I previously read this as a serial on the Ilona Andrews blog. It was a pleasure to enjoy this ARC as an audiobook - especially to hear correct pronunciations of the creatures names! Roman might serve a dark god, but he's not a bad guy. Stereotypes, sibling/family relationships and Russian folklore make for a great story. Highly recommend this and all of the related Kate Daniels books.

I adore every single work from Ilona Andrews and Sanctuary is no different. I love the backstory it gave on Roman and his complicated family, beyond the never married parents but also his relationship with his brother. Roman has been a favorite character of mine since we met him in Magic Slays and I'm so glad we get to read about him!

I love a folklore centered story. This novella delivered. Slavic folklore is at the center of this glimpse into Roman’s, the Black Volhv, history. With some sprinkles of Christmas thrown in, we get loads of creepy, sometimes cute creatures. I have not read the rest of this series - I think I would love it. I just don’t have the attention span for a series that long. Even without all of the extra information of the series, I had no issues understanding and following this story. Roman is exactly the kind of MC I want to read about. His witty sarcasm had me smirking, and his intelligence and moral compass had me quickly invested in him. Ilona Andrews feels like an author I’d really enjoy.

The narration of this book was very enjoyable. Chris Brinkley expertly differentiated between characters and had me immersed in the storyline almost instantly. It was a really great listen.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ilona Andrews, and Dreamscape Media for a chance to listen to this audiobook ARC.

This novella is for everyone who clamored to know more about Roman (pronounced Ro-MAHN). If you haven't read the Kate Daniels series I recommend you stop reading reviews now and go read them first, because otherwise it may spoil your enjoyment later.

Roman is the pragmatic black volhv. After all, *someone* has to do it. And because he was chosen (but that doesn't stop him complaining that he never gets any nice invites to weddings and suchlike).

So, one day he's busy in the service of his dark god when an unexpected request leads him through some epic battlles (my imagination was working overtime to fill in the accompanying pictures) and, of course, because it's the middle of winter, towards unexpected company.

I was thrilled to get approved for the early audiobook release, narrated by Chris Brinkley, because not only did I get to enjoy Roman's story, I also got the bonus of an excellent narrator. (Which meant I didn't have to try to figure out how to pronounce all the Russian words.)

Make sure you catch the epilogue, which wraps it up nicely, as well as the bonus article at the end if you want to know more about the folklore.

🎧 Sanctuary- Roman's Chronicles Book#1 / World of Kate Daniels #15.5

✍️ By Ilona Andrews- auto-buy author for me

🗣️ Narrator: Chris Brinkley did all the characters. The narrator's voice fit the characters with standouts from Roman, Finn, and Rodion.The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together well. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story . The narrator paused and announced new chapters which helped me follow along.

🏃🏾‍♀️Run Time: 4:27

🗓️ Publication Date: 7-30-24  | Read: 7-30-24  

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select/ NYLA for this ALC ❤️! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Sci-fi, Paranormal , Adult Fic

Tropes:
❤️novella
❤️magic
❤️mythology / Slavic Neo Paganism
❤️supernatural creatures
❤️family drama

Summary 💭: Roman is the Black Volhv, the dark priest who serves Chernobog- God of Destruction, Darkness, and Death. From December 23 through December 25 he wants to be left alone on his property in the woods of Atlanta. When Roman finds a young boy beaten and wounded wanting sanctuary, he is forced to confront the past that broke his family.


Hero: Roman(34) lives as a hermit. Has magical staff Klyuv with Trigger- Roman's pet

Hero: Finn(14) chosen to be Morena (Chernobog's wife) new priest. He doesn't want to be evil and had a dream telling him to seek out Roman.

Side cast: Andora- Finn's sister who has her own magic and went to school with Roman as a child; Roman's parents - Grigorii and Evdokia; Dabrowski- a Druid who lives by Roman; Rodion- Roman's brother


My Thoughts: Roman was a morally gray character but was willing to protect Finn. He held a lot of self blame for his brother, and becoming estranged from his family. I loved Andora calling out Roman for his bad behavior, and waiting to get her vengeance.

Range of emotions: 😬🤔🙄

🌶️: Spice n/a
🎧:Narration  4/5
😭: Emotion 3/5
❤️: Couple n/a
⭐️: Rating 4/5 *

I have not read any books by this author and didn’t realize this book was kind of a novella after others with similar characters.
Took me awhile to figure out who’s who, who’s human who’s not and by the time I was starting to get the hang of it the book ended. While I like books about mythology and this had promise, I can’t say that I enjoyed it.
The main narrator (Chris), has an amazing voice and was the only reason I kept going with this book. I didn’t like the second narrator that showed up after the book ended and dumped way too much information.

This was so much fun. Roman is taking a break from the holidays when he decides to give a stranger help and shelter. The world is intriguing and there is a lot of action, but what makes this so enjoyable is Roman and his intelligence and sarcasm. The narrator really sounds like I imagine Roman.
This is a short story and I hope to read some more of the stories in this world. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook.

Roman serves Chernobog *the* God of Destruction, Darkness, and Death as a Volhv Dark Wizard and it's a full time job. But the holidays are the one time Roman gets a break, until this year when a wounded stranger appears and asks for sanctuary. As much as Roman does not want to get involved he really has no choice and with disgruntled aggravation he steps up to the plate to defeat the mercenaries out to get this wounded boy in Roman's care. Readers were first introduced in the Kate Daniels series but that should not be a hindrance to enjoying this novella. This is the perfect introduction to Roman's history as a Volhv as he battles unknown enemies and tries to figure out who he's giving aid. Narrator Chris Brinkley smooth narration brings added depth to this intriguing and subtly grim but still heartfelt tale.

I don't usually get audio books, so this format was interesting. Its very different to hear the story instead if reading it but it was still a decent book. I like the book and Ilona is one of my favorite authors.

Roman is grumpy, back from a task assigned by his Slavic god, Chernobog, still not complete, but he has the Koliada, the Winter Festival off. All he wants is to rest, sip eggnog and eat cookies, but things change when a teenage boy and his puppy (cue heart eyes!) shows up on his property and asks for sanctuary.

You’d think Roman, a Dark Volhv serving an evil god wouldn’t be a big-hearted softy, but “evil” in this story isn’t defined in the traditional sense. Soon after taking the boy in, a band of mercenaries show up determined to take the boy and the dog, but they have another thing coming if they think Roman’s just going to give him up. It was fun to see them underestimate Roman and his rag-tag bunch of strange and lethal creatures, adorable in their own odd way!

I’m a big fan of Ilona Andrews! It was fun to have Roman fleshed out, as I’ve liked him in the Kate Daniels series. Sanctuary was a fun, fast read, action-packed and infused with Andrews’ signature humor! Things wrapped up, but there were paths left open and I’m eager for more stories! A possible romance a-brewing? I’m all in!

I listened to the audio version with Chris Brinkley, a narrator I’ve enjoyed in the past, performing. His pronunciation of what seemed to be to me, difficult words (gods, mythology, etc.) was smooth and well done! I thoroughly enjoyed his performance! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite authors, I love all of their series! I was so excited to read a book about Roman. He has alway been a character that I really enjoy. It does appear this will be the first in a series because the end really set up where the story will go. I had a such a good time with this and loved Chris Brinkley's narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Dreamscape Select for granting my wish for the ALC!

Chris Brinkley is the narrator of this fantasy story and gets the voice of Roman just right with a smooth delivery.
Roman is a dark priest serving Chernobog God of Destruction, Darkness and Death.
Roman is enjoying his alone time just for him and his magical creatures.
Mercenaries are chasing a boy who wants Sanctuary with Roman.
This is the start of a fantastic tale drawing in ancient magic from various factions.
A really enjoyable listen even if you are new to this world.
You are kept enthralled with all the details which give you a light into the story.
I would recommend reading other fantasy books related to these characters to give you a fuller insight into this story.
Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved getting to see so much Roman. He has always been such an amazing character but getting to actually see into what makes him who he is was fantastic. I listened to the audio and it is done really well. I am so excited to see more of Roman and all of his "evil enough" creatures.

I am a huge fan of Ilona Andrews! They are auto-buy authors for me. Whatever they write, I’m gonna read. The Kate Daniels series is one of my all-time favorite series. The world building is top notch and the way they weave all the storylines together is amazing. The side characters are always fleshed out and add a lot to the books. I was excited when I heard Roman was getting his own novella. He’s everyone’s favorite Black Volhv.

I loved grumpy Roman and his animal misfits! This was such a fun listen/read and I liked the new characters that were introduced to. I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of the audiobook and it was so good! I loved the narrators voice and thought he did an amazing job of voicing Roman. The story was easy to follow and the audiobook helped a ton with figuring out how to pronounce certain names.

This is a book you will enjoy even if you’re new to the Kate Daniels world. I saw there will be a sequel so I can’t wait for more Roman! Thank you NetGalley and NYLA for the opportunity to listen to this early.

I love all the stories tangentially related to Kate Daniels.
Employing Chris Brinkley was the perfect choice.
It was a quick read with lots of interesting characters.

I don't usually listen to many audio books but I jumped at the chance to have this and it didn't disappoint. We catch up with our favourite Black Volv as he’s summoned by his God to bring a gift but oh dear Roman is not a happy bunny because he much prefers to hide away from everyone at what some consider the season of goodwill and bonhomie . It’s just too bad when he gets home that there’s a teenage boy in his yard begging for sanctuary ! What is a man to do ? When mercenaries show up though Roman doesn’t hesitate but why do they want the boy ?
I love the way this duo takes traditional myths and folklore and just do their own thing with it . The Kate Daniel’s world is a fascinating mixture of magic and technology although truly it always feels that magic has the upper hand . This shorter story featuring Roman not only gives us his back story but sets up for even more delicious storytelling and I am all for that . As stated I’m not a huge fan of audio books but I found this easy to follow and very entertaining. This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from NetGalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

5⭐️ 0🌶️ 5🎧

I will read anything Ilona Andrews writes. Their story telling is so captivating. I will take absolutely any chance to return to the Kate Daniels world and learn more about this world.

Roman was one of my favorite characters from the Kate Daniels series so I’m so glad to see that we are seeing more of him and leaning more about his god.

Roman was every bit as complex as I expected him to be. Despite being the death god’s priest he was kind and compassionate with a menagerie of magical creatures who have flocked to him for safety and care. That kindness and compassion extended to an injured and scared kid and their puppy on the run from trigger happy mercs.

I loved everything about this book and I can’t wait for more.

Chris Brinkley did an amazing job narrating. He was perfect for Roman.

My review is regarding the audiobook version of Sanctuary. I rounded it up to 4 stars, from 3.5. The story is on par with the wonderful writing of Ilona Andrews, but I found the narrator to be very monotonous which brought the number of stars down. There is great drama in the story which is not conveyed by the narrator. Also the inflection and pacing have little variance throughout the book.

First I want to say Chris Brinkley did a fantastic job with this audiobook. His voice fits the story wonderfully, and I felt like he made the events extremely clear and it was easy to follow. His voice is also extremely swoon worth, and it works for our dark anti-hero.

I love the Kate Daniels series and when she teams up with Roman, so I really enjoyed the idea of Roman getting his own story. I'm obsessed with his pets, his sarcasm, and his way of viewing the world. This was a fast paced novella, which had great battle/fight scenes and built new lore into the Kate Daniel's story. I imagine we're going to be leaning more into Slavic lore in future books, which is fresh and interesting. I appreciated how the compared the lore to more well known mythology.

Recommend this for fans of the Kate Daniel's series, and know that you don't have to be fully caught up on all the books to enjoy this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for allowing me a copy of this audio book in return for an honest review.

Roman the Black Volhv to Chernobog, God of Destruction, Darkness and Death, is just settling down to his annual day off when he finds a teenage boy and a puppy in his yard. The boy begs sanctuary, not something usually requested by the servants of Chernobog. Next thing he knows, mercenaries are on his doorstep wanting the boy and his dog, and they are not taking no for an answer.

Chris Brinkley, oh my, that voice, swoon! I really hope there’s more stories coming soon because he was a dream!

What I liked: I always like Roman’s team ups with Kate Daniels so it was such a treat to be able to experience a Roman-centric novella! I loved his wit and angst, his love of his pets, and the pets themselves. Great introduction to a potential love interest too, and it was especially fun to see more of the Slavic side to Kate’s world.

What didn’t work for me: Not much, it just didn’t ping the extra box I reserve for 5 star reviews.

Final thoughts: A good solid novella which further examines the world of Kate Daniels.

Who would enjoy this book: Existing fans of Ilona Andrews especially those familiar with the Kate Daniels novels, though this could be read alone as it doesn’t seem to give any spoilers away for the main books.