Series: Elemental Emergence #1
Release date: March 28th 2024
Publisher: Transworld Publishers
Pages: 387
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis

Some follow their destiny.
Others fall for it.

For humans, Salizar’s is a place of mystery and wonder. For Harrow, it’s a place to hide from those who slaughtered her entire clan. A haven where she can disguise both her abilities and who she really is.

Until he arrives.

He has no recollection of who—or even what—he is. He only knows that he’s a monster, with wings and powerful abilities never seen before. But beneath the layers of rage and isolation, one glimpse into those inky black eyes reveals a soul that calls out to the loneliness in Harrow.

And so she chooses him.

She is drawn to the mystery of him, her unquenchable need for his kiss. And as powerful enemies align and conspire against them, Harrow knows their only hope is escape.

Now, with every secret she unlocks from his past, a shadow from her own whispers free—luring enemies who will stop at nothing to get their final revenge on Harrow. And she’s given them the perfect weapon…because her winged beast is not what he seems.

But maybe it’s time they finally learn—neither is she.

Review

Sanctuary of the Shadow is a fast paced tale that follows a young woman working at a magical circus. Harrow is the last of her clan and the circus is the perfect place to hide her abilities and who she truly is. When a newcomer comes to the circus with no memory of who he is, Harrow finds herself drawn to him and must unravel the mystery of who he is.

Sanctuary of the Shadow is a compulsively readable story and one that I flew through in a few sittings. The story is quick paced and is easy to get into. I thought the story had a really intriguing premise I loved the idea of a circus setting and would love to learn more about the circus and its performers in future books. Ascher’s writing style is vivid and I found it really easy to lose myself in this magical fantasy romance tale. This is my first time reading a book from Aurora Ascher but I am certainly keen to read more from them, and I would be interested to see where the story goes in book two.

While this is a fantasy romance tale, it does lean heavily towards the romance and I do think the fantasy elements and worldbuilding could have been fleshed out a bit more. I liked our main characters Harrow and Raith, but their relationship develops very quickly and I think it could have done with the characters getting to know each other more. That being said both Harrow and Raith felt like dynamic and well crafted characters. I was really interested in the different elementals and the different abilities they had, this is definitely something I’d like to see explored a bit more in the next book in the series. There are also some very steamy scenes in this book which wasn’t what I was expecting but overall this was a quick and entertaining read.

While I didn’t completely fall in love with this one, Sanctuary of the Shadow is a story that will have fantasy romance fans absolutely glued to the page. So if you’re looking for your next fantasy romance read, this one should definitely be on your reading list.