Reviewed by Danielle

"Shy?"

I was hoping to enjoy this a bit more than I actually did. I loved Melissa Marr's first two novels, Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange. Her stories are set in our world, in the dirt, grime and noise of the city, but the lives of her human characters are changed forever when they get drawn into the fabulously dangerous courts of the faerie royalty. I particularly like the bitter-sweetness of her romances, where nothing ever runs smoothly, and where you can't always tell who will end up together - the unpredictability keeps you guessing.

'Sanctuary' is a graphic novel, story by Marr, using spin-off characters in a new setting, the desert. The art was okay, if nothing special, and the story so far is very simple. Apart from the fact that there just isn't room in this short graphic novel to create the same complexity and depth as in her novels, the main two characters just seemed a bit uninteresting. I enjoyed the mischievous 'friend' Sionnach, or 'Shy' - and is he just a friend? Looked like this was the first in a series, so I would definitely give it at least another volume to see if it gets any more unpredictable and interesting.

Similar books/authors: 
Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
For more novels set in a fantasy world with a smart, resourceful heroine and an unpredictable romance, I recommend Maria V. Snyder's 'Study' series, starting with Poison Study.