Joint Review – Haunted Sanctuary by Moira Rogers

Haunted Sanctuary cover image
Publisher: Samhain
Publish Date: Out now
How we got this book: ARC from the author

Eden Green can’t remember a time she didn’t believe in monsters—her cousin was born one. Her family’s dark past casts a long shadow, making it hard to make friends and harder to commit to a lover. She lives a quiet life in small-town Clover, Tennessee, but she’s always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Tired of the city packs’ corruption, yet too alpha to be a subordinate in a sanctuary town, Jay Ancheta satisfies his need to protect by serving as Clover’s Chief of Police. As much as he’s drawn to Eden, he can’t offer forever to a woman who doesn’t know what he is—or trust himself to let her go after one taste.

When Eden’s cousin and his battered pack stagger into town, their tormentors hard on their heels, Eden is bitten in the chaos. Now Jay not only has a traumatized pack to deal with, but a newly turned wolf with enough hungry alpha power to consume them both.

With their combined strength, they can create a new sanctuary—if their passion can survive the ghosts of the Green family’s legacy.

Warning: Contains a newly turned werewolf heroine who enjoys a little rough dominance in bed and a badass alpha wolf hero who’ll fight bad guys, ghosts and even the past to protect what’s his. Be prepared for violence, death and heartbreak on the way to a happily ever after.

This blurb came from the author’s website.

E: I have been addicted to Moira Rogers ever since I discovered their writing. The first book I read happened to be one of their Red Rock Pass books. It opened my eyes to a fascinating world of shapeshifters, witches, and the occasional lumberjack vampire. Unfortunately that world was not all blissful shifting under the moon and pack bonding because not all Alphas and by extension their packs treasured their members. In fact it appeared as if a large number of packs operated under very unpleasant conditions. However, in a few areas Alphas decided to stand up and take care of their packmates as well as anyone who could make it to their territory. Their packs became sanctuaries but becoming a sanctuary meant you had to hold and defend that land from all comers. When Rogers finished the last book in Red Rock Pass I was one of many who hoped they would revisit that world. Thankfully after several long years (full of other wonderful stories) they returned with Haunted Sanctuary the first in the Green Pines series. I am happy to say that it was certainly worth the wait!

MinnChica: The first book I read by Moira Rogers was the first in the Red Rock Pass series, and I instantly became hooked on all things Bree and Donna! When they stopped writing books within the Red Rock Pass series, I was devastated. Now that they are back writing within that world, I am beyond excited! I really enjoyed the first book in the Green Pines series, mostly because Rogers got right back into the swing of the world. I love the concept of corrupt and evil shifters, and a small group of ragtag wolves who are looking for peace and sanctuary in an otherwise crazy world. It took only a few chapters for me to instantly run onto Twitter and lay claim to Jay as my newest fictional boyfriend! 🙂

E: Wait a minute…obviously you didn’t see my tweet claiming Jay 🙂 **quickly goes and types one**. He was a great hero. Strong not into power for power’s sake. In fact he was perfectly happy as a lone wolf trying to slowly court or at least spend time around Eden. I adored how patient he was around not just Eden but also with all of the damaged wolves who arrived with her cousin. He reminded them that they were a pack and would take care of each other not to mention that he wasn’t going to let them get dragged back to the hell they escaped. I also really liked that he let Eden make her own decisions regarding her job and life once things changed yet he also wanted to ensure that any decision she made about his place in her life was free from the influence of a freshly turned wolf.

Eden was also a character I enjoyed. She had to deal with a lot of changes and new urges in a short period of time. She was strong enough to be an alpha but also smart enough to ask for and seek help when she didn’t understand what her wolf was feeling. She also started dealing with the mess of her family’s past as she came to grips with her future and tried to figure out how to help her cousin recover from his torture. She was just perfect with Jay because they could be partners together instead of one always the caretaker of the other.

MinnChica: I think the thing I liked most about Jay was his patience. He was so caring and loving toward Eden, but he was also just as gentle and loving toward the other wolves as well. It was obvious that he wanted nothing more than to take care of the women, especially since they had been through so much. To me, that made Jay the best kind of hero. I really liked Eden as well. She was strong and secure in herself, and as life kept throwing curve balls at her, she took it all in stride. She dealt with the wolf aspect beautifully, and was ready to take on the mantle of leadership at the drop of a hat. I’m so excited to see what this pair will do for their little pack as the series continues.

E: I can’t wait to see what happens next. The mixture of wounded but slowly healing wolves, a resident witch and several lone wolves who might be finding that pack life isn’t so bad has me completely captivated. There are several other things or should I say questions that need answering. I am super curious about the rest of Eden’s family history not to mention the fact that her change and her cousin’s abilities are not part of the prescribed shifter order. It is also going to be interesting to see how they are going to manage living so closely to a regular human town full of nosey busy-bodies. I also want to see who the rest of the pack becomes as they heal. Their personalities were subsumed by the need to survive but we got to see glimpses of what they could offer to a healthy pack.

MinnChica: I am so excited to see where this series heads. I love the idea of having to rebuild both a life, and trust amongst this group. I want to see how things play out with Eden’s cousin and how he deals with his inability to keep his own pack safe. I am excited to see if the townsfolk will find out the truth about Eden and Jay, and how they will react once things heat up. Plus, I’ve already fallen head over heels for the cast that Rogers has laid out, and I’m more than ready for the next book in the series!

E: This was certainly a great start to their new series and a return to this particular world of shifters. The complex characters, mysteries, and uncertainty kept me enthralled. I also think that newcomers to Moira Rogers will be able to start right off with Haunted Sanctuary without missing information about this world. Just like MinnChica I can’t wait for the next installment!

I give Haunted Sanctuary an A.

MinnChica: All in all I absolutely adored this new series set in a familiar world. The new group of shifters are all so wonderful, and I can’t wait to see what Rogers is going to throw at them in upcoming books. Jay and Eden were the perfect couple, with the perfect romance to start this new series. With the books being a bit longer in word count than the previous Red Rock Pass books, I’m even more excited! Paranormal romance fans will have another series to gobble up and enjoy!
I give Haunted Sanctuary an A-

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