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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC of this book. The release date is set for February 2023.
This novel follows a ballerina as she ascends in the ranks of her ballet group while also catching the attention of a rich patron. To say much more of the plot would be to spoil the heart of this story, so I’ll leave it there.
I found the language beautifully poetic, the imagery engrossing, and our main character Grace sympathetic. I was never quite sure where the story was heading, constantly surprised by the twists and turns. It’s The Black Swan meets Beauty and the Beast, lovely and tragic and beautiful and terrifying all at once.
If I have any complaints about this book it would be that it felt like a huge shift in tone and genre at about the 40% mark. It was jarring at first, but I quickly shifted my own expectations (that is, I abandoned them entirely) and continued on with an open mind. I was rewarded with a captivating story that I had not been expecting.
This novel follows a ballerina as she ascends in the ranks of her ballet group while also catching the attention of a rich patron. To say much more of the plot would be to spoil the heart of this story, so I’ll leave it there.
I found the language beautifully poetic, the imagery engrossing, and our main character Grace sympathetic. I was never quite sure where the story was heading, constantly surprised by the twists and turns. It’s The Black Swan meets Beauty and the Beast, lovely and tragic and beautiful and terrifying all at once.
If I have any complaints about this book it would be that it felt like a huge shift in tone and genre at about the 40% mark. It was jarring at first, but I quickly shifted my own expectations (that is, I abandoned them entirely) and continued on with an open mind. I was rewarded with a captivating story that I had not been expecting.
3.25 / 5
When a new prima ballerina finds herself courted by a mysterious patron who pulls her from the clutches of poverty, everything isn’t what it seemed.
I liked the feel of the book and the prose, contributing to an almost dream-like, old fashioned fairytale. The backstory of our protagonist Grace is one of undeniable loss and struggle, but her naïveté felt somewhat jarring. A child orphaned early in her life and cast into poverty and back-breaking labor would more likely be wary of strangers and turn her back on dreams.
However, the ending I didn’t see coming felt refreshing. The story took a while to reach a good stride despite the short page duration and I felt like there was less story going on compared to a dialogue between the audience and Grace about the happenings of her life.
When a new prima ballerina finds herself courted by a mysterious patron who pulls her from the clutches of poverty, everything isn’t what it seemed.
I liked the feel of the book and the prose, contributing to an almost dream-like, old fashioned fairytale. The backstory of our protagonist Grace is one of undeniable loss and struggle, but her naïveté felt somewhat jarring. A child orphaned early in her life and cast into poverty and back-breaking labor would more likely be wary of strangers and turn her back on dreams.
However, the ending I didn’t see coming felt refreshing. The story took a while to reach a good stride despite the short page duration and I felt like there was less story going on compared to a dialogue between the audience and Grace about the happenings of her life.
definitely could not predict what was going to happen next!
Thanks to Netgalley for an eARC of Nocturne. Alyssa uses various figurative language and vivid imagery that lead to beautiful writing. I felt this had several fairy tale elements and maybe even some Greek and Roman mythology. Grace Dragotta has grown up during the 1930s. Her father disappeared, her mother, brother, and a special friend, Signor Picataggi, all passed away, and she was left an orphan. The one thing that she has always wanted to be was a prima ballerina. At 13, she goes to a local ballet studio, and the Mistress takes her in. Now several years later, she has been raised from the corps and has been named the newest prima as the previous one; her best friend, Emilia, has met a man and is going to retire and marry. Grace thinks that she had earned the position on her own merits but later finds out that a new patron Master La Rosa is the one that requested she become the prima ballerina. Not only that, but her Mistress agrees to his terms of living Grace with him and a unique new ballet being choreographed that Grace will star in. Grace, though, is unhappy about this, and she doesn't think that Master La Rosa and his assistant, Mr. Russo are who they claim to be. Master La Rosa is a king, but there is more to his kingdom than meets the eye. At first, Grace is scared that she must live with him and dance with him every Sunday night at midnight, but as time goes on, she is drawn more and more to his kingdom, yet she doesn't want to give up what she must in order to become his queen. Will she be able to have everything she wants? Or will she have to give something up in order to have what she most wants?
Alyssa Wees' Nocturne (with the gorgeous cover art) is a fascinating fantasy story, one that I think might work really well for many readers who like the blend of fantasy and reality and for readers who like heavy prose writing. It really is an interesting story and I wanted to like it more than I did. I think this is a case of me as a reader just not getting absorbed into the story they way others may, fantasy admittedly is not my usual genre and not my favorite; I did find the plot intriguing and thoughtful and the mysterious nature of the second part of the story was effectively written.
So do I recommend this? yes because I think a lot of fantasy/historical fiction readers will connect with this and I think the story really honors those themes and is the perfect read for genre fans. 4 stars (the writing was a little much for me at times so that did impact my enjoyment as well)
So do I recommend this? yes because I think a lot of fantasy/historical fiction readers will connect with this and I think the story really honors those themes and is the perfect read for genre fans. 4 stars (the writing was a little much for me at times so that did impact my enjoyment as well)
The early story captured my attention with ballet, an orphan's struggles, and Depression-era Chicago, but once Nocturne shifted into dark fantasy, I didn't feel connected.
In Alyssa Wees's slim (it's 240 pages) fantasy novel Nocturne, set in the Little Italy of 1930s Chicago, promising young dancer Grace dreams of becoming a prima ballerina.
As the Depression rages, orphaned Italian immigrant Grace rises through the ranks of the Near North Ballet Company--losing friends, becoming more jaded, and ultimately gaining a valuable, secretive benefactor who may be the key to her job security--but he may not be what he seems.
Grace is faced with compromises and tradeoffs, and she must decide where her own loyalties lie and determine how far she's willing to go to keep hold of her long-held dream.
I felt connected to Wees's story through Grace's early struggles, her sole real connection, to friend Emilia, and her ballet training and performances. The understated dark undercurrents felt powerful and mysterious.
But once the fantasy elements became the focus, the story felt more like a series of ethereal concepts to me. The predator-prey, death-and-life, constricting-and-controlled scenario is orchestrated by an evasive, sinister, and, I felt, annoying man (every Sunday night Grace is forced into a dance and some evasive conversation, and meanwhile she must wait around all week for this?). The story began to feel far more juvenile in tone to me as it progressed.
Grace's benefactor, who barely speaks, seeks to control her, and has professed his romantic interest in her, has been watching and fixating on her since her childhood (ugh), yet this predatorial scenario is made out to feel more romantic than a horror.
As Nocturne became less anchored in emotions and motivations that I could grasp, I lost my connection to Grace. There are twists, and I enjoyed Grace's strong stand at the end, but by that point I had lost my feeling of investment in her story.
I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Nocturne.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
In Alyssa Wees's slim (it's 240 pages) fantasy novel Nocturne, set in the Little Italy of 1930s Chicago, promising young dancer Grace dreams of becoming a prima ballerina.
As the Depression rages, orphaned Italian immigrant Grace rises through the ranks of the Near North Ballet Company--losing friends, becoming more jaded, and ultimately gaining a valuable, secretive benefactor who may be the key to her job security--but he may not be what he seems.
Grace is faced with compromises and tradeoffs, and she must decide where her own loyalties lie and determine how far she's willing to go to keep hold of her long-held dream.
I felt connected to Wees's story through Grace's early struggles, her sole real connection, to friend Emilia, and her ballet training and performances. The understated dark undercurrents felt powerful and mysterious.
But once the fantasy elements became the focus, the story felt more like a series of ethereal concepts to me. The predator-prey, death-and-life, constricting-and-controlled scenario is orchestrated by an evasive, sinister, and, I felt, annoying man (every Sunday night Grace is forced into a dance and some evasive conversation, and meanwhile she must wait around all week for this?). The story began to feel far more juvenile in tone to me as it progressed.
Grace's benefactor, who barely speaks, seeks to control her, and has professed his romantic interest in her, has been watching and fixating on her since her childhood (ugh), yet this predatorial scenario is made out to feel more romantic than a horror.
As Nocturne became less anchored in emotions and motivations that I could grasp, I lost my connection to Grace. There are twists, and I enjoyed Grace's strong stand at the end, but by that point I had lost my feeling of investment in her story.
I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Nocturne.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
This Beauty and the Beast retelling/Phantom of the Opera mashup is loaded with overwritten metaphors and prose to the point of exhaustion. I skipped to the dialogue and got the gist of the story.
The idea/concept is intriguing, the cover is alluring, yet the writing does not deliver. To be centered on ballet, the descriptions were sparsely detailed and didn’t add to the story.
This one was disappointing to me.
The idea/concept is intriguing, the cover is alluring, yet the writing does not deliver. To be centered on ballet, the descriptions were sparsely detailed and didn’t add to the story.
This one was disappointing to me.
slow-paced
Nocturne is the story of Grace, a ballet dancer in Chicago in the 1930s. She has lost everyone and now her best friend is leaving the ballet company to get married. To Grace's surprise, she will be the new prima because she has a patron she has never met that will save the company. But she must go live with him and has no say in the matter. The only requirement of her is that she must dance with him once a week.
This is a book where nothing seems to happen and yet everything does. Where time goes really fast and yet does not. It is just a blah book. I wanted to like it but was bored most of the time and confused the rest. Not sure who the audience was but it feels like an overly descriptive, under developed pre-teen book. There are better magical fantasy novels out there that you could spend you time reading.
This is a book where nothing seems to happen and yet everything does. Where time goes really fast and yet does not. It is just a blah book. I wanted to like it but was bored most of the time and confused the rest. Not sure who the audience was but it feels like an overly descriptive, under developed pre-teen book. There are better magical fantasy novels out there that you could spend you time reading.