WARNING SOME SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD.
You’re “not stepping into a musical. It’s a horror story. With a side of obsession and gore.” - Rune
A. G. Howard’s much anticipated literary tribute to classic
musical phantom who transcended screen and print is eerily dark and
mysterious. When I first saw the cover
reveal on her twitter account I was ecstatic but also wary. There have been
many adaptations of Gaston Leroux’s novel (including the infamous musical and
its lesser known sequel, “Love Never Dies” by Andrew Lloyd Weber). Considering the power of its fanbase, how would Howard’s young adult
novel hold up? If you’re a fan of Howard’s take on her Alice and Wonderland
universe “Splintered” series, you won’t be disappointed. But if you’ve never
read or seen Phantom of the Opera fear not. Howard expertly interweaves her
characters’ backgrounds to draw in the reader to the new retelling
without alienating them. There are also plenty of allusions for hard core
phantom fans. From the text: “In the Phantom Book, a similar roof
played a pivotal and romantic role in the storytime. It’s where Christine met
with Raoul and claimed their undying love”.
Rune Germain is a phenomenal singer but is cursed by a
mysterious ailment that leaves her drained and often renders her unconscious after she
performs, specifically arias and operas. As a child this ostracizes
her from her friends and leads to two attempted murders by her insane
grandmother in an attempt to “purify” Rune. The only way Rune finds peace is
by learning to garden with her father and singing along to his Stradivarious symphonies.
But a tragic accident involving Rune leaves a teenage boy hospitalized and Rune’s mother believes the best way to cure her daughter is by honing her talent, not concealing it. Thus, Rune agrees to spend her senior year at a music
conservatory in France called “RoseBlood” where she hopes to at last tame her musical
demons. More so, Rune hopes to discover what the truth is behind the rumors that
her new school has ties to Leroux’s infamous “Phantom of the Opera”, her musical idol.
Upon arriving at RoseBlood Rune catches a glimpse of a mysterious
figure in the garden who seems to make flowers wilt with his touch. She is
startled to discover that he wears a white half mask just like the Phantom! Rune
also befriends a delightful, if vaguely flushed out caricature, cast of secondary characters. This includes a mysterious boy named Thorn whose violin playing skills calm
her violent episodes, just like her father’s playing once did. But Thorn’s
ominous past and mysterious, rich benefactor threaten to unearth his ulterior motives to befriending Rune. As much as they fight it Thorn and Rune begin to fall for one
another as a darker mystery unfolds that entwines both of their fates, and
the phantom’s.
Here are a few things I didn’t like: The pacing of this
novel is incredibly slow. You don’t even begin to unwrap Thorn’s backstory and
connect his character to the overall plot until 60% of the way through the
book. Also, I feel like Howard tried to tie in too many mystical/supernatural
elements into her characters.
The main point of the story seems to be about Thorn and Rune’s ethereal
and blossoming relationship and the secondary characters seem like wooden props
that are underdeveloped.
As far as the writing style, Howard paints a vivid, gothic landscape and her imagery is exquisite, “Glistening trees bend over us like sequined actors taking their final bow”. True phantom fans will rejoice and novice fans who just love gothic romances will enjoy the journey of Rune and Thorn and the modern day "Phantom of the Opera" love story. For additional phantom retellings check out “The Jumbee” by Pamela Keyes and “Phantom” by Susan Kay. For classic gothic retellings with a twist be sure to read, “The Madman’s Daughter” series by Megan Shepherd, which tackles "The Island of Dr. Moreau", "Frankenstein", and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".
Overall rating: 3.5-3.75 stars. Would definitely re-read. It has a good story but it was presented like fluffy fanfic so it wasn't rated higher.
As far as the writing style, Howard paints a vivid, gothic landscape and her imagery is exquisite, “Glistening trees bend over us like sequined actors taking their final bow”. True phantom fans will rejoice and novice fans who just love gothic romances will enjoy the journey of Rune and Thorn and the modern day "Phantom of the Opera" love story. For additional phantom retellings check out “The Jumbee” by Pamela Keyes and “Phantom” by Susan Kay. For classic gothic retellings with a twist be sure to read, “The Madman’s Daughter” series by Megan Shepherd, which tackles "The Island of Dr. Moreau", "Frankenstein", and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".
Overall rating: 3.5-3.75 stars. Would definitely re-read. It has a good story but it was presented like fluffy fanfic so it wasn't rated higher.
