When the star quarterback is killed at a high school party, is it an accident or murder? Is his girlfriend a witch like her mother, or not? Is she responsible for his death? Will their mothers, best friends until now, continue their friendship? Will the town, once so supportive of the witch turn on her?

All good questions, which are answered in this intriguing book about mothers, friends and small towns. Told from multiple points of views, it is fast paced with believable characters and is a bewitching blend of mystery and fantasy.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Sanctuary by V.V. James.

Sarah is a witch, and in her coven are some of her closest lifelong friends. But when one of her friends' teenage son dies, and her daughter Harper is accused, everything changes. The biggest catch, Harper doesn't have the powers. But in a small town, rumors circulate, and people become convinced that she's guilty, especially after she tries to sully his name.

I wish I was more into magic and fantasy. I really do. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of good literature because of my disinterest. So as far as books about magic go, this was pretty good. I still enjoyed the mystery and the relationship conflict and drama. It was a bit long, but it was written well and compellingly.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this novel! It reminded me of Big Little Lies meets witches! I was a little skeptical at first but was sold quickly! Plot twists, deep characters I fell in love with, and a fantastic murder mystery. Highly recommend especially for a fun, twisty summer read.
Thankful for the ARC!

Very well written drew me in to a modern day Salem.The author has a wonderful writing style will be recommending his books. #netgalley#sourcebooks

The premise is interesting. Young high school football star and beloved son dies tragically at a party. The local witch’s daughter/the recently departed’s ex girlfriend stands accused of using witchcraft to murder the boy, a crime that is punishable by death. A state detective with loose ties to the community investigates the possible murder.

There’s much to enjoy about the novel - the author created a thoughtful alternative universe in which magic is inherited and highly regulated, some of the characters were well-fleshed out, and the various twists of the plot were unanticipated. The bigotry also felt realistic in its portrayal.

On the other hand, there were also several aspects that I disliked. The detective is characterized as sharp and incisive, and yet she never seems to ask enough questions. I found her ineptitude frustrating at times. She also was disconcertingly biased in her investigation from the beginning (do detectives really rely so frequently on their gut instincts??). There were also three points of the book in which resolution appears to be reached and coincidentally something happens to blow it all back up - I started checking how many pages were left simply to assess whether the latest reconciliation was likely to implode.

The book was a great hybrid of murder mystery and fantasy. Though the unfolding of the mystery left something to be desired, it was fast-paced, juicy with scandal and gossip, and satisfying in its conclusion. I give this book a 3.

3 stars

The addition of witches and magic to a small town crime mystery made for a unique story. James does a great job with the world building. But, what failed to connect for me was the characters; there were so many unlikeable ones and even the narrators weren't interesting or developed enough. I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second, where things went over the top and then there wasn't enough resolution with such an abrupt ending.

A really intriguing book. I loved it although it was sad at times but it’s definitely worth a read. A brilliant debut for fans of Luanne Moriarity x

High expectations due to the Big Little Lies/Practical Magic comparison, but this felt a little silly to me.

This book started off a little slow for me, but the more I read the better it got. I couldn’t put it down! This is a modern day Salem..very good!

Sanctuary is my first read from author V.V. James. The storyline is set in a town that is aware of and understanding of witchcraft. Some believe in it and utilize the witchcraft for its powers and others are still wary of it and are non-believers. The story is centered around locals Sarah, Abigail, Harper and Daniel along with detective Maggie whom is there to investigate (from out of town). Maggie has arrived to investigate the death of star quarterback, Daniel. Harper was Daniel’s girlfriend, Sarah is Harper’s mother and Abigail is Daniel’s mother and close friend of Sarah.
Sarah is a witch but Harper does not have the same powers. The town is in an upheaval as they believe Harper used magic to kill Daniel and Abigail is set on making Harper pay for the loss of her son. It was an interesting read as the individual POV are laid out to aide the reader in learning something about each character, including the detective. As the story unravels it reveals how each person is not as ‘good’ as they appear to be. Betrayal, violence, hysteria and indifference to one another’s pain and plight is wrought throughout the story. People like you until they don’t; the townspeople façade of tolerance and acceptance, until they don’t.
While the situations revealed could be unpleasant in nature, it was a lot like real life scenarios and I found myself relating it a lot to current and past true life along with a mix of something from the movie witchcraft or sabrina the teenage witch. This is a great read if you enjoy the aforementioned and/or suspenseful stories with a dark twist.
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

I ended up being pleasantly surprised by this read. It definitely lives up to the ‘Big Little Lies meets Practical Magic’ description! Set in a small New England town, this mystery follows the death of a high school athlete, the young girl who is accused of killing him using witchcraft, and the town that grows in fear and hysteria. What comes next is a more crime, more mysteries, and more witchcraft.
My favorite aspect of this novel was how in depth the author went on the world of magic and witchcraft. Witches are known to exist in this world and live amongst everyone in Sanctuary. There are specific laws set for witches and even an organization that exists solely to protect witches. This is needed because witches are still considered untrustworthy and persecuted against. I love the way the lore was seamlessly inserted and felt that it truly propelled the story forward. I’m not too familiar with common witch-lore or with religious practices like Wicca or paganism, but I felt like the magical system described in this novel was different enough to be unique, but also felt realistic (or...as realistic as witchcraft can be!).
Overall, this novel really felt like a story of friendship and family - and the lengths people will go to protect and care for those they love. The evolution of the friendship between those apart of the Coven in this novel was very powerful. Seeing how that friendship and dynamic changed through the course of the novel felt authentic and true-to-life.
I will say, however, that my favorite chapter was the very last one — so keep reading until the end!!

I would like to thank NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and author V.V. James for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

I loved that this novel was written from multiple perspectives. I find that this really keeps the story going at a good pace, and it also keeps it interesting. I love anything witchy, so this pulled me in. This kept my interest the whole way through, and I had a really hard time putting it down. I wanted to stay in the story so I could find out what happened. Definitely an awesome read that I will be recommending to a lot of people!

Thank you to those named above for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

I read A LOT of books and have I read and never really enjoyed another type of book with this type of plot but I loved this book!! It's told from multiple characters perspective and I love when a book is written that way. I would highly recommend reading this book!!

This book hooked me right from the very beginning and left me on the edge of my seat the majority of the read. I finished it late last night because I kept telling myself one more chapter, with just one more chapter. It has a dark Gothic atmosphere to it which only seems to intensify while the story develops. It's scary to see how this mimics what must have happened back during the Salem witch trials and how normally rational people can spin out of control.

The book is focused on the lives of two friends, both members of a coven. Sarah, who is magical witch, and Abigail, who is not. We read the story from their points of view. We also hear from Maggie, the detective that's attached to the case of Abigail's son Daniel death. Although Abigail is one of Sarah's closest friends she turns on her and begins to slowly unravel due to her son's death at a teen party. Over the course of the investigation Daniel's death, friendships and alliances are really put to the test and nothing will ever be the same in this town again.

It was really quite frightening how quickly things escalated and begun to unravel and how normally sane people began calling for a Witch Hunt. The whole premise of the storyline seems to be life is not black or white but definitely shades of grey. Everyone has secrets and everyone's secrets have the ability to turn someone's life upside down. The author did a fantastic job with the complexity of her characters and the development of both them and the plot line. She dealt with real issues like love, friendship, betrayal and self-interest and how grief can affect people in their decision-making. The mass hysteria and mob mentality which seems to develop from hate crimes is frightening and as we see them from Sarah's point of view, is utterly heartbreaking. We also hear from Harper, Sarah's and how the effects of the party and the aftermath affect her life. There's much in the story about the interaction of the teenage children of the main characters and there is some strong subject matter concerning sexual assaults, which some readers might find off-putting, but is integral to the story.

I really really love this book. It called me in a way that I didn't think it would and made me really think about what if situations like this happened today.

I would like to thank V.V. James, Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for the ability to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

One witch in a town with a past filled with hatred and prejudice. Why would any witch move there? Sanctuary is about a witch name Sarah who has three friends that are not witches, but they are a part of her coven. Sarah, Abigail, Julie, and Bridget are women that were tight until everything changes. Accusation begins to fly that it was murder when Abigail's star quarterback son dies. Those accusations landed on Sarah's nonwitch daughter Harper. The secrets and lies come up full circle and friendships and loyalty are tested. In my opinion Sanctuary was a book that had a few secrets and a lot of lies This book was very entertaining and putting it down was impossible to do. The chapters are based on the point of views of the moms Sarah, Abigail and the detective on the case Maggie. I had to find out what happened in the end because things got too hot and the lies didn't stop. Sarah was a fool to believe that hatred and prejudices can die away. They lie and wait for the perfect opportunity to return even in the ones you trust. The ending was'nt as I hoped because I wanted to know what happened to everyone. There was no resolution and everything just faded away. Perhaps a sequel? Another thing Harper's absense through her mother ordeal was annoying. Thank you NetGalley I would definitely read another book from this author.