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iam's review
4.0
Fast-paced sci-fi f/f retelling of Phantom of the Opera featuring vengeful cyborgs.
What more could you possibly want?!
Content warnings include: violence, death of parents, decribtions of pain and injury, character gets unconsensually turned into a cyborg, discrimination against cyborgs, terrorism.
While Phantom Song plays directly after [b:Parting Shadows|45714915|Parting Shadows (Toccata System #1)|Kate Sheeran Swed|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557531719l/45714915._SY75_.jpg|70490182], it has different protagonists, and references and vaguely explains the main events of the prequel. I guess it can be read as standalone, but I definitely recommend reading both in order because they are good and knowing the details definitely enriches the reading experience.
The book was easy and fast to read - I pretty much finished it in one sitting! The plot, writing and characters were engaging, and the worldbuilding, while not very elaborate, worked perfectly for the story.
Claire, the Phantom character, definitely takes the spotlight - not just because she's a famous opera singer, but also because she is the masked cyborg vigilante of the city. While Iz doesn't sound like much compared to such a résumé, she was a great character too, with discernable strengths and an important role that isn't just Claire's love interest.
Besides them, both familiar and new faces make up the important side characters, and I can't wait to hear more about the latter in future installments of the series as the overarching plot thickens.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
What more could you possibly want?!
Content warnings include: violence, death of parents, decribtions of pain and injury, character gets unconsensually turned into a cyborg, discrimination against cyborgs, terrorism.
While Phantom Song plays directly after [b:Parting Shadows|45714915|Parting Shadows (Toccata System #1)|Kate Sheeran Swed|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557531719l/45714915._SY75_.jpg|70490182], it has different protagonists, and references and vaguely explains the main events of the prequel. I guess it can be read as standalone, but I definitely recommend reading both in order because they are good and knowing the details definitely enriches the reading experience.
The book was easy and fast to read - I pretty much finished it in one sitting! The plot, writing and characters were engaging, and the worldbuilding, while not very elaborate, worked perfectly for the story.
Claire, the Phantom character, definitely takes the spotlight - not just because she's a famous opera singer, but also because she is the masked cyborg vigilante of the city. While Iz doesn't sound like much compared to such a résumé, she was a great character too, with discernable strengths and an important role that isn't just Claire's love interest.
Besides them, both familiar and new faces make up the important side characters, and I can't wait to hear more about the latter in future installments of the series as the overarching plot thickens.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
i_hype_romance's review against another edition
5.0
Kate's second installment in the Toccata series is wonderful.
Claire is my favorite character so far in the Toccata Series. She is broken and bold. She is a shadow and an icon. She was rescued by SATIS, yet forged her own life and mission.
This is a story about triumph over tragedy, finding lost love in the ruins, and being defiant enough to hope for new beginnings.
Claire is my favorite character so far in the Toccata Series. She is broken and bold. She is a shadow and an icon. She was rescued by SATIS, yet forged her own life and mission.
This is a story about triumph over tragedy, finding lost love in the ruins, and being defiant enough to hope for new beginnings.
amysreading_nook's review
4.0
Firstly I would like to thank Kate Sheeran Swed for providing me an eARC copy of Phantom Song, the sequel to Parting Shadows, which I really enjoyed and also rated 4*.
Phantom Song is the direct sequel to Parting Shadows, picking up where we left Iz, Astra, and Henry, but this time the main characters are different and we follow Iz and her ex-girlfriend Claire. In all honesty I did miss the character of Astra having more of a lead role because I became hooked on her in the last book and think she is such a strong character. But saying that, I also really enjoyed the focus on Iz and Claire; Claire is a new character to us and her perspectives were really interesting, and just like Astra she is also a strong BAMF. Claire isn't a character who is born into battle like Astra, but she's had to learn to fight after an explosion almost killed her and left her a Cyborg. Cyborg's are feared and mistrusted in this world and so Claire lives in the shadows, hunting down the man that killed her parents.
I also like that we get to know Iz more and she's more developed in this story. What I enjoyed was that Iz isn't like Astra or Claire, she is normal - she hasn't been trained to fight, she doesn't have any other abilities, she is very much just normal but that isn't a weakness. Iz is kind and thoughtful, and knows how to get into people's heads with this. I really think the dynamic between Iz and Claire was well done and enjoyed seeing their interactions. Like with Astra and Henry, there is the romantic undercurrent between Iz and Claire but it never takes over the story and is never the focus, which for me is a good thing as romance isn't my favourite genre.
As with the previous story I found this story really engaging and it is such a good read. It is fast paced throughout the story and there are no filler sections. I really enjoy a story that moves at a fast pace and keeps the story going; I was utterly gripped throughout and couldn't put it down until I finished it. There are similar themes spread throughout this book of the Satis girl and Astra's desire to find them all and protect them from Keyes. The twist at the end did have me shocked because I honestly didn't see it coming and i'm excited to see where this leads.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and am really looking forward to the next installment, and finding out about the other Satis girls.
Phantom Song is the direct sequel to Parting Shadows, picking up where we left Iz, Astra, and Henry, but this time the main characters are different and we follow Iz and her ex-girlfriend Claire. In all honesty I did miss the character of Astra having more of a lead role because I became hooked on her in the last book and think she is such a strong character. But saying that, I also really enjoyed the focus on Iz and Claire; Claire is a new character to us and her perspectives were really interesting, and just like Astra she is also a strong BAMF. Claire isn't a character who is born into battle like Astra, but she's had to learn to fight after an explosion almost killed her and left her a Cyborg. Cyborg's are feared and mistrusted in this world and so Claire lives in the shadows, hunting down the man that killed her parents.
I also like that we get to know Iz more and she's more developed in this story. What I enjoyed was that Iz isn't like Astra or Claire, she is normal - she hasn't been trained to fight, she doesn't have any other abilities, she is very much just normal but that isn't a weakness. Iz is kind and thoughtful, and knows how to get into people's heads with this. I really think the dynamic between Iz and Claire was well done and enjoyed seeing their interactions. Like with Astra and Henry, there is the romantic undercurrent between Iz and Claire but it never takes over the story and is never the focus, which for me is a good thing as romance isn't my favourite genre.
As with the previous story I found this story really engaging and it is such a good read. It is fast paced throughout the story and there are no filler sections. I really enjoy a story that moves at a fast pace and keeps the story going; I was utterly gripped throughout and couldn't put it down until I finished it. There are similar themes spread throughout this book of the Satis girl and Astra's desire to find them all and protect them from Keyes. The twist at the end did have me shocked because I honestly didn't see it coming and i'm excited to see where this leads.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and am really looking forward to the next installment, and finding out about the other Satis girls.
theirresponsiblereader's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Before I dig into this, here’s a warning—this is the second novella in a trilogy. I cannot talk about this in any understandable fashion without talking about a couple of the things from the first book. Most of what I want to say is no big deal, but one thing is a spoiler for an important revelation in the first book. If it were me, I wouldn’t mind knowing what I’m about to say when I started Parting Shadows Still if you’d prefer to be careful—you should just go read what I had to say about Parting Shadows and move on.
Are You Still Reading? Good.
So in Parting Shadows, we hear something about a vigilante running around Landry City—Astra speculates about that vigilante being one of the SATIS girls. Also, when Isabelle goes to the Opera in Landry City, something happens that rattles her—but other events are going on which makes that not such a big deal.
Phantom Song tells us about what happened at the Opera and about the vigilante. And that’s just the early chapters.
This book overlaps the events of Phantom Song but largely happens in its aftermath. We begin with a cyborg attacking a transport ship carrying a friend of Isabelle’s, Claire, and her mother. Claire is injured, but her mother gets her to safety. She wakes up as a cyborg herself—it was the only way to keep her alive. We later learn that it was SATIS who arranged for that. While she waits to see how raising an assassin goes, she has one constructed, too.
Claire spends her nights as that vigilante in order to find the cyborg that attacked her family (actually, she’s just hunting for the cyborg, the vigilante stuff is a side effect—but let’s not get into that). During the day, she’s the star of Landry City’s Opera.
Astra comes looking for the vigilante—to see if she’s right about the SATIS tie and to recruit some help in her efforts to stop Keyes. The two end up joining forces to take down the Cyborg first.
On Odd Prejudice
For a society so run by various AIs, there is a deep-seated prejudice against humans with cybernetic augmentation—no matter the reason for it. The prejudice is so strong that hospital staff—the same people that just saved Claire’s life through the implants—treat her with scorn because of them. It’s powerful but makes no sense.
Then again, no one said prejudices have to make sense. The ones that seem most prevalent in human society certainly don’t. So, spot on there.
Because of this hatred, Claire has to adopt a new identity and cover her cybernetic parts with long sleeves, dresses, and mask. Which works because of her new identity’s celebrity, but wouldn’t cut it in any other circumstance. That’s a nice touch—and the lengths Claire has to go to to protect herself paves the way for a very successful way to protect her double life.
So, what did I think about Phantom Song?
I know even less about Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera than I do, so I’m not going to pretend to be able to talk about this take on Phantom.
This is a short enough work—and so easy to spoil its own events, much less those of the prior book, that I feel like I’ve been unusually shallow talking about it. But that’s all you’re getting from me.
After doing all the heavy lifting in the first novella—setting up the rules of the world, the way AIs work, SATIS and her girls, and so on, Swed can just play in this novella. The story is more developed, she can sink deeper into the characters (having characters who have had a natural emotional development also helps), she can involve more characters and plotlines. In short, she can do more. Which leads to this being a more enjoyable read.
I don’t think this works that well as an entry point into the series—it’s a trilogy, that makes sense. But this is a great way to follow up on Parting Shadows and sets the stage for a big conclusion in Prodigal Storm. Which is exactly what you want in the middle book of a trilogy.
kat_the_bookcat's review
4.0
The Phantom of the Opera but make it gay. Oh, and it's in space too.
Not going to lie, this was my favorite book in the series (yes, I've read book three too. I'm just late posting reviews). I finished this book in about two hours. I couldn't put it down! One, I love Phantom, two, I love vigilantes, and three, who doesn't love a good story about revenge?
Picking up where Parting Shadows left off, we have Astra, Iz, and Henry trying to hunt down an individual wanting to cause harm to certain people I won't name because of spoilers. Of course, they bump into the totally awesome opera singer/vigilante, Claire (not a spoiler. It's literally in the description, people!). The four team up to save Landry City. Oh, and there's a twist in there I definitely didn't see coming. Well done, Kate! I'm going to shut up now before I give anything away.
Click here for my review on book one.
Not going to lie, this was my favorite book in the series (yes, I've read book three too. I'm just late posting reviews). I finished this book in about two hours. I couldn't put it down! One, I love Phantom, two, I love vigilantes, and three, who doesn't love a good story about revenge?
Picking up where Parting Shadows left off, we have Astra, Iz, and Henry trying to hunt down an individual wanting to cause harm to certain people I won't name because of spoilers. Of course, they bump into the totally awesome opera singer/vigilante, Claire (not a spoiler. It's literally in the description, people!). The four team up to save Landry City. Oh, and there's a twist in there I definitely didn't see coming. Well done, Kate! I'm going to shut up now before I give anything away.
Click here for my review on book one.
gracereallyreads's review
4.0
Y'all this series...*chef's kiss*
Check out my review for book one if you haven't already. Basically, I'm obsessed with Swed's writing. It's beautiful but not flowery and it's so easy to get sucked into these books.
Now, I must admit I know next to nothing about Phantom of the Opera. Luckily, I didn't need to have any background in order to get this book! If you're a fan I'm sure some of the references will stick out to you more. For me, I just thought it was cool cyborgs & spaceships pew pew
I gave it four stars because something about this one didn't pull me in as much as the first. It's possibly because SATIS from book one is a much smaller presence here. We have the characters from book one here, but the story is now focused on (spoiler alert for book one) another SATIS girl named Claire. I liked Claire a lot and I thought her journey was super relateable (plus her relationship is so cute), I'm just not sure I totally understood the overarching plot as well in this one. It could have also been my headspace though.
Overall, I absolutely adore these books and HIGHLY recommend to any SciFi lovers! They are quick thrillers with excellent worldbuilding and a beautiful narrative voice from Swed. I already have book three in my clutches and I cannot wait to dig into it!
TLDR: If you like SciFi and classic retellings, you NEED these books!!
Check out my review for book one if you haven't already. Basically, I'm obsessed with Swed's writing. It's beautiful but not flowery and it's so easy to get sucked into these books.
Now, I must admit I know next to nothing about Phantom of the Opera. Luckily, I didn't need to have any background in order to get this book! If you're a fan I'm sure some of the references will stick out to you more. For me, I just thought it was cool cyborgs & spaceships pew pew
I gave it four stars because something about this one didn't pull me in as much as the first. It's possibly because SATIS from book one is a much smaller presence here. We have the characters from book one here, but the story is now focused on (spoiler alert for book one) another SATIS girl named Claire. I liked Claire a lot and I thought her journey was super relateable (plus her relationship is so cute), I'm just not sure I totally understood the overarching plot as well in this one. It could have also been my headspace though.
Overall, I absolutely adore these books and HIGHLY recommend to any SciFi lovers! They are quick thrillers with excellent worldbuilding and a beautiful narrative voice from Swed. I already have book three in my clutches and I cannot wait to dig into it!
TLDR: If you like SciFi and classic retellings, you NEED these books!!
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