Book Review: Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews

Sanctuary
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Roman's Chronicles (Book 1)
Publication: NYLA (July 30, 2024)

Description: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews comes a novella featuring Roman, our favorite Volhv wizard in the always intriguing, colorful, volatile Kate Daniels world.

It’s not easy serving Chernobog, the God of Destruction, Darkness and Death…especially during the holidays; and especially when you’re out of eggnog and one of your pesky, freeloading mythic creatures has eaten your last cookie.

Roman would like nothing more than to be left alone, but when a wounded boy stumbles into his yard and begs for sanctuary, Roman takes him in. Now elite mercenaries are camped out on his property, combat mages are dousing the house with fire, and strange priests are unleashing arcane magic. They thought Roman was easy pickings, just a hermit in the woods, but they chose the wrong dark priest to annoy. For while Roman might be patient, he is the Black Volhv, filled with the love of his terrible god. For his adversaries, it's a fight to the death, but for him, it's just another day in the neighborhood.

My Thoughts: Roman is trying to get through another holiday season when he finds a runaway boy in his yard. The boy begs for sanctuary, and Roman finds himself battling a mercenary crew and a variety of magicians to keep him safe. 

The story was filled with Ilona Andrews' take on Russian mythology. Magical creatures abound as Roman tries to figure out who wants the boy. 

This story was filled with great worldbuilding and gives us more about a side character in Kate Daniels' world. The descriptions were vivid, and the action was fast. I also liked that Roman was finally able to resolve some guilt he has felt with the help of his dark god Chernobog. 

Fans of the Kate Daniels novels will enjoy this novella. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.