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Hawkthorpe
Sanctuary of Lies
Not yet published
Expected 29 Sep 26Win a free kindle copy of this book!
5 days and 02:02:51
100 copies available
U.S. only
389 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication September 29, 2026
About the author
J. Rose
26 books2,576 followersJ Rose is an independent dark romance author from the United Kingdom. She writes challenging, plot-driven stories packed full of angst, heartbreak and broken characters fighting for their happily ever afters.
She’s an introverted bookworm at heart with a caffeine addiction, penchant for cursing and an unhealthy attachment to fictional characters.
Feel free to reach out on social media, J Rose loves talking to her readers!
Enquiries: j_roseauthor@yahoo.com
Stalk J Rose here:
www.jroseauthor.com/socials
Newsletter sign up:
www.jroseauthor.com/socials
Buy J Rose's books:
www.jroseauthor.com/books
She’s an introverted bookworm at heart with a caffeine addiction, penchant for cursing and an unhealthy attachment to fictional characters.
Feel free to reach out on social media, J Rose loves talking to her readers!
Enquiries: j_roseauthor@yahoo.com
Stalk J Rose here:
www.jroseauthor.com/socials
Newsletter sign up:
www.jroseauthor.com/socials
Buy J Rose's books:
www.jroseauthor.com/books
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you, Valentine PR, for this ARC. I LOVED it!
There is nothing I love more than a why choose with a strong found family, but when all the characters are a little messed up in their own way and need to lean on each other for support? I am SO sat.
I loved the whole vibe of this book. A why-choose with found family, suspense, hidden identities, and a little mystery plot? Yes... please.
Our FMC, Everleigh, is on the run from her abusive husband and goes as far as the bus will take her. She ends up in a small town in the Lake District, cold and stranded on the side of the road by a bus stop. When she finally accepts a simple act of kindness, she quickly realizes this town is different. The community seems so cohesive and that is something she has longed for her whole life. Just to feel like she belongs.
Then she meets brothers Leo, Sterling, and Fletcher, and she’s intrigued by each of them in their own way.
Leo ... The sweetheart who is just trying to keep his family together and healthy.
Sterling ... The hard exterior who lost his wife and doesn’t know how to let anyone in.
Fletcher ... The vet carrying a boatload of trauma that our girl Everleigh can relate to on a much deeper level.
Each of these men is so different and unique that it’s hard to pick a favorite. BUT I am always drawn to the broken ones, so I think I’m leaning toward Fletcher.
This is a why choose, and yes, the spice is GOOD, but the story itself was genuinely intriguing, and I could not put this book down.
I can’t wait for more in this universe. My only downside? I wish this was a duet. I feel like there was so much more story to tell with these four!
All in all, this was a solid Why Choose standalone for my mystery girlies who love a strong found family vibe.
There is nothing I love more than a why choose with a strong found family, but when all the characters are a little messed up in their own way and need to lean on each other for support? I am SO sat.
I loved the whole vibe of this book. A why-choose with found family, suspense, hidden identities, and a little mystery plot? Yes... please.
Our FMC, Everleigh, is on the run from her abusive husband and goes as far as the bus will take her. She ends up in a small town in the Lake District, cold and stranded on the side of the road by a bus stop. When she finally accepts a simple act of kindness, she quickly realizes this town is different. The community seems so cohesive and that is something she has longed for her whole life. Just to feel like she belongs.
Then she meets brothers Leo, Sterling, and Fletcher, and she’s intrigued by each of them in their own way.
Leo ... The sweetheart who is just trying to keep his family together and healthy.
Sterling ... The hard exterior who lost his wife and doesn’t know how to let anyone in.
Fletcher ... The vet carrying a boatload of trauma that our girl Everleigh can relate to on a much deeper level.
Each of these men is so different and unique that it’s hard to pick a favorite. BUT I am always drawn to the broken ones, so I think I’m leaning toward Fletcher.
This is a why choose, and yes, the spice is GOOD, but the story itself was genuinely intriguing, and I could not put this book down.
I can’t wait for more in this universe. My only downside? I wish this was a duet. I feel like there was so much more story to tell with these four!
All in all, this was a solid Why Choose standalone for my mystery girlies who love a strong found family vibe.
Review of advance copy received from Author
"𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒘. 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆."
𝑳𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒂𝒓. "𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖."
"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕?"
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
SPICE: 🌶️🌶️ 2/5
I have had the incredible privilege of being part of J. Rose’s ARC team for this entire series, and I genuinely cannot explain how honored I feel every time one of these books lands in my hands.
J. Rose, you write some of the best, darkest, most emotionally complex books I have ever read. You do not simply give your characters trauma. You carefully dismantle them, scatter their emotional organs across the floor, and then make us watch as they slowly learn how to put themselves back together.
Is it painful?
Yes.
Am I repeatedly volunteering for the suffering?
Also yes.
At this point, J. Rose could send me a grocery list containing nothing but eggs, milk, and unresolved abandonment issues, and I would prepare myself for a five-stage emotional breakdown.
Sanctuary of Lies is what happens when you trap someone in a cage for so long that one day, she finally looks at the person holding the key and says:
Enough.
Everleigh Banks has spent years trapped inside an abusive marriage that slowly stripped away her confidence, independence, and sense of self. She has been controlled, isolated, and taught to survive by making herself smaller.
Then she discovers something she was never meant to see.
And she runs.
New town. New name. New identity. New life.
Everleigh becomes Eden and disappears into Hawkthorpe, a remote little town surrounded by snow-capped mountains, secrets, and several emotionally damaged men who apparently come as a package deal.
Ma’am.
Most women flee an abusive husband and find a quiet apartment.
Everleigh fled hers and accidentally found a traumatized three-man starter pack.
Honestly? Good for her.
She deserves compensation.
Hawkthorpe is supposed to be a place where Everleigh can disappear. She keeps her story close, trusts no one, and lives with the constant fear that her husband will find her. Even when she is physically safe, her body does not understand that the danger has passed. Trauma follows her into rooms, alters the way she interprets kindness, and warns her that every helping hand may eventually become another fist.
Her mistrust made complete sense.
Everleigh does not arrive in Hawkthorpe ready to begin a romance. She arrives barely ready to breathe.
That is what made her healing journey so powerful. It is not neat, linear, or conveniently completed because three attractive men decide they want her. Love does not magically erase years of cruelty. Safety must be demonstrated. Trust must be earned. Even affection can feel threatening when every previous kindness came with conditions attached.
Everleigh has to learn that survival is no longer the only future available to her.
She is allowed to want.
She is allowed to choose.
She is allowed to exist without apologizing for the space she occupies.
Watching that realization slowly take root in her absolutely destroyed me.
After years of being told who she was, Everleigh finally begins deciding who she wants to become. She finds friendships. She discovers purpose. She starts using her voice without immediately bracing for punishment.
She does not become strong when she leaves her husband.
She was already strong.
Leaving gives her the chance to finally see it.
Then we have Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher—three men carrying enough emotional damage to qualify Hawkthorpe for its own dedicated trauma response unit.
Each one is struggling differently, and I loved that they were not presented as flawless rescuers arriving to repair Everleigh. They are not healed. They are not emotionally stable. Some days they are held together by loyalty, stubbornness, and what I assume is an industrial amount of caffeine.
They give Everleigh sanctuary, but she becomes part of theirs too.
Sterling is gruff, hot-tempered, and still drowning in the grief of losing his wife under mysterious circumstances. He has never received the closure he needs, so his pain remains open—an unanswered question he cannot stop touching.
He is prickly. Difficult. Protective.
In other words, I saw the emotional barbed wire surrounding him and immediately said, “That one. I want that one.”
Sterling’s anger is not his entire personality. It is the armor protecting grief he does not know how to release. Everleigh’s arrival threatens the careful emotional distance he has maintained, because wanting someone again means admitting there is still a living part of him capable of being hurt.
Sir does not handle this realization calmly.
Bless him.
Leo, Sterling’s adoptive brother, is the playful optimist and compulsive fixer. If someone around him is hurting, Leo wants to solve it. If there is tension, he wants to smooth it over. If a family member begins emotionally unraveling, this man is already reaching for invisible duct tape.
His warmth was desperately needed, but his constant need to fix everyone is also rooted in fear. Leo is terrified of losing the family he has, so he makes himself useful. He tries to become indispensable because perhaps then no one will leave.
Someone hug this man immediately.
Actually, several people do.
That is one of the advantages of why-choose romance. We have adequate staffing.
Then there is Fletcher.
Sweet, silent, devastating Fletcher.
A former pilot haunted by survivor’s guilt, Fletcher returned from war carrying injuries that are physical, psychological, and emotional. The crash that changed his life also stole his voice, leaving him to communicate in other ways while struggling beneath the weight of everything he survived.
Fletcher broke my heart differently.
He is stoic and withdrawn, but his silence is never emptiness. There is so much happening beneath it. He notices. He watches. He cares. And when he cannot repair what is broken inside himself, he starts repairing everything around him.
Walls. Floors. Pieces of the house that may or may not actually require attention.
Sir is one difficult afternoon away from renovating the entire town because therapy feels too direct.
Every time Fletcher began tearing apart another section of the house, I wanted to gently take the tools from his hands and say, “Baby, the damaged foundation is metaphorical.”
His need to fix the physical space around him becomes such a heartbreaking reflection of what he cannot fix inside himself. He may not know how to speak about his guilt, fear, or pain, but he can replace damaged wood. He can strengthen a wall. He can create a safe home with his hands when he does not yet believe he deserves to feel safe inside his own body.
I am unwell.
Completely. Medically. Emotionally.
Please respect my privacy during this difficult time.
What made this relationship work was that Everleigh, Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher are not four broken pieces magically forming one perfect person. They remain complicated individuals with different needs, fears, and wounds.
But together, they create stability.
Each one becomes a crucial part of the structure they are building. When one begins to buckle, the others help hold the weight. Not because love cures everything, but because healing becomes possible when you no longer have to carry everything alone.
And that is the heart of this book.
Sanctuary is not simply the isolated house or quiet town where Everleigh hides. Sanctuary becomes the people who believe her. The friends who show up. The men who protect her without demanding ownership of her choices.
That distinction mattered so much.
Everleigh escaped a man who called control love. She needed partners who could show her that protection and possession are not automatically the same thing. Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher may be intensely protective—and praise everything holy, they absolutely are—but they also give her room to decide what happens to her own life.
They do not save a helpless woman.
They stand beside a survivor while she saves herself.
Now, are these men protective enough to make certain parts of my brain sit up like a dog hearing a treat bag?
Obviously.
A dangerous man wants his wife back, and three traumatized, increasingly devoted men are standing between him and Everleigh.
Good luck, sir.
You are not approaching a frightened woman living alone anymore. You are approaching a woman who has reclaimed her strength, surrounded by three men with military experience, grief-fueled rage, protective instincts, and approximately zero remaining patience.
I would personally recommend turning around.
Immediately.
Possibly relocating to another continent.
The suspense created a constant shadow over Everleigh’s new life. Her husband may not be physically present at every moment, but the threat of him is. Every unexplained sound, unfamiliar face, or disruption carries the possibility that her past has finally caught up with her.
Because men like him do not see escape as freedom.
They see it as disobedience.
And this particular ghost does not want closure.
He wants his wife back.
The problem is that the woman he believes he owns no longer exists.
Everleigh has found people who remind her that she belongs to herself.
The romance develops alongside that healing, and I appreciated that the relationships each had their own emotional texture. Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher do not blur into one collective love interest. They approach Everleigh differently, connect with different parts of her, and offer different types of safety.
Leo brings warmth and playfulness.
Fletcher brings quiet understanding and steady presence.
Sterling brings intensity, friction, and the kind of gruff protectiveness that makes me want to commit several fictional mistakes.
Together?
Oh, this woman is COVERED.
Emotionally.
Physically.
Possibly from several directions, but Amazon is a delicate Victorian maiden, so I will allow everyone to use their imagination.
The spice did not overpower the emotional story, which was the right choice here. Everleigh’s relationship with intimacy has been shaped by abuse and control, so trust had to come before heat. The spicy moments worked because they represented choice, safety, and pleasure on her terms.
She is not surrendering because she has been forced.
She is choosing to let people close.
That difference is everything.
The found-family element may have been my favorite part. Hawkthorpe slowly becomes populated with people who do not just tolerate Everleigh’s presence—they make room for her. Cassidy, Maverick, Piper, and the other side characters bring warmth to a story carrying some incredibly heavy themes.
And yes, I briefly looked at Maverick and wondered whether this why-choose situation was about to receive an unexpected staffing increase.
Do not judge me.
J. Rose has trained me to remain alert.
I also loved the connection to the wider shared world. Those little threads feel like a reward for readers who have been here, emotionally suffering with these characters and collecting fictional trauma like loyalty points.
If I had one complaint, it is that I wanted more.
More background. More yearning. More individual time between Everleigh and each man. More exploration of the bonds among Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher. More pages allowing every layer of grief, guilt, fear, and love to unfold.
These four characters carried enough emotional material for more than one book. I could easily have followed them through a duet and remained seated with snacks, tissues, and my therapist’s emergency number.
The final confrontation also could have been expanded. The threat hanging over Everleigh is enormous, so I wanted the eventual collision with her past to feel just as large. The resolution worked, but after so much fear and anticipation, I would have gladly taken another hundred pages of suspense, protection, revenge, and these men demonstrating why pursuing their woman was a catastrophically poor life choice.
Does wanting more mean I enjoyed the story less?
Absolutely not.
It means J. Rose created characters I was not ready to leave.
Sanctuary of Lies is a dark, emotional why-choose romance about trauma, grief, survivor’s guilt, abuse, and the terrifying vulnerability of beginning again. But beneath all that darkness is a story about reclaiming identity and discovering that family can be chosen.
Everleigh does not find a perfect life in Hawkthorpe.
She finds something better.
A real one.
Messy. Complicated. Occasionally held together with renovations and emotional duct tape. Filled with people who carry their own wounds but still reach for one another.
She finds three men who do not ask her to become smaller so they can feel bigger.
She finds friends who believe she is worth protecting.
Most importantly, she finds herself.
Four stars for Everleigh’s strength, three beautifully damaged men, a found family that made my heart ache, and enough protective energy to power the entire town.
J. Rose, thank you for trusting me with this series.
I remain honored, emotionally compromised, and fully prepared to follow you into whatever fresh psychological devastation comes next.
Please check the content warnings before reading. This story explores domestic abuse, coercive control, trauma, PTSD, grief, survivor’s guilt, violence, and other potentially difficult subjects.
Come for the why-choose romance.
Stay because four damaged people discover that sanctuary was never a place.
It was each other. 🖤
𝑳𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒂𝒓. "𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖."
"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕?"
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
SPICE: 🌶️🌶️ 2/5
I have had the incredible privilege of being part of J. Rose’s ARC team for this entire series, and I genuinely cannot explain how honored I feel every time one of these books lands in my hands.
J. Rose, you write some of the best, darkest, most emotionally complex books I have ever read. You do not simply give your characters trauma. You carefully dismantle them, scatter their emotional organs across the floor, and then make us watch as they slowly learn how to put themselves back together.
Is it painful?
Yes.
Am I repeatedly volunteering for the suffering?
Also yes.
At this point, J. Rose could send me a grocery list containing nothing but eggs, milk, and unresolved abandonment issues, and I would prepare myself for a five-stage emotional breakdown.
Sanctuary of Lies is what happens when you trap someone in a cage for so long that one day, she finally looks at the person holding the key and says:
Enough.
Everleigh Banks has spent years trapped inside an abusive marriage that slowly stripped away her confidence, independence, and sense of self. She has been controlled, isolated, and taught to survive by making herself smaller.
Then she discovers something she was never meant to see.
And she runs.
New town. New name. New identity. New life.
Everleigh becomes Eden and disappears into Hawkthorpe, a remote little town surrounded by snow-capped mountains, secrets, and several emotionally damaged men who apparently come as a package deal.
Ma’am.
Most women flee an abusive husband and find a quiet apartment.
Everleigh fled hers and accidentally found a traumatized three-man starter pack.
Honestly? Good for her.
She deserves compensation.
Hawkthorpe is supposed to be a place where Everleigh can disappear. She keeps her story close, trusts no one, and lives with the constant fear that her husband will find her. Even when she is physically safe, her body does not understand that the danger has passed. Trauma follows her into rooms, alters the way she interprets kindness, and warns her that every helping hand may eventually become another fist.
Her mistrust made complete sense.
Everleigh does not arrive in Hawkthorpe ready to begin a romance. She arrives barely ready to breathe.
That is what made her healing journey so powerful. It is not neat, linear, or conveniently completed because three attractive men decide they want her. Love does not magically erase years of cruelty. Safety must be demonstrated. Trust must be earned. Even affection can feel threatening when every previous kindness came with conditions attached.
Everleigh has to learn that survival is no longer the only future available to her.
She is allowed to want.
She is allowed to choose.
She is allowed to exist without apologizing for the space she occupies.
Watching that realization slowly take root in her absolutely destroyed me.
After years of being told who she was, Everleigh finally begins deciding who she wants to become. She finds friendships. She discovers purpose. She starts using her voice without immediately bracing for punishment.
She does not become strong when she leaves her husband.
She was already strong.
Leaving gives her the chance to finally see it.
Then we have Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher—three men carrying enough emotional damage to qualify Hawkthorpe for its own dedicated trauma response unit.
Each one is struggling differently, and I loved that they were not presented as flawless rescuers arriving to repair Everleigh. They are not healed. They are not emotionally stable. Some days they are held together by loyalty, stubbornness, and what I assume is an industrial amount of caffeine.
They give Everleigh sanctuary, but she becomes part of theirs too.
Sterling is gruff, hot-tempered, and still drowning in the grief of losing his wife under mysterious circumstances. He has never received the closure he needs, so his pain remains open—an unanswered question he cannot stop touching.
He is prickly. Difficult. Protective.
In other words, I saw the emotional barbed wire surrounding him and immediately said, “That one. I want that one.”
Sterling’s anger is not his entire personality. It is the armor protecting grief he does not know how to release. Everleigh’s arrival threatens the careful emotional distance he has maintained, because wanting someone again means admitting there is still a living part of him capable of being hurt.
Sir does not handle this realization calmly.
Bless him.
Leo, Sterling’s adoptive brother, is the playful optimist and compulsive fixer. If someone around him is hurting, Leo wants to solve it. If there is tension, he wants to smooth it over. If a family member begins emotionally unraveling, this man is already reaching for invisible duct tape.
His warmth was desperately needed, but his constant need to fix everyone is also rooted in fear. Leo is terrified of losing the family he has, so he makes himself useful. He tries to become indispensable because perhaps then no one will leave.
Someone hug this man immediately.
Actually, several people do.
That is one of the advantages of why-choose romance. We have adequate staffing.
Then there is Fletcher.
Sweet, silent, devastating Fletcher.
A former pilot haunted by survivor’s guilt, Fletcher returned from war carrying injuries that are physical, psychological, and emotional. The crash that changed his life also stole his voice, leaving him to communicate in other ways while struggling beneath the weight of everything he survived.
Fletcher broke my heart differently.
He is stoic and withdrawn, but his silence is never emptiness. There is so much happening beneath it. He notices. He watches. He cares. And when he cannot repair what is broken inside himself, he starts repairing everything around him.
Walls. Floors. Pieces of the house that may or may not actually require attention.
Sir is one difficult afternoon away from renovating the entire town because therapy feels too direct.
Every time Fletcher began tearing apart another section of the house, I wanted to gently take the tools from his hands and say, “Baby, the damaged foundation is metaphorical.”
His need to fix the physical space around him becomes such a heartbreaking reflection of what he cannot fix inside himself. He may not know how to speak about his guilt, fear, or pain, but he can replace damaged wood. He can strengthen a wall. He can create a safe home with his hands when he does not yet believe he deserves to feel safe inside his own body.
I am unwell.
Completely. Medically. Emotionally.
Please respect my privacy during this difficult time.
What made this relationship work was that Everleigh, Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher are not four broken pieces magically forming one perfect person. They remain complicated individuals with different needs, fears, and wounds.
But together, they create stability.
Each one becomes a crucial part of the structure they are building. When one begins to buckle, the others help hold the weight. Not because love cures everything, but because healing becomes possible when you no longer have to carry everything alone.
And that is the heart of this book.
Sanctuary is not simply the isolated house or quiet town where Everleigh hides. Sanctuary becomes the people who believe her. The friends who show up. The men who protect her without demanding ownership of her choices.
That distinction mattered so much.
Everleigh escaped a man who called control love. She needed partners who could show her that protection and possession are not automatically the same thing. Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher may be intensely protective—and praise everything holy, they absolutely are—but they also give her room to decide what happens to her own life.
They do not save a helpless woman.
They stand beside a survivor while she saves herself.
Now, are these men protective enough to make certain parts of my brain sit up like a dog hearing a treat bag?
Obviously.
A dangerous man wants his wife back, and three traumatized, increasingly devoted men are standing between him and Everleigh.
Good luck, sir.
You are not approaching a frightened woman living alone anymore. You are approaching a woman who has reclaimed her strength, surrounded by three men with military experience, grief-fueled rage, protective instincts, and approximately zero remaining patience.
I would personally recommend turning around.
Immediately.
Possibly relocating to another continent.
The suspense created a constant shadow over Everleigh’s new life. Her husband may not be physically present at every moment, but the threat of him is. Every unexplained sound, unfamiliar face, or disruption carries the possibility that her past has finally caught up with her.
Because men like him do not see escape as freedom.
They see it as disobedience.
And this particular ghost does not want closure.
He wants his wife back.
The problem is that the woman he believes he owns no longer exists.
Everleigh has found people who remind her that she belongs to herself.
The romance develops alongside that healing, and I appreciated that the relationships each had their own emotional texture. Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher do not blur into one collective love interest. They approach Everleigh differently, connect with different parts of her, and offer different types of safety.
Leo brings warmth and playfulness.
Fletcher brings quiet understanding and steady presence.
Sterling brings intensity, friction, and the kind of gruff protectiveness that makes me want to commit several fictional mistakes.
Together?
Oh, this woman is COVERED.
Emotionally.
Physically.
Possibly from several directions, but Amazon is a delicate Victorian maiden, so I will allow everyone to use their imagination.
The spice did not overpower the emotional story, which was the right choice here. Everleigh’s relationship with intimacy has been shaped by abuse and control, so trust had to come before heat. The spicy moments worked because they represented choice, safety, and pleasure on her terms.
She is not surrendering because she has been forced.
She is choosing to let people close.
That difference is everything.
The found-family element may have been my favorite part. Hawkthorpe slowly becomes populated with people who do not just tolerate Everleigh’s presence—they make room for her. Cassidy, Maverick, Piper, and the other side characters bring warmth to a story carrying some incredibly heavy themes.
And yes, I briefly looked at Maverick and wondered whether this why-choose situation was about to receive an unexpected staffing increase.
Do not judge me.
J. Rose has trained me to remain alert.
I also loved the connection to the wider shared world. Those little threads feel like a reward for readers who have been here, emotionally suffering with these characters and collecting fictional trauma like loyalty points.
If I had one complaint, it is that I wanted more.
More background. More yearning. More individual time between Everleigh and each man. More exploration of the bonds among Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher. More pages allowing every layer of grief, guilt, fear, and love to unfold.
These four characters carried enough emotional material for more than one book. I could easily have followed them through a duet and remained seated with snacks, tissues, and my therapist’s emergency number.
The final confrontation also could have been expanded. The threat hanging over Everleigh is enormous, so I wanted the eventual collision with her past to feel just as large. The resolution worked, but after so much fear and anticipation, I would have gladly taken another hundred pages of suspense, protection, revenge, and these men demonstrating why pursuing their woman was a catastrophically poor life choice.
Does wanting more mean I enjoyed the story less?
Absolutely not.
It means J. Rose created characters I was not ready to leave.
Sanctuary of Lies is a dark, emotional why-choose romance about trauma, grief, survivor’s guilt, abuse, and the terrifying vulnerability of beginning again. But beneath all that darkness is a story about reclaiming identity and discovering that family can be chosen.
Everleigh does not find a perfect life in Hawkthorpe.
She finds something better.
A real one.
Messy. Complicated. Occasionally held together with renovations and emotional duct tape. Filled with people who carry their own wounds but still reach for one another.
She finds three men who do not ask her to become smaller so they can feel bigger.
She finds friends who believe she is worth protecting.
Most importantly, she finds herself.
Four stars for Everleigh’s strength, three beautifully damaged men, a found family that made my heart ache, and enough protective energy to power the entire town.
J. Rose, thank you for trusting me with this series.
I remain honored, emotionally compromised, and fully prepared to follow you into whatever fresh psychological devastation comes next.
Please check the content warnings before reading. This story explores domestic abuse, coercive control, trauma, PTSD, grief, survivor’s guilt, violence, and other potentially difficult subjects.
Come for the why-choose romance.
Stay because four damaged people discover that sanctuary was never a place.
It was each other. 🖤
September 21, 2026
“𝐄𝐝𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭.”
As a big J. Rose fan I’m excited to see my girl get recognition in traditional publishing. Sanctuary of Lies has an interesting premise, with all the elements I’ve grown to love in a J Rose story. I liked the friendships that were built and the mental health representation. However, I did not vibe with the romance aspect of this one. I also found the FMC’s behaviour to be very inconsistent at times. The mystery element is what kept me hooked and what made me want to read further. Overall a solid read! Can’t wait to see what future books in Hawkthorpe bring!
As a big J. Rose fan I’m excited to see my girl get recognition in traditional publishing. Sanctuary of Lies has an interesting premise, with all the elements I’ve grown to love in a J Rose story. I liked the friendships that were built and the mental health representation. However, I did not vibe with the romance aspect of this one. I also found the FMC’s behaviour to be very inconsistent at times. The mystery element is what kept me hooked and what made me want to read further. Overall a solid read! Can’t wait to see what future books in Hawkthorpe bring!
July 31, 2026
2.5⭐️
This story had a lot of potential, but the execution just didn't work for me.
The FMC's backstory was intriguing, and I loved the small-town setting and found-family dynamic. I also liked how different each of the MMCs was, but I wish we'd had the chance to get to know them better. Unfortunately, the pacing was so inconsistent that I struggled to fully immerse myself in the story.
The first half of the book reads as though it takes place over the course of a few days, when it's actually supposed to span several months. Nothing in the writing makes that passage of time feel clear, so the relationships the FMC builds with the guys come across as unrealistically fast. At the same time, other parts dragged on, making it difficult to get a sense of the actual timeline.
I also found the FMC's characterization inconsistent. At times, it felt as though she completely forgot about the fears and anxiety that had been such a significant part of her personality, only for them to suddenly reappear when the plot needed them.
Overall, this book felt like a blend of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden and Credence by Penelope Douglas.
This story had a lot of potential, but the execution just didn't work for me.
The FMC's backstory was intriguing, and I loved the small-town setting and found-family dynamic. I also liked how different each of the MMCs was, but I wish we'd had the chance to get to know them better. Unfortunately, the pacing was so inconsistent that I struggled to fully immerse myself in the story.
The first half of the book reads as though it takes place over the course of a few days, when it's actually supposed to span several months. Nothing in the writing makes that passage of time feel clear, so the relationships the FMC builds with the guys come across as unrealistically fast. At the same time, other parts dragged on, making it difficult to get a sense of the actual timeline.
I also found the FMC's characterization inconsistent. At times, it felt as though she completely forgot about the fears and anxiety that had been such a significant part of her personality, only for them to suddenly reappear when the plot needed them.
Overall, this book felt like a blend of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden and Credence by Penelope Douglas.
Read
September 19, 2026✨ARC Review✨
“Sanctuary of Lies” by J. Rose
Rating: 3.5⭐️
Spice: 4.25🌶️
J. Rose was a new author for me, and I really enjoyed their writing style. It’s been a little while since I read a why choose romance, and I was pretty happy with it. I really liked that we got to know each main character individually through their respective narratives, and I have to say that Fletcher was my favorite. Everleigh’s journey was heartbreaking to read, but the confidence and strength she developed over the course of the story was very powerful. I will say that I did start to lose interest around 85%, which is unfortunate because I was riveted in the first half of the book and stayed up until midnight reading. I think the book might’ve just been a little too long for me, but otherwise, I enjoyed it.
Thank you to J. Rose and Valentine PR for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
“Sanctuary of Lies” by J. Rose
Rating: 3.5⭐️
Spice: 4.25🌶️
J. Rose was a new author for me, and I really enjoyed their writing style. It’s been a little while since I read a why choose romance, and I was pretty happy with it. I really liked that we got to know each main character individually through their respective narratives, and I have to say that Fletcher was my favorite. Everleigh’s journey was heartbreaking to read, but the confidence and strength she developed over the course of the story was very powerful. I will say that I did start to lose interest around 85%, which is unfortunate because I was riveted in the first half of the book and stayed up until midnight reading. I think the book might’ve just been a little too long for me, but otherwise, I enjoyed it.
Thank you to J. Rose and Valentine PR for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
J is one of my all time favorite authors. Her books are equal parts destructive, traumatic, healing and sexy. She is the reason I love Why Choose romance as much as I do. No one creates a polyamorous relationship like J. This book is no exception.
Everleigh (Eden), Fletcher, Leo & Sterling are individually beautifully broken but together they are perfection whole.
I admired Everleighs strength and determination, she was a fighter. I don't think you're purposefully supposed to pick favorites but I couldn't help myself and Fletcher was just that guy. I will always have a weakness for military veterans and this man and what he went through is devastating and so honorable. I loved every second of his journey and I wish the book continued on so I could know absolutely everything about him.
Thank you so much to Valentine & J for the eARC I feel so honored every time I get even the tiniest glimpse before publication. Seriously check this book out.
Everleigh (Eden), Fletcher, Leo & Sterling are individually beautifully broken but together they are perfection whole.
I admired Everleighs strength and determination, she was a fighter. I don't think you're purposefully supposed to pick favorites but I couldn't help myself and Fletcher was just that guy. I will always have a weakness for military veterans and this man and what he went through is devastating and so honorable. I loved every second of his journey and I wish the book continued on so I could know absolutely everything about him.
Thank you so much to Valentine & J for the eARC I feel so honored every time I get even the tiniest glimpse before publication. Seriously check this book out.
September 21, 2026
J. Rose knows how to hook you, torture, and spit you back out and wanting more.
Everleigh’s struggle to find herself while escaping her old life was interesting to watch. And this is where I will contradict myself, I loved that this is an interconnected standalone but I wanted a bit more time with her and the guys, figuring herself out and connecting with them. It felt it was all so quick, even though I loved that this isn’t dragged out for multiple books 😅
If you are new to J. Rose, I think this is the perfect starting book to get acquainted with her writing style without being absolutely destroyed.
But I love that J’s world’s all interconnect in some way and can’t wait to make my way through her entire catalogue. Also, I really want to know Maverick’s story 👀
Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
---
Star: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam: 💋💋
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Dark: 🌄 dusk
Everleigh’s struggle to find herself while escaping her old life was interesting to watch. And this is where I will contradict myself, I loved that this is an interconnected standalone but I wanted a bit more time with her and the guys, figuring herself out and connecting with them. It felt it was all so quick, even though I loved that this isn’t dragged out for multiple books 😅
If you are new to J. Rose, I think this is the perfect starting book to get acquainted with her writing style without being absolutely destroyed.
But I love that J’s world’s all interconnect in some way and can’t wait to make my way through her entire catalogue. Also, I really want to know Maverick’s story 👀
Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
---
Star: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam: 💋💋
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Dark: 🌄 dusk
Did Not Finish
September 6, 2026This one just wasn’t for me. I started it a few weeks ago, took a break because I wasn’t feeling it, and came back to it only to realize I still wasn’t connecting with the story.
I found Everleigh’s reactions to her trauma inconsistent at times, which made it difficult to connect with her character. The unclear passage of time also added some confusion.
Not every book is a match and I decided to DNF rather than force myself to finish seeing as I wasn't feeling it.
Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the ARC.
I found Everleigh’s reactions to her trauma inconsistent at times, which made it difficult to connect with her character. The unclear passage of time also added some confusion.
Not every book is a match and I decided to DNF rather than force myself to finish seeing as I wasn't feeling it.
Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I loved this! It's Everleigh & her guys' story & it was a great one! She's running from a very abusive relationship & ends up at a small town. When she meets the guys, the chemistry between them all is electric. They're all fighting their own demons & she's keeping a lot of secrets. But the past always catches up to you & it puts everyone in danger. I loved the found family; the spice was fantastic & I loved the story! Highly recommend this book & author!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
There are some deep, dark topics interwoven into Sanctuary of Lies and they should be taken into consideration prior to reading. With that being said, the entire story really couldn't have happened without those heavy elements, so please keep that in mind, but still take your own mental health into consideration first. As for the next order of business, this was my first J. Rose book and I loved that it was because it was fantastic and I'm now a big fan!!
The character development and growth, aside from Leo, who was pretty happy-go-lucky throughout, is huge for everyone else. I felt even the weather moved from a dark, cold, and damp environment to a warmer, lighter feel as the story progressed and each character opened up and grew from their own unique experience as the plot moved forward. As a reader who loved English Lit in school, these seemingly small-like changes are actually huge when it comes to how a story visually plays out (sort of like a movie) in my head. Rose also wrote each character extremely distinct, which always helps when reading a WhyChoose, and the intense emotions each person felt, at any given moment, rolled right off the page and right into my heart. I'm now an instant fan and can't wait to dive back into more of her books.
Everleigh Banks was on the run from just more than an abusive spouse. It was years of mental, emotional, financial, you name it, she lived it kind of abuse and she put up with it because she basically thought that was what she deserved. It was heartbreaking. Truly heartbreaking to read her mental breakthrough from everything. I won't say what pushes her out and gets her to run, but she does. She runs, hides, changes her identity until she literally runs out of money, food, and someplace safe to hide. She ends up in Hawkthorpe. A small town that ends up changing her life and the lives of everyone she meets there.
It was funny how I kept changing favorites when it came to the three men in Everleigh's life as the book progressed. Don't get me wrong, I loved all three, but that's why WhyChoose is so much fun to read because there is no choice involved. The hard part became who was my favorite man when it came time to list them.
So, in no particular order...😉
Everleigh first meets Leo first and he is basically all sunshine and golden retriever vibes. She needs a bit of sunshine in her life and doesn't know how to take him since he's the opposite of everything she's ever known. Leo's the adoptive brother to Sterling, whom I'll get to in a minute, but Leo spent his life in foster care before Sterling's mother adopted him. If Leo has one flaw it's that he wants everyone in his life to be happy and cohesive all the time due to his abandonment issues. I mean can I blame him, not really, he's just kind of adorable, all the time.❤️
Now Sterling is a bit of a grump, but around Everleigh he's soft, a gentle giant if you will. She understands his mood swings better. Not that she understands why he's a grump, but the fact that he is is something familiar to her. Sterling himself can't figure out why he's softer around Everleigh when he isn't nice to anyone, but watching him open up around her is sweet, nonetheless. They are also hotter than hot when they finally give in too and oh my....Sterling's grump is super naughty. 🥵
Then there is Fletcher who pretty much broke my heart while also mending it by the end. He's raw in the beginning and Rose didn't shy away from how raw and wounded Fletcher is. I actually appreciated it, even though his story brought me to tears. I couldn't tear my eyes from the page anytime his character had a chapter. I needed more of Fletcher, especially when he was with Everleigh. The way they lit up the pages with their connection, it's like their souls knew each other even before their hearts did and I was hooked on how these two just clicked.❤️
There is an intense plot, and sometimes that can get bogged down in a WhyChoose romance, but the plot was actually interwoven nicely throughout along with four people who also had their own subplots to keep up with. In the small town, there is a big community of found family, which I love and everyone filled the gaps nicely. I adored Cassie who stepped in and saw Everleigh for the wounded woman she was and didn't ask a single question. I really hope she gets her happy ending some day.
Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for an advance review copy and all opinions are my own.
The character development and growth, aside from Leo, who was pretty happy-go-lucky throughout, is huge for everyone else. I felt even the weather moved from a dark, cold, and damp environment to a warmer, lighter feel as the story progressed and each character opened up and grew from their own unique experience as the plot moved forward. As a reader who loved English Lit in school, these seemingly small-like changes are actually huge when it comes to how a story visually plays out (sort of like a movie) in my head. Rose also wrote each character extremely distinct, which always helps when reading a WhyChoose, and the intense emotions each person felt, at any given moment, rolled right off the page and right into my heart. I'm now an instant fan and can't wait to dive back into more of her books.
Everleigh Banks was on the run from just more than an abusive spouse. It was years of mental, emotional, financial, you name it, she lived it kind of abuse and she put up with it because she basically thought that was what she deserved. It was heartbreaking. Truly heartbreaking to read her mental breakthrough from everything. I won't say what pushes her out and gets her to run, but she does. She runs, hides, changes her identity until she literally runs out of money, food, and someplace safe to hide. She ends up in Hawkthorpe. A small town that ends up changing her life and the lives of everyone she meets there.
It was funny how I kept changing favorites when it came to the three men in Everleigh's life as the book progressed. Don't get me wrong, I loved all three, but that's why WhyChoose is so much fun to read because there is no choice involved. The hard part became who was my favorite man when it came time to list them.
So, in no particular order...😉
Everleigh first meets Leo first and he is basically all sunshine and golden retriever vibes. She needs a bit of sunshine in her life and doesn't know how to take him since he's the opposite of everything she's ever known. Leo's the adoptive brother to Sterling, whom I'll get to in a minute, but Leo spent his life in foster care before Sterling's mother adopted him. If Leo has one flaw it's that he wants everyone in his life to be happy and cohesive all the time due to his abandonment issues. I mean can I blame him, not really, he's just kind of adorable, all the time.❤️
Now Sterling is a bit of a grump, but around Everleigh he's soft, a gentle giant if you will. She understands his mood swings better. Not that she understands why he's a grump, but the fact that he is is something familiar to her. Sterling himself can't figure out why he's softer around Everleigh when he isn't nice to anyone, but watching him open up around her is sweet, nonetheless. They are also hotter than hot when they finally give in too and oh my....Sterling's grump is super naughty. 🥵
Then there is Fletcher who pretty much broke my heart while also mending it by the end. He's raw in the beginning and Rose didn't shy away from how raw and wounded Fletcher is. I actually appreciated it, even though his story brought me to tears. I couldn't tear my eyes from the page anytime his character had a chapter. I needed more of Fletcher, especially when he was with Everleigh. The way they lit up the pages with their connection, it's like their souls knew each other even before their hearts did and I was hooked on how these two just clicked.❤️
There is an intense plot, and sometimes that can get bogged down in a WhyChoose romance, but the plot was actually interwoven nicely throughout along with four people who also had their own subplots to keep up with. In the small town, there is a big community of found family, which I love and everyone filled the gaps nicely. I adored Cassie who stepped in and saw Everleigh for the wounded woman she was and didn't ask a single question. I really hope she gets her happy ending some day.
Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for an advance review copy and all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.75 stars - I read it and finished it, but would not read again & probably wouldn’t recommend it to others
Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake & J Rose for the advanced digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own genuine and honest review of the book.
Sanctuary of Lies is an emotionally turbulent, harrowing read and it deals with some dark and emotive themes. All four of the main characters have traumatic pasts and are processing and working through that trauma throughout the story. The found family aspect of this story was beautiful, seeing them all find their way together, supporting each other and growing closer has me keep turning the pages.
I liked the 3 MMC’s - Sterling, Leo and Fletcher. Each one was well rounded and had their own distinct voice within the story, each one was dealing with their own trauma the only way they knew how but had drifted apart, only being held together by the thinnest thread. It’s hard to pick a favourite as they all appealed to me on different levels.
Everleigh was an easily likeable character, she provoked that part of me that empathised with her and was rooting for her to succeed in escaping her past and making a future for herself.
The story built up the mystery of what made Everleigh finally build up the courage to leave her husband and what it was that he did that was so heinous it made her finally flee and end up in the predicament she was, I had theories building throughout and was pretty sure I was correct (I was) but then the author threw in a curveball that I did not see coming. Character’s from previous books also popped up which was a good little crossover surprise.
There was a good cast of supporting characters too, I was especially intrigued with maverick and his cheeky sense of humour and Cassie with her no nonsense, straight shooting personality. There was also just enough hints at Piper’s character to make me intrigued about her story that is coming next.
{I did find it refreshing that the focus of the abuse suffered by the FMC in her past was emotional/mental abuse (there was some physical abuse also, but no SA). I feel it is important to represent this form of abuse in literature and popular culture as it is quite often overlooked and misunderstood, and from personal experience both learned, studied and from a history of working within social care, this is a hugely misunderstood and diminished form of abuse that has such a wide ranging and wholly detrimental impact on the victim/survivor. So I applaud the author for covering it in such a sensitive and honest way.}
Saying all that, I did struggle with the pacing and structure of the story. The book was split into 3 distinct elements - caterpillar, chrysalis and rupture, and I can see and understand the reasons the author chose to do this, it makes sense with the storyline. However, the timeline seemed to be very choppy, it read in most parts as though it was playing out over the course of days but then there were jumps in time of weeks/months but this wasn’t made clear in the storyline and it made it feel jarring to read. It made the development of the relationship and their emotional connection seem rushed and not reflective of a natural progression for someone who in Everleigh’s position (leaving an emotionally abusive relationship, learning to trust someone, let alone 3 someone’s, to falling in love within a matter of months - 6 I think it was mentioned in the story) seemed to be a little disingenuous and to me undermined the relationship and storyline a little. I feel this is more down to poor editing rather than a flaw in the writing.
Another aspect that I wasn’t overly keen on was Everleigh’s (FMC) husband, the antagonist/villain of the story. His character felt almost random when he appeared, it felt like almost large parts of him had been edited out and what was left was somewhat lacklustre. Having read some of J Rose’s previous books this was a little disappointing as I was expecting a much grittier, well rounded villain with a bit more depth.
I felt like this book had a lot of promise, and whilst I did finish it (I will always DNF a book I’m not vibing with or invested in the story/characters) I did find that it didn’t quite hold my attention as much as I expected it to, and felt a little underwhelmed and disappointed by it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake & J Rose for the advanced digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own genuine and honest review of the book.
Sanctuary of Lies is an emotionally turbulent, harrowing read and it deals with some dark and emotive themes. All four of the main characters have traumatic pasts and are processing and working through that trauma throughout the story. The found family aspect of this story was beautiful, seeing them all find their way together, supporting each other and growing closer has me keep turning the pages.
I liked the 3 MMC’s - Sterling, Leo and Fletcher. Each one was well rounded and had their own distinct voice within the story, each one was dealing with their own trauma the only way they knew how but had drifted apart, only being held together by the thinnest thread. It’s hard to pick a favourite as they all appealed to me on different levels.
Everleigh was an easily likeable character, she provoked that part of me that empathised with her and was rooting for her to succeed in escaping her past and making a future for herself.
The story built up the mystery of what made Everleigh finally build up the courage to leave her husband and what it was that he did that was so heinous it made her finally flee and end up in the predicament she was, I had theories building throughout and was pretty sure I was correct (I was) but then the author threw in a curveball that I did not see coming. Character’s from previous books also popped up which was a good little crossover surprise.
There was a good cast of supporting characters too, I was especially intrigued with maverick and his cheeky sense of humour and Cassie with her no nonsense, straight shooting personality. There was also just enough hints at Piper’s character to make me intrigued about her story that is coming next.
{I did find it refreshing that the focus of the abuse suffered by the FMC in her past was emotional/mental abuse (there was some physical abuse also, but no SA). I feel it is important to represent this form of abuse in literature and popular culture as it is quite often overlooked and misunderstood, and from personal experience both learned, studied and from a history of working within social care, this is a hugely misunderstood and diminished form of abuse that has such a wide ranging and wholly detrimental impact on the victim/survivor. So I applaud the author for covering it in such a sensitive and honest way.}
Saying all that, I did struggle with the pacing and structure of the story. The book was split into 3 distinct elements - caterpillar, chrysalis and rupture, and I can see and understand the reasons the author chose to do this, it makes sense with the storyline. However, the timeline seemed to be very choppy, it read in most parts as though it was playing out over the course of days but then there were jumps in time of weeks/months but this wasn’t made clear in the storyline and it made it feel jarring to read. It made the development of the relationship and their emotional connection seem rushed and not reflective of a natural progression for someone who in Everleigh’s position (leaving an emotionally abusive relationship, learning to trust someone, let alone 3 someone’s, to falling in love within a matter of months - 6 I think it was mentioned in the story) seemed to be a little disingenuous and to me undermined the relationship and storyline a little. I feel this is more down to poor editing rather than a flaw in the writing.
Another aspect that I wasn’t overly keen on was Everleigh’s (FMC) husband, the antagonist/villain of the story. His character felt almost random when he appeared, it felt like almost large parts of him had been edited out and what was left was somewhat lacklustre. Having read some of J Rose’s previous books this was a little disappointing as I was expecting a much grittier, well rounded villain with a bit more depth.
I felt like this book had a lot of promise, and whilst I did finish it (I will always DNF a book I’m not vibing with or invested in the story/characters) I did find that it didn’t quite hold my attention as much as I expected it to, and felt a little underwhelmed and disappointed by it.
Review of advance copy received from Author
📚 SANCTUARY OF LIES — J. Rose 📚
Have I had J. Rose sitting on my TBR for what feels like approximately seventeen years? Absolutely.
Did my first J. Rose ARC turn out to be a book that felt like it had been written specifically to crawl inside my head and rearrange the furniture?
Also absolutely.
And then there was the setting…
OH. MY. DAYS.
As someone who has visited many of the places that inspired Hawkthorpe, I was completely transported. The descriptions were so vivid that I could see it. I could feel it. I could practically smell the bloody Lake District air.
There were moments I genuinely stopped reading and thought, I KNOW THIS PLACE.
And then there was the story.
Well…
There went my responsibilities.
Thankfully, I’m retired, so technically I have no responsibilities.
I finished this ridiculously late into the night and then sat there scrolling through photographs from my own holidays, trying to convince my brain that I was back in reality rather than still somewhere in Hawkthorpe.
Worth it? Every single bloody minute.
Everleigh’s story is dark. Really dark.
She has escaped an abusive marriage, changed her identity and run to Hawkthorpe hoping to disappear and finally find some peace.
Instead, she finds three men.
Because apparently one emotionally damaged man wasn’t enough.
We have Sterling, gruff, protective and carrying a mountain of grief.
Leo, the sunshine fixer who wants to make everyone okay even when he isn’t okay himself.
And Fletcher…
Oh, Fletcher.
Quiet. Stoic. Broken in ways that absolutely punched me in the heart.
A former pilot carrying survivor’s guilt and communicating without a voice, yet somehow saying so much without needing one.
These four characters are carrying some serious emotional baggage, but what I loved most was that nobody magically fixes anybody.
Everleigh doesn’t need three men to save her.
She needs people who allow her to feel safe enough to save herself.
And watching her slowly reclaim her identity, her choices and her voice?
That got me.
Hard.
The found-family element was beautiful too. Hawkthorpe becomes more than somewhere Everleigh hides.
It becomes somewhere she finally belongs.
And the romance…
Well, it’s J. Rose.
You know what you’re getting yourself into.
The chemistry, the tension, the protectiveness and the spice are all there, but what made it work for me was that Everleigh’s trust and safety came first. Her relationships are about choice, and after everything she’s survived, that distinction matters.
And those men?
Let’s just say if her past comes knocking, I wouldn’t fancy its chances.
Three protective, emotionally damaged men and a woman who has finally discovered she belongs to herself.
Yes please.
I genuinely don’t have a complaint about this book.
I loved the characters.
I loved the setting.
I loved the emotional depth.
I loved the found family.
I loved the suspense.
And I absolutely loved how much this story made me feel.
If anything, I simply wasn’t ready to leave Hawkthorpe when it was over.
This was my first J. Rose ARC, kindly received through Valentine PR, and what a way to be introduced to an author I’ve had sitting on my TBR for far too long.
Five very emotional, slightly sleep-deprived stars from me.
Come for the dark why-choose romance.
Stay for the found family, the healing, the mountains, the secrets and three men who apparently decided protecting one woman was going to become their full-time occupation.
And me?
I’m off to look through my Lake District photos again because apparently I haven’t quite left Hawkthorpe yet. 🖤
Have I had J. Rose sitting on my TBR for what feels like approximately seventeen years? Absolutely.
Did my first J. Rose ARC turn out to be a book that felt like it had been written specifically to crawl inside my head and rearrange the furniture?
Also absolutely.
And then there was the setting…
OH. MY. DAYS.
As someone who has visited many of the places that inspired Hawkthorpe, I was completely transported. The descriptions were so vivid that I could see it. I could feel it. I could practically smell the bloody Lake District air.
There were moments I genuinely stopped reading and thought, I KNOW THIS PLACE.
And then there was the story.
Well…
There went my responsibilities.
Thankfully, I’m retired, so technically I have no responsibilities.
I finished this ridiculously late into the night and then sat there scrolling through photographs from my own holidays, trying to convince my brain that I was back in reality rather than still somewhere in Hawkthorpe.
Worth it? Every single bloody minute.
Everleigh’s story is dark. Really dark.
She has escaped an abusive marriage, changed her identity and run to Hawkthorpe hoping to disappear and finally find some peace.
Instead, she finds three men.
Because apparently one emotionally damaged man wasn’t enough.
We have Sterling, gruff, protective and carrying a mountain of grief.
Leo, the sunshine fixer who wants to make everyone okay even when he isn’t okay himself.
And Fletcher…
Oh, Fletcher.
Quiet. Stoic. Broken in ways that absolutely punched me in the heart.
A former pilot carrying survivor’s guilt and communicating without a voice, yet somehow saying so much without needing one.
These four characters are carrying some serious emotional baggage, but what I loved most was that nobody magically fixes anybody.
Everleigh doesn’t need three men to save her.
She needs people who allow her to feel safe enough to save herself.
And watching her slowly reclaim her identity, her choices and her voice?
That got me.
Hard.
The found-family element was beautiful too. Hawkthorpe becomes more than somewhere Everleigh hides.
It becomes somewhere she finally belongs.
And the romance…
Well, it’s J. Rose.
You know what you’re getting yourself into.
The chemistry, the tension, the protectiveness and the spice are all there, but what made it work for me was that Everleigh’s trust and safety came first. Her relationships are about choice, and after everything she’s survived, that distinction matters.
And those men?
Let’s just say if her past comes knocking, I wouldn’t fancy its chances.
Three protective, emotionally damaged men and a woman who has finally discovered she belongs to herself.
Yes please.
I genuinely don’t have a complaint about this book.
I loved the characters.
I loved the setting.
I loved the emotional depth.
I loved the found family.
I loved the suspense.
And I absolutely loved how much this story made me feel.
If anything, I simply wasn’t ready to leave Hawkthorpe when it was over.
This was my first J. Rose ARC, kindly received through Valentine PR, and what a way to be introduced to an author I’ve had sitting on my TBR for far too long.
Five very emotional, slightly sleep-deprived stars from me.
Come for the dark why-choose romance.
Stay for the found family, the healing, the mountains, the secrets and three men who apparently decided protecting one woman was going to become their full-time occupation.
And me?
I’m off to look through my Lake District photos again because apparently I haven’t quite left Hawkthorpe yet. 🖤
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of *Sanctuary of Lies* before publication. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
*Sanctuary of Lies* is an emotional, dark why-choose romance about escaping abuse, rebuilding a life and finding safety in unexpected people. Everleigh is running from a controlling husband and arrives in the small town of Hawkthorpe determined to keep her identity hidden. She does not intend to stay or become attached to anyone, but the community gradually offers her something she has not experienced for a long time: kindness without conditions.
At the centre of the story are Everleigh’s developing relationships with Leo, Sterling and Fletcher, three very different men who are carrying trauma and difficulties of their own. Their connection is not simply based on attraction; each character is damaged in a different way, and much of the novel focuses on how they begin creating a sense of safety and belonging together. Fletcher was particularly memorable, and his vulnerability added genuine emotional weight to the group dynamic.
The found-family element is one of the strongest parts of the book. Everleigh’s friendships within Hawkthorpe help her rediscover her confidence and understand that accepting support does not make her weak. The novel handles themes including abuse, grief, mental health, disability and healing with sensitivity, while showing that recovery is rarely straightforward. Everleigh may have physically escaped her former life, but she still has to overcome the fear and conditioning it left behind.
The mystery surrounding Everleigh’s identity and the possibility that her past will catch up with her creates suspense alongside the romance. The small-town setting is atmospheric, and the contrast between Hawkthorpe’s warmth and the danger Everleigh is fleeing works effectively. As her relationships deepen, the stakes become higher because she finally has people and a future she is frightened of losing.
However, the pacing felt uneven in places. Certain relationships and emotional developments progressed more quickly than expected, while other sections moved slowly. The passage of time was not always clear, which occasionally made it difficult to judge how long the characters had known one another or how naturally their connections had developed. Some elements were also predictable, and I would have liked greater depth from the male characters’ perspectives during several important moments.
Overall, *Sanctuary of Lies* is a heartfelt and emotionally intense romance about damaged people finding comfort, protection and hope in one another. Although the pacing and timeline weakened parts of the story for me, I enjoyed the atmospheric setting, the focus on healing and the strong sense of found family. It should appeal to readers who enjoy why-choose romance, protective heroes, secret identities, small towns and heroines learning to reclaim their lives.
*Sanctuary of Lies* is an emotional, dark why-choose romance about escaping abuse, rebuilding a life and finding safety in unexpected people. Everleigh is running from a controlling husband and arrives in the small town of Hawkthorpe determined to keep her identity hidden. She does not intend to stay or become attached to anyone, but the community gradually offers her something she has not experienced for a long time: kindness without conditions.
At the centre of the story are Everleigh’s developing relationships with Leo, Sterling and Fletcher, three very different men who are carrying trauma and difficulties of their own. Their connection is not simply based on attraction; each character is damaged in a different way, and much of the novel focuses on how they begin creating a sense of safety and belonging together. Fletcher was particularly memorable, and his vulnerability added genuine emotional weight to the group dynamic.
The found-family element is one of the strongest parts of the book. Everleigh’s friendships within Hawkthorpe help her rediscover her confidence and understand that accepting support does not make her weak. The novel handles themes including abuse, grief, mental health, disability and healing with sensitivity, while showing that recovery is rarely straightforward. Everleigh may have physically escaped her former life, but she still has to overcome the fear and conditioning it left behind.
The mystery surrounding Everleigh’s identity and the possibility that her past will catch up with her creates suspense alongside the romance. The small-town setting is atmospheric, and the contrast between Hawkthorpe’s warmth and the danger Everleigh is fleeing works effectively. As her relationships deepen, the stakes become higher because she finally has people and a future she is frightened of losing.
However, the pacing felt uneven in places. Certain relationships and emotional developments progressed more quickly than expected, while other sections moved slowly. The passage of time was not always clear, which occasionally made it difficult to judge how long the characters had known one another or how naturally their connections had developed. Some elements were also predictable, and I would have liked greater depth from the male characters’ perspectives during several important moments.
Overall, *Sanctuary of Lies* is a heartfelt and emotionally intense romance about damaged people finding comfort, protection and hope in one another. Although the pacing and timeline weakened parts of the story for me, I enjoyed the atmospheric setting, the focus on healing and the strong sense of found family. It should appeal to readers who enjoy why-choose romance, protective heroes, secret identities, small towns and heroines learning to reclaim their lives.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ELEVEN.
ELEVEN J. ROSE ARCs BABES.😭🖤
At this point I don’t even need to tell y’all that I’m a fan because the receipts are literally sitting right here.😂 This is my 11th ARC from J. Rose.
Everleigh arrives in Hawkthorpe running from a life that nearly destroyed her. She’s living with a new identity, trying to disappear, trying to survive and trying to convince herself that keeping her head down is the same thing as being safe.
Then she meets Leo, Sterling, and Fletcher.
This isn't just three hot men fall for the mysterious woman in town. There is so much more happening. Every single one of them is carrying their own damage from grief, abandonment, survivor's guilt, trauma. Watching these four people become a safe place for one another was my favorite part.
They aren't magically healed because they fall in love.
They heal together.
And that is something J. Rose does SO freaking well.
Now let's talk about these men because… 👀
Leo is sunshine in human form.☀️ He's playful, protective and determined to fix everyone's problems whether they asked him to or not. 😂
Sterling is our grumpy giant.🥵 Except when it comes to Everleigh that gruff exterior starts cracking.
But Fletcher…BABES.
FLETCHER BROKE MY HEART.
His survivor's guilt and everything he's carrying wrecked me. His story felt so raw and I couldn't look away whenever his chapters came up.
The connection between Fletcher and Everleigh? I FELT THAT.
There was something about the way they understood each other's broken places without needing everything explained.🥹
Everleigh has spent YEARS being told who she is, what she deserves and what she's worth.
And can we talk about Cassie? 🥹 The way she welcomed Everleigh without demanding her entire life story first? THAT is the kind of woman everyone needs in their corner.
Hawkthorpe really became more than a setting. It became home.
And isn't that what this whole story is really about?
Sometimes home isn't the place you were born.
Sometimes it's the people who finally make you feel safe enough to become yourself again.😭🖤
J. Rose, you really know how to take characters who are absolutely wrecked and piece them together into something beautiful.
And THAT is why this is my 11th ARC from you.
Because I know I'm going to get darkness.
I know I'm going to get emotional damage.
I know I'm going to get characters who need approximately seventeen therapy sessions. 😂
But I also know I'm going to get heart.
I'm going to get people finding each other.
I'm going to get found family.
I'm going to get healing that feels earned.
And I'm going to get a story that stays in my head after I finish it.
Now I'm already looking toward Piper's story like…
J. ROSE. DON'T PLAY WITH ME. I NEED IT. 👀
⚠️ PLEASE CHECK THE CONTENT WARNINGS: This book deals with heavy themes, particularly abuse and trauma, along with other difficult subject matter. Take care of yourselves, babes. 🖤
ELEVEN J. ROSE ARCs BABES.😭🖤
At this point I don’t even need to tell y’all that I’m a fan because the receipts are literally sitting right here.😂 This is my 11th ARC from J. Rose.
Everleigh arrives in Hawkthorpe running from a life that nearly destroyed her. She’s living with a new identity, trying to disappear, trying to survive and trying to convince herself that keeping her head down is the same thing as being safe.
Then she meets Leo, Sterling, and Fletcher.
This isn't just three hot men fall for the mysterious woman in town. There is so much more happening. Every single one of them is carrying their own damage from grief, abandonment, survivor's guilt, trauma. Watching these four people become a safe place for one another was my favorite part.
They aren't magically healed because they fall in love.
They heal together.
And that is something J. Rose does SO freaking well.
Now let's talk about these men because… 👀
Leo is sunshine in human form.☀️ He's playful, protective and determined to fix everyone's problems whether they asked him to or not. 😂
Sterling is our grumpy giant.🥵 Except when it comes to Everleigh that gruff exterior starts cracking.
But Fletcher…BABES.
FLETCHER BROKE MY HEART.
His survivor's guilt and everything he's carrying wrecked me. His story felt so raw and I couldn't look away whenever his chapters came up.
The connection between Fletcher and Everleigh? I FELT THAT.
There was something about the way they understood each other's broken places without needing everything explained.🥹
Everleigh has spent YEARS being told who she is, what she deserves and what she's worth.
And can we talk about Cassie? 🥹 The way she welcomed Everleigh without demanding her entire life story first? THAT is the kind of woman everyone needs in their corner.
Hawkthorpe really became more than a setting. It became home.
And isn't that what this whole story is really about?
Sometimes home isn't the place you were born.
Sometimes it's the people who finally make you feel safe enough to become yourself again.😭🖤
J. Rose, you really know how to take characters who are absolutely wrecked and piece them together into something beautiful.
And THAT is why this is my 11th ARC from you.
Because I know I'm going to get darkness.
I know I'm going to get emotional damage.
I know I'm going to get characters who need approximately seventeen therapy sessions. 😂
But I also know I'm going to get heart.
I'm going to get people finding each other.
I'm going to get found family.
I'm going to get healing that feels earned.
And I'm going to get a story that stays in my head after I finish it.
Now I'm already looking toward Piper's story like…
J. ROSE. DON'T PLAY WITH ME. I NEED IT. 👀
⚠️ PLEASE CHECK THE CONTENT WARNINGS: This book deals with heavy themes, particularly abuse and trauma, along with other difficult subject matter. Take care of yourselves, babes. 🖤
Review of advance copy received from Author
You’ll enjoy this book if you like:
🏔️ Strong FMC
🏔️ Found Family
🏔️ Small Town
🏔️ Why Choose (MFMM)
🏔️ Forced Proximity
🏔️ Hidden Identity
🏔️ Tragic Past
I really enjoyed this one! The temperatures around me dropped to finally feel like fall and it completely added to the vibe of this book. I loved it!
Everleigh Banks is on the run after leaving her abusive husband in the middle of the night. With the little money she has, she takes the bus as far from London as she can get and finds herself in Hawkthorpe, a small town in the Lake District, and assumes a new identity as Eden Coles. With the help of some new friends and three amazing guys, she’s finally find somewhere she feels like she belongs.
I really liked Everleigh/Eden’s character. Her resilience was really inspiring. She’s starting over in a brand new place with absolutely nothing after enduring years of abuse, and yet she perseveres. She’s terrified and battling her own demons, but she doesn’t let that make her cold - hesitant yes, but never cold.
The guys were wonderful. You have Sterling the widow with his walls up, Fletcher the scarred veteran who’s just trying to adapt to his newfound situation, and Leo the golden retriever that would do anything to keep his family together. I loved their family dynamic. They’re able to be vulnerable with one another - albeit reluctantly for some - and can always lean on each other for support. Adding Everleigh into the mix really helped all three to reflect on the obstacles holding them back so they could push forward and be happy.
Even the side characters were exceptional! I would love to see more Cassidy. She is such an incredible woman, reaching a kind hand out for Everleigh when she clearly needed it. I also really liked Piper and can’t wait to see where her story goes!
Throughout the book, theres an underlying mystery that will peek your curiosity and keep you intrigued. Admittedly it was a bit predictable for me - to be fair I’m also someone who’s brain won’t stop analyzing every minor detail even if it’s completely irrelevant - but I still really enjoyed watching all the threads unravel leading up to the final reveal.
Did in fact gasp and giggle at the Sabre Security/Blackwood Institute cameo
Thank you so much to J Rose and Valentine PR for the opportunity to ARC read this book. All thoughts are my own. 💗
🏔️ Strong FMC
🏔️ Found Family
🏔️ Small Town
🏔️ Why Choose (MFMM)
🏔️ Forced Proximity
🏔️ Hidden Identity
🏔️ Tragic Past
I really enjoyed this one! The temperatures around me dropped to finally feel like fall and it completely added to the vibe of this book. I loved it!
Everleigh Banks is on the run after leaving her abusive husband in the middle of the night. With the little money she has, she takes the bus as far from London as she can get and finds herself in Hawkthorpe, a small town in the Lake District, and assumes a new identity as Eden Coles. With the help of some new friends and three amazing guys, she’s finally find somewhere she feels like she belongs.
I really liked Everleigh/Eden’s character. Her resilience was really inspiring. She’s starting over in a brand new place with absolutely nothing after enduring years of abuse, and yet she perseveres. She’s terrified and battling her own demons, but she doesn’t let that make her cold - hesitant yes, but never cold.
The guys were wonderful. You have Sterling the widow with his walls up, Fletcher the scarred veteran who’s just trying to adapt to his newfound situation, and Leo the golden retriever that would do anything to keep his family together. I loved their family dynamic. They’re able to be vulnerable with one another - albeit reluctantly for some - and can always lean on each other for support. Adding Everleigh into the mix really helped all three to reflect on the obstacles holding them back so they could push forward and be happy.
Even the side characters were exceptional! I would love to see more Cassidy. She is such an incredible woman, reaching a kind hand out for Everleigh when she clearly needed it. I also really liked Piper and can’t wait to see where her story goes!
Throughout the book, theres an underlying mystery that will peek your curiosity and keep you intrigued. Admittedly it was a bit predictable for me - to be fair I’m also someone who’s brain won’t stop analyzing every minor detail even if it’s completely irrelevant - but I still really enjoyed watching all the threads unravel leading up to the final reveal.
Did in fact gasp and giggle at the Sabre Security/Blackwood Institute cameo
Thank you so much to J Rose and Valentine PR for the opportunity to ARC read this book. All thoughts are my own. 💗
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
June 6, 20262.75 stars. This book started out very strong. The writing was gorgeous, the mystery was intriguing, the setting was atmospheric, and the characters popped on the page. However, there were some glaring issues with the passing of time that took me out of the story. Unfortunately for this author, that happens to be one of my biggest pet peeves in a book.
There was a big event that happened about halfway through the story that I learned happened many weeks after the start of the novel. Sadly, it simply doesn’t work to say - in passing - that a few months have gone by when it feels like you’re still in the first week of the FMC arriving in town. There was no explanation of time passing aside from that simple acknowledgment; there wasn’t really any understanding of what even happened during that time.
It seemed like every few chapters after this event, time skipped forward but it also seemed like there was nothing that happened during that time. The development of the relationships and the growth of the FMC as she learned to be herself after being in an abusive marriage just wasn’t there, it just was. There simply was just no build up at all. I was honestly flabbergasted when there was a love declaration and I was thinking back…and there was maybe only a handful of small moments between the two characters, nothing to really show the love grow.
It’s honestly super unfortunate that we are missing so many critical moments of development and growth, because this book has such good bones to it. I really jived with the authors writing style. The mystery surrounding the FMC was really intriguing to me (tho maybe wrapped up a bit too quickly). Sadly, it just feels like the author took some shortcuts with the relationships, and, honestly, with the growth of the FMC from such a traumatic situation… I was really hoping for more exploration of that as she navigated being more ‘free.’ Unfortunately, it just wasn’t there - it just was.
I have not read this author before, so I’m unsure if this is a consistent thing in her storytelling or not, but I am definitely willing to try another book from her and hope that this is just a one off!
Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for this e-ARC.
There was a big event that happened about halfway through the story that I learned happened many weeks after the start of the novel. Sadly, it simply doesn’t work to say - in passing - that a few months have gone by when it feels like you’re still in the first week of the FMC arriving in town. There was no explanation of time passing aside from that simple acknowledgment; there wasn’t really any understanding of what even happened during that time.
It seemed like every few chapters after this event, time skipped forward but it also seemed like there was nothing that happened during that time. The development of the relationships and the growth of the FMC as she learned to be herself after being in an abusive marriage just wasn’t there, it just was. There simply was just no build up at all. I was honestly flabbergasted when there was a love declaration and I was thinking back…and there was maybe only a handful of small moments between the two characters, nothing to really show the love grow.
It’s honestly super unfortunate that we are missing so many critical moments of development and growth, because this book has such good bones to it. I really jived with the authors writing style. The mystery surrounding the FMC was really intriguing to me (tho maybe wrapped up a bit too quickly). Sadly, it just feels like the author took some shortcuts with the relationships, and, honestly, with the growth of the FMC from such a traumatic situation… I was really hoping for more exploration of that as she navigated being more ‘free.’ Unfortunately, it just wasn’t there - it just was.
I have not read this author before, so I’m unsure if this is a consistent thing in her storytelling or not, but I am definitely willing to try another book from her and hope that this is just a one off!
Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for this e-ARC.
September 21, 2026
If you’re familiar with J Rose, you know her writing is full of beautifully broken main characters, strong communities and found family, and an overarching theme of protection, healing, and love. Sanctuary of Lies was no different.
Everleigh has endured years of abuse from a husband who wears a mask in public, but behind the scenes he controls every aspect of her life. He isolates Everleigh, controls what she eats, what she wears, and is emotionally and verbally abusive day in and out. Everleigh learns to stay quiet, and weak. Anything to appease the enemy. After staying silent for so long, Everleigh looks for a way out only to discover a secret even she wasn’t expecting about her well respected husband.
She does the only thing she knows how - she flees, and runs trying to get as far away from the life she’s endured in suffering for so long. Only she has no money, barely any clothing, and nothing to begin a new life. That is until kindness is extended by an unexpected stranger who takes her in, and gives her not only a place to lay her head and a job, but something she’s forgotten exists - kindness and compassion.
While taking on a new life and identity, Everleigh is going through the motions. She’s still scared and keeping an eye out in every situation of someone who may be connected to her past or husband. The fear she tried to leave still clings to her like a second skin.
She’s not looking for love or any sort of relationship, but she finds kindness and friendship in three beautifully broken men who are all connected to the town she finds herself in. A stoic and isolated veteran, a widower seeking retribution, and a man who carries everyone else’s happiness and dreams on his shoulders.
As the weeks and months pass, Everleigh finds a home. However, her reprieve is short lived as her past and secrets begin to emerge again.
.
.
.
While I did enjoy this book I did think the timeline was hard to follow as some other readers have stated. I also wanted a little more back story on our main characters because while I did learn to know more about them, I felt like I wanted just a bit more. Overall a great start to
a new series and I’m excited to see where we go next.
Everleigh has endured years of abuse from a husband who wears a mask in public, but behind the scenes he controls every aspect of her life. He isolates Everleigh, controls what she eats, what she wears, and is emotionally and verbally abusive day in and out. Everleigh learns to stay quiet, and weak. Anything to appease the enemy. After staying silent for so long, Everleigh looks for a way out only to discover a secret even she wasn’t expecting about her well respected husband.
She does the only thing she knows how - she flees, and runs trying to get as far away from the life she’s endured in suffering for so long. Only she has no money, barely any clothing, and nothing to begin a new life. That is until kindness is extended by an unexpected stranger who takes her in, and gives her not only a place to lay her head and a job, but something she’s forgotten exists - kindness and compassion.
While taking on a new life and identity, Everleigh is going through the motions. She’s still scared and keeping an eye out in every situation of someone who may be connected to her past or husband. The fear she tried to leave still clings to her like a second skin.
She’s not looking for love or any sort of relationship, but she finds kindness and friendship in three beautifully broken men who are all connected to the town she finds herself in. A stoic and isolated veteran, a widower seeking retribution, and a man who carries everyone else’s happiness and dreams on his shoulders.
As the weeks and months pass, Everleigh finds a home. However, her reprieve is short lived as her past and secrets begin to emerge again.
.
.
.
While I did enjoy this book I did think the timeline was hard to follow as some other readers have stated. I also wanted a little more back story on our main characters because while I did learn to know more about them, I felt like I wanted just a bit more. Overall a great start to
a new series and I’m excited to see where we go next.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4 ⭐️
Sanctuary of Lies is what happens when you cage someone for so long that eventually they look in the mirror and tell themselves, “ENOUGH.”
Everleigh (or Eden, depending on who’s asking) has spent years trapped in an abusive marriage that has slowly chipped away at who she is. Until she discovers something she was never supposed to see, runs for her life, and lands in the quaint little town of Hawkthorpe. Although in the beginning she’s very mistrustful, this quaint town is where her healing journey begins.
Between making friends, repeatedly running into three very different, but interesting friends/brothers, and slowly finding her footing, Everleigh starts to find her voice, her purpose, and most importantly, herself again.
But of course, because apparently women are not allowed to escape their abusive husbands in peace, her husband refuses to let her go. 🙃
One of my favorite parts of this book was how REAL the characters felt. The trauma, the grief, the abandonment issues, the PTSD, the survivor’s guilt… these characters were genuinely struggling, and their journeys toward healing felt messy, complicated, and believable.
And then there’s the found family aspect of it all. 🥹Watching these people come together and become a safe place for one another was *chef’s kiss*. They each carried their own demons, but somehow they became exactly what the others needed. Seeing them help Everleigh realize that she was never the broken person her husband convinced her she was??? 10/10. No notes.
After years of being told who she was, she finally gets the chance to decide for herself. I LOVED THAT FOR HER.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one! There was suspense, emotional damage, sweet moments, spicy moments, healing, found family, and a FMC learning that she deserves so much more than survival. I’ll definitely be continuing this series because I need to know where these characters go from here!
Thank you J.Rose, Montlake, and NetGalley for advanced reader copy of Sanctuary of Lies (publishing September 29, 2026).
Sanctuary of Lies is what happens when you cage someone for so long that eventually they look in the mirror and tell themselves, “ENOUGH.”
Everleigh (or Eden, depending on who’s asking) has spent years trapped in an abusive marriage that has slowly chipped away at who she is. Until she discovers something she was never supposed to see, runs for her life, and lands in the quaint little town of Hawkthorpe. Although in the beginning she’s very mistrustful, this quaint town is where her healing journey begins.
Between making friends, repeatedly running into three very different, but interesting friends/brothers, and slowly finding her footing, Everleigh starts to find her voice, her purpose, and most importantly, herself again.
But of course, because apparently women are not allowed to escape their abusive husbands in peace, her husband refuses to let her go. 🙃
One of my favorite parts of this book was how REAL the characters felt. The trauma, the grief, the abandonment issues, the PTSD, the survivor’s guilt… these characters were genuinely struggling, and their journeys toward healing felt messy, complicated, and believable.
And then there’s the found family aspect of it all. 🥹Watching these people come together and become a safe place for one another was *chef’s kiss*. They each carried their own demons, but somehow they became exactly what the others needed. Seeing them help Everleigh realize that she was never the broken person her husband convinced her she was??? 10/10. No notes.
After years of being told who she was, she finally gets the chance to decide for herself. I LOVED THAT FOR HER.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one! There was suspense, emotional damage, sweet moments, spicy moments, healing, found family, and a FMC learning that she deserves so much more than survival. I’ll definitely be continuing this series because I need to know where these characters go from here!
Thank you J.Rose, Montlake, and NetGalley for advanced reader copy of Sanctuary of Lies (publishing September 29, 2026).
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Everleigh is running from her past life, from her abusive husband and the faded version of herself she'd become. By chance, she ends up in the small town of Hawktorphe, where she meets three men who manage to break through her armor, her fears, and her lies, offering Everleigh shelter and a future home. Each of the guys is also fighting his own demons and finds healing in Everleigh.
I absolutely love J. Rose's books, and this one was no exception. Every time, I'm in awe of how the author crafts the psychological portraits of her characters - their traumas and their journey toward healing and finding their true selves. It's impossible not to fall in love with every single character here. Leo with his tendency toward hyper-protectiveness - his tender love and boundless desire to shield Everleigh literally gives me chills. Sterling and his story with his wife, which shatters your heart, only to piece it back together later with the help of brave and gentle Everleigh. And of course, Fletcher - my heart ached for him. His and Everleigh's special bond from the very beginning was simply mesmerizing.
I also really enjoyed the thriller element of the plot, the storyline with Everleigh's husband and the way all the puzzle pieces eventually came together.
But my special love, without a doubt, goes to the theme of healing and finding family. The way Everleigh literally patched up the men's wounds, cemented their family bond, as if gluing the shattered pieces of a unique vase back together and became the final, essential piece that completed the picture of their family. And the men, in turn, helped Everleigh find her true self and bury her past.
Simply brilliant. I'll be waiting for Piper's book. And I'm also very intrigued by the mention of a character named August, I'm hoping for a book about him too.
Thanks Netgalley, Montlake and J.Rose for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I absolutely love J. Rose's books, and this one was no exception. Every time, I'm in awe of how the author crafts the psychological portraits of her characters - their traumas and their journey toward healing and finding their true selves. It's impossible not to fall in love with every single character here. Leo with his tendency toward hyper-protectiveness - his tender love and boundless desire to shield Everleigh literally gives me chills. Sterling and his story with his wife, which shatters your heart, only to piece it back together later with the help of brave and gentle Everleigh. And of course, Fletcher - my heart ached for him. His and Everleigh's special bond from the very beginning was simply mesmerizing.
I also really enjoyed the thriller element of the plot, the storyline with Everleigh's husband and the way all the puzzle pieces eventually came together.
But my special love, without a doubt, goes to the theme of healing and finding family. The way Everleigh literally patched up the men's wounds, cemented their family bond, as if gluing the shattered pieces of a unique vase back together and became the final, essential piece that completed the picture of their family. And the men, in turn, helped Everleigh find her true self and bury her past.
Simply brilliant. I'll be waiting for Piper's book. And I'm also very intrigued by the mention of a character named August, I'm hoping for a book about him too.
Thanks Netgalley, Montlake and J.Rose for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The first in a series of interconnected standalones, 'Sanctuary of Lies' tells a story that is as grimly dark as it is searingly romantic. Set in a small town in the Lakes Region, Hawkthorpe is the home to Leo, Fletcher, and Sterling. Men who are as connected as brothers, and each damaged in their own way. Enter Everleigh Banks, aka Eden Coles, who arrives at Hawkthorpe while on the run from her abusive husband. Hawkthorpe was meant to be a stop in the journey, not her destination, but when Eden connects with pub owner Cassidy, she decides that perhaps she can stay awhile in this close-knit town. Eden was not prepared to catch the attention of not one, not two, but three of the most eligible bachelors in the town. As she grows closer to the three men that she becomes increasingly more attracted to, someone else is watching Eden. And he's not going to rest until his wife is back in his possession.
This book was in turns thrilling, sexy, emotional, and dark. It does cover some dark themes, primarily spousal abuse, so do read the trigger warnings beforehand if needed. I really enjoyed all of the characters that we are introduced to in this book. The whole town of Hawkthorpe has captured my heart, and I hope that we see many more familiar faces in the upcoming books in this series. I did feel like the romance was a little off for me; it's not something that I can necessarily put my finger on, but something just didn't jibe as well for me - despite my love of a why choose romance. (It's the only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars.) I did enjoy it regardless, and I'll be keeping my eye out for announcements of future books in the Hawkthorpe series!
Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake, and J. Rose for the eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
This book was in turns thrilling, sexy, emotional, and dark. It does cover some dark themes, primarily spousal abuse, so do read the trigger warnings beforehand if needed. I really enjoyed all of the characters that we are introduced to in this book. The whole town of Hawkthorpe has captured my heart, and I hope that we see many more familiar faces in the upcoming books in this series. I did feel like the romance was a little off for me; it's not something that I can necessarily put my finger on, but something just didn't jibe as well for me - despite my love of a why choose romance. (It's the only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars.) I did enjoy it regardless, and I'll be keeping my eye out for announcements of future books in the Hawkthorpe series!
Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake, and J. Rose for the eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Sanctuary of Lies by J Rose
Rating: 4/5
Medium: eBook - ARC
Thank you to Valentine PR for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
I'll start by saying I normally don’t go for ‘Why Choose ’, but I’ve read one in my reading ‘career ’, and it may have left a bad impression on me about this type of romance. However, I'd like to say that my opinion of ‘Why Choose’ might have changed after finishing this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I loved that it wasn’t just a pure romance book; it also has mystery and thriller elements, which kept me hooked the whole time. The romance side of this story was great. I liked that the boys never felt competitive with each other; jealousy was rarely shown between the MMCs and the FMC. It felt natural how they all came together. Each MMC brought something different to the relationship, and the FMC liked each one individually for different things. The FMC goes through something traumatic, which leads her to travel to the countryside where she ends up with the MMCs. Through each other, each person heals from their own past or issues in their own way. The FMC brings the MMCs out of their darkness, and the MMCs show the FMC what living and love are about.
As for the story's mystery, I honestly didn't see it coming. The twist had me gasping at my iPad as my brain put all the pieces together. To say I nearly cried is an understatement. This book has serendipity at its core. I highly recommend going into this book blind with no expectations, because that’s what I did and I loved it.
This was my first J. Rose book, and I loved their writing style. Will definitely read more of their work in the future. I honestly didn’t want the book to end. If you are looking for a romance story with a strong, resilient FMC and multiple MMCs, then Sanctuary of Lies is for you.
Rating: 4/5
Medium: eBook - ARC
Thank you to Valentine PR for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
I'll start by saying I normally don’t go for ‘Why Choose ’, but I’ve read one in my reading ‘career ’, and it may have left a bad impression on me about this type of romance. However, I'd like to say that my opinion of ‘Why Choose’ might have changed after finishing this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I loved that it wasn’t just a pure romance book; it also has mystery and thriller elements, which kept me hooked the whole time. The romance side of this story was great. I liked that the boys never felt competitive with each other; jealousy was rarely shown between the MMCs and the FMC. It felt natural how they all came together. Each MMC brought something different to the relationship, and the FMC liked each one individually for different things. The FMC goes through something traumatic, which leads her to travel to the countryside where she ends up with the MMCs. Through each other, each person heals from their own past or issues in their own way. The FMC brings the MMCs out of their darkness, and the MMCs show the FMC what living and love are about.
As for the story's mystery, I honestly didn't see it coming. The twist had me gasping at my iPad as my brain put all the pieces together. To say I nearly cried is an understatement. This book has serendipity at its core. I highly recommend going into this book blind with no expectations, because that’s what I did and I loved it.
This was my first J. Rose book, and I loved their writing style. Will definitely read more of their work in the future. I honestly didn’t want the book to end. If you are looking for a romance story with a strong, resilient FMC and multiple MMCs, then Sanctuary of Lies is for you.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Once again I was sucked wholey into one of J. Rose's WC/RH books and I have zero regrets. This story opens with Eden/Everleigh running from her past, one we immediately realize was traumatic and destructive. She winds up in a quite, secluded town of Hawkthorpe where we meet our three MMC's who each have their own dark, troubled pasts.
Leo, the adopted beother of Sterling, is so afraid of loosing the family he knows that he is constantly trying to fix everyone's problems. Sterling is still grieving his wife who went missing several years ago, never receiving closure on her disappearance. And Fletcher returned from war mentally, emotionally, and physically broken.
What perfect combination of devastatingly unsettled men for Everleigh to stumble into. This story touches on so many mental health themes, from grief and depression to abuse and PTSD. These four MC's provide safety and strength to each other and to Everleigh, and I'm going to throw a cheesy analogy in here: the four of them are like the four corners of a house, each providing crucial stability and support to create their own strong foundation that can withstand any storm. At least, this was my random thought towards the end after Fletcher kept tearing up parts of the house in his constant need to repair perceived damage since he couldn't figure out how to repair himself.
Sprinkle in several loveable side characters like Cassidy, Maverick (ok, I totally thought he was going to be a surprise 4th partner for Eden), and Piper, and you have yourself a grimly set small-town, why-choose, found family darkish romance. Oh! And I squealed when we had the connection to Rose's shared word characters from Sabre Security!
Imo, this could totally have been expanded beyond just one book for these four characters so that we had even more background, more yearning between them as they all fell for her, and then the big event toward the end could have been even larger-scale. Does that mean I liked this any less? Absolutely not. I guess I just love getting lost in this shared world.
I am so grateful to J. Rose, NetGalley, and Montlake for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
4⭐️
3🌶
Please, please check the TW. This story has many scenes regarding mental, emotional, verbal, and physical abuse, as well as torture and a narcissistic character.
Leo, the adopted beother of Sterling, is so afraid of loosing the family he knows that he is constantly trying to fix everyone's problems. Sterling is still grieving his wife who went missing several years ago, never receiving closure on her disappearance. And Fletcher returned from war mentally, emotionally, and physically broken.
What perfect combination of devastatingly unsettled men for Everleigh to stumble into. This story touches on so many mental health themes, from grief and depression to abuse and PTSD. These four MC's provide safety and strength to each other and to Everleigh, and I'm going to throw a cheesy analogy in here: the four of them are like the four corners of a house, each providing crucial stability and support to create their own strong foundation that can withstand any storm. At least, this was my random thought towards the end after Fletcher kept tearing up parts of the house in his constant need to repair perceived damage since he couldn't figure out how to repair himself.
Sprinkle in several loveable side characters like Cassidy, Maverick (ok, I totally thought he was going to be a surprise 4th partner for Eden), and Piper, and you have yourself a grimly set small-town, why-choose, found family darkish romance. Oh! And I squealed when we had the connection to Rose's shared word characters from Sabre Security!
Imo, this could totally have been expanded beyond just one book for these four characters so that we had even more background, more yearning between them as they all fell for her, and then the big event toward the end could have been even larger-scale. Does that mean I liked this any less? Absolutely not. I guess I just love getting lost in this shared world.
I am so grateful to J. Rose, NetGalley, and Montlake for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
4⭐️
3🌶
Please, please check the TW. This story has many scenes regarding mental, emotional, verbal, and physical abuse, as well as torture and a narcissistic character.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ARC Review of Sanctuary of Lies
✍️ @jroseauthor
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🦋
Credence meets Devney Perry suspense meets the UK countryside meets WITSEC…with a reverse harem thrown in for good measure.
Sanctuary of Lies was such a quick, easy read for me and a really solid introduction to J. Rose.
I loved the isolated countryside setting and that underlying feeling that something is always just a little off. Add in secrets, danger, forced proximity, multiple men, and a heroine whose entire life has basically been turned upside down, and I was absolutely along for the ride.
And listen…if you didn’t have PTSD before reading this, you might by the end because the level of trauma between these characters is UNREAL. Everybody is carrying something, nobody is emotionally okay, and apparently therapy was simply not on the itinerary. 😂
I’m also an absolute sucker for veteran characters. Their highs, lows, struggles, loyalty, and the way those experiences continue to shape them always pull at my heartstrings, so that aspect of the story definitely worked for me.
It gave me that remote, slightly forbidden Credence energy while still having the mystery/suspense element I love from a Devney Perry-style romantic suspense — just with a much darker, why-choose twist.
If you like these tropes, add this one to your TBR:
🖤 Why Choose / Reverse Harem
🖤 Forced Proximity
🖤 WITSEC / Hidden Identity
🖤 Romantic Suspense
🖤 Veteran Heroes
🖤 Found Family
🖤 Isolated Countryside Setting
🖤 Protective Men
🖤 Trauma & Healing
🖤 Secrets, Danger & Suspense
Was it a perfect five-star read for me? Not quite. But it kept me entertained, moved quickly, and definitely made me curious to read more from J. Rose.🖤
✍️ @jroseauthor
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🦋
Credence meets Devney Perry suspense meets the UK countryside meets WITSEC…with a reverse harem thrown in for good measure.
Sanctuary of Lies was such a quick, easy read for me and a really solid introduction to J. Rose.
I loved the isolated countryside setting and that underlying feeling that something is always just a little off. Add in secrets, danger, forced proximity, multiple men, and a heroine whose entire life has basically been turned upside down, and I was absolutely along for the ride.
And listen…if you didn’t have PTSD before reading this, you might by the end because the level of trauma between these characters is UNREAL. Everybody is carrying something, nobody is emotionally okay, and apparently therapy was simply not on the itinerary. 😂
I’m also an absolute sucker for veteran characters. Their highs, lows, struggles, loyalty, and the way those experiences continue to shape them always pull at my heartstrings, so that aspect of the story definitely worked for me.
It gave me that remote, slightly forbidden Credence energy while still having the mystery/suspense element I love from a Devney Perry-style romantic suspense — just with a much darker, why-choose twist.
If you like these tropes, add this one to your TBR:
🖤 Why Choose / Reverse Harem
🖤 Forced Proximity
🖤 WITSEC / Hidden Identity
🖤 Romantic Suspense
🖤 Veteran Heroes
🖤 Found Family
🖤 Isolated Countryside Setting
🖤 Protective Men
🖤 Trauma & Healing
🖤 Secrets, Danger & Suspense
Was it a perfect five-star read for me? Not quite. But it kept me entertained, moved quickly, and definitely made me curious to read more from J. Rose.🖤
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
When finding out her abusive high-society husband has another secret, a terrified Everleigh finally snaps and runs. Paranoid and panic-stricken, she tries to run to the end of the earth and ends up in Hawkthorpe - which, according to the locals, is close enough. When Cassidy sees the shivering, rain-soaked woman in a bus stop, she takes her in for a coffee and tries to help her.
Leo is a man who’s being haunted by his past as an unwanted foster child. Getting adopted only at fourteen made him fiercely loyal with a compulsive desire to make things right for those he loves and take care of them, even at the cost of his own wellbeing.
Sterling is Leo’s adoptive brother, a sunshine person until his wife disappeared four years ago, and when they finally found her body, he lost his spark.
Fletcher is the best friend, who joined the RAF at eighteen. Unwavering in his commitment, a horrible crash and the loss of his entire squadron burnt his skin, his vocal cords, and scarred his soul. He carries a lot of guilt, and having no voice to work with, it’s piling up to insufferable agony.
This story had less of an impact on me than all J. Rose’s previous work. Trying to figure out why had me realising that we’ve been spoiled with the wonderfully fleshed out, voluminous stories in several parts she usually writes. For being a standalone, this is a smooth read with the familiar rep of trauma, mental health and disability in very relatable, heartwarming, flawed characters, and I’d really recommend it if you want something faster! But if you like to take your time and really immerse yourself, J. Rose’s series are the way to go.
Leo is a man who’s being haunted by his past as an unwanted foster child. Getting adopted only at fourteen made him fiercely loyal with a compulsive desire to make things right for those he loves and take care of them, even at the cost of his own wellbeing.
Sterling is Leo’s adoptive brother, a sunshine person until his wife disappeared four years ago, and when they finally found her body, he lost his spark.
Fletcher is the best friend, who joined the RAF at eighteen. Unwavering in his commitment, a horrible crash and the loss of his entire squadron burnt his skin, his vocal cords, and scarred his soul. He carries a lot of guilt, and having no voice to work with, it’s piling up to insufferable agony.
This story had less of an impact on me than all J. Rose’s previous work. Trying to figure out why had me realising that we’ve been spoiled with the wonderfully fleshed out, voluminous stories in several parts she usually writes. For being a standalone, this is a smooth read with the familiar rep of trauma, mental health and disability in very relatable, heartwarming, flawed characters, and I’d really recommend it if you want something faster! But if you like to take your time and really immerse yourself, J. Rose’s series are the way to go.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 ⭐️
Small Town Romance meets Dark Romance in this thrilling why choose book!
Everleigh is on the run from her past, but discovers a real home in Hawkthorpe. I loved the found family theme of this story as the residents of Hawkthorpe rally around Everleigh, no questions asked. It was easy to visualize the beauty of the lakeside community through Rose’s description; I’d want to get lost there too.
There are multiple MMCs and it’s a why choose romance…I don’t want to give away who the MMCs are, but it’s easy to see why Everleigh couldn’t pick just one of them. These MMCs are protective and supportive without stifling Everleigh’s growth. They want her to thrive and find her own voice.
Both the FMC and the MMCs are on their own healing journeys. Each has their own past trauma and individual approach to coping (or not coping). They are broken people coming together to create a family that works for them.
Everleigh’s dark past adds suspense to the story, building high-stakes tension alongside the emotional journey. The thriller added more dimensions and intrigue without overshadowing the romance and self-discovery storylines. Great balance!
The blend of romance, suspense, and healing kept me engaged til the very last page. If you like why choose romances with protective MMCs, emotional depth, and a bit of danger, this book is for you.
🖤 Dark Why Choose Romance
🖤 Mystery/Thriller Subplot
🖤 Small Town Romance
🖤 Chosen/Found Family
🖤Multiple Healing Journeys
🖤 Wounded Bird x Protectors
Small Town Romance meets Dark Romance in this thrilling why choose book!
Everleigh is on the run from her past, but discovers a real home in Hawkthorpe. I loved the found family theme of this story as the residents of Hawkthorpe rally around Everleigh, no questions asked. It was easy to visualize the beauty of the lakeside community through Rose’s description; I’d want to get lost there too.
There are multiple MMCs and it’s a why choose romance…I don’t want to give away who the MMCs are, but it’s easy to see why Everleigh couldn’t pick just one of them. These MMCs are protective and supportive without stifling Everleigh’s growth. They want her to thrive and find her own voice.
Both the FMC and the MMCs are on their own healing journeys. Each has their own past trauma and individual approach to coping (or not coping). They are broken people coming together to create a family that works for them.
Everleigh’s dark past adds suspense to the story, building high-stakes tension alongside the emotional journey. The thriller added more dimensions and intrigue without overshadowing the romance and self-discovery storylines. Great balance!
The blend of romance, suspense, and healing kept me engaged til the very last page. If you like why choose romances with protective MMCs, emotional depth, and a bit of danger, this book is for you.
🖤 Dark Why Choose Romance
🖤 Mystery/Thriller Subplot
🖤 Small Town Romance
🖤 Chosen/Found Family
🖤Multiple Healing Journeys
🖤 Wounded Bird x Protectors
July 18, 2026
J. Rose never misses. ❤️🔥
💞 Tropes:
❤️ Why Choose
🏡 Small Town
🤝 Friends to Lovers
🏠 Forced Proximity
🛡️ Protective MMCs
This story follows a woman who leaves her abusive husband and ends up in a small town with three men. I am a huge fan of J. Rose and will read any of her books. This story was just amazing and hooked me in from the beginning, and I couldn’t put down the book until the end. I love the small plot twists throughout the book, all the emotional feelings Rose wants us to feel, and just the romantic chemistry between the characters. The pacing of the story is perfect, and I loved the small-town setting. This book is connected to the world of Rose’s other books, but it is not necessary to read her other series. This book is told from multiple POVs.
Eden/Everleigh is the FMC who runs away and has a secret identity. I loved how strong her character is and seeing her fight for herself. Especially as she’s in her 30s, I loved how her story showed it’s never too late. Then we have Leo and Sterling, who are adopted brothers who live with their best friend, Fletcher. All have their own traumatic experiences. I loved seeing their protectiveness for Everleigh and seeing them grow into the men they want to be for her. There are many side characters in this book, and I loved Cssidy, Maverick and Piper, who have been so supportive of Everleigh even though they didn’t know her. The romance is why choose with friends to lovers, forced proximity, and small town and let me say that the chemistry between all of them was spot on. Of course the story was steamy but I loved how they loved in their own ways.
The ending was well done with a HEA. I believe this is the first Rose book I’ve read that didn’t end in a cliffhanger, and I loved it more. The second book will follow Piper, and I would rather read about a new character than wait for Everleigh’s story to continue and be dragged on. Overall, such a great book, and I recommend reading it.
*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*
💞 Tropes:
❤️ Why Choose
🏡 Small Town
🤝 Friends to Lovers
🏠 Forced Proximity
🛡️ Protective MMCs
This story follows a woman who leaves her abusive husband and ends up in a small town with three men. I am a huge fan of J. Rose and will read any of her books. This story was just amazing and hooked me in from the beginning, and I couldn’t put down the book until the end. I love the small plot twists throughout the book, all the emotional feelings Rose wants us to feel, and just the romantic chemistry between the characters. The pacing of the story is perfect, and I loved the small-town setting. This book is connected to the world of Rose’s other books, but it is not necessary to read her other series. This book is told from multiple POVs.
Eden/Everleigh is the FMC who runs away and has a secret identity. I loved how strong her character is and seeing her fight for herself. Especially as she’s in her 30s, I loved how her story showed it’s never too late. Then we have Leo and Sterling, who are adopted brothers who live with their best friend, Fletcher. All have their own traumatic experiences. I loved seeing their protectiveness for Everleigh and seeing them grow into the men they want to be for her. There are many side characters in this book, and I loved Cssidy, Maverick and Piper, who have been so supportive of Everleigh even though they didn’t know her. The romance is why choose with friends to lovers, forced proximity, and small town and let me say that the chemistry between all of them was spot on. Of course the story was steamy but I loved how they loved in their own ways.
The ending was well done with a HEA. I believe this is the first Rose book I’ve read that didn’t end in a cliffhanger, and I loved it more. The second book will follow Piper, and I would rather read about a new character than wait for Everleigh’s story to continue and be dragged on. Overall, such a great book, and I recommend reading it.
*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book was a fun and intense read. I enjoy reading books by J Rose, and this one didn’t disappoint. Everleigh is running from her abusive husband and her old self. She lands in the small town of Hawkthorpe. There, she meets a group of people who go from strangers to friends, and some to lovers.
Everleigh meets Leo, Sterling, and Fletcher, who are slowly chipping away at her walls and showing her what being loved means. As she integrates into their lives, she begins to heal them and show them that they are worth loving.
I really liked how they all balanced each other and understood what they needed. My favorite couple was Everleigh and Fletcher. I think that they were able to understand each other's trauma even though they were different; it felt almost the same. The tattoo parlor scene was my favorite because she was able to do something she never would have dreamed of, and Maverick canceling his appointment for her was super sweet.
I am a sucker for thriller/psychological moments, and Everleigh’s husband was unhinged. As we progress through the story, you know that the encounter is coming. I cheered for Everleigh for fighting and standing up to the monster. I loved that they were able to put the monster to rest, along with some of their traumas, and heal their wounds (physical and emotional).
I cannot wait for Piper’s book; she is a fiery soul we have encountered, and I cannot wait to see how she handles what's coming her way.
Thank you, NetGalley and J Rose, for the opportunity to read “Sanctuary of Lies” in exchange for an honest review.
Everleigh meets Leo, Sterling, and Fletcher, who are slowly chipping away at her walls and showing her what being loved means. As she integrates into their lives, she begins to heal them and show them that they are worth loving.
I really liked how they all balanced each other and understood what they needed. My favorite couple was Everleigh and Fletcher. I think that they were able to understand each other's trauma even though they were different; it felt almost the same. The tattoo parlor scene was my favorite because she was able to do something she never would have dreamed of, and Maverick canceling his appointment for her was super sweet.
I am a sucker for thriller/psychological moments, and Everleigh’s husband was unhinged. As we progress through the story, you know that the encounter is coming. I cheered for Everleigh for fighting and standing up to the monster. I loved that they were able to put the monster to rest, along with some of their traumas, and heal their wounds (physical and emotional).
I cannot wait for Piper’s book; she is a fiery soul we have encountered, and I cannot wait to see how she handles what's coming her way.
Thank you, NetGalley and J Rose, for the opportunity to read “Sanctuary of Lies” in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is a solid 4.5 star novel. The novel started off strong and had it's hooks into me from the beginning. Everleigh the main character is written to perfection as the runaway victim of spousal abuse and domestic violence. As she's running for her life she ends up in small town Hawkethorpe with the clothes on her back, a few dollars in her pocket and a secret big enough to bury someone. I loved the small town setting for this darker themed why choose romance. It reminded me a little of Willow and Briar Valley.
The MMC'S are 2 adopted brothers (Sterling & Leo) and their best friend (Fletcher). They all have their own traumas that are slowly ripping them apart. They all seem to deal best by ignoring it and not dealing with it. When Everleigh appears in their lives they're forced to make hard decisions about themselves. The road to healing is paved in hell and agony, and it was very realistic and touching.
There are great secondary characters like Cassidy, Maverick and Piper and the villain is a total dick. I wish the story would have went a little more in depth with the back story regarding the villian and his escapades. When the cameo characters popped up I was so excited to see them.
All in all this was a great story, twisted and complex and very eloquently written. While this is a standalone in a connected world I look forward to reading the next half of this duet that will continue with Piper's story.
The MMC'S are 2 adopted brothers (Sterling & Leo) and their best friend (Fletcher). They all have their own traumas that are slowly ripping them apart. They all seem to deal best by ignoring it and not dealing with it. When Everleigh appears in their lives they're forced to make hard decisions about themselves. The road to healing is paved in hell and agony, and it was very realistic and touching.
There are great secondary characters like Cassidy, Maverick and Piper and the villain is a total dick. I wish the story would have went a little more in depth with the back story regarding the villian and his escapades. When the cameo characters popped up I was so excited to see them.
All in all this was a great story, twisted and complex and very eloquently written. While this is a standalone in a connected world I look forward to reading the next half of this duet that will continue with Piper's story.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book had a lot more intrigue & suspense than I expected (it's always fun when a book pleasantly surprises you!!) The book is pretty fast paced overall, although I felt it a bit slow in the middle... which is why I would rate it 4.5/5.
I really like the characters - in the small town setting where most of the book takes place, like Cassidy - who gave her a free cup of coffee, a job & became a friend/family, as well as the 4 main characters - Eden/Everleigh, Leo, Sterling & Fletcher.... they each are dealing with some past trauma/history that they struggle with & it's great to see them be better together & building each other up instead of tearing them down. You really feel for them with what they've been through/are going through.
I was really surprised with the unexpected twist of who her husband was/is... and the connection of her past & present... I enjoyed that!
This is part of the Hawkthorpe series, as an interconnected standalone. I look forward to the rest of the series! Book 2 - Ashes of Guilt will be Piper's story!!
The book is told in a multiple 1st person POV.
Spice level: 3.5/5
*romantic suspense
*why choose
*reverse harem
*she left an abusive ex
*Domestic Abuse survivor
*past trauma/healing
*found family
*small town in the UK
*he's a burn victim
*PTSD
*he's a widower
*adopted brothers
Thank you to the author (J Rose), publisher (Montlake) & Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
I really like the characters - in the small town setting where most of the book takes place, like Cassidy - who gave her a free cup of coffee, a job & became a friend/family, as well as the 4 main characters - Eden/Everleigh, Leo, Sterling & Fletcher.... they each are dealing with some past trauma/history that they struggle with & it's great to see them be better together & building each other up instead of tearing them down. You really feel for them with what they've been through/are going through.
I was really surprised with the unexpected twist of who her husband was/is... and the connection of her past & present... I enjoyed that!
This is part of the Hawkthorpe series, as an interconnected standalone. I look forward to the rest of the series! Book 2 - Ashes of Guilt will be Piper's story!!
The book is told in a multiple 1st person POV.
Spice level: 3.5/5
*romantic suspense
*why choose
*reverse harem
*she left an abusive ex
*Domestic Abuse survivor
*past trauma/healing
*found family
*small town in the UK
*he's a burn victim
*PTSD
*he's a widower
*adopted brothers
Thank you to the author (J Rose), publisher (Montlake) & Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
**ADVANCE LISTEN COPY**
This is a why choose, found family dark romance.
I really enjoyed this story and the background of trauma and starting over. She found a new family and that was amazing. I did listen to this with ALC, I do think this would have been better read without audio. It was a little hard to follow who was who with the narration. Overall the story was amazing.
I loved that no matter everything she had went through she still chose to be a protector to the entire town basically.
Everly married a monster, an abusive (physical and mental) husband. Until one day she learned how much of a monster he really was.
She ran as far as the little cash she had would carry her.
She meets the owner of a bar and takes her in and gives her a night to stay, that one night changed everything for her. She decided to take on a new identity and choose a new life.
She meets Leo- he’s the sweet one, she was immediately drawn to him in an instant.
Then came fletcher- he mute not by choice, military, ptsd. They were able to trauma bond together.
Lastly came sterling. He was the tough one to crack, a widower and never found who or what killed his wife. He was still mourning her.
My only things I personally could have seen to make this experience top level would have been full cast, duet narration. I also understand how that’s not always the options for every author. I’m glad I was able to have audio to be able to enjoy this book either way.
This is a why choose, found family dark romance.
I really enjoyed this story and the background of trauma and starting over. She found a new family and that was amazing. I did listen to this with ALC, I do think this would have been better read without audio. It was a little hard to follow who was who with the narration. Overall the story was amazing.
I loved that no matter everything she had went through she still chose to be a protector to the entire town basically.
Everly married a monster, an abusive (physical and mental) husband. Until one day she learned how much of a monster he really was.
She ran as far as the little cash she had would carry her.
She meets the owner of a bar and takes her in and gives her a night to stay, that one night changed everything for her. She decided to take on a new identity and choose a new life.
She meets Leo- he’s the sweet one, she was immediately drawn to him in an instant.
Then came fletcher- he mute not by choice, military, ptsd. They were able to trauma bond together.
Lastly came sterling. He was the tough one to crack, a widower and never found who or what killed his wife. He was still mourning her.
My only things I personally could have seen to make this experience top level would have been full cast, duet narration. I also understand how that’s not always the options for every author. I’m glad I was able to have audio to be able to enjoy this book either way.
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