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A review by bribreez
Fragile Sanctuary by Catherine Cowles
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5⭐️/ 3🌶️
A first time reader of Catherine Cowles and what better way to start my reading journey of her books than to start with this story. A grumpy former FBI profiler MMC, a woman who experienced a traumatic event at a young girl age, set in a small town, found family, and a bit of suspense…SIGN ME UP! Catherine Cowles’s story, “Fragile Sanctuary”, followed, Rhodes and Anson as the two meet while reconstructing Rhode’s childhood home years later. Now, twenty-seven years old, Rhodes was ready to fix up her former home after many years had passed when a horrible fire broke out and unfortunately lost her family in the midst of it. Coming to terms with the loss of her family was something that Rhodes would never forget, but thankfully found a new home with her best friend, and their adopted siblings. Anson was a grumpy MMC who didn’t like socializing with others, and had a mysterious past that played into his observant behavior and keen sense of purpose. Anson and Rhodes were from different upbringings, and yet, they both shared the knowledge and experience of having lost someone precious to them. As a big fan of small town romances, Catherine had me intrigued right from the beginning with the element of suspense, mystery, and danger against the backdrop of the town, Sparrow Falls.
A first time reader of Catherine Cowles and what better way to start my reading journey of her books than to start with this story. A grumpy former FBI profiler MMC, a woman who experienced a traumatic event at a young girl age, set in a small town, found family, and a bit of suspense…SIGN ME UP! Catherine Cowles’s story, “Fragile Sanctuary”, followed, Rhodes and Anson as the two meet while reconstructing Rhode’s childhood home years later. Now, twenty-seven years old, Rhodes was ready to fix up her former home after many years had passed when a horrible fire broke out and unfortunately lost her family in the midst of it. Coming to terms with the loss of her family was something that Rhodes would never forget, but thankfully found a new home with her best friend, and their adopted siblings. Anson was a grumpy MMC who didn’t like socializing with others, and had a mysterious past that played into his observant behavior and keen sense of purpose. Anson and Rhodes were from different upbringings, and yet, they both shared the knowledge and experience of having lost someone precious to them. As a big fan of small town romances, Catherine had me intrigued right from the beginning with the element of suspense, mystery, and danger against the backdrop of the town, Sparrow Falls.
As far as this being my first book to read by, Catherine Cowles, I really enjoyed it! I love a romance book, but adding the occasional twist to it like for instance an element of suspense and mystery, and I’m all for it. From the beginning, getting to learn about Rhodes’s past was sad, but also gave more insight as to how her past affected her present day life. As Rhodes tried to move forward in her life, especially with the reconstruction of her Victorian childhood home, it meant a lot of memories were brought up, and the memories of her family. Rhodes’s story wasn’t one that was simply happy, it also had elements of grief, loss, and trying to work through her anxiety that surfaced occasionally when remembering her past. With Anson, he was also someone that had been a devastating loss in his life, and that changed him into the distant, grumpy man we saw in this story. In some ways, both Anson and Rhodes were no stranger to feeling loss and sadness, but through them being near each other (*Anson helped with the reconstruction and was Rhodes’s brother’s best friend) and gradually spending more time together, a deep connection was formed that I really liked.
Overall, this was both a great start to this series, and cemented my adoration for Catherine Cowles stories. Rhodes and Anson were no strangers to tragedy, but throughout the book illustrated some of the changes they experienced along the way. Rhodes was trying to rebuild her home, and bring a sense of peace from it. I really liked both Rhodes and Anson, they were a perfect match and really gave off great tension as well. I think if you’re a fan of romantic suspense books or looking to jump into Catherine Cowles for the first time or wanting an interesting plot line, then this is the book to read. I love a protective, grumpy MMC and that was exactly how Anson was. In the end, the big reveal of who was basically the bad guy was someone I didn’t even consider to be! Looks can be deceiving! Anyways, great book to start off and Catherine Cowles has convinced to get the second book and read it right away!