"Sanctum" by Sarah Fine

SANCTUM - Sarah Fine (released October 2012)
(First book of the Guards of the Shadowlands trilogy)

I kept putting off reading this book, and I'm glad I did - because it was worth the wait!  The title didn't appeal to mean and the cover didn't do anything to draw me in, but the book was incredible!  I was pleasantly surprised.

If you're a fan of What Dreams May Come, then you will definitely like this book.  Nadia, Lela's best friend, shockingly commits suicide and Lela begins to dream about Nadia in Hell aka "The Dark City".  Lela, a once troubled teen herself, falls to her death while in a trace, so she can help Nadia escape the Dark City.  Only getting in and locating Nadia in the Dark City isn't as easy as Lela originally thought. The Mazikin are the hunt to recruit weak souls into their fold, and the Guards are there to destroy the Mazikin and make sure no souls escape from the Dark City until they are ready to be judged.  Lela has a run in with Malachi, the leader of the Guards, when he discovers that she doesn't belong in the Dark City.  Malachi then has to decide if he should help Lela on her futile quest save Nadia, or get Lela out of the Dark City before she succumbs to the Dark City.

I loved this book.  I am a huge fan of What Dreams May Come  - I love the concept of connected souls and of hell having different sectors for each sin.  I find it fascinating that hell for suicides is a personal and lonely hell, and the souls usually don't even realize they are dead.  The story of Nadia and Malachi were heartbreaking, and I couldn't help but want to save them myself.  I also loved the idea that suicides could be saved and re-judged once they accepted what happened.  I also liked the idea that even love was possible in such a dark and depressing world.

Final say - I loved this book.  If you want a read that will make you question your beliefs about the afterlife, this book is for you.  If you want a book about deep friendship, this book is for you.  If you want a story filled with suspense and forbidden love, then this book is for you.  I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy, and I will more than likely read this book again soon.