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3.5 stars! Spoiler free review!
What a wonderful standalone fantasy! I believe this was a debut novel and I'm glad I had the chance to pick it up! Thanks for Inkyard Press for sending me an ARC (even if I technically didn't finish it early enough).
The plot took a little while to pick up, but it wasn't necessarily slow in the beginning, there was just quite a bit of back story needed to make the world and timeline match up properly. But once you hit the main turning point of the story, it's all a race to the ending.
And what a heart wrenching ending it was! I was nearly in tears, I felt for the main character and how difficult it was for her to do what she did. The second half made the whole book come together and was so much better!
The main character is obviously the focus considering this is a gender bent retelling of Phantom of the Opera. She's supposed to undergo this transformation throughout the book (or so I assumed), and she really does become a whole new person by the end of the book. Isda's growth and dark side was amazing to read throughout the story.
Flushed out main characters
Unique setting and magic
Darker than you'd expect, no punches were pulled when it came to the action and bloodiness.
Really adorable romance
Some things that could've improved the story for me:
Needed more politics and history. There's some regarding the gravoirs and fendoirs and humans, but it's definitely not the focus
Predictable plot, BUT if you're reading this for the FEELS, the characters, and the cute YA romance, you'll still enjoy it!
The villain is meh. It's pretty obvious to figure out where the book is going to go once you know who it is. And I knew who it was from the moment we met him, but yenno, tis what happens when you read a lot of fantasy.
Side note: I don't know the actual Phantom of the Opera story, so I can't really speak on how good of a retelling it is, but the plot itself (though predictable) is still fun and darker than you may expect!
But it on Amazon!
Check it out on Goodreads!