Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews is the first novella in the Roman’s Chronicles. I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Chris Brinkley and throughly enjoyed spending Koliada, the Winter Festival, with him as he protects a young boy. Action-packed and laced with humor and heart Andrews delivered!
by Ilona Andrews
Series: Roman’s Chronicles #1
Narrator: Chris Brinkley
Length: 4 hours and 27 minutes
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Publisher, Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.4x
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.
I’ve enjoyed interactions with Roman in the Kate Daniels series, so I was excited to spend time with him. Roman, a Dark Volhv, serves the Slavic god Chernobog, the God of Destruction, Darkness, and Death. He is in the middle of a task, but it’s Koliada and all he really wants to do is drink eggnog, eat cookies and rest. All of that changes when he discovers a young boy and his dog. Trouble is following them and the tale that unfolds was addictive.
This is a fun intro to the Kate Daniels world if you haven’t read/listened to the series. For fans, it was fantastic getting to know a character from within the world. The Andrews are fantastic storytellers, and I gobble up anything they write.
Roman is grumpy, but he also has a soft spot for animals, strays and I delighted in the telling of this story. We get Roman’s backstory and learn how he became the Black Volhv. We battle mercenaries, learn about the young boy, a fallen Volhv, and complete a task for a god. The creatures we encounter are unique and provide humor and aid. Good times.
Chris Brinkley did a stellar job of capturing Roman and the others. He enhanced an already brilliant tale and I hope he’ll be back for the next audiobook.
I highly recommend Sanctuary and all the books/audiobooks written by Ilona Andrews. If they write it, I will buy it and recommend them to fans of urban fantasy, mythology, kick-ass characters, humor, magic and more.
About Ilona Andrews
“Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.) Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats. They have co-authored four NYT and USAT bestselling series, the urban fantasy of Kate Daniels, rustic fantasy of the Edge, paranormal romance of Hidden Legacy, and Innkeeper Chronicles,
About Chris Brinkley
Chris Brinkley is a narrator, voice actor, writer, producer, NCAA Division I broadcaster, radio personality, and emcee. Brinkley penned the recently released My Story of Us book and audio series. He is also known as the voice of Penny Reid’s Winston Brothers Series, narrating and voicing all six brothers in the popular audiobook collection. Brinkley narrates Reid’s Handcrafted Mystery Series and the Smartypants Romance Green Valley Chronicles. Chris portrays Eliot in the critically acclaimed Audible Original Sweet Talk. He is currently one of the top narrators on Kevin Costner’s HearHere travel app and is heard weekly on the Curio audio journalism app.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
Since I haven’t read the series, but have considered it, I like that you say this could be a good intro for someone like me. I also like Chris Brinkley’s narration, so that makes it sound even better! Great review!
Rachel @Waves of Fiction
I loved this one, too! Hard to go wrong with Ilona Andrews!
Katherine
Roman sounds like a great character and this sounds like a book I really want to read. This author is on my TBR and I’m thinking will be on my must read list for 2025 if I don’t read anything by them in 2024. Great review!
Jen Twimom
Great review. I read the book, but I’ll have to pick up the audio. This was a fun story!
Mary Kirkland
The more I see this on the blogs, the better it keeps sounding.
Anne - Books of My Heart
I read the eARC but I loved this so much. They are great storytellers! Sometime I will listen to the audio version.
Nadene
Its nice to see that the spin-off was good.
Sophia Rose
I’m with you on loving this one and getting Roman’s backstory and a new adventure.