Sanctuary

by Celina Thompson

After being attacked by a rogue vampire and abandoned in the woods to die, Sienna is rescued by Madame Valene—the most powerful vampire in the region. While working for Valene at the Sanctuary Cafe, Sienna’s new found family help her cope with her own death and build a new life...all while serving blood transfusions to her handsome suitor & others who seek justice on her behalf. This peculiar bunch of vampires (including a scientist, a queen, and a priest) take Sienna in and scour the territory for her assailant. When she finally faces him, a new power is unleashed—one the vampiric world has never seen. This confirms Madam Valene’s fears and suspicions about Sienna's true heritage—ushering in a new era for the Vampiric World.

Genres: Paranormal, Ebooks, Vampires, Fantasy

312 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2023

About the author

Celina Thompson is basically a vampire. She is a disabled author with multiple invisible illnesses which causes sunlight to be painful, require blood transfusions, and even makes garlic off limits. Sanctuary is inspired by her medical journey. She began writing it as a means to cope while hospitalized with a blood clot in her brain.

Reviews

[Amora Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mixed Emotions

I didn’t know I needed a gothic romance like this in my life, but wow! Some of the horror elements that mixed with the spicy moments disturbed me (more so by how turned on I got). I adored the dynamics between the characters! I didn’t expect to laugh as much as I did reading this, but there’s so much snark and banter. I genuinely enjoyed reading Sanctuary, but there were several parts that hit a little too close to home for me. I feel like I went on an emotional roller coaster with the characters and it left me a little nauseous and off balance. Overall this book left me feeling introspective and I haven’t determined how I feel about that.

[Carolyne Kanashiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok read

I really wanted to like this book. The story kinda dragged and I was not a fan of the ending. The fact that there were no chapters kinda drove me crazy.

[Matthias · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF

[Bex]

DNF

I tried.

[Gyna Moose · Rating 2 out of 5]

noticed some spelling and grammatical errors which took me out of the story

ending felt rushed and left me with a lot of questions

my favorite parts were always with Valene, love her energy

[Holly Daly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me

I feel like the characters were well thought out, but the plot was way too involved to cover in a short amount of time. Perhaps a focus on one or two themes would be easier to follow. The characters names and nicknames change often even in the same sentence which is very confusing especially in the beginning when you are trying to nail down characters in your mind. I didn’t care for the sudden turn of the main character to almost evil at the end, there wasn’t enough lead up to her powers or abilities for such a change. It was interesting to have a vampiric character questioning and believing in God, their purpose in immortality, I have not really seen this struggle in a vampire story before, it was an interesting viewpoint. Thank for the opportunity to read new work!

[Mary Rush · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book needed more editing. It was a cozy, gothic, vampire story which I was here for!! However, there were scenes that were very repetitive, scenes that were just info dumping, and all fight scenes lacked actual narration and choreography.

[Avrial || Bookish.and.blissful · Rating 2 out of 5]

you'll like this if you're into:
- vampires with heart
- found family and healing
- disability-informed fantasy
- justice served with intention
- stories born from lived experience

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.