This was such a surprise debut! Because it's the first in a new series, a lot of world building was required making the intro a bit slow. Well, the wait was well worth it. Sanctuary is a YA mix between Alien and X-men packed with action, family tension, romance and suspense. The characters are complex and the plot intense. Highly recommend!

4.5 stars

Sanctuary is the first in a new YA series. It required a lot of backstory and world building before the story really got going. As a result I found the first half very slow moving. The rest of the story did have action, tension and a budding romance. Aliens had arrived and Kenzie had to help lead the people she through were criminal to save the day. There was a solution to part of the problem but I thought there was a lot left out. Of course all of those loose ends can be worked on in the next books in the series.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Actual rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I decided to go blind on this knowing as little as reading the book’s overview. The first few chapters were a bit tedious but undeniably a sleeper for all the next scenes to come. So I’m not surprise that it’s a dormant black hole that sucked me in without meaning to stop because I could exactly imagine the goriness of every scene straight from an alien movie—not one from E.T but the legit ALIEN film series where badass Ellen Ripley fights off deadly-scary creatures while on space.

It all started with a routine drill where Kenzie is a junior guard on Sanctuary, a prison cell for superpowered criminal teens. With her Dad scheduled to leave for a training exercise on Earth with Jonathan and Noah, Kenzie, Rita and her Mom which also happened to be the Commander, were the only ones left to uphold Sanctuary’s security.

However, when a merchant ship distress call turned into something horrifying, while a prison break was in the making, the tension and danger was imminent not only to the space station itself but to everyone who’s on Earth. This automatically sets the story in motion and into a fast rolling action.

In the midst of fighting the unknown, whether they were a superpowered anomaly or a citizen living by the rules set by the Omnistellar Concept, Kenzie, Cage and the rest found an ally on each other for them to survive.

Kenzie’s character had a major shift, which was pretty obvious the way she empathized with the other prisoners. From being a loyal Omnistellar guard bound by rules, regulations and protocols, she knew deep down that there’s an unfairness in the situation. As the story went on, I love how she developed a sense of independence and made a stand on her own decisions. She may not have a superpower like the other anomalies who run like the Flash or anything like pyro kinetic but her bravery is what makes her a badass character.

That same goes with Rune who was projected as calm and gentle but her shrewdness and ability was what brought their entire sector into safety for the majority of the time. And I couldn’t say less with Mia. She may act tough in front of everybody but she cares a lot on her own way.

I also love the wonderful diverse cast of characters that presented the message of unity fighting for a single goal and realized that in times of difficult situations, whatever status they hold in the society, they’re actually all but the same.

The injustices between corporate citizenship and government citizenship also didn’t go unnoticed which is parallel to what is currently happening right now.

Though there were questions that didn’t get answers in the end, which I think an author’s intention to put some sort of open-ended drama that sway readers and have that longing to know what will happen next to Kenzie and Cage; are they going to explore-like Star Trek wandering into the galaxy? I don’t know what to expect yet but I’m certainly excited for a second book.

Sanctuary is an eerie, thrilling and action-packed story that equally leveled the suspense and intensity of all sci-fi movies about aliens I have ever watched. If you are in for a ride and love to take on an adventure, I recommend you read this book and board the ship so you won’t miss the fun I had in space.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Simon Pulse, Fantastic Flying Book Club and Caryn Lix for providing me an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Kenzie is a junior prison guard on the high tech space prison Sanctuary, which serves as a holding area for criminals from Earth who are also anomalies (people who have special powers but have been microchipped to suppress their powers). When a routine drill seems odd to Kenzie and she goes to investigate the prison sectors at her mother's command, she ends up being captured by the prisoners in the fifth sector. Soon Kenzie and the prisoners must band together in order to fight an ancient evil that has come to take over the prison. Together they must make tough decisions that will challenge their morals and their will to survive.
Sci-fi is not a favorite genre of mine (except for Star Wars and Marvel), but I found myself not only enjoying this book, but sitting on the edge of my seat and reading constantly to find out what would happen to the characters. I've been trying to read outside of my go to genres, and I'm very glad I read this book. I didn't care for the profanity, but found it mild compared to many YA books being published now. This book is not for the faint of heart (it gets quite violent and gruesome at times), but it is a descriptive, suspenseful story that I wasn't able to put down. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys edge of your seat, suspenseful books full of action and adventure. I would definitely read a sequel (please let there be a sequel!).
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Whenever people in books or movies or real life say something is fool proof, or so advanced, I want to slap them in the face. Did the Titanic teach no one anything? When people are lulled into a false sense of security, that’s when things go wrong, and wrong they go. The biggest thing that kept me reading, besides the mystery, was the journey that Kenzie has to go through. Having worked as a prison guard, but basically only that, Kenzie really has to question what she thinks she knows.

What Kenzie discovers is that the system is that systems are created by people. And people are flawed. Even worse, people have prejudices, fears, and hatred. People make the rules and the protocols and they drill them into you. But what if they were wrong? In times of trouble, it isn’t how we protect our friends, but how we treat our enemies that speaks to our character. So what Sanctuary looks at, through Kenzie, is can we go beyond what we were taught? Our fears and insecurities and rigid thinking? (Cue the Doctor Who episode, “The Hungry Earth” which is not a direct parallel, but has similar ideas).

Rating: 3.5

Sanctuary, Caryn Lix’s debut novel, is an intriguing blend of science fiction and X-Men with a dash of romance and family drama thrown in. The characters are wonderfully diverse and the plot was action-packed and engaging. Like most mysteries/thrillers, I’d recommend going into this one knowing as little as possible. This review will be entirely spoiler free!

Sanctuary begins with a security drill, which quickly sets the scene, acquainting the reader with the setting and the characters up front. I thought that it was an excellent way to start the novel since Lix manages to seamlessly blends action scenes with her world-building. There was a nice lull between the opening scene and when the main action begins. This allowed the reader to get to know Kenzie. The characters were intriguing and wonderfully diverse. However, I wish the secondary characters had been a bit more distinct and well-developed since they sometimes blended together for me.

This is essentially a locked room mystery, which confines the story to a smaller scale. Additionally, this choice of setting creates a more immediate sense of danger since the characters are well aware that no help is coming. I personally would have liked there to be a bit more suspense and tension. However, I suspect that the thrills present will be enough for most readers. There are some bits that are slightly scarier but if you’ve made it through The Illuminae Files, you’ll be able to handle everything here.

I love how Lix implemented the idea of the super-powered teens. In a manner somewhat reminiscent of The Darkest Minds, she examines what it means to have only part of the population with superpowers. Tied into this was some commentary on corporations, although that part of the plot could have been fleshed out a bit more. It was definitely thought-provoking to see our current culture reflected through a distorted dystopian lens. I’m intrigued to see how Lix further develops the concept in the sequel.

Sanctuary was a fun, action-packed read that seemed significantly shorter than it’s almost 500 pages. Lix’s debut novel is a solid start to what promises to be an intriguing series.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I really wasn't sure about this one when I started. The first few chapters were kind of rough- like, I thought I might DNF honestly. And look, you definitely have to suspend some disbelief if you want to fully enjoy this one. But enjoy it I did when it got going!

What I Liked:

The characters! They're probably my favorite thing about the book, actually. Like Kenzie was okay at first, and her parents were kind of driving me bananas, but then when we get to the actual prison kids? Oh yes, I am in! And Kenzie got a lot better, too. She started to become much more likable as the book progressed.

Morally grey decisions FTW! Ohhh how I love these. And I love when there is definitely not a "good", or obvious decision, and that is how a lot of stuff in this story went down. And the characters, of course, did not always agree on which decision was less awful. Makes for a compelling plot.

There was quite a bit of action once things got going. A lot of bold choices, too. I was glad to see that the author didn't shy away from certain decisions, so the book never once seemed too easy, or safe.

What I Didn't:

Really, just the parts where I had to suspend some disbelief. But I am not the best at that, so. Especially in the beginning, some of Kenzie's choices didn't make a ton of sense to me, based on what I knew of her. And she was making me mad. But that was really just the first quarter of the book or so, and after that it was smooth sailing.

Will I Read the Sequel? Goodness yes, I obviously need to know what will happen now!

Bottom Line: If you love a space adventure with a fun cast of characters and can get on board with a little suspension of disbelief, this is definitely one to check out!

Alien meets Alexandra Bracken’s The Darkest Minds in this thrilling debut novel about prison-guard-in-training, Kenzie, who is taken hostage by the superpowered criminal teens of the Sanctuary space station—only to have to band together with them when the station is attacked by mysterious creatures. If you’re a fan of epic sci-fi adventures, SANCTUARY is right up your alley.

Thank you Fantastic Flying Book Club for including me on this blog tour! Full tour schedule here.

My students will devour this book! Just enough action and adventure mixed with sci-fi for all my readers. First thing they will say after reading is when is the next book coming out? We need to know where did they go an why was she not told?

Rating 4.5/5

I swear I could have read this book in one sitting, I would have if I hadn’t had other stuff to do with my day, once I picked it up I was hooked.

The story was really interesting I liked that there were so many elements to it, everything worked well to create this wonderful tension. The pace is a little slower to start but then really picks up which is great because I got totally immersed. Unfortunately, I did find that maybe some of the things that happened nearer the end didn’t register as deeply as they would have because there was so much going on, but I suppose because it was such a high-pressure situation in the story it would be the same for some of the characters.

Whilst most of the story is based on the space station, Earth has a somewhat dystopian element where different parts are ruled by either corporations or the government and there are the anomalies, humans that have developed superpowers. I felt like it was all explained well, I mean I still have a few questions but I’m pretty sure that’s because Sanctuary is the first book in a series so they’ll probably be answered in later books.

At first Kenzie, the main character, seemed a little bit like she was trying too hard and I had a feeling like I would get annoyed with her eventually but as the story progressed I found that she came into her own. She still manages to think independently even with all the rules thrust upon her, she starts to prioritize those around her even though it is against her training and she becomes more open-minded to those around her.

The prisoners were also really fascinating, there was such a great mix of personalities and even though they could be quite combative at times it was good that they all had become a family. They also had a good mix of powers and I liked that they only used them when necessary, they had powers and they were useful but that wasn’t the only thing going for them.

I have to say I thought Cage and Kenzie were so cute together even though they didn’t really trust each other in the beginning the tension between them was fun. I also thought Rune was amazing, I liked that she was so accepting and was keen to get stuck in and not always be protected by Cage.

As I said before I am left with a few questions and I definitely can’t wait to see where the story goes next, this is a very solid start to a series and I will be keeping my eye out for book two.

One word to describe this book: WOW.

Sanctuary is a thrilling adventure filled with edge-of-your-seat moments and intense battle scenes that grab you and never let go. Kenzie and the prisoners come face-to-face with a horror they never imagined and to stay alive, they must work together. And if the don’t, the prison, and the surrounding planets and people, will be in mortal danger.

The idea behind this book is exceptional and well-written. Having a space prison with teenage prisoners who exhibit powers, while also adding in killer aliens and a little bit of romance, makes for one heck of a book. Sanctuary was action-packed; I had such a difficult time putting this book down when I had to sleep or go to work or clean. It’s just THAT GOOD.

Kenzie is an enjoyable and intricate character. She’s smart and a hard worker; she’s a character many people can relate to. And I loved how throughout the whole book, Kenzie kept relating to her favorite manga character. Kenzie thought her only problem would be finding a way to escape from the prisoners. She never expected her life, and everyone else’s, to be in danger. She never expected to see frightening creatures from a horror movie board Sanctuary and hunt them all down. Kenzie, and the other teenagers, are in for a rude awakening about those creatures and the corporation Kenzie’s parents have devoted their every waking moment to.

The characters are engrossing and complex. More than once the reader is reminded that the people fighting these creatures are teenagers, not adults. Well, they may have some butt-kicking awesome powers, but in the end, they are still teenagers. There are times where emotions cloud their judgments, where the decision between life and death is tested. Through all the battle scenes, all the discoveries about Omnistellar Concepts and themselves, at the end of the day, they are all still teenagers. And I love that. They are thrown into this brutal world as teenagers and have to act as adults and work as a team to survive. The character development of each of the characters is exquisite and surprising; the cast of characters work so well together. Sanctuary was, overall, a fantastic science fiction book. There was never a dull moment.

I was super excited to find out that there will be a sequel to Sanctuary and I cannot wait to read it. Sanctuary left me with more questions than answers; plus, I would love to have some more of Cage in my life. 😉

Sanctuary by Caryn Lix comes out July 24, 2018, so make sure to pre order or grab your copy on release day! Trust me, this is not a YA Sci-fi you are going to want to miss!

Thank you for supplying me with this ARC for my participation in the (FFBC) Sanctuary blog tour. My stop date was 7/19/18. You can see my review below and the link to the post on my blog.

My thoughts:

I almost gave up on Sanctuary. The first 90 (give or take) pages gave us a great rundown on Kenzie’s world: how the society worked, which groups were in power, and why the ship, Sanctuary was created; but very little action. Just when I was close to marking this book as DNF – non-stop action kicked in – and I was hooked!

Kenzie was a complex character. She was raised to believe that any individual with supernatural abilities was dangerous, and that it was a great honor to work, even die for Omnistellar, the most powerful corporation in the world that kept teen supes incarcerated. When Sanctuary was breached, and Kenzie was forced to team up with the teens for her own survival, she started to lose her loyalty and faith towards Omnistellar. The teens weren’t as non-human as she was led to believe. I admired Kenzie, because she was incredibly brave and compassionate. She couldn’t stand to see anyone in pain, and regardless of her upbringing, didn’t hesitate in helping and protecting the teens.

The setting was deliciously eerie. From the moment we met Kenzie, and the other guards on Sanctuary, I feared for them. Even though there was an advanced AI system monitoring and controlling the prison cells, the guards were seriously outnumbered by the “dangerous” teens. The story got even more nail-bitey when teens started disappearing, and strange creatures started roaming the halls. As promised, this book was full of suspense, thrill, and danger, and gave me major goosebumps.

Sanctuary was intense and shocking, and I’m so glad I didn’t give up on it. There was a big cliffhanger at the end of the book, and I really hope we get at least two sequels, because I think there’s a lot more story to tell. There’s also many characters I want to get to know better.

The link: http://bookslaying.com/2018/07/sanctuary-by-caryn-lix-blog-tour-review-fav-quotes-giveaway/

Being completely honest, this book fell far, FAR short for me. As such, I have chosen not to leave a starred review on Goodreads.

My biggest complaint about the book is that the intruders were actually 'aliens' instead of the protag coming face to face with her complicit actions in an oppressive system. She did not have to face Omnistellar, nor did she have to have any shift in thinking regarding the imprisonment of innocent children.

Instead, the author chose to use the protag's own /secret powers/ to force her into understanding the imprisoned teens. OF COURSE she'll be on their side once her own privilege is threatened.

In an era when mass incarceration is prevalent and privatized, I cannot support a book ABOUT PRISON where the prison system is not critiqued.

Kenzie has been training her whole life to become a Prison Guard on Sanctuary, a spaceship prison designed to hold teenage "anomalies", or people with supernatural abilities. Despite her best efforts through, everything seems to be going wrong. She's secluded on a spaceship with no access to her friends on Earth, her parents have decided to separate with her mom, the Commander of the ship, staying behind, and the AI system the controls the ship has begun to act up. But when the prisoners on the ship escape and take Kenzie hostage, things get much, much worse. 

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review. I haven't been able to read much Science Fiction lately, as many of the books I receive for review are Fantasy novels. I was excited to get the opportunity to dive back into one of my favorite genres, though. The added element of the teenagers with supernatural abilities was something I wasn't used to seeing in the Space/Prison break motif, though, so I was definitely intrigued. 

Kenzie, as a narrator and protagonist of the novel, was likeable and relatable. She's smart, but sometimes gullible and naive. She's been sheltered from a lot of the hardness of life so she's fairly flawed. The other characters, which are equally important to the plot, are all diverse and complex. The chemistry between characters was fantastic, While it could be heavy-handed at times, I enjoyed watching Kenzie interact with other characters and how they all affected one another.

While the story Kenzie finds herself in is fantastical, her internal struggles are very real and tangable. She's worried about her parent's separation. She's worried about who she has put her trust in. She's worried about a growing crush she has on a boy she know she can't be with. The mixing of these fantastic and mundane storylines worked well and kept me hooked into the story from start to finish. There were a few unexpected plot twists that I appreciated, although most of the novel was about what I had expected from this genre and motif.

The setting of the book is almost exclusively on the ship Sanctuary, so the setting for this book is somewhat limited. There are some scenes that take place on Earth and the spaceship exists within a complicated political universe, that the author does a great job of exposing us to. It's just unfortunate that we're not able to see more of this world through first hand experience. There were elements of the rules of the world that the author seemed to beat the reader over the head with, like making sure the reader knows that areas of the world controlled by Governments are poor and areas controlled by Corporations, like where Kenzie is from, are wealthy. I would have loved to see the author put a bit more trust in her readers in this regard. 

Sanctuary is the first book in Caryn Lix's Sanctuary series. I hope she continues to develop these awesome characters and complex plots while allowing the reader to see more of the world in the next novels. I'll definitely be watching out for the next Sanctuary novel and would highly recommend this book to fans of Science Fiction and the Prison Break genre.

Caryn Lix's debut SANCTUARY is an action-packed thrill ride from start to finish. A unique premise, well-developed worldbuilding, and a protagonist you'll be cheering for makes this a must-buy for YA collections.

Sanctuary by Caryn Lix is a young adult science fiction fantasy that also crosses over into the land of horror. The story centers around teenage Kenzie who has been raised in a world controlled by corporations and followed in her parents footsteps training to work for Omnistellar. Just having been made a junior guard Kenzie is working under her mother’s command on a space station known as Sanctuary.

Sanctuary is run by a powerful AI and built in order to become a prison for young teenagers with superpowers that were deemed too dangerous to stay on Earth. When what seems to be a normal drill for the guards takes place Kenzie gets the feeling there is more to the simulation this time but it isn’t until after her father leaves for Earth with a few of the other guards that it becomes clear the prisoners have found a way out of their cells but superhuman teens are the least of the worries on Sanctuary.

Alright, folks that normally follow my reviews are probably getting whiplash seeing a 5 star rating on an almost 500 page book, normally they would see me complaining about the pacing and the length being too much. Thankfully though Sanctuary is one of those rare gems that used every bit of the page count and I would have been ecstatic for more.

The world that Caryn Lix has built is just complex enough to make the story extremely interesting but she built it by peppering the story with details over the course of the book so it never bogged down the action. I was completely engaged in this one from the very beginning and impressed with the pace of the book all throughout.

Along with the wonderful world building the characters all seemed to be well fleshed out along the way. As more and more happens in the story I really felt myself caring about what was to come their way and on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it would turn out with little twists coming all throughout. In the end I found this one to be quite unique and well written and would definitely recommend checking it out!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review**

**3.75 stars**

This is a fun, action-packed Sci-Fi space adventure with aliens. YES, aliens. I was so excited to read this story. It's completely different from what I have been reading lately. There haven’t been many YA alien stories lately--unless I've somehow missed them. So, Sanctuary was not only a delight to read but a breath of fresh air.
Plot:
Kenzie is a junior guard on Sanctuary, a prison for supernatural teens...IN SPACE. Sanctuary is owned by a corporation called Omnistellar. In this story, you either live in a corporate controlled city or a government controlled city. Corporate controlled cities operate much better as there is less crime and money. Corporations are able to provide more for their citizens than bankrupt governments. This causes those who live and work in corporate controlled cities to be fiercely loyal to their company. Case in point: Kenzie's parents. Both of her parents work on Sanctuary and are incredibly loyal and devout in their duties--especially Kenzie's mom, the Commander of Sanctuary. Kenzie has grown up her whole life knowing she is blessed and indebted to Omnistellar for always providing for her family.

The plot takes off once Kenzie is abducted by some of the prisoners onboard. This is the first time Kenzie has ever truly been around the prisoners--most of whom are her age or younger. Soon, she is faced with a dilemma as her loyalty and training as a guard kick in while her conscience and compassion feel for the prisoners.

But, then it doesn't seem to matter which side you are on: guard or prisoner as a bigger threat looms in the space station. There are mysterious, lethal, intelligent creatures roaming around Sanctuary. The only option is for Kenzie to join forces with the prisoners.

Pros:
--the whole premise of the novel
--unique futuristic world
--alienssssss
--perfect for action-oriented readers
--good twists
--instalove (if you're a fan)
--enemies to lovers trope (if you're a fan of it--like me: P)
--great foundation/launch pad for this series

Cons:
--instalove (if you aren't a fan)
--not much character depth or development
--doesn't go into the corporations hidden agenda very much (I imagine it will be discussed in future books)

Overall:
I rather enjoyed this story. It's different than almost every other YA sci-fi book being released lately. However, I do think this book is intended for younger YA audiences as it is more action-packed which is meant to capture and maintain the reader's attention. Older audiences might wish for more development, BUT this story is still enjoyable just the way it is. It was a great change of pace for me, honestly. It was more of a light, fun read as it isn't chock full of world building and character building. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.

P.S.: Can someone make this into a movie? It'd be PERFECT for the big screen.

I tried and tried, but I just could not get into this book. It seemed that every page, I stumbled over another common YA trope. I also could not connect with Kenzie at all. There were several times where she pat herself on the back for being smarter or better than others, or hinted that she had more to prove and they were jealous of her, then seconds later she did something incredibly stupid.

I also kind of found her narrative to be a bit clunky in that she walked us through every single one of her thoughts, spelled out, in case we didn't grasp her meaning. For instance when she was referring to herself walking through the prison and she mentioned something to the affect of: "But a teenage girl walking through the halls (me) would be noticed".

The blind faith in 'The Corporation' was also, I felt, a bit of a stretch. As a guard of supposedly super dangerous criminals, the highest ranking official ignored possibly issues because they should 'have faith in the corporation'. In that kind of job taking *anything* for granted could cost someone their life, so it annoyed me a bit.

The vernacular also got a bit corny to me at times, but I didn't take that into account in my star rating because it's a YA book, and that could be the reasoning for it? Not sure, but several cliche statements were made, such as "xyz could be the end of the world as we know it." It felt very William Shatner.

The romance was very, very "Insta" and the second half of the book in and of itself seemed like it should have been a second book? The entire shift of the story changed, but in a way that felt kind of disjointed, like moving from season 1 to season 2 or book 1 to book 2, not the same story.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this book very much unfortunately, though I wanted to because SciFi is one of my favorites.

Kenzie and her parents are in charge of Sanctuary, a space prison for criminal teens. Kenzie is only a guard but her access makes her valuable to the teen prisoners who try to take over the space ship. These are no ordinary lawbreakers but adolescents who have special powers that Omnistellar, the company that runs the prison, wants to contain. Once the teen convicts are on the loose, Kenzie becomes their hostage and is forced to make decisions about what’s really right. She is confronted with concerns about the corporation that her parents are totally committed to; about the company’s honesty regarding the prisoners and the true purpose of the jail.

The action is swift and the threats from the adults as well as an unknown entity heighten the suspense. The superpower teen prisoners enliven the plot with their skills. There’s so much more to them than just their abilities. It’s not surprising that Kensie is torn between her allegiance as a guard (and daughter) and her feelings. There’s a lot to like – betrayal, a little romance, corporate lies, special abilities and outside threats. The unknown danger is a bit murky. Fortunately there’s another book coming to satisfy readers who need to know what happens next. A riveting start to a fascinating space saga.
3.5*

4 stars

This was such an awesome read!

I mean, first off, conceptually it’s such a great idea. Y’know I have a fondness for prison guards switching to the other side, as well as sci-fi, teens with mysterious superpowers, space, mysterious aliens, corporations, and all sorts of other science fictiony awesomeness.

And this reads like such an epic alien horror novel, in a non-tacky way! It’s not like that low budget alien horror movie with the laughable effects, but the super big expensive one that really makes you feel like you’re gonna be jumped by an alien any minute.

I loved the atmosphere, and it’s a really unique one that I haven’t really seen in YA before. I mean, alien horror just sounds totally amazing, doesn’t it? I was definitely on my toes for a lot of this and may or may not have glanced behind my shoulder once or twice (okay fine, multiple times).

And it was all so intense and the action scenes are the greatest! I was extremely thrilled while reading, and now I know that if I could have only one thing from Caryn Lix, it’d be her stellar action scenes! They are thrilling and engaging and not at all stunted or awkward sounding. They flow seamlessly and it’s like all this action is happening and you’re right there with the characters as an alien attacks you! So fun! (Who doesn’t love being attacked by aliens?)

I just had so much fun reading those parts, especially as the book got more and more intense and mysterious as it neared the end. I loved the pacing of the second half of the book, but I do think that the first half dragged a little too much for me. But despite it seeming lengthy in page count, I do need to add that I gobbled this up anyways and it didn’t really slow my reading experience.

It felt like Lix was dawdling a bit in the initial couple hundred of pages as she set everything up, and although I did love reading about Kenzie’s loyalty to the corporation, I think it was incorporated enough in the second half of the novel’s narrative enough that her loyalty would be established without the first half being so long.

It’s kind of like this novel is two pieces–establishing Kenzie’s corporate loyalties and setting this up, and then fighting aliens. I wanted these pieces to flow a little more smoothly together, which could have happened through condensing the first a bit.

The corporation theme is super cool and the only thing I wish was different is if it was maintained as a theme more strongly throughout the second half too. It ends up being used more as a motivator rather than something the characters actually want to change and fight against, and in this book it was like I was holding my breath, waiting for the corporation fightback that didn’t happen because aliens became an (unfortunate) thing.

My rating would have been a half star or two lower if I didn’t get confirmation from the author that there was going to be a sequel. There’s a lot of themes that I felt were left not fully explored and unresolved and I would not have been satisfied with this book if it was a standalone. So rest assured that there will be a book 2 next summer.

Which brings me to my (new) analysis of this book as the first of two–great job. Really great job of setting up the themes to be closed in book 2. (My reaction would be completely different if this was a standalone.) I definitely hope the characters will revisit corporatism, as well as some other themes in the novel like…

The aliens. How cool are these aliens? I mean, we don’t know that much about them still, but what we do know is really interesting and I love how Lix set them up in the scope of the whole universe. And they’re a vicious thing to fight against, which makes it really interesting.

These aren’t really your “Let’s contemplate if they’re friendly aliens!” type aliens, but I don’t really mind it. Maybe I’m in a warmongering mood (y’know, they did kill and kidnap a bunch of people from the start), but this type of alien murder touches in with my ruthless side.

And although the alien plotline is temporarily fixed for now, I feel like there’s a lot in store for the teens still, and there’s still a bunch of mysteries behind the aliens. So–cool beans, right? I hope we see more of that in book 2.

I have to admit, but I didn’t really read this for the characters. I read this for the corporations and alien fights and larger scope of the picture that’s more commonly found in adult sci-fi, so although the characters were fine and not irritating, I don’t really have much to say about them. Kenzie narrated the story well and the romance wasn’t really that invasive so I didn’t end up minding the attempts at character development. Not the book’s strong suit, but nothing terrible.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Sanctuary for all of the really exciting action scenes and badass alien fights. I’m really excited for Lix to begin exploring some of the more subtle and character based themes in book 2, and will definitely be reading the sequel next year!

If you love the sound of alien horror novels or something with fierce action scenes, then I definitely recommend you check out Sanctuary!