I am starting something new on my blog! It is called Double Vision Review. Basically, if Dani and myself have a review for the same book I will post both reviews so people can see what we both liked and disliked. So you get two reviews to help you decide if the book is worth your time.
When I read Asylum I remember not liking it very much. I don't know exactly what I didn't like but I know it had something to do with having so many unanswered questions. A friend told me to give Sanctum a chance and I do not regret it.
This book was FREAKY. Much more freaky than Asylum.
Dan, Jordan and Abby are having after effects of their summer at Brookline. They can't sleep. They are seeing and hearing things. They are pretty much losing their minds. HAHA.
Dan returned to his "normal" life after Asylum. He went back to school and took up company with his old friends. Only they weren't enough. Nothing could live up to Abby and Jordan. Dan was borderline obsessed with his new friends and I wonder if that was because of The Warden side effect or because he had never really had any GOOD friends before.
Felix's mother is what starts this crazy adventure. She asks Dan to go see Felix in the mental hospital because Felix is asking only for Dan. Dan agree's but all hell breaks lose afterwards.
Dan convinces Abby and Jordan to go back to NHC to try and track down answers that haven't been answered. I love how Abby and Jordan are extremely loyal and reliable. If I was them I would have told Dan to shove it and go by himself.
We are introduced to some college kids that are supposed to be their chaperons for the weekend. I could feel that there was something wrong with Cal. Something just felt off. And I was right. But I didn't think anything was wrong with Micah and Lara. Micah did seem overly friendly. Lara was a snotty bitch, honestly.
We are also thrown into a carnival atmosphere with a lot of creepy twists and turns.
The book went in an entirely different direction than the first book. There is hypnosis, human testing for chemical warfare and worst of all, the Scarlets.
I loved the pictures and all of the history in the book. I really enjoyed all the clues they found along the way. It was really cool to read the clue with them and try to figure everything out. The book really does a lot to try and keep the read included in everything.
Some background on Daniel Crawford is also introduced. We learn that he had another brother and that brother is the ghost that helped Dan throughout the book. We also learn that he was in a secret CIA government program trying to create chemical warfare to control enemies I believe.
Dan's "flashbacks" and dreams as The Warden are creepy. We learn about The Warden's past and we get to walk in his shoes.
Did I mention murder? Yeah, murder happens. I know there was murder in the first book but the deaths in Sanctum just feel a lot more personal.
Finding out about Professor Reyes was sort of a shock but after a while I was kind of heading in that direction. I didn't expect the Caroline thing though. I didn't know professor Reyes was that old. She seemed to be portrayed as a younger woman. Not someone in her sixties.
The only thing that really bothers me about this book is the way it ends. It just ends. That's it. We don't find out if Dan's parents believe he was really with Jordan. We don't find out if Abby goes home. We also don't find out why Dan has The Wardens Memories or how they are related and such.
Sanctum answered a lot of things that were left over from Asylum but it also left a lot of its own unanswered questions. I would have loved to know if someone "undid" the rest of the Scarlets. I also want to know if Dan went back to visit Felix so he could tell him about "sanctum".
Overall, I gave the book 4/5 kitties.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. With me a lot of the time I find that sequels aren't as good as the first books in a series, but that is not the case with this one. It's just as great if not just a little bit better in my opinion.
Let's see, where to begin. The creepy factor was there, much more than the first one and I loved it just the same.
I enjoyed the characters especially Jordan. He's so smart and so funny. He was always making me laugh even at the creepiest of times.
Abby reminded me of me to a point, so I was able to connect to her a bit.
Events start to happen right in the beginning, which made this much more enjoyable to continue to read. I think the carnival was a nice touch to the story. It added to the creepiness of the story and I really enjoyed that. I can't help but read or watch anything that deals with a carnival that has a creepy aspect to it. It fascinates me.
The mystery continues with Dan and his family member Daniel Crawford aka The Warden of Brookline. Dan still sees Daniel's memories, but now he sees more then that. New characters appear to only Dan. His friends can't see them, but he has such great friends that they believe that he is seeing them. A little boy helps him along the way with this big mystery that he and his friends are trying to solve since they are all wrapped up in it and all have nightmares from the summer that they shared together. There are many twists and moments where you yell at the characters or the situation.
The story keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you keep reading to find out what will happen next and before you know it you have reached the end. I found the ending to be great. It ended beautifully. There wasn't exactly a cliffhanger, but you still want more because there are still many questions that need to be answered. Such as more about Dan's family history.
I so hope there will be another book to this series. I want more badly. Both of these books have been written so beautifully and you can't help but get lost in them. I want the story to continue and can't wait to see how it all comes to a close so I hope there will be a third. This series has become one of my all time favorites.
Overall, I gave the book 5/5 Stars.
