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A review by overallshowman
Sanctuary by Andi C. Buchanan
3.0
I received an advanced digital review copy for free from Robot Dinosaur Press through BookSirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Let it be known that it pains me to rate this book less than four stars. It has everything I want in a book and more: my favorite trope (found family), a diverse set of characters, a neurodivergent MC and side characters, nonbinary characters, queer characters, supernatural abilities, and ghosts. And yet. And yet it fell flat for me. Please know that this review is fully subjective and your experience could be different!
Sanctuary follows Morgan, an adult living with their girlfriend Araminta, and some of their friends. Living in an old massive house full of ghosts, they all made it their goal for their house to become a sanctuary not only for the ghosts but also for each other. After a collection of ghosts were brought to their house in need of a sanctuary, they are faced with challenges rooted in centuries back.
I love the dynamics between these characters. They are not conventional, and I guess neurotypicals could find themselves annoyed at their relationship dynamics because they would not understand it, but I loved it. It does seem kind of idealistic, and I found myself wanting this sort of connection, which brings us back to how this book does its job of providing a safe space for queer and neurodiverse readers as well. However, I found the individual characterization stiff and two-dimensional. A few chapters in and I started struggling to continue. This book features a huge set of characters and they are all named, both living and ghosts alike. My problem is that the way they are introduced—or not because some of them suddenly just got casual mentions—could lead to confusion for the reader. The transitions between settings seemed very abrupt and rough at times too, which is another factor to that.
The main conflict didn't start until later on, and the event that triggered it—however heavy—seemed lackluster to me. Because it's character-driven and dare I say very introspective, the climax appeared to be quiet and slow. I have mixed opinions about it because I did love how the characters interacted and worked with each other but I dreaded how low the stakes felt. Reading the action scenes felt like watching a strangely written flashback in the middle of an anime fight scene, where the idea goes somewhere else entirely, taking us out of the moment instead of letting the sequence flow and allowing us to feel for the characters more. This may appeal to other readers, but I fear it's not for me.
Ultimately, I do appreciate the heart of this book. If one looks at this symbolically, it's easy to see that the way this book is written—away from the cis-heteronormative, ableist, racist, classist society—is, by itself, a representation of its title: a Sanctuary. Had I connected to any of the characters and felt for them more than I do, this would have been my new comfort read. Who knows, this could be yours if you give it a try!
This is being released today and I'd say check it out to see what you think. I'd still recommend this if you're a huge fan of a found family trope that features queer individuals, want to read an authentic neurodiverse representation, and want to read a fresh, character-driven take on ghost stories.
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Let it be known that it pains me to rate this book less than four stars. It has everything I want in a book and more: my favorite trope (found family), a diverse set of characters, a neurodivergent MC and side characters, nonbinary characters, queer characters, supernatural abilities, and ghosts. And yet. And yet it fell flat for me. Please know that this review is fully subjective and your experience could be different!
The house is full of people and it is full of ghosts. It is a world where we live separately and together.
Sanctuary follows Morgan, an adult living with their girlfriend Araminta, and some of their friends. Living in an old massive house full of ghosts, they all made it their goal for their house to become a sanctuary not only for the ghosts but also for each other. After a collection of ghosts were brought to their house in need of a sanctuary, they are faced with challenges rooted in centuries back.
I love the dynamics between these characters. They are not conventional, and I guess neurotypicals could find themselves annoyed at their relationship dynamics because they would not understand it, but I loved it. It does seem kind of idealistic, and I found myself wanting this sort of connection, which brings us back to how this book does its job of providing a safe space for queer and neurodiverse readers as well. However, I found the individual characterization stiff and two-dimensional. A few chapters in and I started struggling to continue. This book features a huge set of characters and they are all named, both living and ghosts alike. My problem is that the way they are introduced—or not because some of them suddenly just got casual mentions—could lead to confusion for the reader. The transitions between settings seemed very abrupt and rough at times too, which is another factor to that.
The main conflict didn't start until later on, and the event that triggered it—however heavy—seemed lackluster to me. Because it's character-driven and dare I say very introspective, the climax appeared to be quiet and slow. I have mixed opinions about it because I did love how the characters interacted and worked with each other but I dreaded how low the stakes felt. Reading the action scenes felt like watching a strangely written flashback in the middle of an anime fight scene, where the idea goes somewhere else entirely, taking us out of the moment instead of letting the sequence flow and allowing us to feel for the characters more. This may appeal to other readers, but I fear it's not for me.
Ultimately, I do appreciate the heart of this book. If one looks at this symbolically, it's easy to see that the way this book is written—away from the cis-heteronormative, ableist, racist, classist society—is, by itself, a representation of its title: a Sanctuary. Had I connected to any of the characters and felt for them more than I do, this would have been my new comfort read. Who knows, this could be yours if you give it a try!
This is being released today and I'd say check it out to see what you think. I'd still recommend this if you're a huge fan of a found family trope that features queer individuals, want to read an authentic neurodiverse representation, and want to read a fresh, character-driven take on ghost stories.
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Ko-fi | Carrd