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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When I tell you… this book pissed me right off!!!
I was so looking forward to a book centering on music and singing that was inspired by the story of the Phantom of the opera. I’m literally an opera singer. The premise sounded perfect for me. But I can’t tell if the author did like a couple Google searches to look up music terms and just decided to use them as buzzwords without fully understanding them or if they just thought they knew enough about this to make it work and didn’t.
Also, the main character was so annoying. When she wasn’t snorting, (which she did far too often) she was completely unable to regulate her emotions in any way. Before I got really annoyed with this book, I thought it would be interesting to have sort of a morally gray protagonist. However, I quickly realized it was not interesting because very rarely did she have any self reflection or any development.
Whenever she reached a problem that she did not know how to solve she would stop and have a very “woe is me” mindset. “Maybe I’m wrong and I don’t deserve anything good in my life and maybe this is the end of the road and maybe I should just give up and maybe this one setback should be the reason I just stop trying?” Then, three seconds later, “Actually, what if I just choose violence instead?” She did this probably no less than eight times in the book.
I predicted the majority of the plot points significantly ahead of when they were revealed. Waiting for her to figure out things I had figured out at the very beginning when it was 3/4 of the way through the book, was infuriating. At one point, she even said something like, “How could I not have noticed/realized [predictable plot point]???” I literally yelled. Because girl, I have no idea how you didn’t realize. It was plain as day.
The ending also sucked. Completely unsatisfying. Her entire life she’s been trapped, hidden in the crypt of the opera house, unable to live her life. Then she meets someone who actually loves her, is willing to be with her, and treat her the way she deserves to be treated. And instead of choosing a life of happiness with someone who loves her, her powers are simply too great and she instead loses everything, and must live on the run and hide from people forever. So she went through that whole book of absolute nonsense to be essentially right back where she was when she started.
I don’t recommend this book. Maybe the reason it’s so popular is that the musical knowledge is perfect for someone who doesn’t actually know anything about classical music. Maybe the context of Phantom of the Opera is carrying it. I wasn’t impressed by either. I wasn’t impressed by the plot. I wasn’t impressed by the writing. I simply was not impressed.
I was so looking forward to a book centering on music and singing that was inspired by the story of the Phantom of the opera. I’m literally an opera singer. The premise sounded perfect for me. But I can’t tell if the author did like a couple Google searches to look up music terms and just decided to use them as buzzwords without fully understanding them or if they just thought they knew enough about this to make it work and didn’t.
Also, the main character was so annoying. When she wasn’t snorting, (which she did far too often) she was completely unable to regulate her emotions in any way. Before I got really annoyed with this book, I thought it would be interesting to have sort of a morally gray protagonist. However, I quickly realized it was not interesting because very rarely did she have any self reflection or any development.
Whenever she reached a problem that she did not know how to solve she would stop and have a very “woe is me” mindset. “Maybe I’m wrong and I don’t deserve anything good in my life and maybe this is the end of the road and maybe I should just give up and maybe this one setback should be the reason I just stop trying?” Then, three seconds later, “Actually, what if I just choose violence instead?” She did this probably no less than eight times in the book.
I predicted the majority of the plot points significantly ahead of when they were revealed. Waiting for her to figure out things I had figured out at the very beginning when it was 3/4 of the way through the book, was infuriating. At one point, she even said something like, “How could I not have noticed/realized [predictable plot point]???” I literally yelled. Because girl, I have no idea how you didn’t realize. It was plain as day.
The ending also sucked. Completely unsatisfying. Her entire life she’s been trapped, hidden in the crypt of the opera house, unable to live her life. Then she meets someone who actually loves her, is willing to be with her, and treat her the way she deserves to be treated. And instead of choosing a life of happiness with someone who loves her, her powers are simply too great and she instead loses everything, and must live on the run and hide from people forever. So she went through that whole book of absolute nonsense to be essentially right back where she was when she started.
I don’t recommend this book. Maybe the reason it’s so popular is that the musical knowledge is perfect for someone who doesn’t actually know anything about classical music. Maybe the context of Phantom of the Opera is carrying it. I wasn’t impressed by either. I wasn’t impressed by the plot. I wasn’t impressed by the writing. I simply was not impressed.
2.5 stars
If you should know anything about my reading tastes, it is that I love retellings. Historical retellings, fairytale retellings, classics retellings, mythology retellings? I eat them up. I am quite picky though when one of my favorite classics is being retold. Sing Me Forgotten is a retelling of Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, unfortunately I have read a better one, which is called RoseBlood written by A.G. Howard.
I am fully aware that this a debut, still an editor somewhere thought it was a good idea to publish this:
Please let that sink in. Some of the lines here just aren't that great and remind me of early 2010s YA cliches (there is a 'she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding' but worded slightly differently, for example). Again, to some extent I expected Olson to not have a fully developed writing style, since this is a debut (and not the worst one I've read by a long shot), but I really wish a more thorough editing would have occurred.
The way The Phantom of the Opera is retold here is actually quite clever, so Olson got major points form me on that: she takes this idea of the Phantom's hideous face, ethereal manner, and wonderful voice and creates a magic system around it. To be fair, the world building wasn't exactly great because it took me over a third of the book to understand gravoirs and fendoirs, but the concepts themselves were interesting. The world operates on elixirs of Memory which can be extracted due to the gravoirs and fendoirs, unfortunately, in the past, they abused their power and now are marginalised/murdered. Cyril, the manager of the Opera, keeps Isda, the main character, secret because of this. Olson did a great job of integrating this fantasy element seamlessly into the story.
On a side note, there were a bunch of references to Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical as well: Isda goes full on "sing for me" mode, when she wears white someone tells her she looks like an "angel of music" etc. Were they corny sometimes... yes, but at least I chuckled when I came across them.
The great downfall of the novel is exactly what makes RoseBlood the better retelling, in my opinion: the romance is thrust upon you from nowhere and you're expected to really care about it vehemently as it is where most of the emotion of the novel comes from. Problem is, the characters are into each other from scene 1, which occurs early on too. Therefore you don't really have any time to attach yourself to Isda and Emeric as their own people. Since I didn't care about them I found myself more invested in other aspects of the novel (like the world and Cyril), which weren't really expanded upon as much as I would have liked. (also the resolution is rushed for shock value, which left me feeling like "huh?")
What I can say is this: Sing Me Forgotten is addicting, fun, and easy to read. It is also quite short, so I think it is the perfect 'fun' read for someone who is in a reading slump. And whereas I'd really advise the reader to know the source material when reading RoseBlood, that is absolutely not a requirement for this novel.
Olson is coming out with A Forgery of Roses next year, also a retelling (of The Picture of Dorian Gray and Jack the Ripper). I'll definitely check it out, though I am cautiously excited. I think that many of my qualms with this novel will be resolved with the next release because I expect that Olson will grow as a writer with each release :)
If you should know anything about my reading tastes, it is that I love retellings. Historical retellings, fairytale retellings, classics retellings, mythology retellings? I eat them up. I am quite picky though when one of my favorite classics is being retold. Sing Me Forgotten is a retelling of Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, unfortunately I have read a better one, which is called RoseBlood written by A.G. Howard.
I am fully aware that this a debut, still an editor somewhere thought it was a good idea to publish this:
"You are no more a monster than I. You are a song.”
Please let that sink in. Some of the lines here just aren't that great and remind me of early 2010s YA cliches (there is a 'she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding' but worded slightly differently, for example). Again, to some extent I expected Olson to not have a fully developed writing style, since this is a debut (and not the worst one I've read by a long shot), but I really wish a more thorough editing would have occurred.
The way The Phantom of the Opera is retold here is actually quite clever, so Olson got major points form me on that: she takes this idea of the Phantom's hideous face, ethereal manner, and wonderful voice and creates a magic system around it. To be fair, the world building wasn't exactly great because it took me over a third of the book to understand gravoirs and fendoirs, but the concepts themselves were interesting. The world operates on elixirs of Memory which can be extracted due to the gravoirs and fendoirs, unfortunately, in the past, they abused their power and now are marginalised/murdered. Cyril, the manager of the Opera, keeps Isda, the main character, secret because of this. Olson did a great job of integrating this fantasy element seamlessly into the story.
On a side note, there were a bunch of references to Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical as well: Isda goes full on "sing for me" mode, when she wears white someone tells her she looks like an "angel of music" etc. Were they corny sometimes... yes, but at least I chuckled when I came across them.
The great downfall of the novel is exactly what makes RoseBlood the better retelling, in my opinion: the romance is thrust upon you from nowhere and you're expected to really care about it vehemently as it is where most of the emotion of the novel comes from. Problem is, the characters are into each other from scene 1, which occurs early on too. Therefore you don't really have any time to attach yourself to Isda and Emeric as their own people. Since I didn't care about them I found myself more invested in other aspects of the novel (like the world and Cyril), which weren't really expanded upon as much as I would have liked. (also the resolution is rushed for shock value, which left me feeling like "huh?")
What I can say is this: Sing Me Forgotten is addicting, fun, and easy to read. It is also quite short, so I think it is the perfect 'fun' read for someone who is in a reading slump. And whereas I'd really advise the reader to know the source material when reading RoseBlood, that is absolutely not a requirement for this novel.
Olson is coming out with A Forgery of Roses next year, also a retelling (of The Picture of Dorian Gray and Jack the Ripper). I'll definitely check it out, though I am cautiously excited. I think that many of my qualms with this novel will be resolved with the next release because I expect that Olson will grow as a writer with each release :)
Such a creative retelling! I especially loved the descriptions of music and memory. And that ending!!
I want more--from these characters and from Jessica Olson!
I want more--from these characters and from Jessica Olson!
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sing Me Forgotten is a gender flipped Phantom of the Opera retelling with a magic system that is centered on memory and memory manipulation. I was obsessed with Phantom of the Opera growing up and so I appreciated all the little nods to the source material.
"They think they can keep me here. That the iron and stone will intimidate me. That the darkness will break me. They forget I was raised in the darkness, that I’ve been imprisoned my whole life. They can threaten me with blade or poison or death, but they cannot make me afraid."
Our main character is Isda, who has spent her life lurking in the catacombs of the Channe Opera House. Opposite her is Emetic (a mod to Eric, maybe?) Who she takes under her wing and tutors so that he can audition for the Opera’s current play, Le Berger. The other main character is Cyril, the Opera Manager who rescued Isda from drowning in a well as a baby. I liked Isda as a character, her voice was easy and her characters flawed but relatable.
"They all think you’re a monster, but you don’t want to hurt anyone. You simply want to live."
I enjoyed Emeric and Isda’s relationship. I was worried since Sing Me Forgotten is a standalone, the development of their relationship would be rushed or too”insta-lovey” for my taste, but I was pleasantly surprised. I found Isda’s motivations for getting close to Emeric compelling and Emeric to be a completely, delightful cinnamon roll of a character. He even is described as smelling like caramel- I rest my case.
"Because I’ve been waiting my whole life to have someone care for me in this way. And I feel how much he cares for me as deeply as I feel his kisses burning their way along my jaw. I’ve longed for this forever. Hungered for it. Craved it. Now that I have it, I know I shouldn’t keep it. For all his words, he has not seen the corruption of my soul. The beast who burns me from the inside out. The fury that lives deep in my veins."
At the center of the novel is Isda’s longing for freedom and acceptance. It is difficult to ignore the obvious social commentary that Olson weaves into the story is clear. My heart ached for Isda as she slowly found her voice and began to question the only life she had ever known.
"I do not know where I will go. I do not know what will happen next or how I will survive . But I do know that wherever I go and whatever happens, I will meet it with both eyes open. Because now not only am I the performer, but I am the director and the maestro of my own life. And though I may spend the rest of that life cherishing the memories of what I have lost here, I won’t let my past stop me from living."
My one complaint the book was that I didn’t really feel truly infested until the last fourth of the book when things go absolutely bananas. The last fourth of the book flew by so fast with so much happening and I really appreciated Olson’s choice to end the novel the way she did. I kind of expected it because I know how Phantom of the Opera ends but it was so satisfying.
Overall, I gave this 4.5
"They think they can keep me here. That the iron and stone will intimidate me. That the darkness will break me. They forget I was raised in the darkness, that I’ve been imprisoned my whole life. They can threaten me with blade or poison or death, but they cannot make me afraid."
Our main character is Isda, who has spent her life lurking in the catacombs of the Channe Opera House. Opposite her is Emetic (a mod to Eric, maybe?) Who she takes under her wing and tutors so that he can audition for the Opera’s current play, Le Berger. The other main character is Cyril, the Opera Manager who rescued Isda from drowning in a well as a baby. I liked Isda as a character, her voice was easy and her characters flawed but relatable.
"They all think you’re a monster, but you don’t want to hurt anyone. You simply want to live."
I enjoyed Emeric and Isda’s relationship. I was worried since Sing Me Forgotten is a standalone, the development of their relationship would be rushed or too”insta-lovey” for my taste, but I was pleasantly surprised. I found Isda’s motivations for getting close to Emeric compelling and Emeric to be a completely, delightful cinnamon roll of a character. He even is described as smelling like caramel- I rest my case.
"Because I’ve been waiting my whole life to have someone care for me in this way. And I feel how much he cares for me as deeply as I feel his kisses burning their way along my jaw. I’ve longed for this forever. Hungered for it. Craved it. Now that I have it, I know I shouldn’t keep it. For all his words, he has not seen the corruption of my soul. The beast who burns me from the inside out. The fury that lives deep in my veins."
At the center of the novel is Isda’s longing for freedom and acceptance. It is difficult to ignore the obvious social commentary that Olson weaves into the story is clear. My heart ached for Isda as she slowly found her voice and began to question the only life she had ever known.
"I do not know where I will go. I do not know what will happen next or how I will survive . But I do know that wherever I go and whatever happens, I will meet it with both eyes open. Because now not only am I the performer, but I am the director and the maestro of my own life. And though I may spend the rest of that life cherishing the memories of what I have lost here, I won’t let my past stop me from living."
My one complaint the book was that I didn’t really feel truly infested until the last fourth of the book when things go absolutely bananas. The last fourth of the book flew by so fast with so much happening and I really appreciated Olson’s choice to end the novel the way she did. I kind of expected it because I know how Phantom of the Opera ends but it was so satisfying.
Overall, I gave this 4.5
A creative and imatinative world that's beautifully written. A fantasy retelling of Phantom of the Opera. Isda was discarded as a baby because she is a gravoirs where singing steals memories and manupilates minds. Saved and raised by Cryril, she remains at the opera house hidden away and manipulating people's memors to forget the show they just watched to keep them coming back. Fendoirs also have magic and can make memory elixirs. They take memories to make these elixirs, the poor selling their memories and the rich being able to afford them so they never forget.
Isda meets Emeric where she hides what she is behind a mask and offers to be his vocal trainer. Their banner is light and fun and very sweet. She's been secluded her whole life hidding from everyone in fear of her life. She also blindly believes in Cryril, even though he has no love for her even when he raised her, but he was only using her for his personal gain.
The story also touches on addiction and prejudice. Addiction of the memory elixirs, to live and feel the memories but to also always remember everything. Prejudice that people are immediately afraid of any gravoirs because there have been previous gravoirs who use their magic for malfarious purposes. Just one look and people's initial reaction is fear and want to kill before asking questions or getting to know the person. Gravoirs are still people, a select few bad apples doesn't define the rest are.
Despite all of the good elements and lessons of the book, I had a hard time getting into it and couldn't connect with the characters and the story. It just didn't capture my interest and it isn't for me.
Isda meets Emeric where she hides what she is behind a mask and offers to be his vocal trainer. Their banner is light and fun and very sweet. She's been secluded her whole life hidding from everyone in fear of her life. She also blindly believes in Cryril, even though he has no love for her even when he raised her, but he was only using her for his personal gain.
The story also touches on addiction and prejudice. Addiction of the memory elixirs, to live and feel the memories but to also always remember everything. Prejudice that people are immediately afraid of any gravoirs because there have been previous gravoirs who use their magic for malfarious purposes. Just one look and people's initial reaction is fear and want to kill before asking questions or getting to know the person. Gravoirs are still people, a select few bad apples doesn't define the rest are.
Despite all of the good elements and lessons of the book, I had a hard time getting into it and couldn't connect with the characters and the story. It just didn't capture my interest and it isn't for me.