3.25⭐️ Romantasy. I think my expectations of this book were different than what it actually was so once I realized that I enjoyed it more. You have to view it as a standalone Romance in a Fantasy world. This will be part of a series I heard but this book is the conclusion of Harrow and Raith’s story and the next one will focus on one of the other characters we met in this book, much like romance series. Now that we have gone over that I did enjoy the message of the love story of learning to embrace the dark and light in people, accept their flaws, forgive, and just love them for who they are without judgement. Finding your soulmate in the least likely of places is always a journey I enjoy reading.
Sorry for the longer review but I felt that other reviews expressed concerns about how it was presented versus how it read and explaining it this way helped me enjoy the read more than when I first dove in.

Thank you NetGalley, Red Tower Books , and Entangled Publishing for the eARC of Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Entangled for my ARC!

I enjoyed reading Aurora's debut novel - I would like to see more of this series. That said, I think that there is room for more character development during the story as well as world building. The spice was very nice but came on a little early in their relationship for me.

Salizar's is a traveling circus of oddities, a place for humans to experience a world in which there are those with mystical abilities. Harrow is special in more ways than one - able to hide her true identity living amongst others who are in a similar situation. Able to find friendship among those in the circus gives her peace, until a new threat arrives... or is he?

Cloaked in pure darkness, a monster in the flesh. Talons on his fingertips and eyes as black as his skin, he rages against those who have imprisoned him. Unaware of the danger to her the new male draws Harrow in. There's something about him that calls to her. She is desperate to protect him despite his pleas to leave him to his misery. He has no memory of who or what he is but he feels a connection too.

A love story that has a circular journey for both of them to travel. Unconditional love will overcome all obstacles.

I want to first thank Entangled Publishing, Red Tower Books, and the author for the e-arc I received via NetGalley.

I was extremely grateful to receive this ARC and have the opportunity to participate in the Entangled read-a-long. Ultimately though this book did not hold my interest and left a lot to be desired, resulting in myself DNF'ing the book around 42%.

*Potential spoilers in the following review*

Like others have mentioned, I had very high hopes for this book and was let down.

When I finished chapter one, I was thoroughly confused. It was a very rough intro into the story and the POV jumps were harsh with no warning/transition. (I am a reader who loves multiple POVs... When done right, with proper transitions. Because when it isn't done right, it results in a ton of back reading to figure out who we are seeing now.) As I got into chapter 2&3 I had the feeling that Chapter 1 may have been better suited as a prologue of sorts.

I should have known after chapter 1 though that I would be DNF'ing, but I had high hopes and pushed on.

1- the circus lasts no more than 20% of the book as a whole. Given the cover and the blurb, I would have expected it be a larger portion. You also don't really see the circus. You pretty much get told "the setting is a circus, this is where we are," rather than getting any type of world building with it. (Which is a shame, because that could have been AMAZING). This also brings me to the fact that the world building was severely lacking in general.

2- the absolute insta-love. Zero build up. No character development leading them to their relationship. Nothing.

3- Harrow is 60. She's been with the circus for 50 years. I know that the elementals/hybrids age differently, but she is written like a 15 year old teenager. Not someone who has any type of life experience (as we are supposed to believe)

3- Like others have also said, there is a noticeable increase in the attention to detail during the "spice" scenes. I wouldn't go as far as to say the writing improved here, just that there was more attention to detail. Honestly, these scenes made me cringe, for more than one reason.
A)- The terms used felt so awkward. Their thoughts during the "deed" were also extremely awkward. I have no other way to explain it
B)- I have concerns with the fact that Harrow initiated things with Raith the way she did. Raith... who has no idea of who he was... No idea of anything... You know, complete memory loss... And Harrow initiated "spicy" time with him. I know she stopped once he froze when she pretty much put "things" where they go and let him decide whether or not to go forward... And he does decide to go forward. But the issue of consent there just does not feel right to me, at all. He has ZERO memory up until a month ago

I just couldn't get past the lack of world building, lack of character development, and the jarring transitions. Not only did I dnf the book, but I also cancelled my pre-order for the hardcover with the edges. (And I love beautiful books, so that was not a decision made lightly)

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for sending me an ARC copy of the book.
This book was not what I expected. It’s a strange mix of magic, fates, magical creatures all together.
Harrow is a water seer, the last one of her kind who had to witness the murder of her kind.
Raith wakes up one day with no memory of who he was before, and not knowing what he is either.
Those two are connected somehow. Fate has a way for bringing people together.
This book is definitely a romantasy, lots of magic and steamy romance. The secondary characters play a part just as important at the main ones. I did not see this end coming… It’s just the beautiful story of two magical beings.

This adventure had me on the edge of my seat.
I was initially drawn into this plot by the circus premise but there’s so much more happening in this story that make it’s incredibly addictive. I love the POV switch; although there were times when it was a little confusing to follow, but I still got the full effect of it. I really would’ve loved to have learned more about the Queens and their pasts. I was really intrigued with what happened there. I also really loved the main relationship even though it had a slightly rushed feeling to it, and those spicy scenes were really nice, very well written.


This was a quick read and it was a very enjoyable romance

I really wanted to love this book, and had a copy preordered. However, I found the writing style to be underdeveloped, blunt, and repetitive. The chapters were long and it took a lot of words to do little in the plot. I dove into this with high expectations after loving Fourth Wing, and was incredibly disappointed.

I lost a lot of interest in the story after the first chapter. It had a weak opening that didn’t jumpstart the story in any way. Nothing about this story really sucked me in and made me want to keep reading. Even at 25% of the way through the book I had no idea what the point of this book could be or the main characters motivation.

I think what’s mainly lacking for me is a compelling plot on top of the romance. It was essentially “insta love”. I personally pick up romantasy because I enjoy a high stakes world with romance, not a romance in a fantasy setting. Even for a romance, there was no tension or build up at all. I left not caring about them or their relationship in the slightest.

The speed at which the main characters fall in love was also too much for me. The FMC decides to drop everything for this man/creature after 1 week together. I also found it slightly weird that she was focusing on sleeping with him when he has no memory of who he is. That amnesia gives Raith this childlike feeling…which just made the sexual parts feel icky and non consensual.

Its totally okay to have a romance with a fantasy setting, or book with no real plot other than sexual scenes. However, the marketing needs to reflect that.

Sadly, I could not continue and push through this book. It felt all over the place and felt very disconnected. The characters did not come across as real and genuine, many scenes were giving me the worst cringe ever experienced, the writing was dismal and embarrassing at times, the world building was severely lacking and dull, and the plot was.....left out entirely?? I'm still wondering if this was written by a elementary school age child. The scenes jumped awkwardly from one to the next and the overall book just didn't flow. I was looking forward to this based on the premise, but it just didn't deliver what it promised. I ended up DNFing about 70% in. Unfortunately this book was not for me.

Oh my god this book was so captivatingly amazing! It took me a couple of chapters to really get into it but once I dove into the deep end of the story I was enthralled with the story unfolding before me. I love the character development of Raith and his discovery of who he is as a person and his romance with Harrow was so adorable that I had a smile on my face the whole time I read it. I love that it has a happily ever after ending and I love that this book deals with heavy themes with thoughts of suicide and death, but it also shows how love can help you get through the darkness. This book was such a good and quick read that I had a hard time putting it down. Plus who doesn’t love a circus with a bit of real magic.

Yall. This book. THIS BOOK. It was steamy and spicy while still being so plot driven that it had me gripped from page one all the way to the end. The characters were so well developed that I cared about them when I first met them. This book had such great vibes. I wish there was a bit more emphasis on the “circus” that was promised, but I didn’t think it needed it. Just misplaced marketing, I’d say. I cannot wait to purchase a finished copy!

Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my! Okay. So there aren't any lions, tigers, or bears. But my oh my. There is definitely some heat in Aurora Ascher’s Sanctuary of the Shadow. Okay. A lot of heat.

Aurora is a new to me author, and I had no idea what to expect. I was surprised by so much with this story. At the top of the list was how much I loved it.

Sanctuary of the Shadow is a New Adult Fantasy Romance and the first book in the Elemental Emergence series from Entangled Publishing Red Tower Books. This is a forbidden romance, featuring Harrow, the only remaining Seer, and Raith, an incorporeal who’s stuck in his corporeal form and has no memory of who or what he is or his past. The two have this unexplainable connection that draws them to each other. However, their past, immortal queens, and those who do their bidding stand in the way of Harrow and Raith being together. They must decide just who and what to believe while fighting against those who try to control them. The secondary characters of Malaikah, Salizar, Ouro, Darya, Furie, and The Oracle add humor and intrigue to the story.

As I mentioned, Sanctuary of the Shadow surprised me. From my love of the characters to the unexpected passion between Harrow and Raith, to the connections among the characters, to the ending I just couldn’t ask for more. I will be, hopefully, patiently waiting for the next book in the series.

~ Favorite Quote ~

“A promise given is a promise kept.”

Thank you to Red Tower Books for the free advanced reader copy, I had my physical book on pre-order since it was announced because I am a sucker for sprayed edges.

I wanted to love this book so much, but it was only mediocre for me. The world building is spotty, but the premise sounds really interesting. I wasn't loving Harrow and Raith together, although they were interesting at the beginning. Harrow isn't some twenty year old, she's got some gravitas (mental age might be a little different), but she makes some very odd decisions for someone of her supposed age. Raith is both brand new and yet not, and doesn't have all of his memories, which makes his actions difficult to understand as well.

What I did enjoy were a bunch of the side characters, some of the conversations, the magical system, and the descriptions of the world.

The overall vibes of the book weren't really my thing, but it's alright.

The book is absolutely gorgeous and looks fantastic on my shelf.

3 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This one wasn’t a winner for me, though it has so much potential so perhaps a sequel could improve?
The world and concept are really intriguing, I haven’t read a fantasy before with circus type elements. But other than this the writing and plot development didn’t live up to their promise. Pacing was off, and everything was just underdeveloped such that I couldn’t really grab onto anything and care much about the characters.

As a bit different reading material from what I normally read, I enjoyed reading this book. I started slowly, as a part of a read-along and I liked the pacing, writing style, and the magic...well everything. I did predict one of the things connected to the characters and that even gave me the will to read further to see what will happen next until the last page.

Sanctuary of the Shadow, just like the rest of Red Tower Books, took my breath away. I went into the story completely blind and was not disappointed. The characters are brilliant, and the story is full of unexpected twists.

What I loved:
-Multi POV (not just dual)
-The main relationship (CAN WE SALUTE THIS AUTHOR FOR NOT DOING MISCOMMUNICATION TROPE FOR THE WHOLE BOOK?)
-The MC: she actually thinks outside of just herself, and does whatever she can for the one she loves
-Her bestie: I LOVE THE FEMALE BEST FRIEND. She is so fun and honestly the instant a certain spider character popped up I was hoping that these two would have a sort of romance (REALLY CANT WAIT FOE NEXT
BOOK)
-Obviously Raith
-The world: maybe it’s because I’m still somewhat new to fantasy but I haven’t read about a world like this before and love the concept of all the powers and everything

Unfortunately, I had to DNF, I didn't enjoy the writing style, and the instant love without any in-depth knowledge of the characters. I was so excited when I received an Arc but unfortunately wasn't for me.

Really enjoyed this. Love the cover (ordered a sprayed edges copy for myself and for a tiktok giveaway).
The main characters, the overall vibes, and the spice. I liked the female friendships and I would LOVE to see more of the circus aspects in the next books. Will definitely be continuing the series. Thank you so much for the ARC!

World building and Character development need I say more...

This was talked to be a fantasy trifecta read (world, character, spicy) but it fell flat. I am sorry to say this was not the epic or even just a fun fantasy read that I was hoping it to be. The start is very slow, and then with a flip of a switch the story is rushed. I need to either have amazing world building or character development/ growth for me to stay with a story. Harrow and Raith's relationship felt more teenager than not and it's not my jam anymore.

Unfortunately this book fell extremely flat for me. This was on my 2024 TBR and had preordered- after finishing, I went ahead and cancelled due to lack of interest in the finalized copy.

The premise of the book is so promising- a dark carnival, a magic system set up with elemental magical forces, a mysterious MMC that the FMC is drawn to. However.. the book is extremely shallow. Everything is very surface level. The writing itself is very stilted and very juvenile- expect for the spice scenes. As a result the book is very incohesive in terms of the writing caliber. The plot takes place within a week to a week and a half- this includes an escape heist, falling in love, and a third act break-up. As a result, everything is very insta-love and insta-lust and you don’t form any attachment to any characters. There are queens, century long feuds, hybrids, territories, and elemental magic plot points thrown at you but yet nothing is actually fully fleshed out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled for providing me with an eARC of this book.

I really liked the first half of this book and the character development. The world building was also really good however the 2nd half of this book felt extremely rushed to me and didn’t do the story or characters justice. I will read the next book if this series though as I was engaged by the story

Thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

The overall story arc is endearing and likeable. However, I found myself wanting MORE - more details, more character development, more world building. I think this book could have been a five star read if there was just MORE of everything I mentioned. I would have loved for the author to explore the main characters (Raith & Harrow) more than what was provided, because I feel like I still don't really know them?