Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Sanctuary Found

SERIES: Pelican Bay #2

AUTHOR: Sloane Kennedy

NARRATOR: Michael Pauley

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2018

LENGTH: 9 hours, 13 minutes

BLURB:

Coming home should be the easiest thing in the world, but I’ve never felt more lost….

When his stellar military career comes to an abrupt and terrible end, 32-year-old Maddox Kent returns to the town he never planned to step foot into again, hoping to mend the rift he himself caused with the brother he left behind. But coming home means facing some hard truths about himself and his actions. When he has the chance to start making amends by helping his brother with the wildlife sanctuary he runs, Maddox is thrown another curveball when a stranger appears….

As long as we keep moving, everything will be okay. That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway….

For 21-year-old Isaac, Pelican Bay is only supposed to be a stopping point on the trek from San Francisco to New York. With his little brother, Newt, in tow, Isaac is just looking to make things right by returning something of value to a person he wronged. But “getting lost” in the next big city proves to be a problem when the brutal Minnesota winter claims Isaac’s car and strands him and Newt at the animal sanctuary. When the owners of the place offer him a job, a desperate Isaac agrees, despite the presence of a man Isaac instinctively knows could be his downfall….

It should be so easy to let him go, but I can’t. And not just because I want to protect him….

Nothing about Isaac makes sense to Maddox. Not his piercings or makeup or flashy clothes. And most certainly not the snarky mouth that doesn’t match the vulnerability Maddox sees in the younger man’s eyes. But one thing does make sense to the hardened former soldier. Isaac is running from something, and Maddox’s gut is telling him not to let Isaac and little Newt go until he can ferret out the truth.

REVIEW:

I loved this book! The characters, the plot, it was all just great! My only problem is that I want more. There was a little bit of angst in some places, but mostly this was a book of second chances and starting over. It was sweet, but not sugary. It was warm and fuzzy and it was a perfect book to listening to while sitting out in the sun.

Maddox is suffering from PTSS from the war. He’s a bit closed off and suspicious of everyone, but he also has a lot of questions and things to set right between him and his brother Dallas (from book 1). And helping out at the Sanctuary seems like a good way to start.

Isaac has had a hard life and being on the run he does everything he can just to survive and keep his four year old brother Newt safe. There’s just one thing he has to do before they can get lost for good. He needs to return the infamous violin to Nolan in Pelican Bay. He’s then convinced to stay at the Sanctuary just a little bit longer, and along the way he finds what it’s like to feel safe, have a family. That is, until the old one comes knocking.

It was great to see Maddox and Dallas mending fences. There were no instant forgiveness and forgetting of the past hurts and betrayals mind you, but a slow rebuilding of their relationship. It made me warm inside to see them too start over and find forgiveness and moving forward.

Maddox and Isaac’s romance is one of slow burn. There is no insta-love between these guys, on the contrary there was a fair bit of animosity and mistrust at first. Once hatchets were buried, the UST was just this side of mouthwatering. One thing though with audiobooks, they sure do shine light on pacing that don’t quite work for the story, and let me tell you that listening to a sex scene for more than 20 minutes is just waay to long – at least for me. But other than that, I loved this book – a lot, and time just flew by and before I knew it I’d listened to it all in one go. But I do consider it a day well spent.

Michael Pauley nailed this book. His narration was great and as usual his different voices and pacing for the different characters makes it easy to follow along the story. You never wonder which character is speaking at any given time, you can just sit back, relax and just enjoy the story. And I have to say, there’s just something about his voice that makes me swoon just a little bit.

This series keeps getting better and I can’t wait to see what else Sloane Kennedy has in store for us with this series, I’m hoping for Jett’s story next – I’m a sucker for survivor stories.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon

Audible