by Sarah Fine
Hardcover, 433 pages
Published October 16th 2012
by Marshall Cavendish Children's/Amazon Children's Publishing
GoodReads † Amazon
“My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple.”
A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance—hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone—she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife.
As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t—the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.
Unique.
Intriguing.
Romantic.
Hell.
Yea....that last word throws you for a loop doesn't it? And yet it is the perfect way to describe Sanctum. This book is definitely unlike anything you've ever read before.
Sanctum features a girl named Lela who learns of the existence of a horrific place in Hell - a place dedicated solely to those who commit suicide. At one point in her life, Lela nearly went there herself, but was brought back from the brink at the very last second. But in an ironic twist, just one year later, when her best friend commits suicide, Lela makes it her mission to get her out of that Hell - no matter what.
Along the way, Lela will meet Malachi, a guard desperately trying to get himself released from Hell. Their relationship takes many unexpected twists and turns but I adored every second of it. The two characters fell for each other pretty quickly, but it still seemed genuine and real. Watching the pair battle all of the obstacles Hell has to offer makes the book a fun and quick read. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
4 1/2 out of 5 stars
This was a pretty good book. I loved how they became friends to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThe book became a little too fantasy-ish for a hot minute, I almost lost interest. I am not a fan of fanstasy books at all. Then I kept reading and all was well again.
I got this book at BEA12 and it was a long time before I saw it on any blogs or anything.
I think the follow up will be good too.