propulsive. I loved the intrigue and mystery side of this book, especially the feeling of thinking "Ah yes, I know what's happening now" and then boom, another twist.

Overall, a brilliant conclusion to the duology and I can't wait to see what Gabi Burton does next!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free eArc!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I LOVED getting to read more of Gabi Burton's beautiful writing and finding out the conclusion to this compelling story! Sing Me To Sleep was one of my absolute favourite reads of 2023, so it was very exciting to get to read the sequel a couple of months early. I was both eager to find out how Saoirse's adventure would end and sad to have to leave this world behind!

After the events of the first book, siren Saoirse is a wanted criminal and the newly-crowned King Hayes is forced to send her to the other side of the magical barrier surrounding their kingdom... both to keep her safe, and to look into what is really happening over there. Saoirse is flanked by her once-best-friend, now-betrayer Carrick, who is doing all he can to get back on her good side and proves fundamental to her mission. What she finds leads to a lot of confusion and doubts over what to do, what is right for her Kingdom and even whether Hayes is the right person to lead it. How can Saoirse help her kingdom and keep her beloved sister safe, without breaking her own heart?

The plot was engaging for the entirety of the book and kept me guessing about characters' intentions and ideas. There were lots of unexpected plot twists that kept things interesting and tense, all the way until the final resolution. I wish more time was spent on the actualisation of the final plan, which was much anticipated and then... somewhat already over? But otherwise I loved the way it was all wrapped up, which was creative and definitely not what I expected! Drown Me With Dreams was less heavy on the action than Sing Me To Sleep, as it focused more on planning, political intrigue, subterfuge and development of relationships. I enjoyed the intricacies this brought to the plot, especially when it came to the government that Saorise gets to encounter on the other side of the barrier!

The main characters were explored in even more depth, with new layers being uncovered. I feel like I got a deeper understanding of Saoirse and Carrick throughout the book, and partially of Hayes too, although he was less central. The romance was a smaller subplot compared to everything else happening, but gosh did I love the scenes between Saoirse and Hayes! The (platonic!) relationship between Saoirse and Carrick was a great one to read about, too - their shared history, the difficult-to-overcome resentment and their unbreakable bond despite everything bringing a delightful warmth to a rather dark story. While the side characters weren't particularly developed, they served their purpose well and supported the story where needed (I definitely would have loved to know more about J'siiri, though!).

Sooo, I'd definitely recommend this duology to lovers of dark YA fantasy! I was absolutely enraptured by both books and could barely put this sequel down. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this early in exchange for an honest review!

This was a wonderful follow up to book 1. I was wondering whether I should reread it but once I started, I got swooped in straight away and things came back to me. I loved Saiorse and Hayes. Loved getting to know more creatures and world beyond Keirdre. I hope this will receive the attention it deserves.

The second book in the Sing Me to Sleep duology, Drown Me With Dreams, picks up right from where the first book left off. Saoirse's true identity as a siren is now public knowledge, and she finds herself in a tough spot that not even the new king can rescue her from. To protect her, Hayes sends Saoirse on a journey beyond the barrier surrounding the Keirdre kingdom, accompanied by her former best friend turned her worst betrayer, Carrik. Life beyond the barrier is full of unexpected revelations, and time is running out for Saoirse to uncover the secrets, truth and intrigues. She needs to navigate the politics of the new kingdom to prevent a looming war on more than one front, and she’s ready to do anything to let her sister have the better life she deserves, even if she has to pay it with her own life...

I thoroughly enjoyed the new setting and characters introduced in this book; Saoirse's internal struggles; and her relationships with Carrik and Hayes. I was worried we wouldn't see Hayes much since the story moves to different places, but my worries were unnecessary (yes, I do have a soft spot for him). All the moments when Saoirse and Hayes were together are my favourites, as are the times when Saoirse trains and tests her abilities to new limits and lets her siren nature free.

I was fully engaged with the author's storytelling and finished the book in just two evenings. I couldn't put the book down. needed to find out what would happen next. With about fifty pages remaining, I was concerned that the ending would be rushed -I was curious to see how the story would wrap up because I couldn't imagine how it could all end in this book (when I found out there wouldn’t be a third one). Yes, the ending is fast-paced, but honestly, I was glad it wasn't unnecessarily prolonged because everything came together seamlessly, and I wouldn't change a thing about it. I didn’t need a detailed long epic battle to enjoy the story, and the ending was surprising.

I'm sad this is the end because this duology has made a lasting impression on me. I can't stop thinking about it, (especially Hayes and Saoirse! I'm so happy for them!)

If you read the first book, you need to read this one as well, not only because the first book has an open ending but because this one is even better, as I said before.

With the end of this series, I know I’ll keep my eyes open for any other book Gabi Burton writes.


Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton | Hodderscape for granting me access to an e-ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review.

The first book in this series was one of the best arc's I've read. I love Sirens. I love them even more if they are really dangerous and the Siren starring in this duology is for sure dangerous and lethal. We see her kill people on page, we see her lying and betraying. We see how far she is willing to go to protect her family and her loved ones. When I saw this sequel on Netgalley I therefore had to request a copy and luckily Hodderscape granted me one.

This sequel is in a way quite different from the first novel, because the characters enter a way more uncertain situation and therefore have less clear goals. And yet, it also does contain all the elements I loved so much in the first book. Both main characters are still very much themselves, a lethal Siren doing whatever she has to, a King with a huge heart not willing to compromise on his ideals no matter the cost.

There's also a lot of politics in this book. And while the line between the good guys and the bad guys seems quite clear in the beginning, we discover that maybe it's not as easy to tell the heroes and villains apart. The finale of the book was therefore an amazing rollercoaster and when I reached the end of the book there were quite a few moments I was tearing up. Because it was sad, because it was beautiful, because it was real and raw.

I also liked that in this book we met a few other paranormal creatures and we got to see a world where humans and non-humans were living together quite peacefully. We therefore know what our heroes are fighting for. And just like them we experience the frustration when other people just refuse to see that same kind of peaceful world. However, this book shows once again that a better world starts with a few people wanting one and, unfortunately, quite some bloodshed.

Gabi Burton is an amazing writer and Drown Me With Dreams is a 5 stars for me in every sense; the way it’s written, the characters, the plot, the relationships, the world, absolutely everything.

I read the first book long ago but it was so easy to come back to the marvelous world that the author has created. Not gonna lie, I was kinda scared that I wouldn’t be able to like the second book as much as the first one because I’m not a big fan of having the main couple in different places for too long but, oh, I was wrong. I loved every second of this book no matter what.

Drown Me With Dreams is, in my opinion, even better than Sing Me To Sleep and I don’t have a clue about how that was possible because Sing Me To Sleep was my favorite book of 2023. I have no words. The only thing that I can say is that this series is brilliant and I enjoyed every second of this beautiful duology.

It has become one of my absolute favorite duologies and I highly recommend it for everyone who enjoys:

- Morally grey main female character
- Supernatural beings and powers
- Great world building
- Fantasy
- Forced proximity (kinda)
- “You and I against the world” !!!



I will add a longer review with full details and quotes to goodreads during the next weeks,


Thank you NetGalley for an advanced e-copy, in exchange for an honest review.