Book Review: Sanctum by Sarah Fine

“My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple.”
A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance—hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone—she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife. 
As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t—the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate

This was just a spur of the moment, "This looks good" kind of read.
Boy, did it pay off. I am so happy I read this, I can not even begin. I'll do my best anyways. 
First, we have a badass heroine that is also a POC (person/people of color) and that's HUGE for a book like this. We need more POCs in literature because representation is very important. It empowers others that there are people like them that can do the same stuff as other characters. Okay, kind of a tangent, but it was really nice to read.
Secondly, she is your typical action hero with all the badassery, snark, and terrible back story. BUT she's real. She's not this way because she wanted to be but it's how she dealt with the hand she was given. She's a great, great character. 
Third, the story is AMAZING. It's a new twist on the whole "afterlife" thing that's been done before. This was unlike anything I've read and written really well. 
Fourth, the character development was really fun to read. We get to see how her thoughts change throughout this journey.
Fifth, her love interest is the perfect yin to her yang. Plus, it was like a bonus to the whole story and not the story itself. Just how it should be. The boy is to die for. (Sorry, it's a terrible pun but we are talking about the afterlife after all.) Not a lot of swoons but a lot of cute moments. 
Finally, the ending was wonderful. I could've seen this as a complete novel had certain things not happened, but it's a trilogy. I already have the whole series and I eagerly await reading them. 
I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good book. Also check out Sarah Fine's other book Of Metal and Wishes, which is also really good. (And a modern take of Phantom of the Opera.)

Read: February 2015

My Rating: 5 stars / 5 stars