Sanctum: A Terrifying YA Horror Novel About a Haunted Asylum and a Sinister Carnival

Book 2 in the Asylum series did not disappoint. While some aspects of the story line were predictable, it was still very entertaining and a great read. Spooky and relentless we rejoin our band of friends, each back in their perspective cities living their lives as normally as they can, considering.Dan, Abby, and Jordan met during the summer program at New Hampshire College. Their adventure started when the college put the members of the program up in converted housing in the Brookline Asylum a historic holdover from the areas past. Pulled by forces they couldn’t explain they began exploring areas of the Asylum off limits to students, uncovering a part of Brookline's past that went beyond simple mistreatment of patients. The breath of the past that still lingered within the Asylum walls echoed the horrific acts of the Warden (Daniel Crawford), who shared more than just Dan's name. Human experimentation was one of many things that got the Asylum shut down, but the true depth of Brookline's and the Warden's secrets had remained buried. Uncovering their connections to Brookline could have never prepared them for how alive the past would become. Possessed by a serial killer once treated by the Warden, Dan's roommate almost succeeds in ending Dan and Abby for good.They thought that surviving the summer would be the end, but in Sanctum we find our friends still tormented by paranormal forces that are directing them to return to the scene of their combined nightmare. Following clues left for them by the serial killer that almost ended them, they return to New Hampshire College posing as prospective students. Experiencing things they cannot explain, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are compelled to press forward, while making every effort to avoid Brookline. The clues they have collected lead our real life Scooby-Doo-ers to search abandoned houses in Camford (the city surrounding the college). They quickly begin to uncover more troubling information about Camford, Brookline, and the evil Warden. It becomes apparent that their arrival at the school and in the town has not gone unnoticed by the forces that seek to destroy them. Secret societies and ghosts from the past have them running for their lives, while witnessing a murder only seems to seal their fates.The dynamic between Dan, Abby, and Jordan drive this story. The trio is still learning about one another and while they may not always believe the strange things happening around them they still reluctantly support each other and their mission. More than anything Sanctum is about friendship and sacrifice. A few surprises from certain characters makes up for those predictable characters and ending. I truly enjoyed this installment of the series.

Sanctum is the second book in the Asylum series, and let me tell you that it is just a creepy as Asylum, maybe moreso. Creepy is a good thing.So we begin with Daniel, or Dan as he prefers to be called. He has been desperately trying to get his friends to contact him more. He feels alone, and has been having nightmares.One day Dan receives a letter from the mother of the guy who tried to kill him! Seriously, that's messed up. Felix is in a mental ward, and keeps screaming Dan's name, over and over and over! His mother pretty much begs Dan to visit Felix.He visits Felix, and Felix slips him a picture....well a piece of one. Dan contacts his friends, and it appears they both have a piece of a picture too.Once they compare pictures, they see that it makes one complete picture. On the back of each piece is a word. When the picture is made whole, it says:"You're Not Finished"See, I told you it was awesomely creepy.Dan, and his friends Jordan and Abby, head back to Brookline to figure out the mystery.Once they arrive, strange and weird things begin happening just like they did in Asylum.I urge you to read these books. I love when a book can suck you in, and scare the crap out of you, but keep you interested at the same time. That is exactly what Madelieine Roux does. Such fantastic writing. I cannot wait to read Catacomb.

*4.5*In the aftermath of the events that took place in Brookline, the old asylum located on New Hampshire College campus, Dan and his friends Abby and Jordan are still dealing with the nightmares and memories of what took place. With some mysterious information that is sent to them and presents itself to Dan, the trio must make the trip back to NHC and try to solve the secrets in order to be able to try and move on from what happened.This sequel is fast paced, filled with suspense and reads much more like a horror movie than the first book, Asylum. It has the same creepy and eerie feeling that is found in the first book, but has a feeling of being in the realm of possibility. Whereas Asylum was more about the overactive imagination and unreliability of the mind, in Sanctum there is a more immanent threat that is developed. For me that poses a greater threat and more fear because instead of just thinking something is happening or going on you know it is happening. There are actual people stalking the three and when you put that with the eeriness of the setting and the added element of a creepy carnival there is a trifecta of terror. The dark and ominous elements added with the well thought out story layered with secrets and hints of insanity, perfectly combined to make a suspenseful story that reminded me of horror films and even of the T.V. show American Horror Story.I was happy to see that there were a lot of questions answered in this book that I felt were unresolved in Asylum. I did still think that there were some questions not completely answered and just insinuated that I wish were actually answered. The other problem I had with the first book was the characters and I thin Roux did a much better job in this book with the characters in my opinion. The relationships and friendships actually felt real and not like it was trying to hard. The addition of the new characters Micah, Lara and Cal really helped to add to the story and overall plot. Roux does a fantastic job creating characters that are questioning their sanity and even the ones that are close to insanity. The carnival really allowed for there to be some creepy characters mentioned that gave me chills.Overall this was a fantastic follow up and conclusion that was filled with suspense and the creepy possibility of becoming reality. It contained elements that made the book creepy and left me wanting to keep the lights on. It had secrets, secret societies, ghosts, haunted/creepy houses and a carnival. It sets the scene perfectly to drive your imagination crazy and send chills down your spine.

I made it to my page 64 before I gave up. Author has made it abundantly clear her political views and how she feels about those who disagree with them. A person can’t even get an escape from the this BS by picking up a book (that has NOTHING to do with that particular topic) and trying to escape for a little while. I will be returning this title and the others I have bought of the series. Very disappointing.

Gripping read but very good book.

I absolutely loved this book, I loved the first one, it took a little while to get into the first one, but once I did I was hooked. I'm glad there's more than one in the series! It's very well written and the photographs make it just that much better. I felt like I was right there with them

Very different from the first book of this series. I really enjoyed it. I recommend this to anyone who fancies abit of a tense book.

Spooky read

Great follow on book to the first one. Did not know what was going to happen. Easy read and easy to pick up.