3 out of 5 stars.

After 5 years of wanting to read this book, I finally did it! I know if I read this then I would have loved it.

I love how A.G. Howard picks a classic literature/fairytale and retells it in an entire new and unexpected way. I'd actually love and definitely read if she writes more re-imagined version of books.

This book was okay, there was little too much going on in the plot. It felt like I was reading 6 different books at times.

More like 3.5 stars, but decided to round up. It wasn't bad but somehow it read very slowly. The language somehow just didn't flow... But I really liked how Erik was portrayed here. It was the same Phantom of the opera that I already knew - twisted and bit mad, but at the same time also human. Someone who has experienced the worst from the world, but whose humanity still can be reached.
medium-paced
dark emotional slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

DNF at page 170


TWO AND A HALF WEEKS. I gave this book two and a half weeks. I literally do not remember the last time it took me this long to read a book. And I'm including 1000+ page classics in that.

I wanted to like this book so much. I kept forcing myself to continue to the end, trying to find excuses to bump up the rating and justify buying a finished copy to look gorgeous on my bookshelf. I love [b:The Phantom of the Opera|480204|The Phantom of the Opera|Gaston Leroux|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327867727s/480204.jpg|2259720]. I wanted to love this, but it was just one cliche after another.

Maybe if you're completely new to paranormal YA then you'll enjoy this more, but most readers will recognize all the familiar elements. Howard has done nothing new here. How many times have we read versions of this:

1) Mary Sue protagonist (Rune) with special abilities moves to new school.

2) Despite being bland as all hell, she is the SPECIAL one that is key to everyone's plans.

3) A mysterious HOT guy keeps appearing and disappearing. Rune thinks he seems familiar.

4) Rune instantly becomes enemies with the resident beautiful, popular blonde girl and her friend (literally called the "diva duo" by Rune).

5) Said beautiful girl is bitchy, evil for no reason, and characterized by her overt sexuality as she attempts to seduce a hot male student (how dare she?!) In contrast, Rune refers to her own single lusty encounter as "degrading".

6) Rune soon discovers that her eccentricities are linked to a
Spoilersecret supernatural ability
- oh my, who saw that one coming?

This whole set of tropes might be inserted into a [b:The Phantom of the Opera|480204|The Phantom of the Opera|Gaston Leroux|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327867727s/480204.jpg|2259720] retelling, but I felt just like I was reading the exact same story that I've read a thousand times before. The use of Erik, the phantom, was just window dressing on yet another cliched YA romance with forgettable characters.

Also, it's really obvious what Rune's deal is, right? I won’t spoil it, but to give a similar example: if a character doesn’t go out after dark and needs to drink human blood to survive… ooh, what could they be? I'm pretty sure anyone at all versed in paranormal creatures will know what’s going on here. The clues have all the subtlety of flying bricks.

So disappointing. If you haven't already, just read [b:The Phantom of the Opera|480204|The Phantom of the Opera|Gaston Leroux|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327867727s/480204.jpg|2259720] instead - a dark tale of obsession, beauty and ugliness.

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So much potential but DNF at 45%

DNF

This is just bad. The writing is bad. The story is bad. I read a review and it apparently only gets worse. Life is too short to read bad books.