Fragile Sanctuary

By: Catherine Cowles

Narrated by: Zachary Webber, Andi Arndt

The scowl should’ve been my first clue to stay far away from Anson Hunt. The sexy smirk and the fact that he’s my brother’s best friend? Reasons two and three. Not to mention, he’s the new contractor working on my house.

He’s everything I’m not: grumpy, rude, and more than a little attached to his solitude. It doesn’t matter how many times I try to kill him with kindness; the man simply won’t crack. Until he sees me shatter. Because when my world comes crashing down around me, Anson is the one catching me as I fall. And as so-called accidents start plaguing every part of my life, it’s Anson who steps in to keep me safe.

As he does, I can’t help but feel a flicker of heat. And it only takes a single moment for that spark to ignite into flames, engulfing us both. But Anson’s a man with secrets, and they have a price. When they’re revealed, neither of us will make it out unscathed…

©2024 Catherine Cowles (P)2024 Catherine Cowles

One of my favorite books of all time

A non-spoiler review:
5 stars for such a well written and narrated story. I absolutely loved everything about this book. I initially was unsure if I wanted to read it when I saw the long list of book tropes it was promoted with, but thankfully, booktok continued to steer me in the right direction, and I quickly learned that my initial judgement was so wrong!

Catherine Cowles wrote the perfect balance of all the tropes and had me invested and falling in love with multiple characters, being suspicious of many, and going through a wide range of emotions that I felt deep down to my soul.

I am obsessed with Anson and Rhodes. They had the perfect amount of H@te-to-love for me. Sometimes I find that trope to sound bratty and annoying, but it was done perfectly. Their banter, the tension between them, the patience and understanding, the steamy scenes, the touch her and 💀scenes, the giddiness, love and laughter. This couple is everything!

I felt so immersed in the story that I’ll admit to walking around Michael’s while listening to the audiobook and looking at Diamond art kits: IYKYK. I want to say so much more, but I’ll save all of those fun extra details for you!

And I haven’t even touched on the suspense element, the trauma, and the serial unaliver, that has you on the edge of your seat and trying to play detective! I am so thankful to have been introduced to Catherine Cowles’ writing and discovering my love for the romantic suspense genre.

The narrators, Zachary Webber and Andi Arndt did a fantastic job. I have the audiobook, the ebook, and ordered an autographed copy. Did I mention I was obsessed with this book?

So…should you read this book? 100% yes!
I cannot wait for book 2 of the Sparrow Falls series, Delicate Escape, to be released this summer on August 22 (my husband’s birthday, which means I deserve to buy this book as a gift for myself, right?)

Please go read Fragile Sanctuary :)

Love the Dual Narration!

Wow. This book was such an amazing start to the series, and I am dying to get my hands on the rest of them. First of all, meeting Anson in Ashes of You got me so invested in him as a character, and curious about what his backstory was. It was great to see how grumpy/closed off he was, and how that changes throughout the story. It felt like Rhoades was made for him. I loved getting to know Rhoades, and I loved the found family that she has. Every single sibling is someone I’m looking forward to getting a story about. I seriously feel like I need to know what their story is going to be! Not only are the characters amazing, there is also the overarching suspense plot that’s happening. There’s stuff happening to both Rhoades and Anson which readers get to see play out throughout the whole story. Seeing how they go through it and the impact it has not only on them, but everyone around them kept me so invested. Catherine did a wonderful job making it hard to guess the bad guy, as usual. I also loved how she introduced all the different characters throughout the book, and how we get a good taste of who they are and what’s in store for future books. I cannot wait for book 2, Delicate Escape. We get a single dad in there that I’m sure we’re all going to love as Catherine Cowles readers. 

I also think there was just something so special about Anson & Rhoades and the development of their relationship with the trauma that connected them. These two definitely had chemistry, and I liked how it builds up over the first half of the book. When they finally give in, it is so satisfying. Catherine just did such a good job with this one, and she really started the series with a bang! It reminded me of how I felt when I read her Tattered and Torn series–which I love so much! Sparrow Falls is definitely going to be a contender for one of my favorite series by Catherine Cowles.

Absolute perfection!

The narration gives the extra dash to bring this book completely to life. 10/10

From the prologue to the last page I couldn’t put this book down. The prologue had me sobbing. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who had done it and I loved every moment.

The tiny glimpse we got of Anson in Ashes of You I knew his story would be an amazing one. His backstory was so heartbreaking. He is such an amazing man and I loved seeing him throughout this story and how he came out of his shell more and more.

Rhodes past was equally heartbreaking! The emotions felt so real and I was rooting for her immediately. I adored Biscuit and all of Sparrow Falls.

The found family is unmatched. I love how different everyone is and how fiercely protective they are of each other. I can not wait for more of them. Especially Grandma Lolli and her flowers.

New Favorite

I. Have. No. Words. Just read this book. Sooooo good!!! I love that it had a lot of my favorites. Just a hint of hockey- so I have a feeling we will get at least one hockey book in this series. Brothers BFF. Found Family. Grumpyxsunshine. With some serial killer/criminal minds vibes.

Grumpy Meets Sunshine

This book made me enjoy Catherine Cowles's books again. The FMC, Rhodes, is the sunshine to the MMC, Anson’s grumpiness. The serial killer element kept me guessing!