Sanctuary (Super Romance S.) [Import] [Paperback]

Brenda Novak (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon (Aus) (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073354861X
• ISBN-13: 978-0733548611
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Brenda Novak Bio

It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak's career as a bestselling author--she caught her day-care provider drugging her children with cough syrup to get them to sleep all day. That was when Brenda decided she needed to quit her job as a loan officer and help make a living from home.

"When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book," Brenda says. But she sold that book, and the rest is history. Her novels have made the New York Times, USA Today and Borders/Waldenbooks bestseller lists and won many awards, including two Rita nominations, the Book Buyer's Best, the Book Seller's Best and the National Reader's Choice Award.

Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are proud parents of five children--three girls and two boys. When she's not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually working on her annual fund-raiser for diabetes research--an online auction held on her Web site (www.brendanovak.com) every May. Brenda has raised over $1 million to date.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and poignant -- Very highly recommended, November 15, 2003

By 

C. Penn "WordWeaving" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sanctuary: The Birth Place (Harlequin Superromance No. 1158) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ten years ago, sixteen-year-old Hope Tanner sought sanctuary at The Birth Place in Enchantment, New Mexico. There she gave birth and placed her child for adoption. It was a heart breaking decision meant to protect her daughter from growing up like she did in a polygamist community. Now an obstetric nurse, hoe lives very quietly, creating an oasis of her home as a refuge from her past. But she cannot forget the extended family she left behind.

Finally Hope returns to the tiny community where she was raised. She comes away with her very pregnant sister Faith and a fear that they cannot escape the past. Determined to give her sister an opportunity for healing and independence, Hope returns with her sister to New Mexico to The Birth Place. Her return sparks unimaginable conflict for those who hold tragic secrets about her purported daughter and the nature of her adoption, and the adoptive father, Parker Reynolds.

The fifth novel of The Birth Place series sparkles with author Brenda Novak's characteristic flair for endearing tales. Novak's look into the polygamist lifestyle will amaze many readers with it poignant, bittersweet quality. Novak's carefully crafted tale of heartbreak and triumph becomes one of those powerful reads that is impossible to put down. Memorable characterizations and impossible situations makes SANCTUARY come very highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid contemporary tale with a gender bender twist, October 13, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sanctuary: The Birth Place (Harlequin Superromance No. 1158) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ten years ago, knowing she had no one to turn to for assistance, a pregnant Hope Tanner escaped from her polygamous hometown Superior, Utah. She gave birth across the border at The Birth Place clinic in Enchantment, New Mexico. The Birth Place's head Lydia Kane arranged the adoption of her baby that Hope never touched once the child left the womb. Over the years she never forgot her loss though she knows she did the right thing for the sake of the infant.

Hope helps her pregnant sister Faith escape Superior by taking her to The Birth Place, a place that gave her a haven during her darkest moments. Feeling good about seeing people who have her hope when she needed it, Hope realizes how much she cares about these folks. However, administrator Parker Reynolds acts displeased and almost belligerent when he sees Hope, making her wonder who his son Dalton is.

The fifth novel in the Birth Place series (all by different authors) is a solid contemporary tale with a gender bender twist. Usually the lead female hides the child from the unknowing father, but in this case the adopted dad tries to conceal the lad from his biological mother. The story line is character driven as the widower Parker and the mother of his son Hope fall in love. The secondary cast from his son and in-laws, to the clinic's staff and her sister add depth to the understanding of the motives especially the fears of the prime couple making for a fine time for readers.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No romance in sight, April 9, 2011

By 

SHZ (Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sanctuary (Kindle Edition)

I've read a number of Brenda Novak books now, and what I've learnt is that she writes well, but she's a dreadful romance writer.
I don't know why she even tries to write in that genre, as everything I've read by her - from romantic suspense to Harlequin SuperRomances - has the relationship as a very distant afterthought.

This book is no different.

I am actually very interested in the subject matter. How American authorities can allow old men to commit everything from incest to statutory rape is beyond me, and the mentality of these Mormon fundamentalists is something unbelievable to read.
As I'm not American, I find it morbidly fascinating that such a conservative country with such a strong emphasis on the separation of church and state can allow the Mormons to get away with what they do. I think the author presented a balanced view of polygamous societies, showing us what's so wrong with such an arrangement while also making the polygamists look like human beings.

But this does not change the fact that this book is marketed as a romance, and it simply is not one.
According to my Kindle, the hero and heroine are in the same room together for the first time 34% of the way through the book. In fact, the hero only appears in the setup, and then isn't in the book at all until 34% of the way into it! They have their first kiss 71% into the book, followed by a `closed door' sex scene 94% of the way in! They have almost no scenes together, and the scenes they are together in are not romantic in slightest - they don't even promise romance in the future.
This is a women's fiction book, plain and simple. You'll learn a lot about pregnancy, and spend a lot of time watching the heroine develop a relationship with her sister, but the hero is practically redundant in his own book!

On top of that, what in the world happened to the premise of the book? It's nowhere to be seen. The hero has raised the heroine's son, and yet it's not until the final 8% of the book that the author even deals with this storyline! Then - because of the very few pages left - the plotline isn't done any justice. Hope forgives Parker for lying to her and stealing her son ONE PAGE after she finds out about it! ONE PAGE!! It's the main plotline and it's resolved in a few paragraphs. Not only does it lack any emotional impact, but it cheats the reader out of the story we were promised.

Brenda Novak is clearly more interest in writing about pregnancy and childrearing, which is absolutely not my thing. This is my third book by her, and the third time I have been completely disappointed by her writing. I don't think is was right for the Harlequin editors to even pick this manuscript up for the SuperRomance line, as it is absolutely not a romance novel. I almost always love this particular branch of category romance, and it's disappointing to discover such a bland book.

Great subject matter with an unfortunate style of execution. This one is recommended for women's fiction fans, but not for romance fans.