Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⚡️/🌶️🫑
I’m a little torn on how to review this book. I completely enjoyed the story however, I feel like the writing was a little too juvenile for an “adult” book.

There are a few on-page explicit scenes, however I left like it was more of a Young Adult story including a coming of age teenager despite that she is supposed to be 60 years old.

I really enjoyed the world building and the different elemental magics and powers. I loved the relationship between Harrow and Raith.

However, I felt it was a little too rushed and maybe too much of a HEA. There were a lot of predictable aspects of the story as well.

I guess it would be considered more of a Cozy Monster Romance.

Despite the predictability and rushed ending, I did enjoy the story and will continue when the next book is released.

3.5 ⭐️
2🌶️

The concept of Sanctuary of the Shadow and the vibes you get from the cover are deceptive. I went into this expecting a romantasy set in and around a circus with whimsical vibes hiding a dangerous secret. Unfortunately only about 25% of the story was loosely set in a circus setting. Our FMC, Harrow, is the last Elemental Seer hiding within a travelling circus since a young age after her whole clan was slaughtered. During a normal stay in a larger city, the circus picked up a man, Raith, a supposed wraith who was to join the circus. Wraiths are incorporeal creatures without emotions and pure danger. The two of them were drawn to each other and escape the circus together while learning more about Raith's and Harrow's intermingled pasts.

Forbidden romance was a major focus along throughout the story as Harrow and Raith were getting to know each other. The spice was thoroughly entertaining, however, you can tell that the romance between Harrow and Raith was the main focus of the book. The plot was secondary and at times felt like an afterthought. The first 50% was amazing, but as soon as we explored the feud between the Queens, the plot fell flat leaving me less than immersed.

I have a few general gripes about this book, but most of them are within the last 50% of this book. The first half was thoroughly enjoyable and if fleshed out, could have been something more.

The dual POV was interesting since Raith was trying to learn more about the world around him, however, it would have been great to distinguish the swap. There were times that the POV swapped, but it took a few paragraphs to realize that it had swapped.

I enjoyed the read, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

Standalone
Forbidden Romance
Dual POV
Instant Love
"Last of my kind"
Elemental Magic
Memory Loss
Surprise Pregnancy 🙃
HEA

Sanctuary of the Shadow is a New Adult romance with fantasy roots that publishes Jan 9, 2024.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing, Red Tower Books and NetGalley for this digital galley in return for my honest review.

I was gifted this arc as a part of a read along and let me just say....you NEED to read it. I havent enjoyed a book this much since I read ACOTAR. I couldn't put it down wanting to just keep reading to the point where my husband was getting jealous for my attention lol. I feel like this book would also be great for those dipping their toes into fantasy as the world building and story is very easy to follow and get wrapped up in.

OMGGGGGGGGG

Entangled, THANK YOU FOR THE ARC

THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD BOOK I WANT TO CRY.

Raith is an absolute sweetheart and I am HERE FOR IT.

Harrow, our sweet sweet Seer, is such a badass and the way she is with Raith?

TOP NOTCH

The concept, the story, the EVERYTNING

ugh yes.

There were some things that felt unfinished/left unanswered but it really didn’t detract from the story at all.

THEY GOT THEIR HEA.

That’s all that matters to me.

We weren’t left to suffer even when my heart felt like it was being shredded to pieces.

Raith and Harrow supremacy.

100000%.

I mostly enjoyed this one! A spicy fantasy romance with main characters divided in a war that is beyond their control. This was mostly just vibes for me and that’s why I enjoyed it. I definitely thought it was a little bit too insta-lovey for my taste, without much development in the characters’ feelings throughout the story. I would have loved it more with further world building and an actual stake in the war. It felt like what was happening outside the characters’ relationship didn’t matter much beyond how it affected them personally.
A fun fantasy romance overall.

I really liked this world and all of the characters. But I didn't like how the romance was handled. It felt rushed and I found muself missing all of the side characters.

I want to say thank you Brittany and entangled teen, for letting me have this opportunity to read this book.

This book is about a woman name harrow living in a circus. Hiding who she truly is. She pretends to be human, even though she’s not. She has a best friend that knows who she truly is, and △⃒⃘Lways there to encourage her, and supports her.
She runs into this man… name raith. She visits him and notices that the ringmaster is abusive and decides to runaway from the circus with him.
It has spice I’ll give it 🌶️🌶️🌶️ it’s like two chapters back to back with spice lol.
Harrow leaves him feeling and thinking that he has betrayed her, and she doesn’t truly know him.
But later finds out that she truly does love him. The actions that he did, it was not free will.
He almost died. But survived.
She fought for him, and found him and lived happily ever after.
The story and plot it’s really good.
I feel like the author lost itself a little when writing on a third person/view.
It’s a dual point a view, which I think that’s why the author, points of view got intertwined and I felt like a little lost who or which character point of view it was.
But besides that. It was good. I can’t wait to buy the book.

First, thank you to Entangled for hosting a read-a-long for this and gracing me with an early copy!

I may be the minority with this but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected too.

First, where was Harrow’s magic??? She’s the last Seer with powerful water magic but we hardly ever see it at play or being used in a way one expects from a fantasy novel. There are so many moments it could have manifested in response to Harrow’s emotions but instead it really only stayed hidden for most of the story. Water is a tempest - it can be calm or ruinous and I just didn’t get any of that from the plot.

Second was Raith’s character. He’s supposed to be this no-feelings creature and yeah ok he has no memory of anything but I didn’t connect with him at all because his progression from being that no-feelings guy to one being obsessed with the physicality of *love* (aka sex) isn’t a progression I wanted. I wanted him to fall in love with Harrow slowly and in small ways leading up to the big moments (of her betrayal, of discovering his past, of him trying to kill her, etc) and I don’t think the writing went the way it should have with his depth and development.

Which leads me to Harrow - again character development here was lacking. It’s like she carried that whole sheltered feeling the entire book and I hated it. And she always seems to just “give in”, not truly fighting for anything including Raith. I expected more of her and didn’t get it.

Finally, this book was spicy with some seriously sexy scenes. While I love me spice in my books, I hate when it becomes centered around that - like the relationship between Harrow and Raith grounded more on their intimate moments versus establishing feelings based on moments leading up to the sex - yes ok they were connecting a bit while he was in the cage, but that was only the first few chapters and then bam they’re sleeping with each other. Now how I wanted their relationship to develop….

I’ve enjoyed other books written by Red Tower, but unfortunately this one was a huge miss for me. The writing felt very YA. The characters also felt like they were pretty young (maybe teenagers) vs the decades old (I believe the FMC is supposed to be 60) they are supposed to be. I couldn’t understand most of the decisions the FMC made, or her inability, or maybe refusal, to see what was pretty obvious.

In a pro, it was a standalone fantasy book which can be refreshing if you’re not wanting to pick up a multi-book series.

Thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for providing me an eARC.

Actual 3.5 stars
The Sanctuary of the Shadow creates a unique fantasy world with different elemental magic users.
Likes: the elemental magic system (I want more backstory about the queens and how they became who they are in this book!), diverse cast of characters (Salizar has probably had a fascinating back story!), great spicy scenes.
Dislikes: main character is in her 60s-ish(?) and behaves and makes choices like a teenager. She has one thing that her mother told her to always do (listen to the water!) and the minute things get tough, she’s like never mind I don’t want to listen to the water (and sUrPrIsE things go sideways). There were a few time jumps in order to make the plot work, and I’m not sure I liked that - still pondering that.
I think Asher has created an interesting world with lots of potential for expansion and learning more about some of the supporting characters from this book. I will definitely be tuning in for book 2 as Mal will be the main character and she was a lot of fun!

Thanks to Red Tower for the copy of this ARC!

I picked this book up for two reasons:
(1) I’ve read and loved every Red Tower release so far
(2) Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes.

This was a big miss for me. In the beginning, there are 4(?) POVs that switch without notice, and then after that it’s mainly just the two main characters, so it’s easier to follow.

The elemental magic is, I guess, similar to Avatar in that elements are used, and it’s very simple, so doesn’t get much of an explanation on how it plays into the world. Overall, there wasn’t really much world or character building until later on in the second half of the book.

Raith is described as a winged shadow of death, so that definitely held my attention - but he really doesn’t speak much and it’s pretty awkward for the first half of the book — but they still fall in Insta Love. Their love story takes some turns in the second half that had me shaking my head a bit, while other parts of the story (like wraiths being freed from slavery under a Queen) were a one-sentence mention. Given that and the later world building, the romance is definitely at the forefront of this story.

In general, this read either very YA or like it could’ve used another round of editing, and then pivoted to some very long and very spicy scenes. I don’t prefer to read YA or high spice, so this one wasn’t quite for me.

This one was a tough one for me. The jump in POV is always tough for me in third person. The dialogue felt super choppy too.

I enjoyed the overall plot though! And circus is fun!

Sanctuary of the Shadow needs to be on your January 2024 tbr list for new romantasy reads! Set in a circus made up of magical beings you get to follow Harrow as the Water leads her on her journey. Told in dual POV you get to see both her side and the man with no memory she meets along the way. Of course there is a fierce connection between them right off the bat so be prepared for them to dive headfirst into finding out why. I really enjoyed this book and am happy to report there isn’t a big cliffhanger because this book is part of a series but each book will focus on various characters in this world

Special thanks to Red Tower Publishing and Netgalley fro my e-arc of Sanctuary of the Shadow
!!!This Review is Full of Spoilers Please proceed with Caution!!!

*Trigger warnings for this title include but are not limited to Pregnancy,human trafficking, violence, memory loss, and imprisonment.*

Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher is a new adult romantasy following Harrow a Water elemental Seer and last of her kind as her entire life is changed by the arrival of a New attraction to the traveling circus she calls home.

What I loved

-The magical amnesia trope was utilized in a creative manner
-The war between the elemental queens was intriguing to me
-Multi POV was done in a way that felt seamless
-Consent is sought and enthusiastically given in the scenes involving physical intimacy.
-Cute Oracle deck used by the main female character should definitely be a real product.
-Dialogue and Chemistry between the two main characters is amazing
-The Side Characters are well fleshed out with understandable motivations

What Didn't work as well for me
-While the intimate scenes were extremely well written the first one felt like it was a distraction from the main plot as I was so eager to dive back into if the circus leader was going to catch them or learn more about the Oroborus group.
-It felt like Harrow was too easily swayed to ignore the water's instruction and thus deny her own instincts in favor of following the water queen's instruction. ( I do realize this came from a combination of shock and grief but by goodness even by the queen's own word's Raith and beings like him don't have full free will in their actions initially .)

Who I Recommend this title for

Sanctuary of the Shadow will be a great read for fans of Authors such as Rebecca F Kenney.

Alright, let's spill the tea on "Sanctuary of the Shadow" by Aurora Ascher. Picture this: a cover that's a total eye-candy, making you think you've hit the fantasy jackpot. But then, plot twist! The writing inside is more like a fantasy flop.

So, the story's set in this magical world with Elementals and Seers and half panther/half woman seductresses, which sounds like it should be all kinds of epic, right? But the way it's delivered is like sitting through a history lecture with a professor who's lost his notes. You're supposed to be whisked away to a mystical land, but instead, you get a crash course in Elemental Politics 101 without the charm. There’s no buildup or anything, you know? I couldn’t really feel any connection to the world or what’s happening in it.

The characters are in the thick of a war, but they chat about it like they're discussing the weather. "Oh, by the way, did I mention the epic war going on? No? Well, there is one." If they're not bothered about it, I'm left wondering why I should cancel my Netflix binge to pay attention.

But hey, not all's lost in the land of missed opportunities. The whole 'escaping the circus' bit? That was pretty cool at first. It had potential, but then it kind of spirals into this… meh ending.

I didn’t mind the different POV, although it did seem to bother other reviewers. For me, it kind of opened up the narrative a bit more.

Oh, and the spicy scenes! They were definitely a highlight. So, not a total loss, but yeah, it’s not the epic fantasy-romance I was hoping for.

In short, "Sanctuary of the Shadow" is like that date you swiped right for because of a cute picture, only to find out they're as interesting as watching paint dry. But hey, at least the paint was a pretty color, right?

Thank you to NetGalley and Red Towers Books for the ARC!

A wonderful mix of romance, fantasy, spice, and mystery. The ending wasn’t my favorite but I’m curious to see where this world leads.

This romantasy has an interesting and unique premise; but while I enjoyed this book, I didn’t love it. I prefer books with multiple points of view but I found this one a little hard to follow at times (perhaps due to the fact that it was written in third person.) Navigating the POV changes would have been a bit easier if the chapters or sections were labeled. This story wasn’t as well written as I would have expected. There were a few plot holes here as well where I wanted answers that I didn’t get. I thought there was great promise for the world building here but it just wasn’t fleshed out the way I would have liked. I would have loved to learn more about the circus and the queens and their elementals but we mostly just saw the feud between the queens and the direct repercussions of that. (That said, Nashira still made me laugh with her craziness.) Raith and Harrow were two such lost souls that were mostly collateral damage in a feud that wasn’t their own. I really did enjoy the main characters and the instant connection between them. Their connection was said to be deeper than skin and bone and even thought. I’m a sucker for soul deep connections and Harrow and Raith had that. Raith had a tragic history which consisted of imprisonment, mindless obedience, and violence. Harrow was a survivor (as the last of her kind) but doubted herself when she shouldn’t have. Harrow determined to trust herself and her gift which meant embracing the darkness to find peace. I also liked the side characters, especially Mal, and the found family vibes in this one. This is the first in a series but we got an emotional and satisfying HEA to the main story between Harrow and Raith.

This is a great book with a very unique story. The world and magic system are really neat. And the characters are super interesting, I really like the Elementals. Harrow, Raith and Mal are awesome! I can't wait to read more about Mal and follow her journey in the next book! Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing/Red Tower Books for allowing me to read this book ahead of release in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Entangled publishing for allowing me to read this book early. Here is my honest review on the book. Once I hit the 20% mark I could not stop reading.
5 ⭐️
4🌶️🥵

The world is based around fantasy hybrids of animals and people , made by the elemental queens. There has been a war between the fire queen and the water queen for many years and it’s been causing issues for the hybrids living amongst the humans. There is a lot of history and world building with this book, however it’s not overly boring or dry. It’s all layered to hide the plot twists and just flows seamlessly.

Harrow our MFC was born during this war, her family lost to it. She is a fortune teller who’s hiding some big secrets of her own. She is the last of her kind and has hidden it from almost everyone. I just love all things circus so was super excited to read this book just for that point alone. We find out from the start that Harrow has been with the circus since she was 10 years old, so really this is more her family than anything else.

Then there is our MMC Raith like wraith without the W. This book is so different because for once the male lead is the somewhat helpless one. Raith has no memory of his past and is like a new born adult dropped into the world. His path ends up crossing with Harrows and it’s such a roller coaster ride of emotions. You don’t know what way the story will go. I just loved his character development throughout the book.

Strangers to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers? Oh goodness this really throws some 360 loops and gets your heart pumping. But overall those reactions are worth it for the way the story ended. I could not have asked for me. It just left me feeling full and content.

I am terrible at rambling and spoiling the book so this is me wrapping it up.
Would I recommend this book? 100% YES.
Will I auto buy anything from this author? Again absolutely!

This is a reason we do not judge books sheerly by an attractive cover because the book is beautiful, the writing leaves much to be desired. I did cancel my pre-order of the hard copy, as after reading I have 0 interest in the finalized copy unless a large amount of edits are made. If I were Red Tower, I would delay this release and have the author re-work it after publishing reviews the feedback.

I had a tough time getting through this ARC. It’s a Red Tower Release, thus my expectations were just high and not met. It was marketed to fantasy fans as a Circus fantasy. The circus almost had nothing to do with the book and disappeared after about 20%. There could’ve been such great and intriguing world building, and we seem to have missed out as readers as it was not expanded upon. There were little to no explanations of Elementals, their history, their magic, etc.

A big problem I had was the formatting and the multiple POV’s written in third person. This book would have been better written if the POVs weren’t third person and if the POVs were labeled at the chapter’s beginnings, as many characters got jumbled together in my mind, it got confusing and made it hard to pay attention or absorb any information. This would be a more pleasing read if it was better organized and reformatted.

I could not connect with the characters the way this was written. The FMC and MMC had no chemistry, and the writing style made it hard to like either character or enjoy their “forbidden” romance. The FMC, Harrow, was not very likable due to her Instalove and sheer ignorance. The spice almost seemed forced into the book to keep readers interested and was written in a way it did not even blend with the other writing in a the book. There was no chemistry, no tension, no build up—just spice randomly thrown in.

I almost believed this was the author’s first book by how many improvements needed to be made to this work to make it likable enough to publish.