Review: Fragile Sanctuary (Sparrow Falls #1)

Fragile Sanctuary, Book 1 in the Sparrow Falls series by Catherine Cowles

Published By: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: May 16, 2024
Date Read: June 16, 2025
Genre: Adult – Romantic Suspense
Source: Bought
Format: E-Book
Pages: 366

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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…

“Sometimes, the only way to stay alive and breathing is to pretend it never happened. Over time, you can let it in, piece by piece, but if you do it all at once, you could drown in the grief.”

I’ve been actively looking for more Suspense Romance books ever since I fell head over heels in love with Indigo Ridge last year. So I was thrilled when Fragile Sanctuary came up as my book club’s read for June. I did enjoy Fragile Sanctuary but for a lot of the time, I was just wishing for something a little bit… more. It just didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Firstly, I really enjoyed the characters. We had Rhodes, out FMC whose family died tragically in a house fire when she was 13. She is in the process of getting her family home restored and that’s when we meet our MMC, Anson, who is part of the team that is doing the restoration. I really liked both characters, but honestly I wasn’t 100% sold on their romance. I just didn’t feel it. I felt more like I was being told about their growing connection than really feeling like it was happening. I was definitely more invested in the mystery than I was in their romance.

One thing I absolutely loved about this book was the found family aspect. Rhodes was adopted into a large family, with her adoptive mother fostering many disadvantaged children and they ended up having a very, very close relationship. I actually really enjoyed this aspect. It ended up with Rhodes having around 7+ siblings and it really worked. I really loved this idea of blood doesn’t mean anything and you can find your own family. It was a really lovely dynamic to the book.

Honestly, where this book falls down, in my opinion, is that it overcomplicated the suspense element. We ended up having two different mysteries happening in this book. You have Rhodes’ family fire and you’re constantly wondering who set the fire, and are they still after her? In addition to this, about 40% through the book we’re introduced to a second mystery with a serial killer after Aston. I felt like having these two separate mysteries made it lose a little bit of it’s impact. I felt like they weren’t quite as thrilling as it would have been had there just been one. In addition to that, the resolution of it just seemed a little bit too easy for me. I felt like at points the book didn’t even know who the culprit(s) were, and when the big bad(s) were revealed, I didn’t even remember who they were. It definitely lost it’s impact, as I’m sure the reveal was supposed to be a shocking twist, but I was just left going… who? It seemed really odd. Maybe it’s because we have such a huge cast of characters that I just forgot half of them.

Overall Fragile Sanctuary was a fun read. It’s not one I personally would read again, but I did enjoy it and I probably would continue the series. My favourite part of the book was the family dynamic, and so with the other books being about Rhodes’ siblings I definitely think I would give the other books a go.

“None of us is just one thing. We’re not all good or all bad. We’re a blend of shadow and light.”