Michael J. Sanford

Warrick and Gwen break into homes to survive, taking only what they need and what won't be missed. However, in this supposedly vacant home, they discover a dark secret. Rosa is one of the little ones kept hidden and Warrick and Gwen make it their duty to rescue more. The story is immersive and dark. The book is written in the present tense, so readers read the narrative in real-time. A personal pleasant way to read since nothing in the future can be foreseen and readers learn what happens at the same time as the characters.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to Hidden Gems Books and author.… (mais)

Warrick and Gwen break into homes to survive, taking only what they need and what won't be missed. However, in this supposedly vacant home, they discover a dark secret. Rosa is one of the little ones kept hidden and Warrick and Gwen make it their duty to rescue more. The story is immersive and dark. The book is written in the present tense, so readers read the narrative in real-time. A personal pleasant way to read since nothing in the future can be foreseen and readers learn what happens at the same time as the characters.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to Hidden Gems Books and author.… (mais)

I had to get my head together before writing a review on this book. I felt as if my brain was being shaken up in a snowglobe; a couple of things disturbed me but I couldn't see clearly for all the snow until it all settled. Confused? Pretty much how I felt for most of the book but yet I still couldn't put it down.

We are introduced to a clearly unhinged man in House of Sand, he's currently unemployed and it's putting quite a strain on his marriage. He is totally besotted with his 8 year old daughter, Aza, who is VERY advanced for her years. If we weren't told that she was 8 years old, you could be mistaken for putting her in her mid to late teens with all her mood swings and swearing. So that his wife, Joy, won't leave him taking his beloved Aza with her, he agrees to attend an interview that Joy has arranged but he has a total meltdown in the waiting room and runs out of the building.

As if things couldn't get any crazier, our main character goes and sets fire to his house then runs into the burning building like a hero. The family see it as a new beginning but the strain of hiding the truth about the origins of the fire cause him to unravel like a roll of toilet paper pursued by an Andrex puppy. When all that is left is the empty cardboard core, we finally see him for who he really is.

Now I really thought I'd missed something when I didn't know the name of the main character; I found myself flicking back over a few pages now and again to see if I had somehow missed it. So along with an 8 year old acting like a teenager, this lack of name disturbed me but if you remember the snowglobe analogy I mentioned earlier, it does all become clear at the end and looking back now, I think it was actually pretty genius.

House of Sand feels like madness personified; nothing is what it seems and I think I read most of the book with permanently surprised raised eyebrows! It didn't turn out at all as I imagined, which can only ever be a good thing - it really is very dark, shocking and surprising. I think it's one of those books I need to read again to pick up on the clever little nuances that I completely missed the first time round.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.… (mais)