Review: Her Sanctuary by P.Q. Glisson
Reviewed by Zelda Gillian
Rating: 
(3 Books)
“A Solid Romance, but Light on Substance”
The Plot: This book is about Shannon, a troubled young woman trying to escape her past in the remote town of Sanctuary. Shannon was sold into an arranged marriage at 16 where she was expected to be a sex slave to her wealthy, evil husband. After 10 years of slavery, Shannon kills her dominating husband in self-defense and is left with emotional scars that could rival any. Enter Seth.
Seth is part Native American and grew up an outcast from his tribe. Despite this, he found love and happiness with his full-blooded wife Naome and their child, until a freak accident leaves his family dead and him up on trial for their deaths. Seth’s life quickly spirals into ruin. That is, until a mysterious woman with turquoise eyes appears in Sanctuary with a troubled past and nothing to lose…
Zelda’s Take: I thought that this book was a good summer romance read, but was lacking in the substance to make it truly believable for me.
The attraction between Shannon and Seth is sweet and endearing and the sex is hot, but the reader never really gets why they fall for each other so fast. Sure, there’s no question that they are physically attracted to each other, but that seems to be pretty much all they ever have. In fact, Shannon and Seth know virtually nothing about each other… and don’t really ask questions to fill in the blanks either. It seems that, for them, physical attraction is all that matters, which I just found really difficult to believe. A relationship needs substance to last (at least happily), and at the rate Shannon and Seth are going, they’ll be going their own separate ways in no time… with marriage and child or not.
In addition to this, there were also a few little details in this book that just bugged me and really stood between me loving it and just liking it.
First, there was Shannon’s “dumb girl” syndrome. If there’s one thing that turns me off about a lot of romance novels, it is women who do stupid things or play the helpless innocent. Shannon does some stupid things — like driving while being extremely drunk, mixing pills and alcohol, etc., while outwardly saying and understanding that they are not the smartest things for her to do. Why? If it helped to pull along the plot of her being emotionally scarred and this was her way of escaping, then I would let it slide, but instead it is just kind of gratuitous and passed off with a flippant “oh well, aren’t I a bad girl?” attitude.
Second, was Seth’s attitude towards sex. He acts like a child who can’t control himself. So much so that he has to take steps to remove himself from certain situations because he can’t keep his hands off of Shannon. Now, if this were a paranormal romance involving some otherworldly geis that forces their attraction or irresistible vampire bloodlust, that would be one thing, but as it is, Seth and Shannon are just two normal people and his inability to control himself just screams immaturity to me. I mean, really. Grow up.
Third, is how the bad guys are portrayed in the novel. Both Shannon’s ex-husband and Seth’s ex-best friend, the novel’s two evil-doers, are characterized by their BDSM tendencies, as if, well, they are into BDSM, so that is why they are evil. But I think that what gets me here is the characterization of BDSM being associated with evil, which just seems to propogate the false mindset that there is an inherent link between sexual kink and bad people. Shannon’s ex-husband used to beat her and treat her as his sexual slave. Joseph kidnaps women and chains them up. All of the evil things that are done fall back to tenants of the BDSM world with one, giant, looming exception… consent. Why can’t they just be characterized as the sexual perverts that they are? By linking them with dungeons and the like, the book seems to want to be making a statement that people who are into BDSM are bad. (And, of course, men who can’t keep their hands off of women are perfectly normal. ;) )
I guess, in the end, one would ask, what did I actually like about the book? I did finish reading it, after all. The answer is that I thought it was interesting. The characters have interesting backgrounds and lives. They have experiences that are unique to me and the main characters, Shannon and Seth, are likeable and fun. Which is why I call it a good summer read. It’s fun, suspenseful, and the sex is good… what more does one need while sipping lemonade at the beach?!?
Zelda Gillian is a wife, a mother and a lover, likes strong espresso, stiff corsets and never strays far from her Kindle.
