I enjoyed this book and loved the main plot. The thread of found family with ghosts was a great twist. I will read more by this author.

The trick to enjoying Sanctuary, is expecting the right thing - and I guess I was lucky, because my expectations were spot-on. Sanctuary is the story of a bunch of misfits - both corporeal and slightly less-so - creating a safe space in a less-than-safe world.

The novel is character-driven, not plot-driven. There are many characters, and if you want to get deep into their heads without using your own imagination, you will be disappointed. Personally, I have discovered a little niche of books that explore a group of characters who exist in a similar setting, often a household situation-ship, and I enjoy it tremendously.

Sanctuary offers suggestion, not fully-formed answers. For example, we never learn exactly what Araminta experienced in her younger life, but we know enough to guess. I believe that when the reader is allowed to fill gaps in a character’s story, it allows the reader more opportunity to see parts of themselves in the character.

Frankly, a group of adults with ADHD and other diverse factors, making a home for themselves in a huge old house, would already attract me into reading it. I AM HERE FOR IT! The paranormal angle was fun, and I loved reading about the different ghosts, as well as their histories. That definitely held my attention, and I suspect Buchanan had great fun writing it.

There has been criticism about the plot being slow, or starting too late, but like I said, I did not see this as a plot-driven novel at all. I don’t know if that was intentional on the author’s side, but it is how I feel about the novel, and I’m sticking to it.

My biggest criticisms are:
The fight scene is confusing and messy, but not in a good way;
The final chapter is very preachy/didactic.

Oh, and Isobel’s interspersed narrative? I am so intrigued, and I want to read those insets again! I have no idea what it all means, but I’m happy to use my imagination.

I enjoyed this book!
It did take me some time to acclimate myself to the writer's style of writing and the way that the narrative was unfolding, but once I did that, I was engrossed by this tale. The story was an original one--I liked that when I was reading it, it didn't remind me of anything else that I'd read before. Ghost stories and tales of paranormal hauntings are a frequent mainstay of popular fiction, but this one was unique and told in an interesting way.
I also enjoyed the interpersonal relationships as they unfolded over the course of the narrative. The cast of characters was diverse, and representation was thoughtfully attended to. Each character felt like a fully formed, real person--with individual characteristics and personalities--and each was essential to the telling of the tale. As a reader, I appreciated this attention to detail.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I so so so wanted to love this. The synopsis was spot on and if I'm honest, absolutely up my street! Unfortunately for me, the delivery fell a little short. I felt that even though the characters were diverse and the author wanted to ensure the reader knows this, it was repeated consistently. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and so many descriptions and I found myself forgetting who was who.

The plot points felt underdeveloped for me and I'd have loved for elements of the book to have been expanded on. I felt that the plot was lost within the muddle of characters.

I feel that perhaps this book would benefit from an audiobook, narrated in a way that helps you identify each character, otherwise it could have done with a character cut in my opinion. Its a shame, but I found myself skim-reading a lot.

There were a few things that made me pick up this book. There was a strong Found Family, a cast of characters who all sit outside of mainstream society for a range of reasons, both visible and invisible, and have found a community together as a result. There was also the potential for a great mystery. However, I did struggle to connect with either the characters or the mystery and have DNFed. While the large cast was needed to for the context of the found family, it made it difficult for me to connect with any of the characters individually. I will say that this was my experience, and another reader that loves big complicated casts may fall head over heals for all off the quirky housemates, but this one was not for me.

We are definetly going to stock this book! Buchanan is an incredible writer and it's great that they love so close ❤

There really isn't much I can add to the voices in the reviews here, and I wholly agree with the sentiment.

I will add is that the content warnings are very helpfully at the start of the book when you open it, but not in the description here for readers to see before they click in and decide they'd like to read it. So I'm including them here:

From the author’s content note at the beginning: “Sanctuary includes physical violence and injury, suicide both completed and attempted, self harm, loss of a sibling, imprisonment (outside the state system), and magical control of a person. There is also discussion of emotional, physical, and ableist abuse of young people, including through therapeutic and educational systems. Several characters experience difficulties relating to ongoing illness including physical pain and anxiety. A scene in which a character’s creative work is destroyed is deeply linked to trauma. Some characters have had negative experiences with police and the medical system, and others fear these. This leads to avoidance of medical care, and discussion of possible negative outcomes. There is mention of racism and other oppressions, and briefly of slavery (in a historical context).”

And then literally the first words in the actual book are: “The ghost of Henrietta Casswell (died in childbirth,” …..which is exactly when I closed the book again.

Before I begin my review, I want to take a moment to talk about this cover: it is gorgeous! I'm in love. Seriously, if there was a print available for this beauty, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Moving on, Sanctuary is the latest novel by Andi C. Buchanan, though it is the first book I've read by them.

We've heard of foster homes for imaginary friends, but what about a sanctuary for ghosts? That is what Morgan's home has become. However, Morgan is not the only...living occupant within this home. In total, there are four of them. Each has reason to feel like they don't quite fit in with society.

Perhaps this is why they opened their hearts and home to the lingering and lost spirits. After all, what is the point of finding a sanctuary if you aren't willing to share it with others in need? However, one day a shipment will change this perfect balance.

Sanctuary was such a delightful change of pace – and that's coming from someone who's read a fair amount of ghostly novels as of late. Sanctuary has something so unique that it's hard to put my finger on it.

If you love novels full to the brim of characters and personality, then the odds are good that you'll love Sanctuary. This book has so much of both. There are at least a dozen notable characters (most likely more – I didn't take the time to count). Not everyone likes that many characters, so it feels relevant to mention it earlier in my review.

I wouldn't have minded more time to get to know the characters. I know that this wouldn't have been possible for all of them (not without it turning into a multi-novel series), but at least three or four of them. By the end of the book, I knew a lot of them only a little bit. Which, for this novel, is perfectly fine. I just feel like it could have been more.

I absolutely adore that this book is primarily made up of LGBT+ and neurodivergent characters. It made their home feel like, well, a home and a sanctuary. It also helped make the novel feel that was as well – make it feel like a sanctuary.

This was so good! I'd describe it as 'quiet fantasy' not because nothing happens but because it feels warm and relaxed. Although it covers a lot of difficult topics and complex feelings, the author does a fantastic job of focusing on a central found family and their desires to understand each other and find their own happiness as well as protect ghosts. Although there is a 'villain' it's not a super-intense chase kind of plot and it certainly felt different to so many fantasy and paranormal novels I've read. It was such a nice change of pace and I really liked how every character made mistakes or doubted themselves/had flaws.

3 Stars

This is the story of a group of people who for a variety of reasons are excluded by society at large and have found a sanctuary in an old mansion filled with ghosts. When someone drops off a bunch of bottles, each with a ghost inside, the delicate balance of their lives is disrupted and they have to come together and fight for their safe place.

This book didn’t exactly hit the mark for me. I loved that pretty much every character was neurodivergent and that there was a ton of diversity, disability rep, LGBTQ+ rep, etc. but we spent so much time learning about each of the characters that the actual plot was underdeveloped. The plot was also full of plot holes and the end was incredibly confusing.

Also, the ghosts didn’t feel like ghosts, they just felt like more characters who couldn’t talk and wandered through walls occasionally. I can appreciate that the author wanted to explore the idea of consent and what it means to treat people with respect and dignity even when they can’t advocate for themselves, but I don’t think the plot of having a nefarious ghost makes sense if this is the idea that you want to explore.

Overall I think if you are feeling desperate for good representation of marginalized groups and don’t mind if the plot is a little bit non-sensical than this might work for you.

(A vlog discussing this book will be going up soon on my YouTube channel, Bright and Bookishs, check back here for the link).

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book drew me in for several reasons, an amazing cover that just pops, hearing it heavily focused on queer characters, neurodivergent characters, disabled characters and of course plenty of supernatural circumstances had me wanting to pick it up in an instant. I love how much the author focused on making this book such a safe place for queer and neurodivergent people, representation is so important and there is honestly not enough of it in more mainstream published books. However, I did feel for much of it she made the characters who personalities just about those specific parts of their personalities and didn’t develop the characters as well as they could have, this may just be an annoyance of mine though, it may not bother others. I really liked the take on ghosts in this story, a great little way to make them unique to this authors interpretation. I won’t say more about them as I don’t want to spoil it but it was well done.

I felt the book had such amazing potential, but it fell a little short in terms of a plot that flowed well, and the interactions between the various characters. I found all the characters quite likeable, but the lack of any real growth for any of them meant the story felt a little flat. It’s like I was getting more snippets of a story as opposed to a fully fleshed out tale. All in all I enjoyed it well enough but it’s probably not one I would pick up again unless I knew it had gone through a revision and had a bit more chunk added to the story to flesh it out a bit more. 2 ½ stars bumped up to 3 for Goodreads. I was gifted a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley.

George’s home is a haunted mansion in need of repairs but they find it a safe haven to live in. They have become a family including the ghosts who live there. In a world that wasn’t built for them, they have a home. Their special abilities separate them from the “normal” world. They welcome anyone who needs a sanctuary. However, they suddenly have a man who have lived years collecting ghost who has taken over the house. Is it still a sanctuary?

The author has written a novel that reminds me of how quickly people are afraid of something different than what is consider the norm. I liked the story but at times found it lacking something. I can’t honestly say what but that is the reason I am giving it three stars. Is a good story.

I was pulled into the hallways of Casswell Mansion with the promise of a fantastic story: a neuro-divergent found-family comprised of those both living and deceased. While I did get to know some beautifully unique characters, the overall plot, unfortunately, fell a bit flat towards the end.

But first, the things that I liked! I'm not sure if it was intentional on the author's part, but I appreciated how slowly we got to know the characters - methodically unpacking their various personalities and traits. Neuro-divergent or not, I feel like people have the habit of putting characters in a box based on whatever unique attribute they might display at the beginning of a book. So it was refreshing to get to know them more organically.

Another thing I enjoyed a lot was the parallels and comparisons made between neurodivergency, queerness, race, and ghosts. Morgan, our main character, makes several comments about how ghosts, while on a different plane of existence, are still people and should be treated with the same care and respect as anyone else. The book's overarching theme is that our differences, even those less corporeal, shouldn't give license to being treated differently or unfairly.

As amazing as it was to get to know the characters, the book's actual plot is where it seemed to be lacking. While slow, I'd say the first 60-ish% of the book was enjoyable because it was so heavily character-driven, but once we started to get to the more plot-driven aspects, it took a bit of a nosedive. What was supposed to be the most climactic and exciting scene in the book felt disjointed. The only way I can describe it is that instead of sitting to watch a movie yourself, it feels more like someone else is watching a movie in the next room with the door cracked, and you only get bits and pieces of what's going on. Furthermore, there are breaks in the writing and fragmented sentences that don't at all fit what's happening in the story. I don't know if that was a stylistic choice on the author's part, but the narrative loses a lot of fluidity and gets muddled and confusing.

Overall, I think the story's premise was fascinating and had a lot of potential, but the actual execution was lacking for me.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars rounded up to 3!

Thank you, NetGalley and Robot Dinosaur Press, for the ARC!

Link to Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4637400514

This is one of those books that could have been so much better if it was slightly different. I want to give this a 3.5 rating and say that it was an okay book, but looking back on it, I don't have many strong positive emotions about this book.

I am always on the hunt for books involving an inn that takes care of the dead, but this didn't really go there for me, and that is probably the biggest reason why this book sits solidly in my 'meh' rating.

Let's get into the details.


WRITING:

One thing I would like to mention first is that before it goes into the actual story, there is a content warning page, which earns some brownie points in my books. It is something that I think all books should have as a form of good practice.

Moving on, the writing was overall okay but not the greatest in terms of the format. There were some pretty chunky paragraphs with no spaces between them which made it seem denser. Increasing the font made it easier to read but if you read with the standard font it might be more difficult for you. Text messages were also included in the text, but it was done so in a bit of an odd-looking way.

There were some grammar mistakes like a sentence missing a period and a random one added somewhere else, but that could end up being fixed for the final copy.

The last thing I would like to talk about is the timeline and perspectives. While this is mostly set in the present time following the same main character, but, there are certain chapters now and then set in the past from a different character's perspective. It is a perspective that I don't think was needed as it didn't add much to the narrative.


PLOT:

I don't think, after the initial set-up was complete and the plot started to kick in, the story was all that interesting. It was just nothing particularly new or spectacular, which made the book overall just mediocre.

A big downfall for me as well was the lapse of logic on the parts of the characters. They made some mistakes and didn't think much of it until everything started to fall apart around them. If they had sat down for a second and thought things through a bit, they would have been able to rectify things much quicker.

As I said in the introduction, there were elements in this story that could have been interesting if they were done differently. For example, the house is occupied by ghosts from all kinds of time periods, and it would have made for a really interesting story if you were able to learn about the past through the ghosts. Unfortunately, ghosts in this world don't retain knowledge after they die, which was a huge missed opportunity for me.

Another huge missed opportunity in this was the use of paranormal abilities. You learn very early on that the main character, Morgan, has the ability to sense things. I don't know how to explain it clearly, but the closest thing I can compare it to would be clairvoyance. This could have made for a very interesting aspect of the story, but it wasn't really implemented into the story, at all. Morgan keeps referring to the ability but doesn't actually use it which was a waste.


CHARACTERS:

While I didn't particularly care about any of the characters but if there is anything this book did well, it was the inclusion of diverse characters. The cast of characters is comprised of people who are neurodivergent, disabled and LGBTQ. I don't think I have read a book with that much representation in it, though I cannot comment on how good said representation is when it came to the neurodivergent and disabled aspects.

Moving on though, as I said, I didn't really care for any of the characters. Morgan, the main character, felt more like a one-dimensional narrator than an actual character most of the time. The rest of the characters also simply just fell flat for me.


CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:

This was not the 'inn for the dead' book that I wanted this to be. It sounded promising initially but the story was just not something I cared about. If you were looking for the same thing I was, I would suggest you try out Hotel Del Luna, which is a Korean drama.

This is an insightful and emotional novel, unlike almost anything else I have read. It’s a haunted house story, sure, but that’s incidental, in some ways. Because it is actually a story about family—more specifically, it’s a story about queer, neurodivergent, found family, and that story is about which ghosts you escape, which you conquer, and which you invite in.

The range of characters in this novel is broader and more diverse than most novels, but it never feels performative. I have been part of queer friend groups and communities that mirror the one at the heart of this story, communities which have an entire spectrum of gender identities and presentations, sexualities, ages, races, physical dis/ability, and neuro-normativity/divergency. Sure, I haven’t been in a group of ten such folks living full-time together in a pseudo-commune, but I have been close enough. This family felt real. it felt complicated, and damaged, and optimistic, and most of all genuine. It never felt like diversity just for the sake of it.

What is most compelling to me, and this is what may make-or-break you on the story, and it was something I didn’t quite sync up with myself until I was about halfway through, is that the plot of this story is somewhat secondary. There is a plot, there. Action, reaction/conflict, resolution, congratulations. But as far as conventional plotting goes, the pacing is a little off, and if you are approaching this with a prioritization of conventional plotting you will probably want the first half to be condensed by about two-thirds, and you might say the climactic scenes actually seemed to last pages longer than they needed to. If conventional literary plotting is all you care about, sure, say what you want. Because this novel is actually giving you an experience. The entire novel is told from a single point-of-view, and it is a look into the life and mind of a neurodivergent person in a way that I haven’t seen in print before. The competing mental and emotional processes that race before and behind every decision, the unruly impulses of stimming and isolation, reading this novel is an experience. It isn’t just moving from point A to point B, but it is offering a portrait of a life from the inside out. A life that is still regularly dismissed by normative society, one that exists in overlapping marginalized identities and yet still finds empathy and kindness as their guiding principals instead of anger or resentment.

In the end, I really, really enjoyed this novel. The plot moved along and around the inner experiences of the primary character, which forced me to experience the narrative in a way outside of how I normally experience narrative. On top of that it had a diverse and inclusive cast, one that was proudly other, refusing to let normative society dictate the conditions of their happiness, and it has a novel and interesting take on ghosts, and ghost-human relationships/responsibilities, one that is different than I have seen before.

I will say that from a conventional literary point of view there are places to nitpick the novel. The plotting seems out of balance, and sometimes it seems like there are too many characters, an information overload. Plus, the way the major conflict emerges and is dealt with seems almost rushed, an afterthought. So, if you find yourself bound by normative presuppositions of how speculative fiction should “work,” and your enjoyment of a novel hinges on that kind of normative/expected literary experience, then parts of this novel may fall flat for you. That’s okay, it takes all kinds. But if you are interested in the idea of experience-as-narrative, and you’re interested in what it may be like to see the world through the eyes of a neurodivergent queer person who happens to not only be able to see ghosts but also lives in a house that serves as a sanctuary for ghosts, a sanctuary for those most forgotten and most discarded, then you will find a world of riches in this novel.

I want to thank NetGalley and Robot Dinosaur Press, who provided a complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I can't say anything that doesnt appear to have already been said. I was so excited when I read the premise of this book, it sounded like it had everything that I adore. However, it fell apart during the execution.

A lot of the representation felt forced and was not allowed to be revealed naturally, the opposite of show not tell. It was very slow and honestly, I struggled to even finish it.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

First, the positives. I was astounded at how much diversity there was in this book. There was plenty of representation for characters of color, characters who were neurodivergent, characters with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ characters. I loved the setting of the dilapidated haunted house inhabited by a found family working hard to renovate it and take care of themselves and the ghosts, and the care they all had for each other and their respect for each other's differences. The author had an interesting take on ghosts and hauntings and explored the concept of ghosts in a way I haven't seen before; namely, the question of how to best treat ghosts humanely since they're sentient but far enough removed from the living that it can be difficult to communicate with or interact with them.

Unfortunately, there were too many aspects of this book that detracted from the story. One of my main issues was that the characters could get preachy with messages that are valid and should be addressed in real life but were out of place in the way the characters talked about them in the story. A good example is when Keira and her brother are caught inside the house and Vinnie (I think it was Vinnie) goes on a tangent about why they won't be calling the police because of systematic injustices in the police system. Fair--but that whole explanation seems to be more for the reader's benefit and not something anyone would actually take the time to explain in the moment to someone they were upset at for breaking into their house. There are other similar situations where characters explain their takes on social justice issues more for the benefit of the reader than for each other. In the way they're presented, they pulled me out of the story.

There are some other details in the story that could have been eliminated in order to tighten it up. A couple of the living characters have supernatural abilities like telekinesis, which is barely addressed. It does come up a little more towards the end to help the protagonists, but for the most part feels out of place. Also, the fact that (SPOILER) Morgan is related to the ghost eater doesn't end up to be all that relevant to the story and is another distracting, odd detail that could have been left out.

There are also some continuity errors that could be easily fixed (and might be when the final version of the book is released), like when the family decides to meet with one of the ghost hunters and it's mentioned specifically that Saeed isn't there, only to have him chime in in the conversation just two pages later. There are also odd skips in time where Morgan is one place doing one thing, and then is suddenly in another place doing something else, without a transition.

This book had a great premise, some cool ideas and a diverse cast and I was ready to enjoy this book, but the execution was lacking and I couldn’t justify giving it more than 2 stars in the end.

I did not like this book. Most of it felt like the author was trying to put in representation that they did;t understand so they could be a good person. People can tell when representation is forced. Additionally, I don't think the author has any grasp on the lower class because all of the characters seemed to spend their money on frivolous things when cheaper options are available. The wifi lights for example. Everyone was annoying and the constant need for the author to make themselves out to be some moral person by shoving morals and ethics into every character was extremely stupid. Safe to say, I will not be reading anything else by the author.

2.5/5

This book had everything that should make me like it, a spooky old house and main character with supernatural powers? Sold, right? Sadly, the tropes fell super flat for me. The most interesting parts of the novel weren't explored enough.
All of the human house inhabitants are autistic along with some other neuro-divergent social anxieties - which is all fine, that was one of the things I most enjoyed about the main character (Morgan, her name is only said maybe only about three times, so I often forgot who I was reading out).
Anyway, with all the intricacies of each character, I still was never sure who I was reading about and why. How did this found family find one another? Are they only friends because they understand one another, would they be friends if they weren't in the circumstances they were? There was very little depth to their actual relationships with one another outside of them not being neuro-typical which is reminded to the reader numerous times but never shown to us.

There is absolutely no chemistry between Morgan and Araminta and up until the last few chapters you never realize that Saeed is Morgan's best friend, what? They barely interact! And when they do they seem to despise each other. All the relationships, and most of the characters, are extremely cardboard.

There isn't a whole lot of dialogue within the book (I get it, they don't like to talk to each other much) so many of the chapters is the main character thinking about things that don't really matter, theories about other people's feelings or past, their day-to-day lives which are usually repeat tellings of them doing laundry, spending time alone and the main character generally feeling nauseous all the time and telling us about it.

There was some spooky ghost stuff but the action happened so far apart from each other that I lost interest again quickly. It felt that that whole book had ADHD and didn't know where it was going which I appreciated in the beginning, thinking it was written with Morgan's train of thought but it couldn't keep me following, it was too disjointed (ah get it, Saeed?)
It was also riddled with typos and grammar issues, it could still use quite a bit of editing. The sentence flow was odd which again, I thought was intentional but it didn't hit the mark for me.

If found family is your favorite trope, this book is for you. A diverse group of queer and neurodivergent friends have turned a rundown English estate into their home and a sanctuary for ghosts. One day a man drops off several bottles that he says are filled with ghosts, and suddenly Morgan and their friends are plunged into a magical plot started in the 1700s that puts their entire found family and all of the ghosts residing in Casswell Park in great danger. This was a quick read that was very cozy. With the weather here in Chicago still a bit chilly and snowy, I really enjoyed reading this with a cup of tea under a warm blanket, and I can see it becoming a Fall Favorite for many people. My only wish for this book was that the reader was given a little more introduction to the cast of characters living in the house. I would have happily ready another 50 pages of getting to know everyone, their backstory, and how they ended up in Casswell Park. As it is now, it took until about ⅔ through the book to feel I knew who everyone was and had a grasp of their character. For example, some of these characters had supernatural powers - such as telekenisis - but it was never fully explored outside of Morgan’s own abilities to the point where I often forgot about them. While that may be the book's main weakness, I think the cast of characters is also its strength. I loved hearing about their daily life of fixing up the house, their running group chat, and their life of caring for the ghosts they’ve found within their care. I would love to see a sequel with these characters, now that I have a firm grasp on them, and see them solve more mysteries together! I give Sanctuary by Andi C. Buchanan 3.5/5 stars