4 stars - an enjoyable romantasy that picks up as the story enfolds.

Harrow is the last remaining seer travelling with a hybrid / magical carnival after a queens war wiped the rest of her family out by use of a wraith attack. The ringmaster of the carnival, Salizar, then purchases a suspected wraith but Harrows magic tells her that he is innocent?

I, like everyone, was interested in this book when I saw the gorgeous sprayed edge edition but the reviews started coming in and didn’t seem favourable. I was pleasantly surprised but I did need to push through the first half before I fell in love.

I read the first 50% of the book over 5 days then the remaining 50% in one night!

I admit the spicy scenes are cringey and very insta love but the world building and plot jumps up a notch in the later half of the book and I was glad I pushed through.

Harrow and Raiths story is completed in this book and the next book in the series is about Harrows friend Mal which I will definitely pick up.

I would recommend this book for first time fantasy readers who enjoy a little magic and romance as it’s a very easy read with little world building that I feel complicate other fantasy books.

If you’re looking for the night circus / Caraval due to the circus theme, then I feel this book will probably disappoint, even though I did like both books they are very different.

I personally like to go into books with no expectations as I feel like that can hinder your enjoyment of the story as it seems to have done with readers of this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the ebook.

If I’m honest I don’t really know what to say about this book. I DNF’d around 117. I think going into it after HOFAS isn’t doing it any favors either. The story itself isn’t bad and I do enjoy the writing style of the book. I think the idea of fantasy meets circus is pretty cool too and that is actually what drew me in. Part of me wants to continue this book part of me doesn’t. I’m very conflicted. I just don’t know where the story is going being 120 pages in. Raith knows nothing about anything: his name, his feelings, where he comes from, what he is. There’s just so much vagueness of what’s going on it’s hard to keep me locked in to the book. I may come back to it and try to continue reading it but for now I’m going to put it down.

Good characters and a good redemption arc.

However, I was hoping to see more of the circus element and worldbuilding. Instead, it just kind of acted as a backdrop for the romance and sex. And there was a lot of sex. Too much, to be honest. I think if there was more focus on developing the world and a more detailed plot, then this would have been a better read.

This is a dark, circus themed romantasy with proper magical vibes ... But unfortunately I found it a struggle. The world building just wasn't developed enough, so although I enjoyed a lot of the character relationships I was a bit confused about the overall plot and where things were going. This book didn't land for me, but still one worth trying out it you're looking for a supernatural circus!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

If you're looking for a fun weekend romance to read with dark fantasy circus romance vibes, then this would be perfect. I think if you go in expecting a mind-blowing plot, you'll be disappointed. This was a standalone book, so everything is happening quickly, but at the same time, not much happens... if that makes sense, lol. I genuinely finished the book and thought that it had no real plot other than the romance. It's also in 3rd person, so it was a bit difficult at times for me to feel really connected to the characters. But overall, the romance was sweet, and it had several of my favourite tropes

While I appreciated the circus theme in the plot, my enjoyment dwindled quickly. The narrative felt excessively verbose and lacked depth. What began with the promise of a captivating circus/magical atmosphere abruptly transitioned into poorly written and unnecessary sex scenes, disrupting the flow. A suggestion would be to streamline the plot and genre, as the story seemed confused about its direction.

Once again I request a book thinking that there would be circus involved and I was let down once again :( and the writing was a bit off, couldn't really immerse into the story.

Enter the circus at your own risk and discover the greatest show on earth. For humans, the circus is a place filled with wonder but for Harrow, it is a place to hide from those who slaughtered her entire clan. Disguising her abilities as part of her act has kept her true identity safe for years until fate intervenes.

A strange new attraction with no name, no memory and no explanation for his odd yet deadly powers. But beneath the layers of anger and isolation, one glimpse into his inky eyes reveals a soul that calls out the the loneliness in her own. Harrow is drawn to the darkness, to her insatiable need to soothe the beast who threatens their very existence.

But with every secret she unlocks from his past, another from hers is revealed, luring the enemies who will stop at nothing to destroy her, for she is the last of her kind. A fascinating magical system, with elemental creatures and a narrative that will give you whiplash from the betrayals and reveals of the truth of the characters past. This is the perfect novel for fans of travelling circuses, creatures with elemental magic and a romance with some spice.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘺 𝘈𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘢 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳

This is a tough one for me to review. I loved the write up, it sounded so exciting. But ... the world building wasn't great. There's very little description of the circus or circus life, and it doesn't feature as heavily as is implied in the write up. The war between the queens is rather undefined. I got why 2 of them were fighting but I'm not sure about how the third fit into the picture and I don't remember reading anything about queen 4! It was difficult for me to picture the settings, rather like an under-developed photo. Raith was a great character and I did enjoy the story of Raith and Harrow in itself. But Harrow, as the last and quite powerful seer, seemed to behave like an irritable teenager a lot of the time - but she was definitely no teen when the sex scenes took place! Rather spicy in parts for those who don't enjoy that sort of thing, particularly the sexual gymnastics later in the book. Overall it was okay. I'm glad I read it and finished it. I guess I just expected more story, less angst. Maybe its just me. This is one of those books that each reader needs to make up their own mind about.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this book; the synopsis sounded amazing, but I guess it wasn’t for me. Perhaps it was the writing style or the pace of the story that made me feel like it. We follow Harrow, a fortune teller that lives in a traveling circus and Raith, a new captive attraction on the same circus.

The story lacks world building and making us immerse in it, the intriguing ideas of the book, such as the magical circus got a bit lost in the way since we don’t see the experience of the circus, we just know they’re in it. So, I felt like it was a bit underdeveloped in some points.

The chemistry between the main character’s was nice, and the fact they seem connect to each other kind of helped. We have some spicy in the story which was okay. I just wished it was a bit more focused in the fantasy world we were supposed to immerse in it. Overall, I felt like it could have been better if the author made the book more immersive with the setting, it had great potential.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

I’ll start this off by saying everything about this books synopsis sounds like something I would absolutely LOVE and I was immediately excited to read it on release. (Plus the SE looks STUNNING!)

…okay, and that’s kind of all the positives I have for it.

This was honestly not good. The writing was clunky and, while I appreciate that I had an ARC, it often read like it had never seen an editor. Awful dialogue and a very VERY YA coded FMC for such a spicy adult fantasy book! I don’t doubt for a second this will be someone’s absolute favourite read but it was really not for me in the slightest.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read - sorry it isn’t more favourable

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

this was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it did not disappoint . I was a bit apprehensive because some of the reviews but I’m glad I gave it a go. This book delivers in its own way . I enjoyed the characters and the world building. A quick and interesting read with a unique storyline and I think you should definitely give it a go!

I enjoyed the whole 'circus' element to the plot but sadly, thats where my enjoyment ended. It felt very long winded and very flat. I was hoping for more circus/magical but it suddenly flew into badly (sorry!) written sex scenes that came out of nowhere and just weren't really necessary. Maybe stick to 1 plot line and genre as this felt very confused about where it needed to be.

I wish we spend more time in the actual circus setting since this was how the book was promoted and you got very little of that. I liked the characters and the forbidden romance part though!

3 .75 stars!!

🌶🌶

Sanctuary of the Shadow was high up on my most anticipated reads of 2024 list, I couldn't wait to read it, it sounded so good I was really excited. Imagine my disappointment when I started to see reviews that quite honestly made me sad 😞 but as with anything what someone doesn't like ,somebody else will love!

I started reading Sanctuary with a view to not expect anything and see how I go ,you know "too many books not enough time" kind of feeling and I think this really worked in my favour because it turns out I really enjoyed Raith and Harrow's story.

"Where is your Deep, shallow one? Did you break the surface and get stuck in the light show? So pretty but so fleeting"

It was a bit of a bumpy and confusing start , I had to keep stopping to figure out who's POV the writing had changed to as you got no warning it was changing it just did!! ......once I'd got used to this though I started to really enjoy the story, the writing isn't fantastic but the storyline kept me intrigued and I soon found myself lost in the struggles of forbidden love and immense heartache.

"They were two lost souls who'd been collateral damage in a senseless war that wasn't even their own"

Would I recommend this book??.........most definitely, I really really enjoyed it, just give it a go you might find you enjoy it too!

3.5 stars!

I was so excited by the idea of this book, and for the first half of the book I absolutely ate it up. It promotes a dark, circus, epic fantasy romance and we do get that, just not how I expected.

The connection between Harrow and Raith was exciting, their chemistry was steamy and I loved the way they would interact early on. The forbidden romance trope shines brightly through this book and it is what I enjoyed the most.

The world building could have been more detailed and I was disappointed by the fact we didn't spend long in the Circus setting despite it being marketed around a Circus.

However, the writing lost me around the halfway mark. I found it hard to pick back up and didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would, the switching POVS gets a bit confusing at times . That being said I did finish the book and I liked it enough to want to share my review.

Thank you NetGalley for this free arc in response for an honest review.

After seeing this book all over my social media I thought “wow this book is stunning it MUST be good”

This book gave absolutely nothing. Not a crumb. Boring as hell. It is a pretty book tho

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

I enjoyed this book - the story probably isn't going to win any awards and it's not the pinnacle of story writing, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Harrow is the last Water Elemental - the rest of her kind were killed leaving her alone. The Elementals from this world are ostracised by humans due to the ongoing wars and skirmishes by the Elemental Queens. Harrow has spent the last 5 decades in the circus, pretending to be a human fortune teller.

Then Raith is captured and brought to the circus in a cage. Harrow feels a connection with him instantly, and wants to help him. But there's a lot more under the surface to Raith and his connection to Harrow.

I will say that this book felt very YA, despite Harrow being 60 and Raith being older. There was also insta-love, which some people may not like - particularly given Raith doesn't remember anything. The spice scenes were fine, but I'm not a spice person anyway so that didn't bother me.

I quite liked the plot, though the blurb implies that it's going to be primarily set in the circus. This isn't true, but I actually preferred that as I'm not really a circus person so I was glad it shifted focus.

Malaikah, Harrow's best friend, was a great side character and I very much enjoyed her. I'll definitely read her book when it's out!

I actually really enjoyed this book! I finished it in one sitting as I found I just couldn’t put it down! I loved the characters and the concept was one I haven’t come across yet and I just loved it! I don’t care what other reviews say make your own decision and read it!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy of this book.