Adrianne's Reviews > Sanctuary Bay

** spoiler alert ** Received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review. Thanks NetGalley!!

I think I must have read something different than everyone else who reviewed this book. Let me start with the good:

The opening was good. I wanted to know who these people were. Yes, it was obvious the dad told Sarah to give a fake name (not that she knew because she was so young), but I did want to see where this goes. It was good that she kept flashing back to this memory. It didn't make it seem a one time thing. It was something that obviously deeply affected her. I wanted to know what led up to that moment and why.

The concept of the school being a front for illegal, yes illegal if anyone has even a slight concept of the procedures of clinical testing, psychopharmacological testing is interesting. These kids being generations in the making gave it some depth and some plausibility.

That's about where the good ends.

I did not like that Sarah had this big, dark secret yet told practically everyone and without hesitation!!! Isn't the purpose of a secret that you don't tell it??!! She wasn't able to keep a single secret to save her life. She told about the Wolfpack yet didn't get punished. Didn't Grayson, another member, also speak of it and got punished. How did the pack not know that she told yet they did find out with this other girl?? There were never any consequences to her spilling the beans. Ever. There should have been some kind of consequence.

Then there's the antagonist/villain/bad guy telling the whole plan as soon as he comes to meet the good guys/protagonists. Seriously- who does that??!! It's a complete cliche. It would have been so much better had it been handled differently. For example, Sarah could have been captured and when in an exam room with the staff prepping her for treatment, the villain could have walked in, posing as a doctor. What would give him away- his ring. Sarah would know he was the one that killed her parents. But making this encounter between Sarah and the villain work differently and better would have made this a completely different book. Possibly making it more interesting. As it is, it made me want to stop reading. It's an easy out for the villain to put everything out there and the good guys not to have to work to find out the true plan.

I also did not like how Sarah, being suspicious of everyone and untrusting of people her whole life (at least that's how it was stated, not quoted but the message came across) yet she was so accepting of these people on this island. Yes- she did question why she came there, but let it drop after talking to the dean. Really??!! There was only 1 other charity case mentioned on this island (Nate) and no explanation as to how this place found him. He didn't apply. Neither did Sarah. So how did this exclusive school know to find them and offer them a place there?? Did these characters even consider that? It would seem very suspicious for such an exclusive school to do this.

At the end, Ethan looks at her with love when he thinks he's going to die and she feels the same for him. Ummmm....hello? Did I miss something?? Yes they were kinda friends because they were in the same circle, but I never got the impression that they actually hung out that much and only occasionally talked in the short trip from the chem lab to the cafeteria, and that happening only when Ethan actually showed up for class. How does this lead to love??!! How does this suddenly happen at the end. A crush- yeah maybe. Attraction- sure. But not love. This insta-love thing is awful!!!

Lastly, I feel the writing style was more for tweens than teens/young adults. It's all good when you want your story to read quickly and keep the action going, but it doesn't need to be dumbed down so to speak.

Overall, I really wanted to like this book. As stated, it started off pretty strongly and was interesting but then it disintegrated to disappointment.