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amy_the_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera and I was so excited to receive this book in an Owlcrate box a few years ago. While it took me some time to get into the story, I loved it overall. The attention to detail and interpretation of the story was just so good! It kept me guessing until the end as to what was going to happen. I highly recommend this book.
ks2_alwaysreading's review against another edition
2.0
Not a fan of this genre but read it for a book club, and chose this book because of my obsession with The Phantom of the Opera. Despite only needing 3 days to read it, it seemed to drag on. Then once the magical twist was revealed, I was let down. Was really hoping for more. She wrote it based on some of the myths and legends about the Phantom, so it wasn't necessarily original in my mind.
Synopsis with *spoilers* below
Rune gets sent to this opera boarding school in Paris because she put a guy in a coma during a high school party (more on that later). She has synesthesia, so to Rune, sounds have colors. But her condition is connected to something else - She has an amazing voice but after she sings, she faints with exhaustion so she's hoping the school will "cure" her.
Her aunt works at the school and the school gives off serious haunted opera vibes. There are rumors that it's the operahouse that inspired the Phantom of the Opera. She sees this gardener dressed like the phantom and thinks the stories are true. Mean tricks are played on Rune, and she thinks it's partly the Phantom and also because she's an amazing singer and the popular girl is upset that Rune will upstage her. Eventually Rune gets lured into an underground chamber where she meets said "Phantom". It's actually Etalon, called Thorn, the adopted some of Erik the Phantom. The OG (Opera Ghost) is still alive and needs Rune and Thorn for his evil scheme.
Then she does some investigating and finds out the truth: Rune, Rune's aunt, Etalon, Erik the Phantom, and the late Christine are/were incubu/succubi. In this book, that means they are psychic vampires (they obtain energy from other people). So essentially they can kill other people by draining life/energy from others. This is how she almost killed someone in high school (she kissed him, and the excitement she felt drained his body of energy).
Rune and Etalon are two halves of the same soul, just like Christine and Erik the Phantom. The Phantom and Christine had a daughter but she was stillborn. Erik the Phantom believes that if he surgically removes Rune's vocal chords, he can transfer Christine's voice to his daughter and reincarnate her. (The why and how is poorly explained.)
Rune and Etalon team up with some others at the school to take down the Phantom so he doesn't kill Rune. They are successful but the opera school is partly destroyed in the process (the Phantom had some crazy booby traps set up). Rune and Etalon are together, and the Phantom is with his kind in Canada, away from the kids. (Totally random ending)
Synopsis with *spoilers* below
Rune gets sent to this opera boarding school in Paris because she put a guy in a coma during a high school party (more on that later). She has synesthesia, so to Rune, sounds have colors. But her condition is connected to something else - She has an amazing voice but after she sings, she faints with exhaustion so she's hoping the school will "cure" her.
Her aunt works at the school and the school gives off serious haunted opera vibes. There are rumors that it's the operahouse that inspired the Phantom of the Opera. She sees this gardener dressed like the phantom and thinks the stories are true. Mean tricks are played on Rune, and she thinks it's partly the Phantom and also because she's an amazing singer and the popular girl is upset that Rune will upstage her. Eventually Rune gets lured into an underground chamber where she meets said "Phantom". It's actually Etalon, called Thorn, the adopted some of Erik the Phantom. The OG (Opera Ghost) is still alive and needs Rune and Thorn for his evil scheme.
Then she does some investigating and finds out the truth: Rune, Rune's aunt, Etalon, Erik the Phantom, and the late Christine are/were incubu/succubi. In this book, that means they are psychic vampires (they obtain energy from other people). So essentially they can kill other people by draining life/energy from others. This is how she almost killed someone in high school (she kissed him, and the excitement she felt drained his body of energy).
Rune and Etalon are two halves of the same soul, just like Christine and Erik the Phantom. The Phantom and Christine had a daughter but she was stillborn. Erik the Phantom believes that if he surgically removes Rune's vocal chords, he can transfer Christine's voice to his daughter and reincarnate her. (The why and how is poorly explained.)
Rune and Etalon team up with some others at the school to take down the Phantom so he doesn't kill Rune. They are successful but the opera school is partly destroyed in the process (the Phantom had some crazy booby traps set up). Rune and Etalon are together, and the Phantom is with his kind in Canada, away from the kids. (Totally random ending)
ari_s23's review against another edition
2.0
I actually DNF’d this book about 55% of the way through. The plot was interesting but the long chapters and the constant talk of opera vocals bored me. Maybe another day I’ll try to finish it but not today
iceyreads74's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 out of 5 for me! Another excellent book by a much admired author!
beemma1's review against another edition
4.0
Rune, a seventeen year old with mysterious operatic talent, gets shipped off to a French school named Roseblood. It's a conservatory that's rumored to have ties to the famous tale, The Phantom of the Opera, one of Runes favorite story. There she makes friends while figuring out what's so different about her. She finds answers to long kept secrets in the halls of this school. Along the way, she finds friendship, love, and herself.
I wasn't sure about reading this book. It's a great idea and I liked that part, but when I had read the first book in the Splintered series, I was disappointed and ended up DNFing it. So I wasn't too excited to read this one. Yet, I read it anyway and I'm glad I did.
The Good:
This story is both creepy and awesome. Which I love in the books I read. A psychotic phantom and maybe some donuts for the cream of the crop. I was obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera and watched the movies so many times, I basically became the phantom, minus the killing part. Because of this, I had high expectations.
I think this was a retelling but it almost felt like a sequel of sorts. It's set in modern day and follows Rune (duh), who has the uncontrollable urge to break into opera singing like a Disney movie. Plus its set in an old opera house. Not sure how that happens, but I'll go with it. I wish I had gone to school there!
This is has dual POV's! When I ended Rune's chapter, I was so happy to see one from Thorn's POV. He totally stole the show with his. He was so cute and logical, and I loved how he thought about Rune.
I love how creepy this is. Haunting music, old buildings, graveyards, and bleeding roses. It all added to the atmosphere of the story. There are monsters in this book, and animals with different voices and it's all just so weird and different. Its an original, that's for sure.
Also, the moments between Rune and Thorn are adorable. This isn't a hot, smexy read, but it didn't need to be. Anymore and it would have ruined the interaction between them. I looked forward to their scenes the most, and fell in love with them. I liked that it wasn't instant, but you could feel the attraction between them.
The villain I wasn't too fond of but his part made sense. His reasoning was real ad believable, and while I didn't enjoy him, he was a great character. He was very gray in the way that it wasn't black and white. I felt that he wasn't traditionally evil, yet he was mad and chaotic, but sad and vulnerable.
The Bad:
This is a standalone. Usually I love standalone books because annoying strife happens in the others and the characters get torn apart and whatnot. I just wish there was more Tune (Rune, Thorn;) time. The story was very much centered around who she is, which is great don't get me wrong, but I would have loved more of the romance.
There are a bunch of opera terms used in this book, and unless you're really into that genre, a lot of it won't make sense. I had to google a few words and it was distracting.
I found it a bit hard to connect with Rune. I couldn't find myself liking her, but I didn't dislike her either. I just felt kind of meh toward her.
The ending felt kind of abrupt. The whole climatic part felt rushed and it still felt a little but unfinished.
I did enjoy this story way more than I thought I would, and I totally recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good retelling with monsters, romance, and music.
I wasn't sure about reading this book. It's a great idea and I liked that part, but when I had read the first book in the Splintered series, I was disappointed and ended up DNFing it. So I wasn't too excited to read this one. Yet, I read it anyway and I'm glad I did.
The Good:
This story is both creepy and awesome. Which I love in the books I read. A psychotic phantom and maybe some donuts for the cream of the crop. I was obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera and watched the movies so many times, I basically became the phantom, minus the killing part. Because of this, I had high expectations.
I think this was a retelling but it almost felt like a sequel of sorts. It's set in modern day and follows Rune (duh), who has the uncontrollable urge to break into opera singing like a Disney movie. Plus its set in an old opera house. Not sure how that happens, but I'll go with it. I wish I had gone to school there!
This is has dual POV's! When I ended Rune's chapter, I was so happy to see one from Thorn's POV. He totally stole the show with his. He was so cute and logical, and I loved how he thought about Rune.
I love how creepy this is. Haunting music, old buildings, graveyards, and bleeding roses. It all added to the atmosphere of the story. There are monsters in this book, and animals with different voices and it's all just so weird and different. Its an original, that's for sure.
Also, the moments between Rune and Thorn are adorable. This isn't a hot, smexy read, but it didn't need to be. Anymore and it would have ruined the interaction between them. I looked forward to their scenes the most, and fell in love with them. I liked that it wasn't instant, but you could feel the attraction between them.
The villain I wasn't too fond of but his part made sense. His reasoning was real ad believable, and while I didn't enjoy him, he was a great character. He was very gray in the way that it wasn't black and white. I felt that he wasn't traditionally evil, yet he was mad and chaotic, but sad and vulnerable.
The Bad:
This is a standalone. Usually I love standalone books because annoying strife happens in the others and the characters get torn apart and whatnot. I just wish there was more Tune (Rune, Thorn;) time. The story was very much centered around who she is, which is great don't get me wrong, but I would have loved more of the romance.
There are a bunch of opera terms used in this book, and unless you're really into that genre, a lot of it won't make sense. I had to google a few words and it was distracting.
I found it a bit hard to connect with Rune. I couldn't find myself liking her, but I didn't dislike her either. I just felt kind of meh toward her.
The ending felt kind of abrupt. The whole climatic part felt rushed and it still felt a little but unfinished.
I did enjoy this story way more than I thought I would, and I totally recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good retelling with monsters, romance, and music.
imldsquared's review against another edition
3.0
I need to stew on this one before I comment. I believe my struggles were timing, not content because I love A.G. Howard.
joni7824's review against another edition
3.0
I was so excited to read this book with its awesome cover and words written in red. But, I was disappointed. It wasn't a terrible read; it just never drew me in and seemed to take forever to read. It had huge potential with a phantom, a mysterious masked boy (Thorn) who the main character (Rune) was drawn to, a French boarding school (RoseBlood) in a renovated opera house (rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the opera) where there are noises in the vents, the feeling of being watched and a "ghost" kitty. But, overall it was just an ok read. There were some parts that were good and I kept thinking it would get better but, overall it was just alright
bookdust's review against another edition
2.0
DNF - Super bummed about this one, but it was just so slow and so much of it could have been edited out. I was 100 pages in and barely brimmed any story development.
curiousgeorgie1928's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately it was all over the places and I ended up having no feelings and attachments to the characters or Erik that I felt when actually reading my favourite original Phantom of the Opera.
illusie's review against another edition
1.0
This book was too strange for me. The writing is good, but I didn't enjoy the plot. It's a weird mix of vampires and the phantom of the opera.