Her Sanctuary

FBI Agent Elizabeth Ward escapes her protection detail and heads for Montana, the last place anyone from New York would expect to find her. She stumbles into the Triple H Ranch owned by the Sullivan family, led by the oldest son Nat. Her plan is to lay low for a few weeks until the vicious mobster who wants her dead is neutralized. What she didn’t count on was falling for the rancher who helps her heal, both physically and emotionally. <br /><br />I must admit that I struggled somewhat with the story, primarily because it took so long to piece together Elizabeth’s story. Once I figured out her true situation, it became much more exciting and compelling. Her developing romance with Nat was therapeutic to both of them and I liked that it moved slowly despite their immediate attraction to each other. One unexpected highlight was learning so much about how a horse ranch is run. There was a particularly emotional scene involving the birth of a foal that brought tears to my eyes. <br /><br />This was the debut novel by the author but not my first experience with her writing. I’m a huge fan of her outstanding <i>Cold Justice</i> series and can see how much she’s developed as a writer since this book. I liked it but it’s not on the same level as her later series. However, I do plan to continue the series as I can already see improvements in the next book (I peeked).

3.75<br /><br />This was a good book because it kept me waiting for when the shoe would drop... The one thing I didn't like about it was that she was so strong on several occasions but when I wanted her to kick a$$ she didn't. Good book !!;;;

WOw, this was a really good book with an ultra tortured but pissed off heroine. When her life with the FBI goes bust in a bad way Elizabeth runs, scared but determined and she takes refuge in a falling down ranch owned by the hero Nat's family.<br /><br />Nat is a rancher and wildlife photographer struggling to save the ranch while dealing with his mother who is ill, younger brother who went off the rails after his wife's death and his doctor sister who doesn't need looking after. When he sees the heroine he knows she is trouble not just because she is good looking but because she sleeps with a gun under her bed and seems to be running from demons but with his financial situation beggars can't be choosers.<br /><br />The hero has been burned once by a beautiful woman and after what happened to the heroine and betrayal by the people she worked with, she doesn't need to be falling in love or start caring for the people she is taking refuge but that is what happens.<br /><br />We get the villain's POV, a truly twisted mobster and also the heroine's boss and mentor who starts something with Josie, the heroine's friend. I read the author is working on their book and I am looking forward to that.<br /><br />All in all the book might not bring something new to the table story wise but the execution and writing is great.

Two-haiku review:<br /><br />She's a former Fed<br />Hiding on Montana ranch<br />Mobster wants to kill<br /><br />Liked this one a lot<br />Well done characters and plot<br />On to the next one

"Her Sanctuary" has a good, solid plot with great characters. There are definitely signs of the wonderful author Toni Anderson becomes, but this book lacks a flow that is present in her later works. <br /><br />When her case falls apart and very life is threatened, ex-FBI agent Elizabeth Ward runs. With a new identity she hides on a remote working ranch in Montana. From her first encounter with Nat Sullivan, she is captured by the raw masculine presence of the ranch owner. <br /><br />Nat Sullivan is barely holding his family and ranch together. By taking guests at the ranch, he can barely make expenses. That wouldn't begin to pay down the debts on the ranch and the family is faced with loosing the ranch. His attraction to Elizabeth can't come to anything, when nothing is all he has to offer her. <br /><br />With a killer on her trail and her life so uncertain, Elizabeth has a lot of decisions to make. One of them is that she is not going to let her rapist steal her life from her and she is definitely not going to let any harm come to the family and the place she has come to thing of as a home. <b>3 1/2-Stars</b>

3,5⭐

I haven't read any other book by Toni Anderson but my expectations weren't quite big. And I was really positively surprised by actually how much I liked this story.<br /><br />Eliza is an ex-FBI agent and she is running away after her undercover mission got really, really bad. She is hiding on a ranch of Nate Sullivan. Soon they are attracted to each other.<br /><br />This is a passion at the first sight story, which is not what I usually like in my books but it totally didn't bother me this time. Maybe because the whole plot is much more developed that I've expected. It is pretty complicated and detailed. And the romance part doesn't dominate the story. Also the main characters Eliza and Nat are quite complicated and three-dimensional. <br /><br />I'm really eager to read the next book in this series which is Marsh and Josie story. I will probably do it soon.

I found this book as a freebie on Amazon awhile back and just now got around to reading it. Here's my breakdown:<br /><br />The pros<br />* I got it as a freebie<br />* The heroine was independent and strong willed<br />* The sex scenes were pretty steamy<br /><br />The cons<br />* There were some slow parts in the plot where very little seemed to occur<br />* I didn’t care for the multiple POVs<br />* It was pretty predictable and I never felt any suspense<br />* This read had an insta-love feel to it - I didn’t feel like the relationship between the hero and heroine was very developed. <br />* Very cliché<br /><br />Overall, this book was pretty bland. Not bad but not that good either. It was worth reading as a freebie but I don’t feel its anywhere near worth its current listing price of $3.99. It also isn’t a series I care to continue.<br />

So.<br />Many. <br />Cliches.<br /><br />Jilted Hero.<br />Severely traumatized heroine.<br />Annoying villain without a conscious.<br />More annoying 'villains' in the form of a mean neighbor, his slutty wife, the town banker, the town sheriff, FBI people who left the heroine high and dry, and partridge in a pear tree.<br /><br />Way too many cliches happening here.. and that's saying a lot since usually I don't mind cliches. I think it was the writing. I can't really put my finger on it, but I just feel like the author could have given us <i> such </i> a better story had she written things just a little different. At certain points I just thought "man she went a little to far here" or "I wish she coulda followed that angle more". I think maybe it was because she was trying to make it a book for the beginning of a series so she tried to add all these different elements in, but it became too distracting after a while.<br /><br />It wasn't a bad story, and the read is quick, I think I just liked her previous book <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/12830056.Edge_of_Survival" title="Edge of Survival by Toni Anderson" rel="noopener">Edge of Survival</a> so I had some expectations going into this one. I will definitely be looking out for the next book in this series though because I liked that couple too.<br />

I loved this book from the first page. Eliza is a heroine who grabs you at once and Nat is the perfect conflicted hero. Toni Anderson writes tension and dark excitement with a gifted touch. You fall in love with the characters and beg for their happy ending. This book has everything -danger, terror, romance, you name it. You fall in love with Eliza and Nat right from the start, two conflicted characters with secrets who try to resist the attraction between them. I don't like to give away plots in my reviews so just let me say this book is a Must Read. Don't miss it. It's a winner, I promise you.