A review by lizgriffinwords
Nocturne by Alyssa Wees

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I have really mixed thoughts on this one. The writing was beautiful, lots of lovely sentences and visceral metaphors. There’s a blending of Phantom of the Opera and Beauty & the Beast and Hades & Persephone in the plot. But the first 40-45% of the book doesn’t technically have any fantasy elements, and when the fantasy elements finally DO show up, it’s unclear to the reader if the main character is dreaming, drugged, or hallucinating. So that made it difficult to set expectations. I also had confusion on the magic system. Overall, I came away with a sense of disquiet.
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