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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
J’ai beaucoup aimé ce livre. L’univers est fort sympathique et les thèmes abordées, celui du monstre en général, de l’emprise sont brillamment exécutés. La plume est très douce et très chantante et l’univers de l’opéra m’a beaucoup plus. N’ayant pas lu l’œuvre originale je n’ai pas de point de comparaison, mais je ressors de cette histoire charmée et le cœur brisé pour la relation entre les personnages principaux qui se termine si tristement et pourtant de manière si cohérente aussi.
Those who know me well know that I LOVE the Phantom of the Opera.
So naturally I had to read this book and let me tell you, this was in a way so not what I expected but I loved it so insanely much.
I could just as well hear Lord ALW's music in my ears as I read this book. It almost left me in tears at the end. Such a magical, wonderful spin on the opera Ghost, absolutely LOVED it
So naturally I had to read this book and let me tell you, this was in a way so not what I expected but I loved it so insanely much.
I could just as well hear Lord ALW's music in my ears as I read this book. It almost left me in tears at the end. Such a magical, wonderful spin on the opera Ghost, absolutely LOVED it
4.75 stars. Theater? Retelling? Musical magic system and music-y references packed onto every page? Sunshiny boy meets secluded Hunchack-of-Notre-Dame-esque vibes girl? Don't even tempt me with a good time! That's literally all my favorite things in one book! I mean I've never read a musical retelling but man I now want a whole genre of them! This was such a good book! The plot follows Isda, a girl fighting her own internal Phantom, who meets Emeric, a very wholesome boy (who I'd marry in a heartbeat, not gonna lie) who becomes her vocal student, and things just get... well, wild from there! Isda was a very flawed main character, and at first I was a little confused. "Am I even supposed to like this girl? Why is she so terrible?" But the answer is no, you're not supposed to love the main girl. She's not a Mary Sue or a completely good-hearted hero, and I won't lie, sometimes I really love my protags to have good hearts. But Isda was so complicated and multi-faceted and I understood her deeply, even if I didn't quite root for her at points. But man I did not expect that book to destroy my emotions so dang much! I should've prepared more before reading this! It was so delightfully atmospheric and heartbreaking and almost... urgent. Does that make sense? No it doesn't but it's the best way I can describe the style! The style was impecable. While I found it slow towards the middle and even considered dnfing it for a hot sec because of how I wasn't connecting with Isda, this book came through 100% with the second half. I loved the French language tidbits (thanks High School class and Duolingo) and the description of music and the Phantom references! Your girl's theater kid heart was just filled with joy. But that ending? Boy if you're considering reading this, you. Are. In for a ride. This was such a good retelling and honestly I'm shocked by how much it improved throughout the second half, honestly my expectations were at 0% near the middle and it really just turned around for me in the second half, I was just floored by how well-crafted that ending was! Totally recommend for music-lovers or people who enjoy morally grey MCs, or just anyone. Be prepared though, it's an emotional read and I was not prepared for it, let me tell you. I do think it almost made it better somehow though. Man, now I really wanna re-listen to the Phantom soundtrack. This book delivered in every way though, I was very shook!
emotional
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
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
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.
This is how you do a reimagining of a classic story! It took many of the same ideas and scenes from Phantom of the Opera and gave it just enough of a unique twist to be its own thing while still paying homage to the source material. I love Phantom of the Opera so obviously I loved seeing all the parts that were similar to that story, though I was also wishing other parts were the same as well. Still, I like this author's twist on the story.
I like to get my negatives out of the way first, but I feel like all the ones I have a pretty nitpicky. The one that stands out to me the most is Isda's relationship with Cyril. I sensed instantly what was really going on and hoped that the author was going to surprise me. I ended up liking it in the end because it reminded me a lot of Rapunzel and Gothel, but I can't help wishing it'd gone a more unexpected angle all the same. I also wish that some stuff was built up a little bit more. The climax felt like it happened in the middle of the book, only to have another climax happen later. In a weird way, the structure was kind of like a play-- or an opera, I guess. If that was the intention, I wish it had been made a little more clear in the book's formatting. I also feel like maybe Emeric's backstory was a little too convenient for Isda. Because of his past, Emeric was way more accepting of her. I don't mind their romance since I thought it was paced well; I just wish it hadn't been so easy for the two of them to connect.
There are so many other good things about it. All of the nods to Phantom of the Opera are good, and the writing style fits the musical tone of this book perfectly. Even when shit hits the fan, there's a certain beautiful style to the words. Isda is an engaging and interesting main character. The world-building is also really fascinating. I hope that this stays as a one-shot but I'm definitely intrigued by all that this book introduced. There are a lot of unanswered questions of how this world works and why things are a certain way, but I don't need them to be answered in order to enjoy the story.
I really liked how Isda was more of an anti-hero/villain, which keeps faithful to the Phantom's story. They both did nasty things to people for their own selfish reasons. I can't say I felt as much sympathy for her as I did for Erik, but I did love how honest she was when she thought about the terrible things she was doing. And I'll just say it: her powers were cool and it was both terrifying and awesome when she described using them for bad things.
This book will be most enjoyable for those who love music and are familiar with the Phantom of the Opera story, but I think it might still be enjoyable for those less familiar. It has good imagination and some lovely imagery in its writing. Highly recommended!
This is how you do a reimagining of a classic story! It took many of the same ideas and scenes from Phantom of the Opera and gave it just enough of a unique twist to be its own thing while still paying homage to the source material. I love Phantom of the Opera so obviously I loved seeing all the parts that were similar to that story, though I was also wishing other parts were the same as well. Still, I like this author's twist on the story.
I like to get my negatives out of the way first, but I feel like all the ones I have a pretty nitpicky. The one that stands out to me the most is Isda's relationship with Cyril. I sensed instantly what was really going on and hoped that the author was going to surprise me. I ended up liking it in the end because it reminded me a lot of Rapunzel and Gothel, but I can't help wishing it'd gone a more unexpected angle all the same. I also wish that some stuff was built up a little bit more. The climax felt like it happened in the middle of the book, only to have another climax happen later. In a weird way, the structure was kind of like a play-- or an opera, I guess. If that was the intention, I wish it had been made a little more clear in the book's formatting. I also feel like maybe Emeric's backstory was a little too convenient for Isda. Because of his past, Emeric was way more accepting of her. I don't mind their romance since I thought it was paced well; I just wish it hadn't been so easy for the two of them to connect.
There are so many other good things about it. All of the nods to Phantom of the Opera are good, and the writing style fits the musical tone of this book perfectly. Even when shit hits the fan, there's a certain beautiful style to the words. Isda is an engaging and interesting main character. The world-building is also really fascinating. I hope that this stays as a one-shot but I'm definitely intrigued by all that this book introduced. There are a lot of unanswered questions of how this world works and why things are a certain way, but I don't need them to be answered in order to enjoy the story.
I really liked how Isda was more of an anti-hero/villain, which keeps faithful to the Phantom's story. They both did nasty things to people for their own selfish reasons. I can't say I felt as much sympathy for her as I did for Erik, but I did love how honest she was when she thought about the terrible things she was doing. And I'll just say it: her powers were cool and it was both terrifying and awesome when she described using them for bad things.
This book will be most enjoyable for those who love music and are familiar with the Phantom of the Opera story, but I think it might still be enjoyable for those less familiar. It has good imagination and some lovely imagery in its writing. Highly recommended!