Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Midnight Duet

Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort

10 reviews

bbygirl21's review against another edition

challenging funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a very entertaining read. I loved the characters. I thought the storyline was good. I did think the ending was quite abrupt. But overall I really liked this book. It was a fun retelling of 'The Phantom of the Opera'.

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risseandshine's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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crystalisreading's review

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challenging emotional hopeful

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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abigailkokitus's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This was just… not it for me. The writing itself isn’t terrible, though not amazing, either. Entirely just a vehicle for the story and nothing special besides that, if that makes sense. The “spicy” scenes were well-written in the sense that they elicited the expected response. At certain points I found myself laughing out loud at how absolutely ridiculous the main characters were with their h*rniness (not sure what I can say on here). As much as I understand going without intimacy for several years, even so, I found myself wondering if this level of feral is even realistic that literally any singular time one character lays eyes on the other they are immediately thinking about having s*x with them. Like… what? Or maybe I’m the abnormal one here? Who knows. As another reviewer called it, the “instalove” between Erika and Christof is jarring and unrealistic. But then again, nothing about this book is meant to be realistic, I don’t think. I didn’t find Erika particularly likable; she seemed to cross too far over from “confident” into “conceited” to me. I knew she was definitely a Leo before that fact was even revealed. While Christof’s sign was never revealed, I think that he’s an Aries with Capricorn placements somewhere. Lots of fire sign energy from both of them. Christof was conceited too, but imo, more lovable in some ways that made up for that. I thought his excessive usage of “badass” as a descriptor was genuinely funny. I am certainly a fan of the Phantom of the Opera, and noticed the parallels immediately (I wasn’t aware going into the book that this was a loose retelling). So, overall, it held my attention enough to finish it, but by the end I was tearing through it not because I was enthralled but mostly because I was ready for it to be over and sick of the nauseating, overly saccharine instalove.

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stardustandrockets's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received a free eARC in exchange for an honest review

I haven't really watched Phantom of the Opera, but when I was approached to read and review Midnight Duet, a gender swapped version, I jumped on it. A friend of mine in middle school was obsessed with the musical, so it always makes me think of her.

I'll start out by saying that I enjoyed this one overall. However, the main characters in this dual pov book (Erika and Christof) are INCREDIBLY horny and could barely be in the same room together at the beginning without wanting to rip each other's clothes off. As a sex-averse asexual, I found the frequency of sexual thoughts/actions off-putting and almost DNFed at the 18% mark. There was a semi-public masturbation-for-show scene that icked me out, but I pushed through and am glad I did because I enjoyed the overall story: struggling ex-broadway performer inherits historical opera house (and attached brothel) in small-town Nevada and is on a mission to save it despite her family's reputation in town; German Hair Metal front man has just been dumped in the worst way and is looking for a distraction by renting out said opera house to work on the band's first album in English. The chemistry is undeniable. It was just super heavy handed in my opinion, but I know a lot of you like that kind of thing. Think Chloe Brown level spice.

The characters were well developed (the dual pov really helped set the story up), I absolutely adored Sybille (spelling?) the gothy/witchy bassist, and the fact the Erika had rats made me super happy (don't worry, nothing bad happens to them). It was well paced, engaging, funny, and steamy.

If you enjoy steamier and open-door romance, forbidden romance, unlikable heroines, gender-swapped stories, forced proximity, insta attraction, and/or German Hair Metal, this is the book for you.

Spice: 🌶🌶🌶

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loveinpanels's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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lizacorn's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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theoceanrose's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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amengels's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC. In this gender-swapped Phantom of the Opera retelling, Erika is an ex-broadway star turned theater owner renting her (dangerously unusable) space to Christof's German hair metal band. This book is just pure fun. The best way for me to describe it is campy. Underneath all the fun, are discussions of self-love and letting go of things outside of your control. I actually really loved the ending because it had me on the edge of my seat.

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overflowingshelf's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

CW: injury/disfigurement; fire; minor slut shaming & infidelity (not with main couple)

Things I didn’t know I needed in my life – a modern-day, gender-bent retelling of The Phantom of the Opera. But now, I cannot imagine not having this book in my life. Midnight Duet is pure campy goodness. It leans into the bonkers but doesn’t take itself too seriously, so the story works perfectly. I’m a huge musical theater nerd, and I was DYING at all the musical references. It was perfection! Also, I never expected to cry over some rats (yes, rats), yet this book made me do that.

After suffering a tragic stage accident that leaves her scarred, Broadway diva Erika Greene leaves New York City behind and moves to Paris, Nevada, to restore the Paris Opera House (and its brothel) she inherited. However, the Paris Opera House needs a lot of TLC and is on the brink of bankrupting Erika. With the hot-shot real estate developer Raoul Decomte breathing down her neck to acquire the land the opera house is on, Erika is desperate, so she leases the place out to the German hair metal band Nachtmusik. Glam rock god, Christof Daae, band manager and lead singer of Nachtmusik who knows how to rock some gold pants, is determined to make Nachtmusik into international superstars…as long as he can keep it under wraps that he broke up with their keyboardist and doesn’t know if she’ll return to the band. When Erika realizes Christof’s predicament (and also sees he’s potentially damaging his vocal cords), she offers to help him for a price. Their nighttime music sessions led to something more, but will their relationship survive in the spotlight?

While I’ve never read the original Phantom of the Opera, I know every word of the musical by heart. I loved how Jen Comfort took a familiar story and put her own spin on it. The story was both familiar and new at the same time. I loved all the nods to the musical, plus Comfort wove in plenty of other fun musical theater references (my favorite is Javert and Jean, Erika’s two rat companions). The plotting and pacing of the story were spot on, and I found myself devouring this book. I also adored Comfort’s writing style – it fits this story so well! It was very tongue-in-cheek, and I giggled with glee multiple times over a perfect theater reference or funny line.

I adored all the characters in this book – and boy, do we have a colorful cast of them! I loved all the kooky members of Nachmusick so much. Seriously who would have guessed hair metal and musical theater would work so perfectly together? I still get a dopey smile on my face every time I see the names Erika Greene and Christof Daae – such good nods to the OG characters. Also, I love that Raoul is a villain (I’ve always been team Phantom and hate Raoul).

Comfort did a great job making us see how much of a diva and self-destructive person Erika was before her accident in one chapter. I enjoyed her character growth and watching her fight to save the Paris Opera House however she could. She ends up stepping outside her comfort zone with the Nachtmusik crew, and Christof and the band have a good influence on her. I loved that she acknowledged that she was a terrible person before and didn’t make excuses for it. By the end, she’s a much happier and better person. Christof was a treat. This man was so type-A, and I could relate hard. He’s so focused on his goals and the band’s success that he sometimes makes poor choices and forgets to have FUN. But when he lets loose, he lets LOOSE.

When Erika and Christof are together, they seem more relaxed and carefree. They bring out the best in each other. While they initially start off attracted to each other and have white-hot chemistry, I enjoyed watching their relationship develop beyond attraction to love, even if they both struggled a bit to put their actual feelings into words. The romance in this was incredibly sexy (hello, sexy solo session and that closet scene!) yet incredibly sweet – it’s the perfect blend of both. And Comfort also knows how to twist a knife into the feelings with romance, my favorite kind of thing.

If this book wasn’t on your radar yet, put it there now! It was such a delightfully bonkers romance that theater fans will eat right up! I had such a blast while reading it and cannot wait to revisit it. This was my first book by Jen Comfort, but it won’t be my last! I will definitely be checking out more of her work soon!

Thank you to Wunderkind PR for the free ARC. All thoughts, ideas and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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