Customer Reviews

Sanctuary

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Sanctuary is a safe haven for Jo Ellen Hathaway. It is her family's island home off the coast of Georgia, where she grew up with her brother Brian and sister Alexa. Although Sanctuary also carries emotional burdens for Jo Ellen. Her beloved mother disappeared 20 years ago never to be heard from again. Her father withdrew from his family in mourning, Jo Ellen escaped the island and became a successful photographer. Suddenly she is being stalked by someone sending her pictures of her mother, Jo Ellen realizes her mother is dead. After suffering an emotional breakdown, Jo Ellen retreats to Sanctuary. There she finds love after meeting Nathan Delaney, who visited the island with his family the summer of Jo Ellen's mom disappeared. The mystery is fast paced and intriguing, the one complaint I have is there were so many characters and love stories for each of the sibilings, they sometimes felt rushed, or maybe I wanted more stories on each of the siblings...I recommend reading Sanctuary...it speeds up as the book progresses until you can't turn the pages fast enough!

I have been wanting to read Nora Roberts for a long time, but I never really got around to it. Finally, _Sanctuary_ caught my eye, and I started reading it. Let me tell you right now, if you want to read this book, clear your day so you can sit back and read for hours. You will not be able to do anything until you find out what happens next.

Jo Ellen Hathaway is being stalked. In her mail, she keeps recieving pictures of her eyes. Once when they're closed, once half open, and the latest installment to the collection... one with her eyes open and showing stark terror. She thinks she can handle it. She's a famos photographer, this guy's just sending her pictures to check out his work, right? Wrong. The morning after Jo gets the last picture of her eyes, an envelope comes in the mail. She opens it, and out come tons of pictures of her doing her everyday things. At the grocery store, at work, walking on the streets. He knows everywhere she's been, what she's been doing, and how she did it. But there's one picture in the pile that isn't of Jo. She single's it out and looks at it in mounting horror. It's not a picture of her, it's of her mother. The mother who left her and her family on the island they own twenty years ago. Annabelle is naked on the beach, her hair splayed. But, her eyes are glassy and it is obvious she's dead. This pushes Jo over the edge and she has a breakdown. Meanwhile, on Desire, the family island, her family is going on it's disfunctional way. Sanctuary, the house Jo grew up in, has been turned into an inn, and everything is going along it's merry way. Jo decides, after she is let out of the hospital, to return to Sanctuary and find her sanctuary there from the stalker. At home, things are a little rough, but she connects with her brother, sister, and father. And a man is introduced to her. A man who can make her feel like a woman again. But something is wrong. Jo's stalker followed her home. Will she be able to survive? And what really happened to Annabelle those twenty years ago?

Like I said, this was my first book by Nora Roberts and I was completely blown away. I am a fan of Jayne Ann Krentz, and usually turn to her books when I want a mystery/suspense/romance. Could it be that my favorite suspense author is being pushed aside? It could be! I was guessing at "who dun it" for the entire book. When you think you've got it figured out, guess again, for Nora's got another ace up her sleave. The characters were three dimensional, witty, spunky, loveable, flawed, everything I look for in a book with good character development. In the beginging, I was a little bored with the plot, but as I got into it, there was no way I would do anything else but read this book. Nathan and Jo's relationship was totally believable, and I loved the role reversal at the begining when they first meet (Jo fixes Nathan's car while he has no idea what to do or what is wrong with it). I was impressed with Nora Robert's sense of family, and it shines through in this book. One minute I was on the edge of my seat, the next I was sitting back on the couch sighing. _Sanctuary_ sends a storm of emetion through you, and it is such a wonderful read. So, for any romance fan, _Sanctuary_ is highly recomended.

"Sanctuary" by Nora Roberts is a truly enjoyable and worth-while read. The story is absorbing and well-written and contains a mix of fabulous, complex characters.
"Sanctuary" is the story of three siblings, Jo Ellen, Brian and Lexy Hathaway. Jo Ellen is a successful photographer and a workaholic. She suffers a nervous breakdown when she receives a photo from an anonymous sender of her mother, thought to have abandoned her family and run away with another man 20 years ago, looking young and beautiful, naked, and unmistakably dead.
When Jo Ellen is released from hospital she returns to Sanctuary Inn, her family home on an island off the coast of Georgia. Jo Ellen sets about rebuilding her relationships with her brother Brian, the inn's chef, and her ever-jealous sister Lexy, an aspiring actress working as Sanctuary's waitress. She is also looking for some stability and a place to regain her sanity.
Enter Nathan Delaney, who was with his family on the island the summer that Jo Ellen's mother disappeared. Jo Ellen and Nathan are drawn to each other and develop a relationship. But Nathan is tormented by a dark secret that has attracted a killer to the island and has put Jo Ellen in more danger than anyone suspects.
Add to the mix a romance between Brian and the pretty island doctor, Kirby, and a romance between Lexy and her long-time friend Griff, and you have the recipe for a highly entertaining book. The suspense builds effectively and the clues provided will keep the reader guessing. Jo Ellen and Nathan's romance, which is the main focus, is by turns sexy and moving.
I have noticed some complaints from reviewers who thought there were too many characters and storylines, but I personally never felt this was a problem. Each storyline is fully developed and all of the characters have their motivations well explained. I really enjoyed watching all three of the Hathaway siblings finding someone to love and depend on in the midst of the disturbing events taking place on their island.
"Sanctuary" is a fabulous, fun read, containing well-written romances and an exciting and suspenseful mystery. So pick this book up today and enjoy!

SANCTUARY is a story about Jo Ellen Hathaway, a New York photographer. Jo Ellen had grown up off of the Georgia coast in a resort called Sanctuary (actually they call it a resort, but it's more of a Bed and Breakfast Victorian style house and there are campgrounds around the island - not a true resort, but it does sound wonderful). Jo Ellen's memories of Sanctuary were not happy ones after her mother disappeared when she was a child, 20 years previously.

Jo Ellen starts receiving pictures of herself in the mail and realizes she's being stalked. Then she has a nervous breakdown when she's sent one of her beautiful mother, lying naked and dead. That shocks her and sends her back to her family and Sanctuary.

Has that synopsis intrigued you enough to want to read this book? Ok, let me help captivate you some more with my story of reading this book:

I took this hardback with me on vacation when it first came out. What a huge mistake! My vacation wasn't restful and relaxed until I finished this story! SANCTUARY refused to let me put it down and would call my name until I picked it up and began reading again. As I was sitting on the beach supervising my daughters build the world's best sandcastle; I could hear that book in my bag. As we were getting ready for bed in preparation for a full day of adventure the next day, SANCTUARY would call out to me. Ok, so maybe the book didn't speak, but the story sure did - I was so engrossed with the tale that I couldn't put it down. I'd stay up late at night reading "just one more chapter".

I was at that resort with Jo Ellen while she was trying to mend the family relationships with her siblings, Lexy and Brian, and as she tried to break through the wall her father had erected around himself after his wife had disappeared. I felt like I was there when she met Nathan Delaney, whose family had stayed on the island the summer of her mother's disappearance. I had goose bumps when the eerie pictures arrived in the mail and the stalker followed Jo Ellen back to Sanctuary.

SANCTUARY has to be one of Nora Roberts's best books. It grabs the reader from the beginning and doesn't let go. Roberts draws the reader so far into the story that you are breathing hard as Jo Ellen is racing through the trees to find the stalker. You don't' feel safe until you know what happened to Jo Ellen's mother (did she just abandon her family as was the speculation or something worse). You absolutely must know the identity of the person behind sending those awful pictures.

I've always felt that Roberts is a master manipulator who draws the reader into the lives of her characters, but she has out done herself with this one. She has made it an interaction between the story line and the reader, one the reader won't soon forget!

One word to describe SANCTUARY: EXCELLENT.

Though the lovers in this story have a relatively happy ending, the plot itself is somewhat dark, dangerous and depressing. Roberts' Sanctuary is riddled with emotional obstacles for its characters, all of whom are smart, witty, and independent.

In a story which revolves around the disappearance of a woman nearly 20 years earlier, we can still see the characters grieving, mourning, and very disturbed. An excellent effort on the authors part.

Though the ending did not come as much of a surprise, I still enjoyed the read, as I most always do with a Nora Roberts book.

I've enjoyed Nora Roberts' novels and went back to read her older ones too. Lately her novels (with the exception of the MacGregor series) have introduced very dark sides - serial rapists/killers, abusive childhoods. I don't like having my stomach turned when I'm reading to "escape". I have friends who love Nora Roberts' novels too and threw away this one since they didn't want it in the house with teenage kids around. I hope she sticks with jewel thieves, etc. or advertises these new ones under a different series name/style. This was a bummer.

I loved this book and appreciated the way Ms. Roberts is pushing the envelope of romantic suspense. This is the first time I've read a romantic suspense thriller where the author has portrayed the hero as a plausible suspect -- in fact, I had to check the back of the book to make sure the hero was actually the hero... I wasn't going to make the mistake of caring about a hero who turned out to be a sadistic murderer! And I'm pleased that he was indeed a one-in-a-million hero.

Ms. Roberts is truly a gifted descriptive writer. The island came to vivid life and it was as if I could feel the grit of the sand as I walked the beach with the characters. And the storm! Ms. Roberts' descriptive power put me there with the screaming winds lashing my hair about my face and the rains pelting mercilessly. I've never been in a hurricane before, but it felt as if I'd been through one after reading about Hurricane Carla!

Bravo, Nora! I hesitated reading this book because it didn't seem like my type, but I'm glad I gave it a try. In fact, I got it from the library and enjoyed it so much that, after I finished it, I went out and bought my own copy for future re-reading!

Sanctuary is one of NR's most enticing, romantic and mysterious novels yet! I have not yet finished the book (I've had it for two days) but I plan on finishing the last few chapters this afternoon on my way home from work. I have read at least 12 books by Nora Roberts and every single one of them has been fantastic. I suppose you could say I'm a NR addict!

In Sanctuary, Nora Roberts develops at least four hot and steamy romances along with a very suspenseful murder mystery. I can't wait to find out who it is! Nora Roberts writes stories that stay with you forever. I have not read a book that I have not thought about since and I will read them all again!

Thank you Nora for the most entertaining, suspenseful and romantic times I've had over the last several months! And congratulations on your success!

Don't be fooled by that horrible movie CBS had on in Feburary Sanctuary is a very good read. Granted if you're looking for a literary classic Nora Roberts is not the author you want, if you are looking for romance, mystery suspense all in one you've found it with this book. It's one of those perfect books for travel or a good read while taking a bath. I read this book over semester break from college and honestly enjoyed it completly. Trust me if you saw the movie, you're going to be pleasently surprised by how different the book is compared to the movie. The characters the romance the suspense, everything is intensified with this novel. Try it, you have nothing to lose but a few hours wishing you had that kind of love life!

I found this book to be moving, funny, romantic, sexy, provocative, and suspenseful. I am usually the type of reader who can't get into a book very quickly, but this novel drew me in after the first couple chapters. I fell in love with Kirby the caring doctor, Jo Ellen the famous photographer, and Lexy the aspiring actress. All three women are forces to be reckoned with in this book. The men aren't too bad either. What a great introduction to a wonderful author. Nora Roberts is a well-kept secret