Book Review: Haunted Sanctuary by Moira Rogers

Title: Haunted Sanctuary
Series: Green Pines, Book 1
Author: Moira Rogers
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: review copy from author
Published: January 22, 2013 by Samhain

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.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: Good werewolf romance with great secondary characters.

The Set Up: Eden’s family has secrets that still haunt her so when her battered cousin and his werewolf pack return home, she goes to the police chief for help. Jay has always been a lone wolf but he can’t deny the pull of the battered pack, or of the sexy Eden.

Why I Read this Book: I’ve read a lot of Moira Rogers’ paranormal romances and liked the erotic romances with good world building so thought this would be a good bet.

What I Liked: My favorite thing about this long novella is the secondary characters. Eden’s cousin, Zack, is a fascinating character as he’s a clear alpha werewolf but also one broken and tortured. His pack mates are fascinating, from the beta Lorelei to the mysterious Kaley who has some pull on Zack. Jay’s friends who come to help him set up his new pack are also compelling characters: the emotionally stoic Shane, the fighter Colin, the rebellious Fletcher, and the fearless witch Stella. These characters come together in a highly emotional scene where one of the abused pack members commits suicide and the remaining pack share remembrances over a campfire and moonshine. I loved all these secondary characters, almost more than Jay and Eden, and I can’t wait to read their stories. If readers are like me and like books that set up communities then they’ll love this part of the novella as I did.

What I Also Liked: I like the uncomplicated romance here. Eden and Jay don’t play sexual or emotional games with each other. They both know what they want and aren’t ashamed to go after it. I’m not a huge fan of the biology romance where the couple is drawn together by their paranormal desires but even that worked here as they attempted to connect emotionally. Still they connect mostly on a sexual level but in a Moira Rogers’ story that’s par for the course.

What I Didn’t Like: Nothing struck me wrong. This is a solid paranormal romance that I enjoyed.

IMO: Good start to a series with stellar secondary characters and a decent, erotic romance. I’ll be awaiting future installments in this Green Pines series.

J9’s Rating: