I loved this book from start to finish. I cried, I laughed, I got angry and I saw red but to me being able to bring all those emotions out makes a great book. Aurora did an amazing job keeping my attention and I loved so many of the characters. Harrow and Raith, the MFC and MMC. both go through some life changing moments. Some of those moments had me reeling but it was a fantastic read. There was love, friendship, vengeance, fantasy and some steamy scenes too. It was a fantastic read and I can't wait to read the next book.

I throughly enjoys this book. I think it set a good pace when it came to events within the book and gave good back story since some of the events that were in the past. I love Raith and Harrow's connection and the way they are discovering how the past events lead them up to current ones. I wasn't thrilled with side characters point of view (but that's just me wanting everything to be focused on main characters). I hoped for more circus action but like the way that it was incorporated into the story. Overall was a good read.

4.5/5 stars

This book is perfect for all you smutty romantasy lovers out there!

Sanctuary of the Shadow follows a woman named Harrow, a seer and fortune teller in a circus for non-humans run by a mysterious man named Salizar. When Harrow discovers an unexpected stranger at the circus, she must battle between the reality of her past and the man she loves.

This book was SO CUTE. I loved the dynamic between the main characters, and how they must navigate their own traumas as their relationship blooms. There was a good amount of smut (although I would have loved if it were spaced out a little more), though I will say it is pretty tame to what I am used to reading (Perhaps a 2.5/5 for the spiciness).

The only thing I had a hard time getting behind was the timeline of the romance. I am very much a lover of slow-burn, and there was nothing slow about this. The declarations of love after a few weeks was hard for me to believe, but the romance was otherwise beautiful.

I LOVED Nashira, a minor character who is cryptic and a little unhinged, and the end of the book wrapped up nicely with an opening for a potential sequel / spinoff to follow a different character.

Overall, I had a great time reading this. It was quick, fun, and sexy, and I highly recommend it.

Cool cover, cool premise, a few cool moments. I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. I really wanted to like it. I loved the idea of the elementals and the traveling circus, but we didn't get much of either. The circus scene (singular) was her catching the tail end of her friends acrobat act. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, so I found it really hard to picture anything happening in this book. There is a lot of repetitiveness as well. Harrow tells us something, and then boom, Raith is telling us the same thing. And then it was all hurriedly wrapped up with a nice, neat bow. We went around in a circle, twice and then it ended.

Sanctuary of a Shadow was a fun and mysterious ride. Set in a world where non-humans (elementals) have all but been exiled to either a traveling circus for protection or the dark sides of various cities to survive, two of these elementals are set on a collision course with one another.
Attracted to each other by forces neither can truly remember, they feel a connection and compulsion they don't understand.
There were many layers to this story and I truly wish that there was more time spent within the circus and on the backstories of some of those characters. The story felt a bit rushed and several points of the story could have used more explanation.
All in all a pleasant read, just wanted a little more depth.

3.5 stars - I enjoyed the wild ride of this story, but felt like issues could have been fleshed out more. I would have loved more about the circus and its origins (I still can't decide if I think Salizar is a good guy or a villain), and it felt like genocide was just brushed aside in favor of insta-love. However, as I read I still wanted to know more and flipped the pages as quickly as I could. The queens and their war and disregard for their world was infuriating. I liked Harrow and Raith but just wish there had been a little more meat around the romance.

Thank you to Red Tower / Entangled for the ARC.

I received an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Red Tower Books/Entangled Publishing for the ARC!

Harrow, an Elemental/Hybrid with the power of water magic, and the last remaining seer, works for Salizar in his circus of Elementals. When he brings back a captured shadow creature, later identified as a wraith, Harrow is immediately drawn to him and does her best to free him.

I really wanted to like this book. It sounded really promising. The magic system is unique, unlike anything I've read. The war between the Queens was promising. The characters are unique. Elemental hybrids with mysterious powers? Seers? Wraiths, or the last of them? And I do realize that when reading a Red Tower book, I should expect something that is more vibes than plot in some cases, but this book was so promising! I loved the character of the Oracle and honestly would read a book about her and how she became what she is. Probably my favorite character in the whole book. I also did think the chemistry between Mal and Ouro could be explored more. I also don't recall ever reading what physical traits (besides ears) that Harrow has marking her as an Elemental, which is disappointing and would have been awesome to explore.

First off, I feel like this book really would have benefited from a Preface of some sorts. The blurb doesn't give really any introduction to the magic system or the war. A brief summary of "this is what happened, this is how elementals were created, this is where we're at now" I think would have been perfect. I thought it was hard to follow initially. Also, a summary of what a hybrid/elemental is. I also thought that it was very off-putting to switch from using "Hybrid" and "Elemental". I think the author should have picked one and stuck with it instead of inconsistently changing between the two. I thought the descriptions of the Elementals was a bit weird too. We got "panther-hybrid" and "reptilian" but didn't really get anything for the Ethereals (I think I've spelled that right).

<i>"For humans, the circus is a place filled with wonder and amazement. For Harrow, though, it’s a place to hide from those who slaughtered her entire clan."</i>

For a book that promises a circus setting, I was so disappointed at how little time we spent there. We didn't get to explore this setting at all. I would have loved for more of the book to take place here. Instead, we got rushed right out of it in the first few chapters.

<i>"Who is this guy? You just met him, and you're going to throw away your entire life for him" - Mal</i>

If there's one thing I don't like in a book, it's the insta-love trope. Perhaps it's because I am firmly on the aro/ace spectrum, but I cannot fathom falling in love with someone so fast. Obviously, they have an instant connection because of their past (unbeknownst to either of them), but Harrow, girl, slow the fuck down. I know this is a stand-alone, but damn, it felt super rushed. That is something that doesn't change throughout the book. On top of this, we get the "single bed" trope. They hook up literally the next day, and spend the next 5 days making love. That is too much too fast. At this point I think she's known him for like a week and a half total?

<i>"it's too early, she told herself. No one could fall in love in five days.</i>

And yet, here you are, claiming you love this guy.

<i>"his eyes... They were the very same eyes from her dream</i>

I don't think anyone could possibly be surprised that Raith is the wraith that killed her mother and clan when she was 10. I like my foreshadowing to be a bit sneakier, this was incredibly obvious. That's a personal preference, but I just didn't think it was done very well.

<i> "if the other half of my soul is a killer, I don't want anything to do with him" </i>

Man, I wish you'd have kept that. Their relationship is so fast, it feels like there was no room for development and she didn't consider the fact that she'd been warned from the beginning that Raith had done terrible things. Because it was so fast paced, she doesn't even get to process this before she goes "oh no, he's the love of my life, he was under someone else's control, now I have to go save him"

As this all unfolds, Raith loses his memories when he loses his corporeal form. (as a side note, I feel like this would have been much more interesting if Queen Furie had forced him to keep his memories of Harrow when she sends him to kill her. If she wanted to truly punish him, that would've been the way) When he returns to Harrow after Queen Darya gives him a new corporeal form, she's warned that she needs to tell him the truth. She starts, but then doesn't want to hurt him so doesn't tell him all of it. He, however, has this huge sense of guilt and can't figure out why. <i>"how could he trust she'd be safe with him if he didn't remember what he'd done?"</i> This right here is why you don't tell lies to your partner. Also, the Tea scene. This just felt so out of place. Maybe it's the way it was written? But I thought it was really jarring.

Also, can we talk about Darya for a second? I don't think she's trustworthy at all, and she seemed like a very selfish and shallow character. I hate that she got a redemption arc.

We also get surprised at the end of the book with Harrow getting pregnant and foreseeing it when she scries. Pregnancy is not really my thing, and not something I enjoy reading about. Good for them, but yeah. I had the same issue with the Hunger Games trilogy. And something that really bothers me is this:

<i>"Thank you for looking after her so I could rest"
He bent down to kiss her. "Helping you with Melly is a gift"

Did he have any idea how amazing he was?</i>

I'm sorry, but it should not be "amazing" and make you feel "so lucky" for your partner to help out with their child. That should be an expected part of having a child with your partner. This kind of thing bothers me so much. It. Is. Not. Special. When your partner spends time with their child. Parents are supposed to do that. I cannot stress this enough.

This was a really quick read, and while it was interesting, it really just didn't do it for me. The writing felt really chunky and wasn't the easiest to read. I understand that this is a standalone book, but that is not an excuse for rushing through everything, and this whole book felt rushed. You can do a standalone and still have a good timeline. There was a lot more spice than I was anticipating, and I didn't feel like it was as well written as it could have been. We didn't get to see much of the world, and the characters I felt were most interesting got glossed over. This combined with the tropes just really made me not like it as much as I thought I would. I will say that I don't feel that the spice took much away from the plot, which is awesome considering how problematic that can be in Romantasy.

The whole book feels like it needs to go through another round of edits and be a bit more polished. There is so much potential here! It just needed more. I did preorder, and for the moment I think I'll keep the preorder just to see if anything improved in the finished copy.

Sanctuary of the Shadow was an enjoyable read, and a solid 3 stars for me personally.

Pros:
Great bones of a story, in a setting I haven’t read about yet. A few good twists, and heartache for the main characters. We have some good villains, relationships to root for, and a story that pushes forward.

Cons:
It felt like a debut novel, with some things just not being entirely fleshed out. We get glimpses at the backstory of both Salazar and Malaika but not much beyond that. Maybe setting up for books focused on them? If not, it felt like extra unnecessary information. I’m also not a big fan of (this is for real like a last page spoiler) certain tropes, like the pregnancy trope. It was certainly done in a cute way, but just not one I personally care for!

That being said, I will definitely read more by this author and in this series, should more be released!!

Thank you to Entangled/Red Tower for the ARC for a read along, and NetGalley also for the ARC ♥️

I went into this book not knowing what to expect and it turned out to be an intriguing and mysterious read.

The FMC, Harrow, experiences a tragedy as a child and is the last Seer in this magical world. She travels with other elementals in a circus and uses her abilities granted from “the water” to perform readings. One day Harrow happens upon our MMC, Raith, an elemental being held at the circus. The two are instantly connected to each other and soon realize they will have to overcome numerous obstacles and trauma in order to be together.

This book felt like a true romance. Magic and fantasy elements are present, but the real story is the bond between Harrow and Raith. There is a good amount of spice in this book and the way the author uses the steamy scenes to explore the concept of consent is interesting. Raith and Harrow have had limited choices in their lives and choosing each other is one they have to make together. I thought this was a lovely theme that was shown throughout.

One thing I do wish is that there was a bit more world building and depth to the characters. However this being a standalone novel, it does make sense why we get what we get. I also felt like some of the story was rushed at times and there were so many interesting storylines to explore. Hopefully, we get more world building and dive into more characters (Ouros and Malaikah especially) in the sequel book. Overall this was a fun read!

I'd like to thank the publisher for a Netgalley copy of this book. I was able to participate in a group read for this book with Entangled Publishing, where we read chapters and discussed the book together.
Let me just say that this book got my attention early on! If you enjoy tropes such as one bed and instalove, with tarot and magical beings, this one just may be for you! This book left me wanting to know more about some of the other interesting side characters and their journeys, as well as where they came from and how they joined the Elemental Circus.

I really thought I was going to love this book, but sadly I can’t even bring myself to finish it.

There is a big tent on the cover, and I really thought a large portion of this book was going to be the circus. I didn’t feel like that was the case at all.
The story seems to rush until we get to the point where the two main characters are free to bang as much as possible.
There’s very little buildup to this relationship and the MMC’s child-like understanding of certain things makes it uncomfortable.

There’s not enough plot happening for me to care about continuing to read on. This is mostly a smut book.
I think it could still be a bestseller, it just really isn’t the kind of book I would read.
I truly hate writing negative reviews, I’m just being honest.

Wish it all the best, and as always, thank you for the opportunity to read it early.

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⚡️/🌶️🫑
I’m a little torn on how to review this book. I completely enjoyed the story however, I feel like the writing was a little too juvenile for an “adult” book.

There are a few on-page explicit scenes, however I left like it was more of a Young Adult story including a coming of age teenager despite that she is supposed to be 60 years old.

I really enjoyed the world building and the different elemental magics and powers. I loved the relationship between Harrow and Raith.

However, I felt it was a little too rushed and maybe too much of a HEA. There were a lot of predictable aspects of the story as well.

I guess it would be considered more of a Cozy Monster Romance.

Despite the predictability and rushed ending, I did enjoy the story and will continue when the next book is released.

3.5 ⭐️
2🌶️

The concept of Sanctuary of the Shadow and the vibes you get from the cover are deceptive. I went into this expecting a romantasy set in and around a circus with whimsical vibes hiding a dangerous secret. Unfortunately only about 25% of the story was loosely set in a circus setting. Our FMC, Harrow, is the last Elemental Seer hiding within a travelling circus since a young age after her whole clan was slaughtered. During a normal stay in a larger city, the circus picked up a man, Raith, a supposed wraith who was to join the circus. Wraiths are incorporeal creatures without emotions and pure danger. The two of them were drawn to each other and escape the circus together while learning more about Raith's and Harrow's intermingled pasts.

Forbidden romance was a major focus along throughout the story as Harrow and Raith were getting to know each other. The spice was thoroughly entertaining, however, you can tell that the romance between Harrow and Raith was the main focus of the book. The plot was secondary and at times felt like an afterthought. The first 50% was amazing, but as soon as we explored the feud between the Queens, the plot fell flat leaving me less than immersed.

I have a few general gripes about this book, but most of them are within the last 50% of this book. The first half was thoroughly enjoyable and if fleshed out, could have been something more.

The dual POV was interesting since Raith was trying to learn more about the world around him, however, it would have been great to distinguish the swap. There were times that the POV swapped, but it took a few paragraphs to realize that it had swapped.

I enjoyed the read, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

Standalone
Forbidden Romance
Dual POV
Instant Love
"Last of my kind"
Elemental Magic
Memory Loss
Surprise Pregnancy 🙃
HEA

Sanctuary of the Shadow is a New Adult romance with fantasy roots that publishes Jan 9, 2024.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing, Red Tower Books and NetGalley for this digital galley in return for my honest review.

I was gifted this arc as a part of a read along and let me just say....you NEED to read it. I havent enjoyed a book this much since I read ACOTAR. I couldn't put it down wanting to just keep reading to the point where my husband was getting jealous for my attention lol. I feel like this book would also be great for those dipping their toes into fantasy as the world building and story is very easy to follow and get wrapped up in.

OMGGGGGGGGG

Entangled, THANK YOU FOR THE ARC

THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD BOOK I WANT TO CRY.

Raith is an absolute sweetheart and I am HERE FOR IT.

Harrow, our sweet sweet Seer, is such a badass and the way she is with Raith?

TOP NOTCH

The concept, the story, the EVERYTNING

ugh yes.

There were some things that felt unfinished/left unanswered but it really didn’t detract from the story at all.

THEY GOT THEIR HEA.

That’s all that matters to me.

We weren’t left to suffer even when my heart felt like it was being shredded to pieces.

Raith and Harrow supremacy.

100000%.

I mostly enjoyed this one! A spicy fantasy romance with main characters divided in a war that is beyond their control. This was mostly just vibes for me and that’s why I enjoyed it. I definitely thought it was a little bit too insta-lovey for my taste, without much development in the characters’ feelings throughout the story. I would have loved it more with further world building and an actual stake in the war. It felt like what was happening outside the characters’ relationship didn’t matter much beyond how it affected them personally.
A fun fantasy romance overall.

I really liked this world and all of the characters. But I didn't like how the romance was handled. It felt rushed and I found muself missing all of the side characters.

I want to say thank you Brittany and entangled teen, for letting me have this opportunity to read this book.

This book is about a woman name harrow living in a circus. Hiding who she truly is. She pretends to be human, even though she’s not. She has a best friend that knows who she truly is, and △⃒⃘Lways there to encourage her, and supports her.
She runs into this man… name raith. She visits him and notices that the ringmaster is abusive and decides to runaway from the circus with him.
It has spice I’ll give it 🌶️🌶️🌶️ it’s like two chapters back to back with spice lol.
Harrow leaves him feeling and thinking that he has betrayed her, and she doesn’t truly know him.
But later finds out that she truly does love him. The actions that he did, it was not free will.
He almost died. But survived.
She fought for him, and found him and lived happily ever after.
The story and plot it’s really good.
I feel like the author lost itself a little when writing on a third person/view.
It’s a dual point a view, which I think that’s why the author, points of view got intertwined and I felt like a little lost who or which character point of view it was.
But besides that. It was good. I can’t wait to buy the book.

First, thank you to Entangled for hosting a read-a-long for this and gracing me with an early copy!

I may be the minority with this but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected too.

First, where was Harrow’s magic??? She’s the last Seer with powerful water magic but we hardly ever see it at play or being used in a way one expects from a fantasy novel. There are so many moments it could have manifested in response to Harrow’s emotions but instead it really only stayed hidden for most of the story. Water is a tempest - it can be calm or ruinous and I just didn’t get any of that from the plot.

Second was Raith’s character. He’s supposed to be this no-feelings creature and yeah ok he has no memory of anything but I didn’t connect with him at all because his progression from being that no-feelings guy to one being obsessed with the physicality of *love* (aka sex) isn’t a progression I wanted. I wanted him to fall in love with Harrow slowly and in small ways leading up to the big moments (of her betrayal, of discovering his past, of him trying to kill her, etc) and I don’t think the writing went the way it should have with his depth and development.

Which leads me to Harrow - again character development here was lacking. It’s like she carried that whole sheltered feeling the entire book and I hated it. And she always seems to just “give in”, not truly fighting for anything including Raith. I expected more of her and didn’t get it.

Finally, this book was spicy with some seriously sexy scenes. While I love me spice in my books, I hate when it becomes centered around that - like the relationship between Harrow and Raith grounded more on their intimate moments versus establishing feelings based on moments leading up to the sex - yes ok they were connecting a bit while he was in the cage, but that was only the first few chapters and then bam they’re sleeping with each other. Now how I wanted their relationship to develop….

I’ve enjoyed other books written by Red Tower, but unfortunately this one was a huge miss for me. The writing felt very YA. The characters also felt like they were pretty young (maybe teenagers) vs the decades old (I believe the FMC is supposed to be 60) they are supposed to be. I couldn’t understand most of the decisions the FMC made, or her inability, or maybe refusal, to see what was pretty obvious.

In a pro, it was a standalone fantasy book which can be refreshing if you’re not wanting to pick up a multi-book series.

Thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for providing me an eARC.