Sanctuary (Roman's Chronicles)

RomanChronicles1

Ahhhh. A wonderful nip and tuck of a story.

Roman Tirhomirov just wants a little peace and quiet. His god promised him three days a year would be call free, and it has worked for five years. But this year, Chernobog has Roman dragging a fir tree through the dark plane.

Then, a teenager with a puppy and a leg wound asks for Sanctuary, and a whole flock of mercenaries show up, trying to destroy Roman’s house, and take the boy and dog. Oy vey.

They won’t leave, and Roman adds an iron-hide dog and a Zoroastrian magus to his protectorate. And then, the client shows up. Roman can’t get a break.

The discussion of good and evil moves beyond human dogma, and into a realm of primal truths and human practice. The concept of called, chosen, and price are well dramatized.

I liked this story.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart

Review copy was received from NetGalley, Purchased. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I always love a new book by Ilona Andrews and am honored to get to read and review, Sanctuary. The story further develops a character in the Kate Daniels world. Roman is part of the Slavic mythology serving Chernobog. As a dark god, you would think he would be evil. But dark and light are just the two sides to the world, keeping a balance, not actually good and evil.

Roman is trying to help keep things in balance, and also works to protect humans and more vulnerable creatures. We find him right before Winter Solstice when he is supposed to have a vacation. But Chernobog has him busy to try to appease his wife, Morena. Roman's family also has some expectations. That's before a child comes to him and says "Sanctuary."

There is much to enjoy here and the layers of stories which make a shorter book even more interesting. First, there's the boy and why he is on the run with his dog. Next, the unusual dissonance between Chernobog and Morena. Most importantly, there is the development of Roman so we know him better and his personal growth as he handles these issues.

As usual, the wordcraft and pacing, along with character development are stellar. I enjoyed reading so much. The subtle undertone of humor is precious. The Slavic themes are interesting to me and their role in this world. I look forward to more of Roman's story!

This story is classic and amazing world building, character development and creature filled just as in their past novels.

Roman is an amazing hero and I’m thrilled that we have a male main character in this story.

I’ve been starved for a new Ilona Andrews story and hope that many more longer stories follow. I can only reread every book they have written so many times. Please publish another innkeeper story. And answer what happened to the main character’s parents and brother.

This was an entertaining novella. It started with a action right away and did not let up throughout. I liked the black humor sprinkled throughout the story that balanced some of the brutal events which were occurring. The author introduced all the Roman related affiliated characters in a seamless manner and I enjoyed the relationships he had with these people and creatures. The very short snippet "Kind Regards" at the end was nice and showed that Finn has began his "job" for Morena. This was great read and I hope there will be more adventures with Roman, Finn and Andora.

Great story, as usual! I'm just writing this review to provide a content warning (SPOILER NEXT) that a few dogs are in danger (and one is killed) in the first few pages of the story. I wish I'd known this because I'd be better prepared. The death part is a fairly short scene with not many details and easily avoided if needed. I should mention I"m not squeamish about fictional blood/violence, but I just want some notice about injured/dying/dead dogs. A sort of "does the dog die?" for books and I'm writing this in that spirit.

This isn't a comment on the story itself which, as always, is fantastic and draws on myths and legends that I want to read more about. It's also about Roman, one of the most fun characters in the Kate Daniels world.

I developed quite a high level of anticipation waiting for this novel to be released. I am pleased (but not surprised) that it met and exceeded my hopes. I highly recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed the Kate Daniels books.

Since he was first introduced, I have been interested in learning more about Roman, the central character of 'Sanctuary'. Previous storylines including him, his power, his family, and the Slavic gods left me curious. And there was this mysterious tension - something - from his past. In this novel, we get it all, and... wow. You've got to read this.

'Sanctuary' is a standalone novel in the World of Kate Daniels. You don't have to remember anything about Roman from the series to enjoy this. There is darkness and pain, danger and violence, mythology and power - as well as humor, assorted creatures, and Eeyore slippers. And amid it all Roman faces his past on many levels. Roman is an even more fascinating character now. Would love more.

I am a huge fan of Ilona Andrews! They are auto-buy authors for me. Whatever they write, I’m gonna read. The Kate Daniels series is one of my all-time favorite series. The world building is top notch and the way they weave all the storylines together is amazing. The side characters are always fleshed out and add a lot to the books. I was excited when I heard Roman was getting his own novella. He’s everyone’s favorite Black Volhv.

I loved grumpy Roman and his animal misfits! This was such a fun listen/read and I liked the new characters that were introduced to. I listened to the audiobook as well and it was so good! I loved the narrators voice and thought he did an amazing job of voicing Roman. The story was easy to follow and the audiobook helped a ton with figuring out how to pronounce certain names.

This is a book you will enjoy even if you’re new to the Kate Daniels world. I saw there will be a sequel so I can’t wait for more Roman!

4 stars - It was really good

Roman wants nothing more than to be left alone during the holiday, but when a wounded boy stumbles into his yard begging for sanctuary, he takes him in. Now mercenaries and priests are attacking his property trying to get the boy, but they don’t realize they are messing with the Black Volhv.

Roman has been a character that I have been interested in learning more about since he was introduced in the Kate Daniels series. He is the Black Volhv, serving Chernobog, the God of Destruction, Darkness and Death. In the Kate Daniels series we see Roman be a confident man who wields fascinating magic in the name of his God, but in this we see a different side of him. He isn’t all confident but instead struggling with the trauma of his past that reignites itself every holiday season. I like that we are finally getting to see more of Roman’s personality and backstory.

Roman fights to protect a kid and his dog from mercenaries and priests. The battle was fantastic because we got to see all different kinds of things that Roman can do and what these new priests can do as well. It was an action packed story with some great magical fights. Finn may be a kid but he was a cool character who fought back when he knew he would probably fail. His sister Androa was a badass and I really want to know more about her abilities and duties to the Gods now.

Overall, this was a great new spin-off series and I can’t wait to read more about Roman’s adventures, especially with all his cute sounding critters. Also I really hope we see more of Finn and his sister Andora in future books because they were cool side characters.

TW: death, gore; brief mention of past bullying;