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siglerbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
Phantom by Susan Kay is a must read for anyone obsessed with the story of the opera ghost.
I adored this book start to finish. It is gut wrenching and sad, hopeful and beautiful. Every scene is painted so vividly I felt like I was watching a movie.
I loved the glimpse into Erik's past and what made him the mad genius we know from the original novel by Gaston Leroux. Kay does a beautiful job weaving the little facts we learned originally into her tale in a convincing way that makes me feel like I only knew half the story before finding this book.
There are a few points of violence which became rather uncomfortable for me and several typos later in the book that made me read a sentence two or three times before I understood it and pulled me out of the story for a moment which is the only reason this isn't a perfect 5 star novel in my opinion.
I adored this book start to finish. It is gut wrenching and sad, hopeful and beautiful. Every scene is painted so vividly I felt like I was watching a movie.
I loved the glimpse into Erik's past and what made him the mad genius we know from the original novel by Gaston Leroux. Kay does a beautiful job weaving the little facts we learned originally into her tale in a convincing way that makes me feel like I only knew half the story before finding this book.
There are a few points of violence which became rather uncomfortable for me and several typos later in the book that made me read a sentence two or three times before I understood it and pulled me out of the story for a moment which is the only reason this isn't a perfect 5 star novel in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Body horror, and Body shaming
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Rape, and Confinement
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Torture, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Animal cruelty
emiliosandoz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
this literally was everything i could ask for in this book. this is exactly how i would've written it if i'd done it. i'm deeply in love with this story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Death, and Death of parent
daisymayduck's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I picked this up because I love Phantom of the Opera and it did not disappoint!
I found it to be a little slow at times but in general it wasn't too bad. I love the extra depth it gives to Erik's character as we get to see his backstory and all the heartbreak he has experienced. The way we get to see some of the events of the original story from another characters perspective is brilliant too.
One little touch that I absolutely adored was how Raoul and Christine's son (or should that be Erik and Christine?) was named Charles- a lovely way of bringing the story full-circle from Erik's father Charles at the beginning.
All in all, a wonderful book :)
I found it to be a little slow at times but in general it wasn't too bad. I love the extra depth it gives to Erik's character as we get to see his backstory and all the heartbreak he has experienced. The way we get to see some of the events of the original story from another characters perspective is brilliant too.
All in all, a wonderful book :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, and Torture
Minor: Rape and Child death
Whilst there is a lot of potentially triggering content, a lot of it is only mentioned in passing or plays a very small role within the narrative. The book takes place over a 66-year time span so moves on from a lot of these issues relatively quickly.
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