Sanctum is a good attempt at trying to be scary. Unfortunately, it just rang like a bad made-for-tv movie and not even on a cable channel. Maybe for other readers it would be thrilling, but I grew up on horror movies and not Disney. I had posters of Jamie Lee Curtis screaming on my wall, not princesses (chuckle). The groundwork is there. Read it and let me know what you think - does it scare you?

I didn't really like this book. it was a strange and lacklustre read. I found myself skimming through the pages, as I was pretty bored at times. The horror level definitely could have been upped. I think one final scare at the end would have made the book more memorable. I think a shorter book with more scares would have been more effective.

I understand this was about a small ,religious community, but the blatant LGBTQ hate has hard to read. I was very uncomfortable reading these portions.

This book was overall lacklustre, I needed more depth, more haunting episodes. Characters were boring and one dimensional.

The hatred of sexual minorities were overdone and some of the language used to describe the disgust were unnecessary to say the least. Not to mention repetitive. Like, I get it, people in this town loathe lgbtq+. No need to hammer it in every single page.
Overall everything in this book was surface level and it dragged so much, that in the end I started skipping pages.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A not too long… not too scary haunted house book. It was good but I was expecting more. Sorry.

Thank you netgalley.

When minor issues for Emily and Ronnie take a turn for the worst, they look to their handyman and real estate agent for answers and soon find out that neither is aware of the horrors that have already infiltrated their small town.

Ed is starting off as a real estate agent after retiring. His first customers are Emily and Ronnie, who have something strange going on in their house. Their handyman thinks it is haunted. I did not finish this. I didn't really like the writing and the story wasn't engaging me that much. I only read 25% and will not rate this book anywhere else.

I like haunted house stories and this one was pretty good. There's a decent creepiness that doesn't hit right away, but it works (though I wish there had been more of it). And the explanation for the haunting was an interesting twist. This is more of a novella and I think it could have been fleshed out a lot more with added scares and delving further into the dark side of certain characters. The subplot of the older real estate agent's life felt forced and unnecessary - I thought it would tie in to the haunting in some way. But it was an enjoyable, quick read overall.

Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the copy in exchange for the review.

This is a quick and enjoyable read. It had three different story threads that Rovens did well in winding them together so we were able to get a much more fleshed out version of events that we wouldn’t have necessarily gotten if we’d just followed only Ed or only Emily and Ronnie. The twist was unexpected and kept me entranced. The only things I didn’t really like were the pacing felt a little off at times and I felt like Alma became a bit too much with her issues with Ed’s clients. Other then that I really enjoyed this overall.

I love haunted houses and movies about them, but I have never read a book about haunted houses. And I am happy that I started with 'Sanctum'!

'Sanctum' follows Ed as he begins a new season of life as a Real Estate agent for Cain Mill Homes. Ed becomes the agent for Ronnie and Emily, but a few bumps pop up on the path to selling their house. What is happening in the house on Pine Street? And why does no one at Cain Mill Homes think this is odd?

This was a quick read, and I was interested, from the first description of Ms. Loaf to the wild and disturbing twists! I loved the reports of the hauntings in the house and everyone's reaction to them.
I will say that while I was uncomfortable and on edge while the scary moments were happening, I did not feel scared in the reprieves, which brought down the rating.
I would rate this book 3.5 stars, but I like to round it up!

*There is a homophobia subplot, just so you are aware.*
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Sanctum' by Sue Rovens.

Sanctum is a fairly short and quick read. The pacing was pretty good, it has a great premise and creep factor without being scary.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was a suspenseful thriller following Ed, a recently retired workman who after months of boredom decides to return to work, this time as a real estate agent.
He is elated when he gets his first clients, couple Ronnie and Emily, hoping to sell their house.
However the closer they get to selling the house, the more and more they begin to notice that everything is not right in the house…
I found this a great read, it was very short and face paced and while it wasn’t too scary it still had its moments. I would recommend this to any horror lovers! It also includes great representation!

This was such a fun read! It is unique and interesting. The characters were great. I will definitely be checking out more books by this author! 10/10 highly recommend! Special Thank You to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Sanctum
by Sue Rovens
Great story. It kept me reading all day. Very relevant today. A man defies his wife and her religious circle to sell a gay couple's home. He was right in the wrong in all the ways life should be.

The cover is what drew me in the most. This was fast pace and engaging from beginning to end! Glad I was able to pick this one up.

From the very beginning the book starts weirdly with a floating corgi dog named Ms. Loaf!!

From there we had a shortish tale of Ed who became an estate agent, and a gay couple Ronnie & Emily.

There were elements of a haunted house and horror, but I wanted more backstories for those three and struggled to the end. Not for me , I'm afraid.

Thanks to Net Galley and BooksGoSocial for the chance to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sanctum is a quick horror/thriller novel

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:
Ed is a retired man who decides to get into the relator business as a hobby. Ed gets his license and gets a job with Cain Mills and his first Clients, Emily and Ronnie. Emily and Ronnie start to notice weird things happening at their home. Ed's marriage begins to fall apart. The real estate office is weird, and nothing makes sense, and no one is willing to give straightforward answers.

What I liked:
- Sanctum is a quick and easy read. This is a great book for people that want to begin reading books in the genre
- I liked that there was more than one storyline because you see Emily and Ronnie and their experience, Ed and his wife, and Ed with the real estate office.
- This book held my attention the entire time, and I was not expecting the ending.
What I didn't like:
- I thought that the pacing of the novel was not consistent.
- I also thought Alma was really exaggerating the issue she has about Ed's clients being gay. I feel like after 40 years of marriage the topic would have arisen.

3.5 Stars. Thank you to Net Galley for this copy of Sue Rovens “Sanctum”. An entertaining quick read. The twist in this book made me want to know more about what Ed got himself into when he agreed to become a realtor in his small town for a cryptic real estate company. I enjoyed the supernatural element beyond the typical haunted house story that felt original. I couldn’t get enough.

What a strange horror story. Although it had one of the best opening chapters I have read in quite sometime. That alone made this a worthwhile read.

Thank you to Books Go Social and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book via an advance copy. The story begins with a floating dog name Ms Loaf so how can you can wrong there? No spoilers here. This book was somewhat different than the books I typically read but was quite entertaining nonetheless. I am interested to read other books by Sue Rovens as her style has me intrigued.

Overall I enjoyed the book. The pace was good but it wasn’t overly suspenseful which I very much enjoy. Sometimes the dialogue seemed forced or over the top but the characters and pace were great.