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Elemental Emergence #1
Le sanctuaire de l'ombre
A Refinery29 Most Anticipated Book of 2024
"Ascher's latest is a fantasy romance that has everything nice—a hot love interest, a relatable main character, female friendship—and plenty of (consensual) spice." ―Booklist
Some follow their destiny.
Others fall for it.
For humans, Salizar’s is a place of mystery and wonder. For Harrow, it’s a place to hide from those who slaughtered her entire clan. A haven where she can disguise both her abilities and who she really is.
Until he arrives.
He has no recollection of who—or even what—he is. He only knows that he’s a monster, with wings and powerful abilities never seen before. But beneath the layers of rage and isolation, one glimpse into those inky black eyes reveals a soul that calls out to the loneliness in Harrow.
And so she chooses him.
She is drawn to the mystery of him, her unquenchable need for his kiss. And as powerful enemies align and conspire against them, Harrow knows their only hope is escape.
Now, with every secret she unlocks from his past, a shadow from her own whispers free—luring enemies who will stop at nothing to get their final revenge on Harrow. And she’s given them the perfect weapon…because her winged beast is not what he seems.
But maybe it’s time they finally learn—neither is she.
"Ascher's latest is a fantasy romance that has everything nice—a hot love interest, a relatable main character, female friendship—and plenty of (consensual) spice." ―Booklist
Some follow their destiny.
Others fall for it.
For humans, Salizar’s is a place of mystery and wonder. For Harrow, it’s a place to hide from those who slaughtered her entire clan. A haven where she can disguise both her abilities and who she really is.
Until he arrives.
He has no recollection of who—or even what—he is. He only knows that he’s a monster, with wings and powerful abilities never seen before. But beneath the layers of rage and isolation, one glimpse into those inky black eyes reveals a soul that calls out to the loneliness in Harrow.
And so she chooses him.
She is drawn to the mystery of him, her unquenchable need for his kiss. And as powerful enemies align and conspire against them, Harrow knows their only hope is escape.
Now, with every secret she unlocks from his past, a shadow from her own whispers free—luring enemies who will stop at nothing to get their final revenge on Harrow. And she’s given them the perfect weapon…because her winged beast is not what he seems.
But maybe it’s time they finally learn—neither is she.
340 pages, Hardcover
First published January 9, 2024
924 people are currently reading
33876 people want to read
About the author
Aurora Ascher
8 books1,537 followersAurora Ascher is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling fantasy & paranormal romance author. She loves misunderstood monsters, redeemable anti-heroes, and epic happily-ever-afters. A woman of many creative pursuits, Aurora is also a professional musician and visual artist. She currently resides in Montreal with her trusty espresso machine and her endlessly patient husband, whom she sometimes doesn’t see for hours until she emerges from her writing cave like a bear in springtime.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,839 reviews
November 30, 2023
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I hate hate HATE writing negative reviews. But this book had me so looking forward to it, and now I’m just sad.
Look, when I start a Red Tower book, I know I’m signing up for something that is at least 40% pure vibes. I’m here for a good time, and all the previous books from this imprint have ranged from “mostly enjoyed it” to “new favorite.” Which is why SANCTUARY OF THE SHADOW is just such a heartbreaking disappointment.
I just felt like the book utterly failed to deliver on anything in its (very cool) premise. The book is marketed around a magical circus… and then we barely spend any time with that element at all? It’s supposed to be a richly-developed world with an epic war… and the world-building feels dry and detached, despite some really intriguing ideas that peek through. The romance, too, feels oddly underdeveloped, or perhaps it’s because the MCs have that detached feeling too (other than the steamy scenes, which don’t have great lead-up but definitely have a noticeably higher quality of writing).
Everything just feels so literal and lacking subtlety, and I could not get invested in any of it. I nearly DNF’d within the first chapter when one character sits down and tells another “I had this bad feeling I can’t decipher beyond general dread, but someone needs my help.” This is paraphrasing, but barely - the dialogue and the narration both are super-blunt and, with POV switching a lot, occasionally frustrating to follow.
I wanted to like this, and the general idea is so intriguing, but instead, it’s one of my biggest disappointments in quite some time.
Look, when I start a Red Tower book, I know I’m signing up for something that is at least 40% pure vibes. I’m here for a good time, and all the previous books from this imprint have ranged from “mostly enjoyed it” to “new favorite.” Which is why SANCTUARY OF THE SHADOW is just such a heartbreaking disappointment.
I just felt like the book utterly failed to deliver on anything in its (very cool) premise. The book is marketed around a magical circus… and then we barely spend any time with that element at all? It’s supposed to be a richly-developed world with an epic war… and the world-building feels dry and detached, despite some really intriguing ideas that peek through. The romance, too, feels oddly underdeveloped, or perhaps it’s because the MCs have that detached feeling too (other than the steamy scenes, which don’t have great lead-up but definitely have a noticeably higher quality of writing).
Everything just feels so literal and lacking subtlety, and I could not get invested in any of it. I nearly DNF’d within the first chapter when one character sits down and tells another “I had this bad feeling I can’t decipher beyond general dread, but someone needs my help.” This is paraphrasing, but barely - the dialogue and the narration both are super-blunt and, with POV switching a lot, occasionally frustrating to follow.
I wanted to like this, and the general idea is so intriguing, but instead, it’s one of my biggest disappointments in quite some time.
November 19, 2023
the sudden jump in writing quality/care during the sex scenes was actually hilarious like everything else was just lame window dressing
January 7, 2024
I might be in the minority but you should probably cancel your preorder for this one 🫣
Woof. This book was a complete and total miss for me. The writing was so awkward and felt extremely stunted, not even in an unfinished ARC kind of way, just so poorly written. I felt like the book literally stumbled from point to point. I truly can’t believe this was picked up and traditionally published. 😅
Harrow, our FMC, was 60 in Elemental years, but you could have told me that she was a teen and I would have believed you until you run headfirst into some of the cringiest spice scenes I’ve read in an extremely long time. Honestly, this book was written for spice only and the plot was just an afterthought. Other reviewers have said this and I can echo their sentiment, this book spend so much time telling and not showing except for the spice scenes. There is a noticeable uptick in detail between the regular plot and the spice.
Some other unforgivable moments:
• this book was marketed as having Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes (one of the absolute best tv series of all time please watch!!) and it has NONE of the spark or quality of ATLA. The only comparison is that the world is split into Elements, but that is exactly where it ends.
• my least favorite trope of all time happens at the end of the book
• the cover and blurb promote the circus as being a big part of the book, they spend maybe 20% of the book there
• amnesia makes the MMC, Raith, almost childlike (Harrow mentions it) but then again, they have insta-love and spice quickly - which gives me weird non-consent vibes
• absolutely jarring pacing with complete lack of world-building and character development
I’m sure someone out there will love this (reviews seem to be mixed for the time being), but it definitely wasn’t for me! I’m still so grateful that I was sent this ARC, even if I didn’t enjoy the book. Thank you to Red Tower Books and Entangled Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book releases tomorrow on January 9.
Woof. This book was a complete and total miss for me. The writing was so awkward and felt extremely stunted, not even in an unfinished ARC kind of way, just so poorly written. I felt like the book literally stumbled from point to point. I truly can’t believe this was picked up and traditionally published. 😅
Harrow, our FMC, was 60 in Elemental years, but you could have told me that she was a teen and I would have believed you until you run headfirst into some of the cringiest spice scenes I’ve read in an extremely long time. Honestly, this book was written for spice only and the plot was just an afterthought. Other reviewers have said this and I can echo their sentiment, this book spend so much time telling and not showing except for the spice scenes. There is a noticeable uptick in detail between the regular plot and the spice.
Some other unforgivable moments:
• this book was marketed as having Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes (one of the absolute best tv series of all time please watch!!) and it has NONE of the spark or quality of ATLA. The only comparison is that the world is split into Elements, but that is exactly where it ends.
• my least favorite trope of all time happens at the end of the book
• the cover and blurb promote the circus as being a big part of the book, they spend maybe 20% of the book there
• amnesia makes the MMC, Raith, almost childlike (Harrow mentions it) but then again, they have insta-love and spice quickly - which gives me weird non-consent vibes
• absolutely jarring pacing with complete lack of world-building and character development
I’m sure someone out there will love this (reviews seem to be mixed for the time being), but it definitely wasn’t for me! I’m still so grateful that I was sent this ARC, even if I didn’t enjoy the book. Thank you to Red Tower Books and Entangled Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book releases tomorrow on January 9.
February 6, 2024
now what the hell was this?
February 18, 2024
I need a lobotomy after that
September 24, 2024
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0.5 ☆'s┊✎ 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰
-----------------------------
𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: this is one of the lowest ratings I've ever given a book, but don't worry, I have sufficient evidence to demonstrate just why this book was rated so low. Disregarding the fact that this book made the NYT list 𝒶𝓃𝒹 had an overall rating of 2. 91 stars, I jumped headfirst into what would become one of the disappointing books I've read in 2024...
"𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣."
𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭: *laughs* i'm sorry, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 plot? oh do you mean the non-existent jumble of ideas this author decided to clump together? well then, this book is classified as a 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 that follows Harrow's (the FMC) journey after the murders of her Seer Clan. Oh, a dark, winged creature is captured and brought to the 'circus' where Harrow lives. Boom. Her life changes. We follow t̶o̶t̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶s̶u̶f̶f̶e̶r̶ through 400 pages of the 'plot' that could have been over and done with in 150 pages max.
𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰: she annoyed me to NO end, and I slammed the book so many times, cringing purely at some the stuff she said. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅. *snorts* was it just me or did anyone else laugh at this scene too? she was whiny, bratty, erratic and had no respect for anyone other than herself, ''her raith'', and malaikah. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆!...𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅'𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎! The first part of the sentence is said by the only human in the 'circus', and the second part is said by our lovely harrow, who absolutely despises the 𝘰𝘯𝘦 human that actually desires her safety and valued their friendship. But of course, poor Loren is a worm so he is flicked aside like he's useless.
...𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔.
oh haha, guys, look! so she meets this creature trapped in a cage at her circus and decides to break him out just because the divine spirit in her, the Water ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶o̶r̶m̶o̶n̶e̶s̶ told her to help the handsome stranger escape, oh no, he's running to get revenge, let me kiss him to make him stop!!
𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡: so raith is the 'love interest' in the book. he is accused of being a wraith, ghost-like assassins made to do Queen Furie's bidding. the world consists of the five territories, that have been feuding due to the five queens wreaking havoc, but oh surely, he isn't the creature that's kind massacred my family, right? 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒐'𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒏. oh but! he was innocent! now tell me, would you proceed to have sex with someone who'd murdered your entire family? but our lovely harrow did for she believed he was 𝒸𝑜𝑒𝓇𝒸𝑒𝒹 into doing it. oh phew, that's fine darling Raith! Raith was literally every dark MMC into one character, he literally possessed no differing qualities.
𝒉𝒆'𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒄𝒐𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏...𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎. oh jolly! of course honey, run to your mother's murderer's bed, have fun!!
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬! : now, one would think there would be more detail in the plot of the story right? i mean, this book was revolved around this amazing, beautiful, extravagant circus, but excuse me, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘴? the most we knew about the circus were the three sentences at page no. 2 of the book. after 15% of the book, it largely revolved around harrow lusting after raith and vice versa, the ''bitch queens" ruining their life, the eventual reveal of the truth, and you guessed it, sex! the amount of 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 used in the 'steamy scenes' ̶c̶r̶i̶n̶g̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶e̶n̶e̶s̶ that started after the first 100 pages were more than the details in the whole book combined.
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒘.
oh yeah, Raith is centuries old, and Harrow is 60 in elemental years, though I would've believed she was a teen like how she was acting in the books-
𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑, 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅?
oh raith, of course harrow wanted it didn't you girl? after all ''she'd wanted it from the first second she's laid eyes on him.''
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
of course after Raith was tortured and tortured again, until he finally was able to be rebirthed into his new body, and had to suffer memory loss, the first thing that he saw was Harrow running to him to be ''reunited.'' she brings him back to her caravan and can i just add, proceeds to have sex with him, god knows how many times, with Raith not even having an idea about WHO she was other than her 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆...𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒘𝒆- 𝑰-...𝑾𝒆'𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. totally not shocking that ''𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅'' they're having a daughter! woo hoo, all done.
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: now this book was filled with bland characters, cringe steamy scenes, no plot, and 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 that could have been resolved about 300 pages ago. suffice to say, i will not be recommending this book to 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦.
↬ ''𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕...''𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.'' ''𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔?" "𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔." "𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒐." 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 "𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔."
↬ 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅. ''𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕. 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕.'' *cough, cough, hypocrite.*
↬ ''𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅. 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊'𝒎 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌." ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶d̶u̶m̶b̶ ̶n̶u̶t̶h̶e̶a̶d̶ honey, you did the ONE right thing you've done in the whole books by getting away from a murderer-
↬ 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒙 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄���𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚. oh excuse me, so remember how I said he was rebirthed? well one of the bitch queens did that and grew to be friends with him? after literally spending 50 years torturing him to break? how does that work?
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I would keep going but then this review would be WAY too long anyways, hope you guys enjoyed my hate rant xx
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞:
↬ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒚.
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0.5 ☆'s┊✎ 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰
-----------------------------
𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: this is one of the lowest ratings I've ever given a book, but don't worry, I have sufficient evidence to demonstrate just why this book was rated so low. Disregarding the fact that this book made the NYT list 𝒶𝓃𝒹 had an overall rating of 2. 91 stars, I jumped headfirst into what would become one of the disappointing books I've read in 2024...
"𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣."
𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭: *laughs* i'm sorry, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 plot? oh do you mean the non-existent jumble of ideas this author decided to clump together? well then, this book is classified as a 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 that follows Harrow's (the FMC) journey after the murders of her Seer Clan. Oh, a dark, winged creature is captured and brought to the 'circus' where Harrow lives. Boom. Her life changes. We follow t̶o̶t̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶s̶u̶f̶f̶e̶r̶ through 400 pages of the 'plot' that could have been over and done with in 150 pages max.
𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰: she annoyed me to NO end, and I slammed the book so many times, cringing purely at some the stuff she said. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅. *snorts* was it just me or did anyone else laugh at this scene too? she was whiny, bratty, erratic and had no respect for anyone other than herself, ''her raith'', and malaikah. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆!...𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅'𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎! The first part of the sentence is said by the only human in the 'circus', and the second part is said by our lovely harrow, who absolutely despises the 𝘰𝘯𝘦 human that actually desires her safety and valued their friendship. But of course, poor Loren is a worm so he is flicked aside like he's useless.
...𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔.
oh haha, guys, look! so she meets this creature trapped in a cage at her circus and decides to break him out just because the divine spirit in her, the Water ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶o̶r̶m̶o̶n̶e̶s̶ told her to help the handsome stranger escape, oh no, he's running to get revenge, let me kiss him to make him stop!!
𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡: so raith is the 'love interest' in the book. he is accused of being a wraith, ghost-like assassins made to do Queen Furie's bidding. the world consists of the five territories, that have been feuding due to the five queens wreaking havoc, but oh surely, he isn't the creature that's kind massacred my family, right? 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒐'𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒏. oh but! he was innocent! now tell me, would you proceed to have sex with someone who'd murdered your entire family? but our lovely harrow did for she believed he was 𝒸𝑜𝑒𝓇𝒸𝑒𝒹 into doing it. oh phew, that's fine darling Raith! Raith was literally every dark MMC into one character, he literally possessed no differing qualities.
𝒉𝒆'𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒄𝒐𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏...𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎. oh jolly! of course honey, run to your mother's murderer's bed, have fun!!
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬! : now, one would think there would be more detail in the plot of the story right? i mean, this book was revolved around this amazing, beautiful, extravagant circus, but excuse me, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘴? the most we knew about the circus were the three sentences at page no. 2 of the book. after 15% of the book, it largely revolved around harrow lusting after raith and vice versa, the ''bitch queens" ruining their life, the eventual reveal of the truth, and you guessed it, sex! the amount of 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 used in the 'steamy scenes' ̶c̶r̶i̶n̶g̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶e̶n̶e̶s̶ that started after the first 100 pages were more than the details in the whole book combined.
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒘.
oh yeah, Raith is centuries old, and Harrow is 60 in elemental years, though I would've believed she was a teen like how she was acting in the books-
𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑, 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅?
oh raith, of course harrow wanted it didn't you girl? after all ''she'd wanted it from the first second she's laid eyes on him.''
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of course after Raith was tortured and tortured again, until he finally was able to be rebirthed into his new body, and had to suffer memory loss, the first thing that he saw was Harrow running to him to be ''reunited.'' she brings him back to her caravan and can i just add, proceeds to have sex with him, god knows how many times, with Raith not even having an idea about WHO she was other than her 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆...𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒘𝒆- 𝑰-...𝑾𝒆'𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. totally not shocking that ''𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅'' they're having a daughter! woo hoo, all done.
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𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: now this book was filled with bland characters, cringe steamy scenes, no plot, and 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 that could have been resolved about 300 pages ago. suffice to say, i will not be recommending this book to 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦.
↬ ''𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕...''𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.'' ''𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔?" "𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔." "𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒐." 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 "𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔."
↬ 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅. ''𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕. 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕.'' *cough, cough, hypocrite.*
↬ ''𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅. 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊'𝒎 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌." ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶d̶u̶m̶b̶ ̶n̶u̶t̶h̶e̶a̶d̶ honey, you did the ONE right thing you've done in the whole books by getting away from a murderer-
↬ 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒙 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄���𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚. oh excuse me, so remember how I said he was rebirthed? well one of the bitch queens did that and grew to be friends with him? after literally spending 50 years torturing him to break? how does that work?
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I would keep going but then this review would be WAY too long anyways, hope you guys enjoyed my hate rant xx
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞:
↬ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒚.
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
February 8, 2024
DNF @ 48%
Legit the most awkward, cringy, and drawn sex scenes I've run into lately.
*full body icks*
Legit the most awkward, cringy, and drawn sex scenes I've run into lately.
*full body icks*
February 28, 2024
my momma always told me if you don’t have nothin nice to say… don’t say anything. sooo🙊🙊
January 15, 2024
I’m going to be honest, I seen the stenciled edges and read the synopsis then immediately pre-ordered. I should have read some early reviews because I could have saved myself $30.
Very rarely do I rate novels one star that I finish reading. Usually there’s a redeeming quality or two to warrant a two star rating. Unfortunately for Sanctuary of the Shadow, there are no redeeming qualities. It’s just bad. From the instalove to the world building, Sanctuary of the Shadow offers readers very little to enjoy.
My biggest issue with Sanctuary of the Shadow is the relationship between Harrow and Raith. Raith wakes up with no memory and is sold to the ringmaster of the circus where Harrow discovers him. She cannot abide with keeping him captive, so she spends her nights with him devising a way for him to escape. Raith says a total of about 40 words to Harrow before she begins contemplating that she’s in love with him. They have zero chemistry. I mean, it’s hard to find chemistry between two characters when one of them doesn’t carry of a conversation. Honestly, it’s lazy writing since there are multiple ways for someone non-verbal to communicate. I know Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover is controversial, but the chemistry is fire hot and a good example of non-verbal communication.
In addition, Raith’s amnesia gives him a childlike vibe so Harrow and Raith’s inevitable coupling was uncomfortable to say the least. Unfortunately for readers, it’s a prolonged exposure to these uncomfortable scenes as it goes on for days/chapters.
While Raith has no personality (and a stupid name), Harrow reads like a teenager. Had it not been explained that she’s 60 years old, I would have assumed she was a teenager. Everything about her reads as young and inexperienced.
The world building is messy, to say the least. The war of the Queens, the magic system, the underground, and Mal’s past and inevitable future isn’t fleshed out enough to make sense. Suddenly, an all-knowing oracle is introduced but is somehow different from the seer powers Harrow has. I found her only purpose was to warn readers of the spoiler below.
I wonder why the publisher decided to center the marketing for this novel around the circus motif when the characters spend all of 5 chapters there and it barely serves a purpose to the larger plot. The cover is nice, I’ll give them that, but why?
Spoiler:
Overall, Sanctuary of the Shadow is a hot mess. From the characters themselves to their relationship to the worldbuilding, Sanctuary of the Shadow feels like the publisher was looking to cash in on the success of the Romantasy genre with the first manuscript that crossed their desk.
Very rarely do I rate novels one star that I finish reading. Usually there’s a redeeming quality or two to warrant a two star rating. Unfortunately for Sanctuary of the Shadow, there are no redeeming qualities. It’s just bad. From the instalove to the world building, Sanctuary of the Shadow offers readers very little to enjoy.
My biggest issue with Sanctuary of the Shadow is the relationship between Harrow and Raith. Raith wakes up with no memory and is sold to the ringmaster of the circus where Harrow discovers him. She cannot abide with keeping him captive, so she spends her nights with him devising a way for him to escape. Raith says a total of about 40 words to Harrow before she begins contemplating that she’s in love with him. They have zero chemistry. I mean, it’s hard to find chemistry between two characters when one of them doesn’t carry of a conversation. Honestly, it’s lazy writing since there are multiple ways for someone non-verbal to communicate. I know Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover is controversial, but the chemistry is fire hot and a good example of non-verbal communication.
In addition, Raith’s amnesia gives him a childlike vibe so Harrow and Raith’s inevitable coupling was uncomfortable to say the least. Unfortunately for readers, it’s a prolonged exposure to these uncomfortable scenes as it goes on for days/chapters.
While Raith has no personality (and a stupid name), Harrow reads like a teenager. Had it not been explained that she’s 60 years old, I would have assumed she was a teenager. Everything about her reads as young and inexperienced.
The world building is messy, to say the least. The war of the Queens, the magic system, the underground, and Mal’s past and inevitable future isn’t fleshed out enough to make sense. Suddenly, an all-knowing oracle is introduced but is somehow different from the seer powers Harrow has. I found her only purpose was to warn readers of the spoiler below.
I wonder why the publisher decided to center the marketing for this novel around the circus motif when the characters spend all of 5 chapters there and it barely serves a purpose to the larger plot. The cover is nice, I’ll give them that, but why?
Spoiler:
Overall, Sanctuary of the Shadow is a hot mess. From the characters themselves to their relationship to the worldbuilding, Sanctuary of the Shadow feels like the publisher was looking to cash in on the success of the Romantasy genre with the first manuscript that crossed their desk.
December 22, 2025
Trama/Plot ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Personaggi/Characters ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stile/Style ⭐⭐⭐
Spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ho ricevuto questo libro come ARC dalla Ne/oN Libri, la prima casa editrice italiana ad essere approdata su Netgalley. É la prima opera che leggo di Aurora Ascher e deve dire che non pensavo che mi sarebbe piaciuto così tanto da meritarsi 4 stelle! All'inizio stenta un po' a decollare, anche se i primi capitoli narrati dal punto di vista di Raith sono molto belli e coinvolgenti: si fa un po' fatica ad inquadrare la situazione generale e l'antefatto (la guerra tra le Regine, che ha scatenato il tutto anni prima degli eventi narrati resta un po' nebulosa per quasi tutto il racconto, ma in fin dei conti non è così fondamentale conoscerla nel dettaglio per apprezzare il libro. Dopo i primi capitoli, comunque, la storia decolla a tal punto che fai fatica a mettere giù il libro e cerchi di leggere ancora un capitolo! Ho amato il personaggio di Malaikah (anche se, ammetto, il nome Malaikah non mi piace proprio) e non vedo l'ora di scoprire cosa farà per riprendersi il suo Paese (con “chi” lo farà, invece, mi è parso evidente fin dal loro primo incontro, quei due fanno scintille!). Adoro, adoro, adoro Nashira, un personaggio meraviglioso, capace di portare brio e divertimento fin dalla sua prima apparizione. Unico neo la scelta – secondo me poco azzeccata – di alcuni nomi: come già detto, Malaikah non mi è piaciuto, e Furie non si può proprio sentire! La pubblicazione di Sanctuary of the shadow in Italia è prevista per il prossimo settembre, ma io già non vedo l'ora di leggere il secondo della saga!
***
I've received this book as an ARC from Ne/oN Libri, the first Italian publishing house to land on Netgalley. It's the first work I've read by Aurora Ascher and I have to say that I didn't think I would like it so much as to deserve 4 stars! At the beginning it's a bit difficult to take off, even if the first chapters narrated from Raith's point of view are very beautiful and engaging: it's a bit difficult to frame the general situation and the background (the war between the Queens, which triggered everything years before, remains a bit nebulous for almost the entire story, but ultimately it is not so essential to know it in detail to appreciate the book. After the first chapters, however, the story takes off like this to the point where you struggle to put the book down and try to read one more chapter! I loved the character of Malaikah (even though, admittedly, I really don't like the name Malaikah) and I can't wait to find out what she will do to get back hes Country (with "whom" she will do it, however, it seemed clear from their first meeting, those two make sparks!). I love, love, love Nashira, a wonderful character, capable of bringing liveliness and fun right from her premiere appearance. The only flaw is the choice – in my opinion not very appropriate – of some names: as already said, I didn't like Malaikah, and then, Furie just can't be heard! The publication of Sanctuary of the shadow in Italy is scheduled for next September, but I already can't wait to read the second of the saga!
Personaggi/Characters ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stile/Style ⭐⭐⭐
Spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ho ricevuto questo libro come ARC dalla Ne/oN Libri, la prima casa editrice italiana ad essere approdata su Netgalley. É la prima opera che leggo di Aurora Ascher e deve dire che non pensavo che mi sarebbe piaciuto così tanto da meritarsi 4 stelle! All'inizio stenta un po' a decollare, anche se i primi capitoli narrati dal punto di vista di Raith sono molto belli e coinvolgenti: si fa un po' fatica ad inquadrare la situazione generale e l'antefatto (la guerra tra le Regine, che ha scatenato il tutto anni prima degli eventi narrati resta un po' nebulosa per quasi tutto il racconto, ma in fin dei conti non è così fondamentale conoscerla nel dettaglio per apprezzare il libro. Dopo i primi capitoli, comunque, la storia decolla a tal punto che fai fatica a mettere giù il libro e cerchi di leggere ancora un capitolo! Ho amato il personaggio di Malaikah (anche se, ammetto, il nome Malaikah non mi piace proprio) e non vedo l'ora di scoprire cosa farà per riprendersi il suo Paese (con “chi” lo farà, invece, mi è parso evidente fin dal loro primo incontro, quei due fanno scintille!). Adoro, adoro, adoro Nashira, un personaggio meraviglioso, capace di portare brio e divertimento fin dalla sua prima apparizione. Unico neo la scelta – secondo me poco azzeccata – di alcuni nomi: come già detto, Malaikah non mi è piaciuto, e Furie non si può proprio sentire! La pubblicazione di Sanctuary of the shadow in Italia è prevista per il prossimo settembre, ma io già non vedo l'ora di leggere il secondo della saga!
***
I've received this book as an ARC from Ne/oN Libri, the first Italian publishing house to land on Netgalley. It's the first work I've read by Aurora Ascher and I have to say that I didn't think I would like it so much as to deserve 4 stars! At the beginning it's a bit difficult to take off, even if the first chapters narrated from Raith's point of view are very beautiful and engaging: it's a bit difficult to frame the general situation and the background (the war between the Queens, which triggered everything years before, remains a bit nebulous for almost the entire story, but ultimately it is not so essential to know it in detail to appreciate the book. After the first chapters, however, the story takes off like this to the point where you struggle to put the book down and try to read one more chapter! I loved the character of Malaikah (even though, admittedly, I really don't like the name Malaikah) and I can't wait to find out what she will do to get back hes Country (with "whom" she will do it, however, it seemed clear from their first meeting, those two make sparks!). I love, love, love Nashira, a wonderful character, capable of bringing liveliness and fun right from her premiere appearance. The only flaw is the choice – in my opinion not very appropriate – of some names: as already said, I didn't like Malaikah, and then, Furie just can't be heard! The publication of Sanctuary of the shadow in Italy is scheduled for next September, but I already can't wait to read the second of the saga!
December 11, 2024
Dnf at 50%
This is published by the same company that did Fourth Wing. Looks like they're going to be doing limited run special first editions again as well with sprayed edges. I preordered mine.
This is published by the same company that did Fourth Wing. Looks like they're going to be doing limited run special first editions again as well with sprayed edges. I preordered mine.
January 25, 2024
I didn’t want to believe it was as bad as the reviews made it out to be. It wasn’t! It was worse.
Ever since the imprint Red Tower was announced, I’ve been excited about pretty much all their titles, and Sanctuary of the Shadow was no exception. Romance and a magical circus, what´s not to love?
But it only took a couple of pages before I realized that I was going to have a problem with this book. The writing is, I’m sorry to say, awful. It feels unedited and comes across as fanfiction. There’s so much tell, and zero show. And apart from that, it’s full of repetition and stuttering.
Seemingly from nowhere, those wings had appeared. There’d been no sign of them moments ago.
I also had a problem with the dialogue and the way they talked. We’re in a world that doesn’t have any electricity, but they still talk like this:
“She told me her nipple tassels fell off during her final reveal.”
“Well, that explains it! If she flashed those puppies at me, I’d fall in love too.”
The book consists of dialogue that reads like this:
“Wraith? But I thought he wasn’t…? Honey, I’m so confused right now.”
“Raith with an R.”
“With an R? What?” Poor Mal was barely keeping up.
I’m not keeping up either…
The circus, which were the most intriguing part of the story, is barely explored at all. Instead, all the focus is on the romance, that couldn’t be more rushed if they tried. It’s even in the book that it’s too rushed.
It’s too early, she told herself. No one could fall in love in five days.
The writing during the most part of the story is rushed and feel like hardly any effort went into it, but the sex scenes are…. Oddly detailed. Which feels a bit weird, because several times they mention that Raith is “pure as a child”. That made me a bit uncomfortable reading those scenes. And it didn’t get any better when I came across this:
“So tight.” It had been six months since they were together, after all.
It doesn’t matter how long it has been. Or did he get bad at sex during that time..?
Harrow was also a pain to follow, because she’s really dense. Zero part of this book is enjoyable, I’m sorry to say.
Ever since the imprint Red Tower was announced, I’ve been excited about pretty much all their titles, and Sanctuary of the Shadow was no exception. Romance and a magical circus, what´s not to love?
But it only took a couple of pages before I realized that I was going to have a problem with this book. The writing is, I’m sorry to say, awful. It feels unedited and comes across as fanfiction. There’s so much tell, and zero show. And apart from that, it’s full of repetition and stuttering.
Seemingly from nowhere, those wings had appeared. There’d been no sign of them moments ago.
I also had a problem with the dialogue and the way they talked. We’re in a world that doesn’t have any electricity, but they still talk like this:
“She told me her nipple tassels fell off during her final reveal.”
“Well, that explains it! If she flashed those puppies at me, I’d fall in love too.”
The book consists of dialogue that reads like this:
“Wraith? But I thought he wasn’t…? Honey, I’m so confused right now.”
“Raith with an R.”
“With an R? What?” Poor Mal was barely keeping up.
I’m not keeping up either…
The circus, which were the most intriguing part of the story, is barely explored at all. Instead, all the focus is on the romance, that couldn’t be more rushed if they tried. It’s even in the book that it’s too rushed.
It’s too early, she told herself. No one could fall in love in five days.
The writing during the most part of the story is rushed and feel like hardly any effort went into it, but the sex scenes are…. Oddly detailed. Which feels a bit weird, because several times they mention that Raith is “pure as a child”. That made me a bit uncomfortable reading those scenes. And it didn’t get any better when I came across this:
“So tight.” It had been six months since they were together, after all.
It doesn’t matter how long it has been. Or did he get bad at sex during that time..?
Harrow was also a pain to follow, because she’s really dense. Zero part of this book is enjoyable, I’m sorry to say.
January 2, 2024
I went into this book with high hopes. How could I not? Sanctuary of the Shadow promises a magical circus set in a fantasy world with a forbidden romance. Plus, Red Tower has been releasing great romantasy books! I thought this book would be a slam dunk. Reader, it was anything but.
Where to begin? I noticed the writing style wasn’t for me from the first chapter. The author is a tell-rather-than-show writer with a straightforward/blunt writing style. The writing felt very young for an adult book, and so did the characters. Harrow is supposed to be a mature adult, but she read as a teenager to me. Her character was not fleshed out at all, nor was the romance, which made it hard for me to feel invested in the story. There wasn’t any build-up or depth to the romance between Harrow and Raith. They meet and instantly fall in love. Even Harrow thinks it’s too soon to be in love with Raith.
In addition to the issues above, there was no plot. This book promises the reader a magical circus--and we barely see it. The circus is part of the story for the first 20%, and it’s only the setting. We don’t get to experience the circus or what it’s like to be part of it. I DNFed this book around the halfway mark, and there was no plot to be found. I’m not sure what this book is supposed to be about besides smut. That’s all I read after Harrow and Raith escaped the circus. Don’t get me wrong, I like smut and romance as much as the next person, but I also need plot and character development.
If you’re going into Sanctuary of the Shadow expecting a high-stakes fantasy book about a forbidden romance and a magical circus, this is not that book.
Where to begin? I noticed the writing style wasn’t for me from the first chapter. The author is a tell-rather-than-show writer with a straightforward/blunt writing style. The writing felt very young for an adult book, and so did the characters. Harrow is supposed to be a mature adult, but she read as a teenager to me. Her character was not fleshed out at all, nor was the romance, which made it hard for me to feel invested in the story. There wasn’t any build-up or depth to the romance between Harrow and Raith. They meet and instantly fall in love. Even Harrow thinks it’s too soon to be in love with Raith.
In addition to the issues above, there was no plot. This book promises the reader a magical circus--and we barely see it. The circus is part of the story for the first 20%, and it’s only the setting. We don’t get to experience the circus or what it’s like to be part of it. I DNFed this book around the halfway mark, and there was no plot to be found. I’m not sure what this book is supposed to be about besides smut. That’s all I read after Harrow and Raith escaped the circus. Don’t get me wrong, I like smut and romance as much as the next person, but I also need plot and character development.
If you’re going into Sanctuary of the Shadow expecting a high-stakes fantasy book about a forbidden romance and a magical circus, this is not that book.
March 14, 2025
╭ ✦ •
│ ⊹ 𝟸.𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 ⊹
╰ ✦ •
um.. what did I just read?
I don't know how to feel about this one tbh, it was... interesting enough to make me want to finish it
-an interesting magic system but it really wasn't explained properly
-interesting characters but not a lot of depth to them
-smut scenes were super cringy
i wish this was executed better because it has so much potential
_________________________________
Blog ಇ StoryGraph ಇ Instagram ಇ Twitter ಇ Facebook
│ ⊹ 𝟸.𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 ⊹
╰ ✦ •
um.. what did I just read?
I don't know how to feel about this one tbh, it was... interesting enough to make me want to finish it
-an interesting magic system but it really wasn't explained properly
-interesting characters but not a lot of depth to them
-smut scenes were super cringy
i wish this was executed better because it has so much potential
_________________________________
Blog ಇ StoryGraph ಇ Instagram ಇ Twitter ಇ Facebook
January 1, 2025
I received a free ARC.
Appeals: a fated mates romantasy novel (driven by a new circus act) with Elementals and set in circus
CW: for mentions of confinement, trafficking, torture, & war (& all associated atrocities)
Appeals: a fated mates romantasy novel (driven by a new circus act) with Elementals and set in circus
CW: for mentions of confinement, trafficking, torture, & war (& all associated atrocities)
January 28, 2024
I bought this book because it was gorgeous, and it sounded cool-ish.
It was…a hot mess. I don’t want to be really mean and I didn’t finish so that’s all I’m going to say.
Oh well it’s still pretty and sometimes that’s all you need.
It was…a hot mess. I don’t want to be really mean and I didn’t finish so that’s all I’m going to say.
Oh well it’s still pretty and sometimes that’s all you need.
January 12, 2024
To be honest, I don't know why I even bothered to finish this... it was one of the worst books I have ever read. I don't know how this got picked up by a publisher and how it was allowed to be a beautiful special edition. The outside is stunning, but the inside is hot garbage. I'm pissed that I bought this book for 30 dollars and if I could I would return it.
I could write a 5-page essay on all the things I hated about this book, but I'll stick with 5 bullet points
- for a book that's supposed to take place in a circus, there is very little circus
- next to no world building
- the main character was supposed to be a grown woman, yet acted like a teenager
- there was no build-up or chemistry for the relationship in the slightest
- the characters had NO personalities.
0/10 do not recommend.
I could write a 5-page essay on all the things I hated about this book, but I'll stick with 5 bullet points
- for a book that's supposed to take place in a circus, there is very little circus
- next to no world building
- the main character was supposed to be a grown woman, yet acted like a teenager
- there was no build-up or chemistry for the relationship in the slightest
- the characters had NO personalities.
0/10 do not recommend.
March 12, 2024
2.5 stars
Fitting that the ouroboros is a reoccurring symbol of this story, considering how the book repeats the same 2 conflicts over and over again and never ends. I think that Sanctuary of the Shadow has some potential in its world building, but as is the case with some previous Red Tower releases, based off of all the missteps in the plot and characterization, it's clear that it was rushed out. Some things that stood out to be as especially obnoxious to me are as follows:
-the way in which exposition was delivered
-the dumb naming convention and reveal that Raith is, in fact, a Wraith
-the extreme case of insta love and how devoted the characters are to each other after five days of sex and zero conversation
-how drawn out the ending was
-how this book was marketed as a circus-themed fantasy when it hardly involves the circus
-how repetitive and boring the back and forth conflict as to whether Harrow should trust Raith got
But the worst aspect of this book is the one most people have already commented on. It is the way that Raith is written. He is written like a feral puppy, not a human character you can connect with. He starts the book with an extreme case of amnesia. Additionally, you can tell that the author was trying to do the "he hates everyone but her" trope, except that this, in combination with his bafflement of the world around him, made him come across as incredibly one-dimensional and juvenile (which then made the sex scenes weird to read). When Raith and Harrow meet, she is captivated by his utter confusion of the world. There are scenes of him hissing like an animal, but then eating a cookie and smiling like a child. She even refers to him as someone with "the soul of a child". That's not only boring to read about, but incredibly weird considering they have explicit sex like 50 ages later.
So while this book had some minor potential, and I was hoping to love it considering how pretty the first editions are, it really needed an editor who wasn't going to sugarcoat everything. (I did like Mal though, so that's something)
Fitting that the ouroboros is a reoccurring symbol of this story, considering how the book repeats the same 2 conflicts over and over again and never ends. I think that Sanctuary of the Shadow has some potential in its world building, but as is the case with some previous Red Tower releases, based off of all the missteps in the plot and characterization, it's clear that it was rushed out. Some things that stood out to be as especially obnoxious to me are as follows:
-the way in which exposition was delivered
-the dumb naming convention and reveal that Raith is, in fact, a Wraith
-the extreme case of insta love and how devoted the characters are to each other after five days of sex and zero conversation
-how drawn out the ending was
-how this book was marketed as a circus-themed fantasy when it hardly involves the circus
-how repetitive and boring the back and forth conflict as to whether Harrow should trust Raith got
But the worst aspect of this book is the one most people have already commented on. It is the way that Raith is written. He is written like a feral puppy, not a human character you can connect with. He starts the book with an extreme case of amnesia. Additionally, you can tell that the author was trying to do the "he hates everyone but her" trope, except that this, in combination with his bafflement of the world around him, made him come across as incredibly one-dimensional and juvenile (which then made the sex scenes weird to read). When Raith and Harrow meet, she is captivated by his utter confusion of the world. There are scenes of him hissing like an animal, but then eating a cookie and smiling like a child. She even refers to him as someone with "the soul of a child". That's not only boring to read about, but incredibly weird considering they have explicit sex like 50 ages later.
So while this book had some minor potential, and I was hoping to love it considering how pretty the first editions are, it really needed an editor who wasn't going to sugarcoat everything. (I did like Mal though, so that's something)
January 14, 2025
I LOST BRAIN CELLS BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK.
The storyline started out as promising and mysterious. We meet magical creatures that work for a circus and they are under the protection of a strong wizard.
Shortly after we meet a new character that has no memory of who he is. The only thing he can recall is that he feels guilty for something. Sadly character is taken to the circus against his will.
He meets one of the magical creatures of the circus and they instantly fall in love. (I kid you not) From there the plot disappears. The plot gets on a train with a one way ticket to god knows where and it said “see you never.”
The only reason I did not DNF this book is because I own the physical copy and my goal for 2025 is to read my physical TBR. However, I now want to get rid of it.
I could rant about this book forever but I won’t. I will just say that I hope I forget what I read soon.
The storyline started out as promising and mysterious. We meet magical creatures that work for a circus and they are under the protection of a strong wizard.
Shortly after we meet a new character that has no memory of who he is. The only thing he can recall is that he feels guilty for something. Sadly character is taken to the circus against his will.
He meets one of the magical creatures of the circus and they instantly fall in love. (I kid you not) From there the plot disappears. The plot gets on a train with a one way ticket to god knows where and it said “see you never.”
The only reason I did not DNF this book is because I own the physical copy and my goal for 2025 is to read my physical TBR. However, I now want to get rid of it.
I could rant about this book forever but I won’t. I will just say that I hope I forget what I read soon.
January 9, 2024
This review can also be found at https://carolesrandomlife.com/
I enjoyed this one! The book started rather slow for me but after a few chapters things picked up. I liked Harrow and Raith. Their instant connection felt very real and I couldn’t wait to see how things would develop. This book was a bit spicer than I expected, which wasn’t a bad thing, just unexpected. Overall, I found this to be an entertaining read.
Harrow has spent the last 50 years telling fortunes with the traveling circus, keeping the fact that she is the world’s last Seer a secret. When she sees Raith, she is drawn to him and knows that they need to leave the circus to keep him safe. Raith has no memories of his past but he feels the connection to Harrow and wants to keep her safe. There were a few twists and turns that I could guess pretty early on but that didn’t impact my enjoyment.
I thought that the chemistry between Harrow and Raith was well done. They both felt a connection to each other and I thought that it felt very real. They both go through a lot in this book and I liked that we get quite a bit of excitement before the story wraps up. I thought it was interesting to learn more about each character’s past as we worked our way through this story.
I would recommend this book to others. It wasn’t a perfect story but I found it to be a lot of fun in the end. I liked a few of the secondary characters quite a bit and hope we see more of them in future installments in this series.
I received a review copy of this book from Red Tower Books.
I enjoyed this one! The book started rather slow for me but after a few chapters things picked up. I liked Harrow and Raith. Their instant connection felt very real and I couldn’t wait to see how things would develop. This book was a bit spicer than I expected, which wasn’t a bad thing, just unexpected. Overall, I found this to be an entertaining read.
Harrow has spent the last 50 years telling fortunes with the traveling circus, keeping the fact that she is the world’s last Seer a secret. When she sees Raith, she is drawn to him and knows that they need to leave the circus to keep him safe. Raith has no memories of his past but he feels the connection to Harrow and wants to keep her safe. There were a few twists and turns that I could guess pretty early on but that didn’t impact my enjoyment.
I thought that the chemistry between Harrow and Raith was well done. They both felt a connection to each other and I thought that it felt very real. They both go through a lot in this book and I liked that we get quite a bit of excitement before the story wraps up. I thought it was interesting to learn more about each character’s past as we worked our way through this story.
I would recommend this book to others. It wasn’t a perfect story but I found it to be a lot of fun in the end. I liked a few of the secondary characters quite a bit and hope we see more of them in future installments in this series.
I received a review copy of this book from Red Tower Books.
February 26, 2024
Sarcasm and negative feedback incoming:
And before you think “it can’t be that bad! Maybe this book doesn’t deserve the average 2.97 stars or whatever it’s at now!” I assure you it deserves it
Perfect for fans of ACOTAR 😍✨🥰 you have the incessant use of the words male/female to describe EVERYONE instead of, I don’t know, using man/woman/person or even ✨making up a word✨ plus!! A WINGED SHADOWDADDY with ✨MAGIC✨and claws 😍
He’s a monster and big and scary 😈 but has a soft spot for her 😇 and she’s SMALL and SPUNKY and UNAFRAID of him 😍
“You’re saying Raith is actually a wraith?” Genius writing 📝
He LOST his memories AGAIN and instead of making up a better name for him you name him RAITH AGAIN
Gotta say tho, the epilogue was the worst thing I’ve ever read 🥰
And before you think “it can’t be that bad! Maybe this book doesn’t deserve the average 2.97 stars or whatever it’s at now!” I assure you it deserves it
Perfect for fans of ACOTAR 😍✨🥰 you have the incessant use of the words male/female to describe EVERYONE instead of, I don’t know, using man/woman/person or even ✨making up a word✨ plus!! A WINGED SHADOWDADDY with ✨MAGIC✨and claws 😍
He’s a monster and big and scary 😈 but has a soft spot for her 😇 and she’s SMALL and SPUNKY and UNAFRAID of him 😍
“You’re saying Raith is actually a wraith?” Genius writing 📝
He LOST his memories AGAIN and instead of making up a better name for him you name him RAITH AGAIN
Gotta say tho, the epilogue was the worst thing I’ve ever read 🥰
February 11, 2024
Don't be curious
May 11, 2024
i need a shower
January 6, 2025
Can someone please explain to me what i just read?
Some things to expect inside:
*Touch her and ☠️
*One bed
*Multi person POV
*Third person
*Memory loss
*SPICYYYYYY
(There are some other ones as well but I cannot put them because spoilers and all that)
The premise of this book is GENIUS in my opinion. A circus filled with different types of Elemental’s sounds amazing! Until it was written onto paper. Where is the circus? Well you get to see it in all of its glory for about 15% of the book and then you never get to experience it again. Truly i thought people were fibbing in their reviews… until i read this for myself. I started out really enjoying this book. I thought ‘wow this is actually really good!’ only to change my mind at exactly page 142.
Mal is the saving grace in this book. She is my favorite character. Even Ouro, who is barely a side character! Mal was stubborn and strong without being annoying (take notes Harrow). And she thought like any sane person would. Enter Harrow. She was also stubborn, or maybe completely childish is the better word. She would be given something to do that would completely benefit her and she would COMPLETELY IGNORE IT. She started out really strong and i did like her at first. But she just kept getting worse and worse. Raith was a good character, i enjoyed reading from his POV but sometimes his inner monologue drove me nuts. I wish i could elaborate further but if you decide to read this book, i don't want to give anything away!
Another thing that really irked me was the fact that there was zero mystery in this book. A question was asked, or a scenario was brought forward and there was an answer within 20 or so pages! I could perfectly sum up this book to you in 2 paragraphs and you wouldn't even have to read the book for yourself.
The spice in this was absolutely diabolical. There was too much of it and it was face scrunch inducing. Why was more care put into the spice more than anything else? There were seven pages of just ONE instance. And that's not counting the other, like, six that happen! But hey if you're looking for a spicy good time where there's not any intricate plot, you don't have to think at all and you like bland characters. This is for you!
Other than that, to everyone else, do i recommend this book? Absolutely, unequivocally, 100% NOT!
Some things to expect inside:
*Touch her and ☠️
*One bed
*Multi person POV
*Third person
*Memory loss
*SPICYYYYYY
(There are some other ones as well but I cannot put them because spoilers and all that)
The premise of this book is GENIUS in my opinion. A circus filled with different types of Elemental’s sounds amazing! Until it was written onto paper. Where is the circus? Well you get to see it in all of its glory for about 15% of the book and then you never get to experience it again. Truly i thought people were fibbing in their reviews… until i read this for myself. I started out really enjoying this book. I thought ‘wow this is actually really good!’ only to change my mind at exactly page 142.
Mal is the saving grace in this book. She is my favorite character. Even Ouro, who is barely a side character! Mal was stubborn and strong without being annoying (take notes Harrow). And she thought like any sane person would. Enter Harrow. She was also stubborn, or maybe completely childish is the better word. She would be given something to do that would completely benefit her and she would COMPLETELY IGNORE IT. She started out really strong and i did like her at first. But she just kept getting worse and worse. Raith was a good character, i enjoyed reading from his POV but sometimes his inner monologue drove me nuts. I wish i could elaborate further but if you decide to read this book, i don't want to give anything away!
Another thing that really irked me was the fact that there was zero mystery in this book. A question was asked, or a scenario was brought forward and there was an answer within 20 or so pages! I could perfectly sum up this book to you in 2 paragraphs and you wouldn't even have to read the book for yourself.
The spice in this was absolutely diabolical. There was too much of it and it was face scrunch inducing. Why was more care put into the spice more than anything else? There were seven pages of just ONE instance. And that's not counting the other, like, six that happen! But hey if you're looking for a spicy good time where there's not any intricate plot, you don't have to think at all and you like bland characters. This is for you!
Other than that, to everyone else, do i recommend this book? Absolutely, unequivocally, 100% NOT!
May 7, 2024
This is a reason we do not judge books sheerly by an attractive cover because the book is beautiful, the writing leaves much to be desired.
I had a tough time getting through this ARC. It’s a Red Tower Release, thus my expectations were just high and not met. It was marketed to fantasy fans as a Circus fantasy. The circus almost had nothing to do with the book and disappeared after about 20%. There could’ve been such great and intriguing world building, and we seem to have missed out as readers as it was not expanded upon. There were little to no explanations of Elementals, their history, their magic, etc.
A big problem I had was the formatting and the multiple POV’s written in third person. This book would have been better written if the POVs weren’t third person and if the POVs were labeled at the chapter’s beginnings, as many characters got jumbled together in my mind, it got confusing and made it hard to pay attention or absorb any information. This would be a more pleasing read if it was better organized and reformatted.
I could not connect with the characters the way this was written. The FMC and MMC had no chemistry, and the writing style made it hard to like either character or enjoy their “forbidden” romance. The FMC, Harrow, was not very likable due to her Instalove and sheer ignorance. The spice almost seemed forced into the book to keep readers interested and was written in a way it did not even blend with the other writing in a the book. There was no chemistry, no tension, no build up—just spice randomly thrown in.
I almost believed this was the author’s first book by how many improvements needed to be made to this work to make it likable enough to publish.
Thank you to Red Tower and NetGalley for providing this ARC for me to review.
I had a tough time getting through this ARC. It’s a Red Tower Release, thus my expectations were just high and not met. It was marketed to fantasy fans as a Circus fantasy. The circus almost had nothing to do with the book and disappeared after about 20%. There could’ve been such great and intriguing world building, and we seem to have missed out as readers as it was not expanded upon. There were little to no explanations of Elementals, their history, their magic, etc.
A big problem I had was the formatting and the multiple POV’s written in third person. This book would have been better written if the POVs weren’t third person and if the POVs were labeled at the chapter’s beginnings, as many characters got jumbled together in my mind, it got confusing and made it hard to pay attention or absorb any information. This would be a more pleasing read if it was better organized and reformatted.
I could not connect with the characters the way this was written. The FMC and MMC had no chemistry, and the writing style made it hard to like either character or enjoy their “forbidden” romance. The FMC, Harrow, was not very likable due to her Instalove and sheer ignorance. The spice almost seemed forced into the book to keep readers interested and was written in a way it did not even blend with the other writing in a the book. There was no chemistry, no tension, no build up—just spice randomly thrown in.
I almost believed this was the author’s first book by how many improvements needed to be made to this work to make it likable enough to publish.
Thank you to Red Tower and NetGalley for providing this ARC for me to review.
June 24, 2024
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Read if you like:
▫️dual POV
▫️magic
▫️female friendships
▫️anti-hero with a mysterious past
This book sounded right up my alley. A magical circus? Check. An intriguing magic system? Check. And most importantly, the hero is a damaged, winged shadow daddy who gives hardcore “touch her and 💀” vibes? Check, check, check.
This is a romantasy book. If you don’t want your romance front and center and the main focus of the book…then this is not for you.
I love romantasy, so I devoured this book, mostly due to Raith. He is tall, dark, dangerous, and tragic. I loved him, and the chapters from his perspective were my favorite! We also got three very intriguing side characters in Mal, Ouro, and Salizar, and I hope to get books from their perspective in the future.
However, I would have liked more explanation of what Elementals are (the different kinds and what magic or physical traits they have, etc), more about the magical circus, it’s performers, and Salizar, and a more fleshed out history of the war between the queens.
With a little more world building, a deeper explanation of the magic system and Elementals, and more of the crucial action taking place on page instead of off, this could have easily been a 5⭐️ read.
Thank you to Entangled Publishing, Red Tower, NetGalley, and Aurora Ascher for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.
Read if you like:
▫️dual POV
▫️magic
▫️female friendships
▫️anti-hero with a mysterious past
This book sounded right up my alley. A magical circus? Check. An intriguing magic system? Check. And most importantly, the hero is a damaged, winged shadow daddy who gives hardcore “touch her and 💀” vibes? Check, check, check.
This is a romantasy book. If you don’t want your romance front and center and the main focus of the book…then this is not for you.
I love romantasy, so I devoured this book, mostly due to Raith. He is tall, dark, dangerous, and tragic. I loved him, and the chapters from his perspective were my favorite! We also got three very intriguing side characters in Mal, Ouro, and Salizar, and I hope to get books from their perspective in the future.
However, I would have liked more explanation of what Elementals are (the different kinds and what magic or physical traits they have, etc), more about the magical circus, it’s performers, and Salizar, and a more fleshed out history of the war between the queens.
With a little more world building, a deeper explanation of the magic system and Elementals, and more of the crucial action taking place on page instead of off, this could have easily been a 5⭐️ read.
Thank you to Entangled Publishing, Red Tower, NetGalley, and Aurora Ascher for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 9, 2024
Came for the circus, left looking like a clown.
Do not read this book. It’s trash.
I don’t write that lightly. I’ve never written a review this mean before but someone needs to say it. I wish I could give this zero stars.
Why this book is everywhere in stores and on bookstagram is beyond me.
I admit, it sounded interesting. A circus in a fantasy world—I was intrigued!
It’s a weird, extremely smutty version of Romeo and Juliet in the worst way. Smut for the sake of smut. No, smut is too tame. It’s erotica with a circus tent on the cover. Absolutely no plot. A 60 year old main character that acts like a lovesick teenager going after the boy her parents warned her to stay away from.
Oh and the circus part that drew me to the book? It’s the setting for about 5 minutes.
I should have DNF-ed but it was like watching a car wreck and I had to know if it was going to get better.
Spoiler alert. It did not.
Save yourself.
Read a different book
Do not read this book. It’s trash.
I don’t write that lightly. I’ve never written a review this mean before but someone needs to say it. I wish I could give this zero stars.
Why this book is everywhere in stores and on bookstagram is beyond me.
I admit, it sounded interesting. A circus in a fantasy world—I was intrigued!
It’s a weird, extremely smutty version of Romeo and Juliet in the worst way. Smut for the sake of smut. No, smut is too tame. It’s erotica with a circus tent on the cover. Absolutely no plot. A 60 year old main character that acts like a lovesick teenager going after the boy her parents warned her to stay away from.
Oh and the circus part that drew me to the book? It’s the setting for about 5 minutes.
I should have DNF-ed but it was like watching a car wreck and I had to know if it was going to get better.
Spoiler alert. It did not.
Save yourself.
Read a different book
February 2, 2024
Note to self: stop buying books just because they’re pretty
January 22, 2024
1/22/24 - upon additional consideration & review, this is going down from a 4⭐️ to 2.5⭐️. I just don't think it's good and I don't even want a physical copy despite the sprayed edges...
2.5 ⭐️
2🌶️
The concept of Sanctuary of the Shadow and the vibes you get from the cover are deceptive. I went into this expecting a romantasy set in and around a circus with whimsical vibes hiding a dangerous secret. Unfortunately only about 25% of the story was loosely set in a circus setting. Our FMC, Harrow, is the last Elemental Seer hiding within a travelling circus since a young age after her whole clan was slaughtered. During a normal stay in a larger city, the circus picked up a man, Raith, a supposed wraith who was to join the circus. Wraiths are incorporeal creatures without emotions and pure danger. The two of them were drawn to each other and escape the circus together while learning more about Raith's and Harrow's intermingled pasts.
Forbidden romance was a major focus along throughout the story as Harrow and Raith were getting to know each other. The spice was thoroughly entertaining, however, you can tell that the romance between Harrow and Raith was the main focus of the book. The plot was secondary and at times felt like an afterthought. The first 50% was amazing, but as soon as we explored the feud between the Queens, the plot fell flat leaving me less than immersed.
I have a few general gripes about this book, but most of them are within the last 50% of this book. The first half was thoroughly enjoyable and if fleshed out, could have been something more.
The dual POV was interesting since Raith was trying to learn more about the world around him, however, it would have been great to distinguish the swap. There were times that the POV swapped, but it took a few paragraphs to realize that it had swapped.
I enjoyed the read, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting.
Standalone
Forbidden Romance
Dual POV
Instant Love
"Last of my kind"
Elemental Magic
Memory Loss
Surprise Pregnancy 🙃
HEA
Sanctuary of the Shadow is a New Adult romance with fantasy roots that publishes Jan 9, 2024.
Thank you to Entangled Publishing, Red Tower Books and NetGalley for this digital galley in return for my honest review.
2.5 ⭐️
2🌶️
The concept of Sanctuary of the Shadow and the vibes you get from the cover are deceptive. I went into this expecting a romantasy set in and around a circus with whimsical vibes hiding a dangerous secret. Unfortunately only about 25% of the story was loosely set in a circus setting. Our FMC, Harrow, is the last Elemental Seer hiding within a travelling circus since a young age after her whole clan was slaughtered. During a normal stay in a larger city, the circus picked up a man, Raith, a supposed wraith who was to join the circus. Wraiths are incorporeal creatures without emotions and pure danger. The two of them were drawn to each other and escape the circus together while learning more about Raith's and Harrow's intermingled pasts.
Forbidden romance was a major focus along throughout the story as Harrow and Raith were getting to know each other. The spice was thoroughly entertaining, however, you can tell that the romance between Harrow and Raith was the main focus of the book. The plot was secondary and at times felt like an afterthought. The first 50% was amazing, but as soon as we explored the feud between the Queens, the plot fell flat leaving me less than immersed.
I have a few general gripes about this book, but most of them are within the last 50% of this book. The first half was thoroughly enjoyable and if fleshed out, could have been something more.
The dual POV was interesting since Raith was trying to learn more about the world around him, however, it would have been great to distinguish the swap. There were times that the POV swapped, but it took a few paragraphs to realize that it had swapped.
I enjoyed the read, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting.
Standalone
Forbidden Romance
Dual POV
Instant Love
"Last of my kind"
Elemental Magic
Memory Loss
Surprise Pregnancy 🙃
HEA
Sanctuary of the Shadow is a New Adult romance with fantasy roots that publishes Jan 9, 2024.
Thank you to Entangled Publishing, Red Tower Books and NetGalley for this digital galley in return for my honest review.
January 31, 2024
From the first chapter, I knew that this was going to be good! Between the Elementals, hybrids, seers, and wraiths there are many supernatural characters to keep you engaged. Harrow is living with a circus as a seer telling people's fortunes until one night she saw a vision for herself that was dark and a warning. Harrow receives her powers from the water element which led her to find a powerful wraith in danger. Her and this powerful, gorgeous wraith named Raith had an immediate bond that could not be explained, but Harrow knew she needed to save him from enslavement. With the help of her best friend Malaikah, Harrow was able to escape with Raith and fell in love. Although they escaped, they were in danger of being caught by the Ouros gang, the circus leader who enslaved Raith, and Raith's creator. Their adventure had many twists and turns and a great happy ending with what I hope for a glimmer of hope for a second book regarding Harrow's best friend Malaikah.
This book is filled with spice, battles, and adventure!
This book is filled with spice, battles, and adventure!
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