Review: Simply put, this book is heavy on steam with not enough substance. 

“Sanctuary of the Shadow” follows Harrow, the last living seer of her clan disguising her abilities as part of her act in a traveling circus. When a new attraction arrives with nonage, no memory of who or what he is, Harrow is instantly drawn to him. But thee Moree she discovers about his past and how it is intertwined with. Her own, thee Moree danger she finds herself in. 

This series has the potential to be great. Unfortunately, that potential isn’t fully realized in this book. Much of the world-building consisted of info-dumping without expansion in favor of focusing on spicy moments between the main couple. Normally, this wouldn’t present too much of an issue for me because I enjoy romantasy books, but the pacing of their relationship is so fast that it was hard for me to invest in their “insta-love”. 

All this being said, I really liked the general bones of this story with the existence of a magical circus harboring elementals. Raith, Harrow’s love interest, is an intriguing character having no memory of his past or his dark power, so I gravitated towards chapters written from his point-of-view. Above all else, I enjoyed the emphasis on female friendship through Harrow’s friendship with Mal. I am hopeful that Mal’s book will only build off of this one and fill in the gaps.