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Sacrificing Serenity
What would you sacrifice to keep your kids healthy?
With the rollback of environmental regulations, clean drinking water has become a luxury for the rich.
A year after the death of her husband, single mother Reggie Stone is barely holding things together. Her nonprofit construction company has run out of funding, her son is being bullied at school, and with the rising cost of bottled water it’s becoming harder by the day to provide her kids with food, water, and a safe place to live. Fueled by desperation, she calls in the one advantage she swore she would never take and moves them to Serenity, the original Sanctuary City, an experimental town surrounded by a smart grid that filters out all pollutants. The only downside is the Sanctuary Cities are run by Reggie’s estranged parents whose love and approval has always been dependent on how well their children preform in the sciences.
Reggie assumes the blunt disapproval and passive aggressive comments from her parents are the worst she’ll have to deal with, but she soon realizes things aren’t what they seem in the city. Unexplained gaps in the residents’ memories sets Reggie off on a mission to discover what’s really going on inside the smart grid before her children lose all their memories of their father.
With the rollback of environmental regulations, clean drinking water has become a luxury for the rich.
A year after the death of her husband, single mother Reggie Stone is barely holding things together. Her nonprofit construction company has run out of funding, her son is being bullied at school, and with the rising cost of bottled water it’s becoming harder by the day to provide her kids with food, water, and a safe place to live. Fueled by desperation, she calls in the one advantage she swore she would never take and moves them to Serenity, the original Sanctuary City, an experimental town surrounded by a smart grid that filters out all pollutants. The only downside is the Sanctuary Cities are run by Reggie’s estranged parents whose love and approval has always been dependent on how well their children preform in the sciences.
Reggie assumes the blunt disapproval and passive aggressive comments from her parents are the worst she’ll have to deal with, but she soon realizes things aren’t what they seem in the city. Unexplained gaps in the residents’ memories sets Reggie off on a mission to discover what’s really going on inside the smart grid before her children lose all their memories of their father.
- GenresScience Fiction
411 pages, Paperback
Published April 15, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 28, 2025
I recently started getting into mystery. I have to say the twists in this book got me. I loved it! I wasn’t expecting what happened to happen. Now I have to patiently wait for book 2. Great job!!
May 26, 2025
I really loved this book. Reggie is a great representation of someone with family struggles who wants to break the toxic cycle and would do anything for her kids. The mystery aspect was amazing, too. I loved trying to untangle the mess of the situation with Reggie, and yet the twist still managed to surprise me in a good way. I'm excited to read books 2 and 3 of the series and see what happens next. (And excited to hopefully see more of Amber!)
June 9, 2025
When I started this book my curiosity was drawn to the struggles of Reggie as both a mother and living in a world where it's even more difficult to survive with children. Access to clean water being expensive, something only the wealthy or elite could have access to regularly without worry.
Where she cuts back on bills & groceries in favor of keeping her kids hydrated & healthy.
Initial thoughts:
Reggie trying to keep her children safe, fed, & hydrated to the point she would sacrifice clean drinking water so her son wouldn't get ill or feel pain shows how a lot of mothers are constantly sacrificing for their children. She does her best to address bullying and help locals with housing repairs/construction. We're given a clear picture of how dedicated Reggie is to protecting & helping people. How stressed she is doing it all but not wanting to burden anyone.Trusting her family is difficult or maybe impossible because it's obvious they let her down.
Mrs. Elmheimer is an mvp for being reassuring, helpful, & understanding of Reggie's predicament as a newly single mother struggling to survive.
Uncle Isacc has such a way with Jace.
He understands how difficult it is to love books so deeply that you don't want to leave any behind. So, he offered to load the ones Jace has to leave behind to an eReader.
Oh my goodness, that's great.
Reggie's husband sounded like an mvp too.
He died protecting people, won't give you much detail on that, but he would read & talk books with his older son (Jace) all the time.
Ending thoughts:
There's a ton of important topics like the difficult nature of parenthood, importance of environmental practices, ethics of helping those who need it most, exploration of toxic family dynamics, and how supply vs demand could bring expensive clean water.
This hit reality on the head.
It adds up to us figuring out the strange stuff going on, how it fits, and a little who or what was the cause.
Oh, an impactful ending too.
Hopefully there's a second installment later.
Where she cuts back on bills & groceries in favor of keeping her kids hydrated & healthy.
Initial thoughts:
Reggie trying to keep her children safe, fed, & hydrated to the point she would sacrifice clean drinking water so her son wouldn't get ill or feel pain shows how a lot of mothers are constantly sacrificing for their children. She does her best to address bullying and help locals with housing repairs/construction. We're given a clear picture of how dedicated Reggie is to protecting & helping people. How stressed she is doing it all but not wanting to burden anyone.Trusting her family is difficult or maybe impossible because it's obvious they let her down.
Mrs. Elmheimer is an mvp for being reassuring, helpful, & understanding of Reggie's predicament as a newly single mother struggling to survive.
Uncle Isacc has such a way with Jace.
He understands how difficult it is to love books so deeply that you don't want to leave any behind. So, he offered to load the ones Jace has to leave behind to an eReader.
Oh my goodness, that's great.
Reggie's husband sounded like an mvp too.
He died protecting people, won't give you much detail on that, but he would read & talk books with his older son (Jace) all the time.
Ending thoughts:
There's a ton of important topics like the difficult nature of parenthood, importance of environmental practices, ethics of helping those who need it most, exploration of toxic family dynamics, and how supply vs demand could bring expensive clean water.
This hit reality on the head.
It adds up to us figuring out the strange stuff going on, how it fits, and a little who or what was the cause.
Oh, an impactful ending too.
Hopefully there's a second installment later.
June 22, 2025
Sacrificing Serenity is one of those books that hooks you with a “what if” and keeps you flipping pages way past bedtime. It’s set in a world where clean water is basically a luxury item (yep, terrifyingly real), and one mom is doing everything she can to protect her kids.
Reggie, a single mom still grieving her husband, is trying to hold it all together, barely. Between money struggles, school drama, and rising water prices, she makes a tough call and moves to Serenity, a “perfect” city run by her super strict science-genius parents. The vibe? Awkward AF.
But of course, Serenity isn’t all sunshine and filtered air. People start forgetting things, important things, and Reggie starts to dig. What she finds? Let’s just say the city’s secrets go way deeper than anyone thought.
What I really liked about this book is how it mixes real emotions with that futuristic, sci-fi edge. Reggie’s tough, vulnerable, and totally relatable. It’s not just about survival, it’s about memories, motherhood, and the price of “perfection.”
If you're into family drama with a side of mystery and a futuristic twist, this one’s totally worth a read.
Reggie, a single mom still grieving her husband, is trying to hold it all together, barely. Between money struggles, school drama, and rising water prices, she makes a tough call and moves to Serenity, a “perfect” city run by her super strict science-genius parents. The vibe? Awkward AF.
But of course, Serenity isn’t all sunshine and filtered air. People start forgetting things, important things, and Reggie starts to dig. What she finds? Let’s just say the city’s secrets go way deeper than anyone thought.
What I really liked about this book is how it mixes real emotions with that futuristic, sci-fi edge. Reggie’s tough, vulnerable, and totally relatable. It’s not just about survival, it’s about memories, motherhood, and the price of “perfection.”
If you're into family drama with a side of mystery and a futuristic twist, this one’s totally worth a read.
December 29, 2025
“Now it’s time to give the boys their best chance at a good life too.”
Thank you to the author for a free audible copy of Sacrificing Serenity. This story centers around Reggie who is recently widowed, she doesn’t hesitate to take on the role of provider for her kids. After years of putting it off, she finally decides to move into Serenity, a sanctuary city where filtered water is abundant and residents are free of pollutants found on the environment. However, this means her parents will be part of their lives again, despite previously having a toxic relationship. In addition, Reggie starts to notice her kids memory isn’t what it used to be. She becomes suspicious of the sanctuary city and allies with others to investigate what is causing the memory loss. I absolutely loved the pacing of the story, the characters were well established and it touched on themes like grief, toxic familial relationships, survival, and most importantly motherhood. The mystery/thriller aspect kept me on my toes and I can’t wait to read what’s next!
Thank you to the author for a free audible copy of Sacrificing Serenity. This story centers around Reggie who is recently widowed, she doesn’t hesitate to take on the role of provider for her kids. After years of putting it off, she finally decides to move into Serenity, a sanctuary city where filtered water is abundant and residents are free of pollutants found on the environment. However, this means her parents will be part of their lives again, despite previously having a toxic relationship. In addition, Reggie starts to notice her kids memory isn’t what it used to be. She becomes suspicious of the sanctuary city and allies with others to investigate what is causing the memory loss. I absolutely loved the pacing of the story, the characters were well established and it touched on themes like grief, toxic familial relationships, survival, and most importantly motherhood. The mystery/thriller aspect kept me on my toes and I can’t wait to read what’s next!
April 25, 2025
I really liked this book. There were lots of parts in here that were surprisingly unexpected, which is a nice change from the cookie cutter mysteries out there. As an avid mystery book reader, there are not many stories out there that make me surprised with each chapter, let alone the ending. Looking forward to books two and three.
December 31, 2025
Holly is a friend so I read all her books. I would say this is her best yet and I'm excited to see where she takes the series. I appreciated the strong female main character, the way emotions are shown in the characters, social themes, and the bit of mystery. Kindle version has a few missed edits but they're easily overlooked with the storyline.
April 19, 2025
I loved this book! So many twists and turns that keep you guessing till the shocking end! Another great book by Holly Ash, always so creative and entertaining!
Want to Read
April 30, 2026Read for SPSFC. Views represent my personal ones and not the team's.
This was an interesting read set in a futuristic earth where environmental regulations no longer exist, and even clean drinking water is a privilege afforded to the rich. Reggie Stone runs a nonprofit construction company with a friend, struggling to make ends meet, and providing clean drinking water for her sons.
Reggie has been struggling ever since the death of her husband, and the private school run by his brother where her sons are enrolled is doing nothing to step in when her younger son is bullied by the governor's son. Reggie threatens to make the bullying public which would also create funding problems for her nonprofit. In desperation, Reggie calls her brother whose revolutionary invention had led to the creation of the Sanctuary cities. admission to which are restricted and vetted strictly. But Reggie has a standing invitation because her family is behind the Sanctuaries.
Reggie had cut ties with her parents following their emotional abuse, but for the sake of her children, she agrees to move into Serenity, the first Sanctuary city. Working as part of the maintenance team, she soon discovers easily solvable problems recurring with the grid that keeps pollutants out which was her brother's invention.
In addition, she notices weird memory problems with some residents including her sons, but she doesn't know who to investigate yet. She's determined her sons won't forget their father, and ready to do anything to make that happen.
This book also depicts a bleak future if we let capitalism run unchecked. But the main story is about Reggie and her struggles with being a single parent while running a failing business. In the end, her decision to move to Serenity is actuated by her concern for her children and her wish to do what's best for them. This is a book with a lot of heart and deals with Reggie's struggle realistically. Reggie's competence at her work shines through the narration, as do her love for her children and her deceased spouse, and her desire to help people.
If you love dystopian Sci Fi with family feels, and an underlying mystery, this is the book for you.
This was an interesting read set in a futuristic earth where environmental regulations no longer exist, and even clean drinking water is a privilege afforded to the rich. Reggie Stone runs a nonprofit construction company with a friend, struggling to make ends meet, and providing clean drinking water for her sons.
Reggie has been struggling ever since the death of her husband, and the private school run by his brother where her sons are enrolled is doing nothing to step in when her younger son is bullied by the governor's son. Reggie threatens to make the bullying public which would also create funding problems for her nonprofit. In desperation, Reggie calls her brother whose revolutionary invention had led to the creation of the Sanctuary cities. admission to which are restricted and vetted strictly. But Reggie has a standing invitation because her family is behind the Sanctuaries.
Reggie had cut ties with her parents following their emotional abuse, but for the sake of her children, she agrees to move into Serenity, the first Sanctuary city. Working as part of the maintenance team, she soon discovers easily solvable problems recurring with the grid that keeps pollutants out which was her brother's invention.
In addition, she notices weird memory problems with some residents including her sons, but she doesn't know who to investigate yet. She's determined her sons won't forget their father, and ready to do anything to make that happen.
This book also depicts a bleak future if we let capitalism run unchecked. But the main story is about Reggie and her struggles with being a single parent while running a failing business. In the end, her decision to move to Serenity is actuated by her concern for her children and her wish to do what's best for them. This is a book with a lot of heart and deals with Reggie's struggle realistically. Reggie's competence at her work shines through the narration, as do her love for her children and her deceased spouse, and her desire to help people.
If you love dystopian Sci Fi with family feels, and an underlying mystery, this is the book for you.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews