Never to Sleep

NEVER TO SLEEP

RACHEL VINCENT
(Pic from http://stuffyoungpeopleread.blogspot.com/2012/01/never-to-sleep-rachel-vincent.html)

Well, I've been a bit lacking when it comes to reviews, mostly because I've been doing a lot of rereading of books I've already reviewed.
This is a novella, not a novel, but boo hoo..
Onto the review.
Sophie has a cousin (Kaylee, because Thoth forbid there's a spelling I recognize) who is certifiably crazy. It's hard to tell, to Sophie, at least, if she's genuinely nuts or if she's faking it for attention, though. Either way, Kaylee is ruining Sophie's  high school reputation as dance and drama queen.
Then the handsome stranger I've gotten so used to shows up and accidental hits her with a door. Very romantic.
Blah blah blah, they hit it off pretty quick and are somehow dragged into the Netherworld, an evil parallel of our more familiar earth.
So, the plot seems pretty standard. I've read plenty of alternate-reality fics. How it was executed, though, is the beautiful part. It had your usual escape plot, but it somehow avoided your usual cliches, such as alternate love interest and thinking about staying. Plus, there are evil carnivorous plants that liquefy your organs and are everywhere. It was 'everything can kill you' played straight.
 There were monsters (only two were really described, though), reapers, X, X, and X. You know. Also standard. I was still more interested in the evil plants. Little Shop of Horrors was even mentioned. Woo hoo for shout-outs!
*Cough* Uh, onto the characters.
We shall start with Kaylee, our local crazy. And that is all she is ever really described as. Seriously. She had absolutely no personality beyond 'crazy'. I know she wasn't too important, but I think she deserved a little more than that.
Then there was Peyton, your usual popular girl. Also her simple personality. I've already complained about that kind of thing, I won't waste energy explaining again. It's in my rant about characters I'm tired of.

Onto Luca, Mr. Lovey-Dovey-Interesty-Winteresty. I am notorious for hating love interests. Maybe because they usually mess up the MC for me somehow. More on how he didn't later. Anyhow, he actually seemed like a realistic human being, who makes realistic human mistakes. I was basically cheering when he hit Sophie in the face with a door and panicked, because, hey, I'd panic too. He wasn't described as 100% perfect besides his abs. I really, really got tired of how much his chest was described, and how Sophie was for a moment willing to risk their lives so he wouldn't put his shirt on. No. Just no.

Lastly, Sophie. I don't think she was written badly, exactly, I just really didn't like her personality. She came off as extremely shallow and was more worried about her designer jeans than escaping. She didn't really develop that much through the story, which was disappointing. It's pretty sad when I like the love interest more than the main character.
This, to people who have read my reviews before know, is big: I accepted the romance. It wasn't annoying and Sophie stayed as an action girl instead of turning into a damsel in distress, and could figure out things by herself with or without Luca. There was a surplus of kissing towards the end, though.
The descriptions were very clear and really helped the story. There were a couple plot points that didn't seem to materialize (Sophie is being kept because she is of use to a hellion, but it's never said why or even hinted at), but it was definitely worth reading.