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⚜️ Book Title - Sanctuary of the Shadow
⚜️ Author - Aurora Ascher
⚜️ Rating - ⭐️⭐️
⚜️ Some Genre/Themes/Tropes: Adult Fiction, Romance and Fantasy

I received an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This is my honest review.

Now I’m a big Red Tower book fan. So far the lineup has been fantastic. This one didn’t hit the mark though.

So, I thought this was going to be more of a circus setting as it’s on the cover and appears to be marketed that way… the circus part was over in less than a quarter of the book… So that has left me a little confused on the marketing and cover choice.

The events throughout the book were quite choppy too. Meaning some were fleshed out and some brushed over. The details were in the smut and not much on the everything else. This leads into the next part, the relationship. It is definitely a fast burn and not a slow burn. I’m a slow burn gal for sure. I felt there wasn’t much development before the two main characters fell into bed together. I just wasn’t that connected to them.

On a positive note, it is a great concept and was what kept me reading.

I’m on the fence if I will continue. At this stage, I wouldn’t recommend this book to others.

I want to say thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Note (How I rate): One is DNF. Two is got there but struggled. Three stars is a good, enjoyable read. Four is an excellent read and five is a comfort read that lingers with me for life (very difficult to get but not impossible).

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled for giving me the opportunity to express my honest opinion on Sanctuary of The Shadow.
I loved that this story was not like anything else that I've read. It wasn't a super predictable read either, which is great. I would have loved to see more depth In the main characters. I favored the side characters. In all it was a fun read with room for improvement.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was about a 3 🌟 story for me.

I was very intrigued by the premise, and this one set itself on the map!
Off the bat jumping into the story, I was intrigued by the characters, the premise and the world. I felt as though the pacing of the novel was steady, except for the smut scenes, which seemed to happen earlier than expected and all at the same time. We did get some additional scenes later on in the novel, in a more truncated format.

I really enjoyed the characters in this one - Harrow, a strong & headstrong, but warm hearted and perceptive water elemental and Raith, our mysterious fire elemental. I love a novel with a strong FMC and a more mysterious MMC. We learned about Harrow early on in the novel, her abilities & the way she’s tied to her element, and discovered more about Raith as we went along. I enjoyed their dynamic and the care they had for each other, though I felt as though their relationship became intense very quickly - which it made it hard to understand and to relate to.

For an adult novel & besides the smut scenes, this read more like a YA novel. It felt simplistic and some conflicts were solved easily without relatable trials and tribulations that couples and MCs would usually go through. That said, this book did have conflict and some (fairly predicable) twists, they were just easily dealt with, and so many of those parts felt rushed. I’m not sure I fully enjoyed the writing in this particular novel, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t give another of Aurora Ascher’s book another try. In fact, I think the idea and the beginning of this novel were very compelling, I would’ve just loved to see a more complex, nuanced and fleshed our remainder of our story. Because of this, I also didn’t feel like we got a full view of the world here, and felt the world building was lacking and only giving us the tidbits we needed to know vs the information I need as a reader for the full immersion into the story.

I did enjoy reading this one and as it felt written as a YA novel, it was also a quick read & the smut was fun!

Sanctuary of the Shadow takes place in a world of warring queens, each with a different element affinity. Harrow is a Seer, a water elemental, but has lived the majority of her life hiding her true nature. She starts to have dreams that something big is going to happen, but she would never guess the turn her life's about to take. Her feelings lead her to a male who is imprisoned at the circus, where she works, and she just knows her dreams have been leading her to him. Their story unfolds with more twists, turns and characters then you could ever imagine! Will the past determine who they become, or will they follow their hearts and intuition to a new future?
The book is an easy read and is told from multiple points of view. I appreciated getting the insight from different characters and that the timeline didn't halt while it was happening. The story moves fast and has you wanting to know what happens next. There's a little bit of spice and a whole lot of supernatural drama. Not sure what the future holds but this book ends without a cliffhanger, just some hints at future storylines to come.

This was a pretty great read!

The characters were likeable, the story was great. I do wish there was more about the circus as the synopsis did leave me to believe, but it was hardly touched on. I’m excited to now follow Mal’s story as I feel there is so much more. I do hope to see Harrow and Raith again.

Thank you to @netgalley and @entangled_publishing for an DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled really hard on this book especially as it was one I was looking forward to. Joining a read along made me excited and I finished it because of participating with others.

The world building is clunky and I did not feel anything for the characters, unfortunately. The character building wasn’t really there for me at all. It was a simplified story with insta-love/fated mates but how the world and magic worked really confused me. Unfortunately insta-love usually doesn’t work for me, unless there is good reason. It took the majority of the book for me to even understand hybrids were also elementals. There was a little spice and it was good that it didn’t take over the whole book, I did appreciate that.

Title: Sanctuary of the Shadow
Author: Aurora Ascher
Release date: 1/9/2024
Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really enjoyed reading this book. The book is set in a world where elemental magic reigns. The book has different Gods of power in water, fire, air etc which I thought was interesting. There are hybrid species that have animal characteristics as well as humans in the story. The book doesn't focus on the world building too much and mostly on MCs, Raith and Harrow. I like the *forbidden romance* of the story between the two and the chemistry and connection they have. The spice was there and didn't feel like it took over the story, just added to the layers of their relationship.
The story also has really interesting side characters in Salizar and Malaikah, and it seems we may get more books set in this world with different character povs.
I do like the entire wrapup of this story, fast paced from the beginning, and not leaving a giant cliffhanger! A great new adult fantasy read!!

Thank you to @entangled_publishing and @netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for a review.

Thank you so much to Brittany at Entangled for sending me the pre-approved widget for Sanctuary of the Shadow's e-arc! I got to join in on the Entangled Insider's Read Along of Sanctuary of the Shadow as well. This review is based off the early digital copy sent to me by Entangled and is fully my own thoughts and opinions!

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Sanctuary of the Shadow is the latest fantasy from Red Tower, with a focus on learning to be yourself, learning to trust yourself, and learning to grow from your mistakes. It's a story of a survivors and second chances.

I'm going to preface this review with a "this book just wasn't it for me, but it might be it for you!"

OVERALL RATING: 3/5🌟
PLOT: 3/5 🌟
WRITING: 2/5 🌟
CHARACTERS: 4/5 🌟
ENJOYMENT: 4/10

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STORY/PLOT: (as spoiler free as possible)

Sanctuary of the Shadow is about a woman Seer who finds herself attached to mysterious male who has completely forgotten his past. When her morals are put at risk, she chooses to act to protect the mysterious male and make a stand for what she believes is right, no matter the cost. It's a story of second chances, not just for Raith, but for our FMC, Harrow, and for other side characters who appear to help/hinder Harrow in her journey.

The world that Ascher has created for this story is beautiful. I love the different species we have—the Elementals, the Hybrids, the Queens, and the humans. The way magic is set up is simplistic and easy to follow, making this a good start for people new to the fantasy genre.

The beginning of the story starts out incredibly promising. I'm fully invested in the world that Ascher brings to life. I love Harrow and her water abilities. I'm intrigued by Raith and his mysterious history. Then Harrow's plan to escape and the lead up to it was nail biting.

Then we spend a massive chunk of the middle part of the book hidden away in a tavern just spicing it up. Everything seemed to come to a screeching halt to focus on sex. Which, is a huge deterrent for me. This is generally a reason for me to DNF. The only reason I didn't DNF, is due to the fact that Harrow's BFF, Mal, becomes somewhat relevant with her own side story of discovering Raith's true identity and her determination to protect Harrow from the local underground hybrid gang.

Then we get a deus ex machina moment, which sets the plot back in motion and then we speed through the rest of the conflicts and find ourselves at the end. The conclusion for me was frankly frustrating. While the epilogue is quite beautiful, the way that all the loose plot points (minus one which I'm guessing is for book 2) were all neatly wrapped up with the annoying "tell not show" method. So all the plot points with the potential for incredibly interesting stories just got nixed.


WRITING:

Ascher's writing was a complete and total miss for me. She has a beautiful easy to read voice with creative and descriptive writing which makes the book reads very MG/YA. This would not be an issue if it wasn't for the fact that out of the blue, the middle of the book is just chapter after chapter of spice between Harrow and Raith. I was shocked when the spice started happening because the writing and language of the book was so young for me that I didn't think there would be spice. It just kinda came out of nowhere for me. Additionally, her pacing was all over the place. The beginning was great, it had good pacing and was incredibly promising. The middle ground to a halt to focus on Raith and Harrowing spicing, then once the plot picks back up, we speed through to the end. It was definitely jarring and rough.

CHARACTERS:
Despite the story and writing being a miss for me, the characters were absolutely not!

Harrow - I loved her! She's stubborn and strong willed. She recognizes her mistakes and owns up to them. She's a great role model of understanding consent, and learning to listen to your instincts.

Raith - MUST PROTECT AT ALL COSTS. He's a cinnamon roll. That is all.

Mal - I need more of her and I need more of her story.

The Oracle - I loved her. She was quirky AF and a breath of fresh air after the plot had stagnated. She 100% existed only to move the plot that had essentially died forward, but she was such a fun read that I didn't mind too much.

The Water Queen - Probably the only character I didn't like but that was strictly because of writing. She suffered from the story's poor plot planning. Her character arc was a line going up, then immediately going down. There was zero build up to her 180 and what could have been an intriguing story was subjected to "tell not show" storytelling.

ENJOYMENT: Over all, it was very mediocre. I absolutely wouldn't read it again, but I wouldn't say no to recommending it. It was a miss for me, but I know many others will love the ever loving pants out of this book. I can absolutely see this being a fantastic read for those who are new to fantasy, or prefer fantasy lite books.

I read this as part of an Entangled readathon to discuss the book as a group over the holiday week. I enjoyed the different magics that showed up throughout the story but struggled with the instalove especially in the face of such heavy and complex trauma. I thought that the premise (magical circus, magic based on elements) was fascinating and wanted more of that contextual setting and background than we actually got. In the end, the book sets up a sequel, and if the author can remedy some of the setting, etc components, the sequel would be a fantastic read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

I loved this book from start to finish. I cried, I laughed, I got angry and I saw red but to me being able to bring all those emotions out makes a great book. Aurora did an amazing job keeping my attention and I loved so many of the characters. Harrow and Raith, the MFC and MMC. both go through some life changing moments. Some of those moments had me reeling but it was a fantastic read. There was love, friendship, vengeance, fantasy and some steamy scenes too. It was a fantastic read and I can't wait to read the next book.

I throughly enjoys this book. I think it set a good pace when it came to events within the book and gave good back story since some of the events that were in the past. I love Raith and Harrow's connection and the way they are discovering how the past events lead them up to current ones. I wasn't thrilled with side characters point of view (but that's just me wanting everything to be focused on main characters). I hoped for more circus action but like the way that it was incorporated into the story. Overall was a good read.

4.5/5 stars

This book is perfect for all you smutty romantasy lovers out there!

Sanctuary of the Shadow follows a woman named Harrow, a seer and fortune teller in a circus for non-humans run by a mysterious man named Salizar. When Harrow discovers an unexpected stranger at the circus, she must battle between the reality of her past and the man she loves.

This book was SO CUTE. I loved the dynamic between the main characters, and how they must navigate their own traumas as their relationship blooms. There was a good amount of smut (although I would have loved if it were spaced out a little more), though I will say it is pretty tame to what I am used to reading (Perhaps a 2.5/5 for the spiciness).

The only thing I had a hard time getting behind was the timeline of the romance. I am very much a lover of slow-burn, and there was nothing slow about this. The declarations of love after a few weeks was hard for me to believe, but the romance was otherwise beautiful.

I LOVED Nashira, a minor character who is cryptic and a little unhinged, and the end of the book wrapped up nicely with an opening for a potential sequel / spinoff to follow a different character.

Overall, I had a great time reading this. It was quick, fun, and sexy, and I highly recommend it.

Cool cover, cool premise, a few cool moments. I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. I really wanted to like it. I loved the idea of the elementals and the traveling circus, but we didn't get much of either. The circus scene (singular) was her catching the tail end of her friends acrobat act. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, so I found it really hard to picture anything happening in this book. There is a lot of repetitiveness as well. Harrow tells us something, and then boom, Raith is telling us the same thing. And then it was all hurriedly wrapped up with a nice, neat bow. We went around in a circle, twice and then it ended.

Sanctuary of a Shadow was a fun and mysterious ride. Set in a world where non-humans (elementals) have all but been exiled to either a traveling circus for protection or the dark sides of various cities to survive, two of these elementals are set on a collision course with one another.
Attracted to each other by forces neither can truly remember, they feel a connection and compulsion they don't understand.
There were many layers to this story and I truly wish that there was more time spent within the circus and on the backstories of some of those characters. The story felt a bit rushed and several points of the story could have used more explanation.
All in all a pleasant read, just wanted a little more depth.

3.5 stars - I enjoyed the wild ride of this story, but felt like issues could have been fleshed out more. I would have loved more about the circus and its origins (I still can't decide if I think Salizar is a good guy or a villain), and it felt like genocide was just brushed aside in favor of insta-love. However, as I read I still wanted to know more and flipped the pages as quickly as I could. The queens and their war and disregard for their world was infuriating. I liked Harrow and Raith but just wish there had been a little more meat around the romance.

Thank you to Red Tower / Entangled for the ARC.

I received an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Red Tower Books/Entangled Publishing for the ARC!

Harrow, an Elemental/Hybrid with the power of water magic, and the last remaining seer, works for Salizar in his circus of Elementals. When he brings back a captured shadow creature, later identified as a wraith, Harrow is immediately drawn to him and does her best to free him.

I really wanted to like this book. It sounded really promising. The magic system is unique, unlike anything I've read. The war between the Queens was promising. The characters are unique. Elemental hybrids with mysterious powers? Seers? Wraiths, or the last of them? And I do realize that when reading a Red Tower book, I should expect something that is more vibes than plot in some cases, but this book was so promising! I loved the character of the Oracle and honestly would read a book about her and how she became what she is. Probably my favorite character in the whole book. I also did think the chemistry between Mal and Ouro could be explored more. I also don't recall ever reading what physical traits (besides ears) that Harrow has marking her as an Elemental, which is disappointing and would have been awesome to explore.

First off, I feel like this book really would have benefited from a Preface of some sorts. The blurb doesn't give really any introduction to the magic system or the war. A brief summary of "this is what happened, this is how elementals were created, this is where we're at now" I think would have been perfect. I thought it was hard to follow initially. Also, a summary of what a hybrid/elemental is. I also thought that it was very off-putting to switch from using "Hybrid" and "Elemental". I think the author should have picked one and stuck with it instead of inconsistently changing between the two. I thought the descriptions of the Elementals was a bit weird too. We got "panther-hybrid" and "reptilian" but didn't really get anything for the Ethereals (I think I've spelled that right).

<i>"For humans, the circus is a place filled with wonder and amazement. For Harrow, though, it’s a place to hide from those who slaughtered her entire clan."</i>

For a book that promises a circus setting, I was so disappointed at how little time we spent there. We didn't get to explore this setting at all. I would have loved for more of the book to take place here. Instead, we got rushed right out of it in the first few chapters.

<i>"Who is this guy? You just met him, and you're going to throw away your entire life for him" - Mal</i>

If there's one thing I don't like in a book, it's the insta-love trope. Perhaps it's because I am firmly on the aro/ace spectrum, but I cannot fathom falling in love with someone so fast. Obviously, they have an instant connection because of their past (unbeknownst to either of them), but Harrow, girl, slow the fuck down. I know this is a stand-alone, but damn, it felt super rushed. That is something that doesn't change throughout the book. On top of this, we get the "single bed" trope. They hook up literally the next day, and spend the next 5 days making love. That is too much too fast. At this point I think she's known him for like a week and a half total?

<i>"it's too early, she told herself. No one could fall in love in five days.</i>

And yet, here you are, claiming you love this guy.

<i>"his eyes... They were the very same eyes from her dream</i>

I don't think anyone could possibly be surprised that Raith is the wraith that killed her mother and clan when she was 10. I like my foreshadowing to be a bit sneakier, this was incredibly obvious. That's a personal preference, but I just didn't think it was done very well.

<i> "if the other half of my soul is a killer, I don't want anything to do with him" </i>

Man, I wish you'd have kept that. Their relationship is so fast, it feels like there was no room for development and she didn't consider the fact that she'd been warned from the beginning that Raith had done terrible things. Because it was so fast paced, she doesn't even get to process this before she goes "oh no, he's the love of my life, he was under someone else's control, now I have to go save him"

As this all unfolds, Raith loses his memories when he loses his corporeal form. (as a side note, I feel like this would have been much more interesting if Queen Furie had forced him to keep his memories of Harrow when she sends him to kill her. If she wanted to truly punish him, that would've been the way) When he returns to Harrow after Queen Darya gives him a new corporeal form, she's warned that she needs to tell him the truth. She starts, but then doesn't want to hurt him so doesn't tell him all of it. He, however, has this huge sense of guilt and can't figure out why. <i>"how could he trust she'd be safe with him if he didn't remember what he'd done?"</i> This right here is why you don't tell lies to your partner. Also, the Tea scene. This just felt so out of place. Maybe it's the way it was written? But I thought it was really jarring.

Also, can we talk about Darya for a second? I don't think she's trustworthy at all, and she seemed like a very selfish and shallow character. I hate that she got a redemption arc.

We also get surprised at the end of the book with Harrow getting pregnant and foreseeing it when she scries. Pregnancy is not really my thing, and not something I enjoy reading about. Good for them, but yeah. I had the same issue with the Hunger Games trilogy. And something that really bothers me is this:

<i>"Thank you for looking after her so I could rest"
He bent down to kiss her. "Helping you with Melly is a gift"

Did he have any idea how amazing he was?</i>

I'm sorry, but it should not be "amazing" and make you feel "so lucky" for your partner to help out with their child. That should be an expected part of having a child with your partner. This kind of thing bothers me so much. It. Is. Not. Special. When your partner spends time with their child. Parents are supposed to do that. I cannot stress this enough.

This was a really quick read, and while it was interesting, it really just didn't do it for me. The writing felt really chunky and wasn't the easiest to read. I understand that this is a standalone book, but that is not an excuse for rushing through everything, and this whole book felt rushed. You can do a standalone and still have a good timeline. There was a lot more spice than I was anticipating, and I didn't feel like it was as well written as it could have been. We didn't get to see much of the world, and the characters I felt were most interesting got glossed over. This combined with the tropes just really made me not like it as much as I thought I would. I will say that I don't feel that the spice took much away from the plot, which is awesome considering how problematic that can be in Romantasy.

The whole book feels like it needs to go through another round of edits and be a bit more polished. There is so much potential here! It just needed more. I did preorder, and for the moment I think I'll keep the preorder just to see if anything improved in the finished copy.

Sanctuary of the Shadow was an enjoyable read, and a solid 3 stars for me personally.

Pros:
Great bones of a story, in a setting I haven’t read about yet. A few good twists, and heartache for the main characters. We have some good villains, relationships to root for, and a story that pushes forward.

Cons:
It felt like a debut novel, with some things just not being entirely fleshed out. We get glimpses at the backstory of both Salazar and Malaika but not much beyond that. Maybe setting up for books focused on them? If not, it felt like extra unnecessary information. I’m also not a big fan of (this is for real like a last page spoiler) certain tropes, like the pregnancy trope. It was certainly done in a cute way, but just not one I personally care for!

That being said, I will definitely read more by this author and in this series, should more be released!!

Thank you to Entangled/Red Tower for the ARC for a read along, and NetGalley also for the ARC ♥️

I went into this book not knowing what to expect and it turned out to be an intriguing and mysterious read.

The FMC, Harrow, experiences a tragedy as a child and is the last Seer in this magical world. She travels with other elementals in a circus and uses her abilities granted from “the water” to perform readings. One day Harrow happens upon our MMC, Raith, an elemental being held at the circus. The two are instantly connected to each other and soon realize they will have to overcome numerous obstacles and trauma in order to be together.

This book felt like a true romance. Magic and fantasy elements are present, but the real story is the bond between Harrow and Raith. There is a good amount of spice in this book and the way the author uses the steamy scenes to explore the concept of consent is interesting. Raith and Harrow have had limited choices in their lives and choosing each other is one they have to make together. I thought this was a lovely theme that was shown throughout.

One thing I do wish is that there was a bit more world building and depth to the characters. However this being a standalone novel, it does make sense why we get what we get. I also felt like some of the story was rushed at times and there were so many interesting storylines to explore. Hopefully, we get more world building and dive into more characters (Ouros and Malaikah especially) in the sequel book. Overall this was a fun read!

I'd like to thank the publisher for a Netgalley copy of this book. I was able to participate in a group read for this book with Entangled Publishing, where we read chapters and discussed the book together.
Let me just say that this book got my attention early on! If you enjoy tropes such as one bed and instalove, with tarot and magical beings, this one just may be for you! This book left me wanting to know more about some of the other interesting side characters and their journeys, as well as where they came from and how they joined the Elemental Circus.

I really thought I was going to love this book, but sadly I can’t even bring myself to finish it.

There is a big tent on the cover, and I really thought a large portion of this book was going to be the circus. I didn’t feel like that was the case at all.
The story seems to rush until we get to the point where the two main characters are free to bang as much as possible.
There’s very little buildup to this relationship and the MMC’s child-like understanding of certain things makes it uncomfortable.

There’s not enough plot happening for me to care about continuing to read on. This is mostly a smut book.
I think it could still be a bestseller, it just really isn’t the kind of book I would read.
I truly hate writing negative reviews, I’m just being honest.

Wish it all the best, and as always, thank you for the opportunity to read it early.