Ash
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I don't usually read mystery/detective novels, but I found that this one was interesting and engaging. I was unsure throughout the book which fact was “real” and which one was Guy's imagination. It was an interesting way of tackling the subject of amnesia and the search for one's self.
The language was witty, the heroines were brave and cunning, and the young men were dashing (cue intense swooning). I was pleasantly surprised by it all, and ended up reading the whole book in a single sitting. It was honestly hard to put down (and, as you know from my previous reviews, I'm not the easiest to impress). I'm such a sucker for anything 1)historical, 2)British and 3)clever. I'm happy that I found all three in this story.
The whole story was just so British, I couldn't help but loved it. Of course, every good family is in need of a male heir (enter three mildly interesting suitors)! And every good family is in need of loyal servants to fight off the undead and to see to their every whim!
The author stayed true to the time period and made it believable (i.e., I didn't think I was reading a contemporary novel, even though I was). I loved the well-read Fanny and her analyses of the situation. Right at the start of the book, her display of knowledge of Bram Stoker's Dracula got me hooked on her character (anybody who can reference Stoker is A-okay in my books). I'm starting to notice a trope/trend with kitchen maids; they're always the cleverest ones in the house!
Full review: https://wordpress.com/post/vicsense.wordpress.com/900
Listen, I thought the first book was awesome, but the second one was even better! Vasya has matured even more than I thought possible. She fearlessly takes on this new crazy job and joins the men in both war and entertainment. As a woman, Vasya could never be allowed to ride horses, race across Moscow, join a war, hunt down bandits, etc. But as a man, Vasilii instead of Vasilisa, she can do all of those things and more! Vasya is one really badass young woman and a modern thinker for her time. She and Morozko are so goddamn perfect for each other. Each other's flaws become the other's strength.
I can't wait to read the next (and final!) book from this series.
I WANT MORE WINTER KING PLZ!!
Full review here: https://vicsense.wordpress.com/2018/01/25/fire-and-fury/
First of all, I'd like to point out the obvious: look at that gorgeous cover. I mean, that's a New York Times worthy picture if I've ever seen one. Not going to lie, the cover makes the book all the more appealing.
Going into this one, I thought I'd be reading about how Trump is an imbecile who can't form a correct sentence and doesn't know his left from is right... What I got instead, was a whole lot of pages dedicated to other people in the Trump orbit, mostly Steve Bannon. I felt that the book was more preoccupied with people around Trump, rather than Trump himself. Of course, there were moments when Wolff pointed out real gems from Trump's history with Twitter and on the campaign trail.
It was all rather ‘meh'. Too ordinary to care.
Full review on my blog: https://vicsense.wordpress.com/2018/01/17/the-bear-and-the-nightingale-winternight-1/
Vasya, short for Vasilisa, borrows her name from the famous fairy tale “Vasilisa the Beautiful” but, has a very different adventure than her namesake. Unlike the original, Vasya isn't a gorgeous maiden who finds herself in Baba Yaga's hut. This Vasya is a little girl, shunned by her village and stepmother for being a ‘witch', a ‘devil's child'. Vasya inherited her grandmother's gift and can see the spirits of the old world. Being the only one in her village who cares about the creatures, she uses all of her strength to maintain them, even though the priest does everything in his power to control and ‘tame' her. Vasya learns from the spirits how to swim like a fish, talk to horses and run like the wind. Her inhuman abilities scare the villagers even more, especially because she is a girl, and girls shouldn't be able to ride horses like a war lord does.
Vasya is a modern woman, stuck in medieval Russia. She doesn't want to marry, she doesn't want to go to a convent, and she certainly doesn't obey the men in her life. She is strong and independent, traits not often found in that era. When Vasya forms an alliance of sorts with the Frost King, Morozko, it is one of balance and respect. He doesn't force her to obey him, and she doesn't try to control him.
Vasya was a wonderful heroine and I was rooting for her throughout. The setting of the book was magical and I felt as though I was in medieval Russia as well.
Overall, “The Bear and the Nightingale” is a perfect read for anyone who enjoys fairy tales and old world magic.
If you thought “Alice in Wonderland” was a psychedelic trip, wait till you see what “Vassa in The Night” has in store.
You can read my full review on my blog: https://vicsense.wordpress.com/2018/01/13/vassa-in-the-night/
Vassa In The Night is a retelling of the Russian fairy tale Vasilisa The Beautiful. The main characters are pulled out straight from the original fairy tale but, the world behind the story couldn't be any different.
This book is so weird. Not a little bit weird, but like, genuinely and truly weird.
Weird can be good, but it can be terribly bad and hard to digest too. For me, Vassa In The Night sits right on the edge of those two outcomes. It's basically yet another Wonderland-esque world where really strange and nonsensical things keep happening to the heroine. My problem with it is that there were so many dense nonsense/dreamlike sequences that, if I had to interrupt my reading of it, whenever I started reading again, I was completely and utterly confused as to what was happening. If you read it in one continuous swoop, the nonsense makes sense; but stopping to breathe between chapters is not recommended.
REad my full review on my blog: https://vicsense.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/the-cruel-prince-folk-of-the-air-1/
First off, I found that the Fairy kingdom is very much a grim Wonderland-esque place. Interestingly enough, at some point Jude finds a copy of Alice in Wonderland tucked away in Cardan's room. Everyone is stark mad in this book. The fairies are (for the most part) very mean and vindictive creatures but at the same time, they are beautiful beyond words and are unable to lie.
The author builds her world by using the fairy lore from Celts. She integrates into her story the Seelie Court, the Unseelie Court and the solitary fey. I thought that the world she built is spectacular and magical. The descriptions of the land and the Folk are enchanting and remind me of the fairies in Shadowhunters. My favourite part of Shadowhunters was the Seelie Court (well, that, and Magnus/Alec subplot, but I digress). Also, it's fun to note that The Cruel Prince was dedicated to Clare.
The best part of this book was the lack of romance. I was so happy to read a fantasy book that wasn't dripping in sappy romance. The plot was focused on action and one really kick-ass heroine. For once, I was given a female lead who 1) doesn't whine, 2) doesn't rely on male characters, 3) takes matters into her own hands, 4) isn't afraid to fight for herself. YES! GOOD JOB JUDE!
Read my full review here: https://vicsense.wordpress.com/2018/01/07/a-thousand-pieces-of-you-firebird-1/
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THE COVER IS GORGEOUS.
RUSSIAN PAUL IS GORGEOUS.
THE CHIVALRY AND VALOR IS BLINDING.
I”m all about narratives set in Imperial Russia. Lieutenant Markov is the best; too bad he isn't a main character.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ben is super pragmatic, to the point where is unwillingness to listen and to believe in something intangible costs the lives of several people around him. During most of the book he headbutts his best friend and refuses to believe that there might be something amiss with himself and the world around him. He not only infects his lover, but also his ex-girlfriend, his mother, his father and the mother of his child. All of this happens and he STILL refuses to see that he is at the center of all of this. EVERYONE around him is infected, Laurette tells him a hundred times that he's been cursed, but does he see reason? NOPE. He has to let a bunch of people die before he finally gets his head out of his a**.
I did not enjoy this book, the main character was irritating and infuriating.
Read an in-depth review on my blog: https://vicsense.wordpress.com/2018/01/07/the-bone-curse-benjamin-oris-1/
Roar. Roar. Roar.
My heart, I can't. I feel like I'm tethered to Roar the same way Perry is to Aria. Honest to god, I hate Liv. She's so flat and unidimensional. I wish he'd gone through and married Sable, I would have had more respect for her if she had.
I couldn't stand Perry's whining anymore. I was really disappointed with him. He was really cool and strong in book 1, and here he was reduced to a whimpering, sniveling pile of anxieties. He's Blood Lord for god's sake! I wanted the boy to shape up and show everyone why he deserves to be Blood Lord. Ultimately, everything that he “accomplished” was because of either Reef, Marron or Kirra. He didn't actually do anything on his own... I'm so frustrated with how his character developed. Come on bro,
Aria was pretty cool, I love how she supports Roar like he's the most precious being in her life. I kinda ship it more than Aria/Perry. Roar and Aria understand each other and have more moments of tenderness than with their “destined” partners. Aria/Perry and Roar/Liv are both very physical relationships in my opinion. Whereas Aria/Roar actually has weight and meaning. Obviously this ship is never going to happen, but I still think it makes more sense. I'll proudly steer this ship down to it's watery grave.
BUT ANYWAY,
Where was the sense of danger? I din't feel that there was any real threat to their lives. The Aether is vaguely worrisome, but Sable and Hess are as evil as newborn babies. I guess they didn't get the memo on how to be a successful villain. Soren is neat, I liked him in the first book and I'm happy he's become an ally.
I'm pretty sure I can predict the plot of book 3 but, I'll give it a shot anyway. My predictions: Liv is still alive and will miraculously be sparred from marrying Sable. Sable will probably die (at Roar's hand most likely), apparently there are a bunch of kids like Cinder from another pod, Perry and Aria will possibly go after them. I'm sensing that Brooke and Soren are going to hook up. They're compatible in how cray they are. Let's see how right (or wrong) I am in my predictions.
Read more on my blog here :)
It was okay, not as good as the main story. The romance was too much “in your face” and didn't have any kind of build up to it. I was reading through it and thought “yeah, this is a gooey teenage romance. No substance”. On a side note, why did the author choose to switch to a 1st person narrator? It made the story sound even more juvenile than what I would have liked.
Find this review and others on my blog here: Victorian Sensibilities
Summary
After the showdown between Maven, Cal and Mare, the latter two are on the run from the new Silver King and on a mission to find other Newbloods to help overthrow the government. Without knowing who she can truly trust, Mare finds herself shifting allegiances and allies to ensure her win against Maven, once her friend but now a crazed king.
Review
I tried. I tried really hard, but I just couldn't keep going with this book. I made it to the half-way mark before it slowly drifted out of my mind and got replaced with way more interesting books from other authors. As much as I loved the first book, I absolutely hated the second one.
Mare is the most obnoxious, self-righteous, self-obsessed, self-absorbed little twat I have EVER encountered. She was already pretty obnoxious in the first book, but she really let herself go and showed her true colours in the second one. She suddenly became this selfish monster who doesn't think twice about killing and using innocents as collateral. Her ongoing martyring attitude was so off-putting, I could only roll my eyes at every other sentence. On top of her horrible attitude, she continuously pines after Cal yet blames him for everything (which in his defense, he hasn't done anything to deserve her constant moody backlash). She has such beautiful empty and weightless declarations like this:
“No matter how much I might want to feel him, I cannot. I must keep my eyes ahead, and away from the fire of a fallen prince. I must freeze my heart to the one person who insists on setting it ablaze.”
Get. The. Violins. Out.
What a bleeding heart she is. I'm touched (NOT). Then she says things that prove how much of a tortured character she is:
“But I can't shake the feeling that, while they stand with me, there's no one beside me. Even with an army at my back, I am still alone.”
Poor sweetie, I wish I could do something to help -wait- no I don't.
I could keep going and keep complaining about Mare and her stupidity (and my deep hatred of her), but I've got better things to do, like reading good books.
Summary
Amelia is a newly discovered movie star, playing the title role in the remake of the beloved movie Roman Holiday. Amelia has everything that a girl could ever want: a gorgeous, rich fiancé who lives in San Francisco, a burgeoning acting career and more money than she can use. One evening, while Amelia is on location in Italy filming Roman Holiday, she decides to escape the media and slips out the back door of her fancy hotel, only to end up strolling the beautiful streets of Rome. There she meets Philip, a struggling journalist from New York who refuses to work for his father's stock brokerage company. When things start to go sour for Amelia, she finds herself more and more drawn to the outdoors of Rome where Philip takes her out for dates across the city.
Review
I was attracted to this book due to its premise and backdrop; however, I was disappointed to discover that it lacked good writing. The book was boring to me, with all of its tedious descriptions of food and clothing. Page upon page, the descriptions took over the majority of the book. As a consequence, the plot was seriously lacking. Amelia's late night escapades, interspersed with sessions of lounging in her lavish hotel room left little room for character development. The characters weren't interesting in the slightest, and I felt nothing towards their struggles and misadventures.
I thought the book was pretentious and self-important with all of its designer names thrown in for good measure. The grammar in the book was appalling, full of run-on sentences, lack of punctuation, and general mistakes. The only French sentence there was in the book had a spelling mistake in it and to me, that is absolutely unacceptable. If the author wanted to include a few sentences in a foreign language, she should have researched it properly before publishing it.
In the end, Rome In Love was boring, pretentious and riddled with bad grammar. If these things don't bother you too much, then by all means, try it out. For me, I couldn't look past them and soon found myself hoping to reach the end.
Summary
Honeysuckle “Honey” Jones has a problem: she's been in many relationships, but none have succeeded, and she finds herself alone and frustrated. Her two best friends, the sexually confident air hostess Tash, and the straight-laced married school teacher Nell, come up with a plan to find Honey a new man, a pianist to be exact. He has to be tall and sexy, and have magic fingers to fix Honey's little “problem”...
In the meantime, a grumpy neighbour settles in the flat opposite from Honey. The mysterious man has her heart racing despite all odds. The only problem is, he's constantly grouchy, rude, obnoxious and downright mean to Honey. And he's not a pianist. He's just a really, really hot blind chef. What is a girl supposed to do to get a decent date?
Review
This book was funny and lighthearted, and all of its characters were very endearing. Honey is a haphazard type of girl who rarely gets down and is always a ray of positivity for her friends, coworkers, and neighbour. Honey is very selfless and wholeheartedly helps those in need around her, including Hal (her less than friendly flat mate). Hal, on the other hand, has had the world tuned against him. He used to be a hot-shot celebrity chef with a pretty fiancé, a house, and fast cars. Now, having lost everything, he becomes a recluse, never leaving his apartment, and depends on Honey's goodwill to bring him food and company (although he doesn't appreciate it).
Honey and Hal's relationship was a wild roller coaster ride, mostly because of Hal's mood swings and bad temper. All the while these two are trying to find common ground, Honey is sent by her friends on hilarious blind dates that only serve to bring Honey and Hal closer to each other.
The backdrop of the romance is a story about pensioners fighting for the right to keep their home. Honey takes part in their woes and soon becomes the spokesperson for the home, appearing on TV and in the newspapers. The pensioners are endearing and I was moved by their story of survival.
Overall, The Piano Man Project was a quick read, funny, heart-warming, and sexy throughout. I would recommend this book to any one who enjoys slice-of-life comedy and romance.
Cara is a young woman who has returned to London after 7 years of exile, upon the death of her abusive father. As a child, Cara was given to a lord who beat and raped her,until she managed to escape his grasp. Cara returns with the intention of selling off her father's priceless artifacts, forcing her to enter into a business contract with Nathaniel, a rich and handsome underworld lord. In exchange for his help, she gives him the right to touch her ((wtf tho....? Really??)). In he meantime, gruesome murders shake the capital, sending Cara on a hunt for a missing artifact, and a killer.
Well now, this wasn't what I expected. At all. The premise said this would be a steampunk murder-mystery adventure.... and I got a vaguely steampunk romance/erotica with a tiny mystery in the background. I think the author was a little bit confused as to what the subject of her book was.
STEAMPUNK?
The steampunk elements were overused and unoriginal and didn't add to the story. I think it's rather unfair to put this book in the steampunk category. Also, can I take a moment to comment on how every new scene featuring Cara, described her clothing for the day? These descriptions weren't even clear early woven in the story, nope. The author just straight out wrote “today, she wore a corset that accentuated all of her curves” ((well yes, that's what corsets tend to do... just sayin')).
STRONG FEMALE COUGH
Apparently our protagonist is a “strong woman” and “kick-ass”, when in fact the only thing our young lady does is carry guns and knives, without ever using them (granted, she does once in the opening chapter). Oh and, she likes to box, and beats up a guy in a fight. I'm sorry, that doesn't make her a strong female character.
UNREALISTIC RECOVERY?
I'm sorry, I didn't believe Cara's emotional/physical recovery. I honestly don't believe that a woman, who spent her childhood being beaten and raped, would barter her body in a business proposition. Nate's stalking and physical advances would be too much to bear for an abused woman.
MURDER-MYSTERY
Predictable, mildly interesting. It could have been much better if it had been the central point in the story (rather than Cara's sex life). I liked the inspector, he was promising but sadly, didn't have much ‘screen time', in favour of our swoon pirate/lord/mobster male lead.
All in all, the premise was really interesting and promising but the book fell short. There were too many elements in the story that didn't blend in well together. The different elements weren't cohesive and had me wondering what the actual plot was. The relationship between Nate and Cara was weird and unrealistic, I didn't believe their (mostly Cara's) evolution.
2 stars, given for the few good moments in the story.
Spoilers ahead! Proceed with caution.
An Ember in the Ashes has more flaws than I can count. Oh, where do I even begin, there's so much to say...
CHARACTERS
Laia (pronounced LAH-I-A or LEI-A or LA-I-YA or LEI-YA... you pick) is a Scholar (not in the literal sense because if she were, this book would be totally different) who lives with her brother and grandparents. One night, their house is raided by Martials (another faction of people in this non-descriptive part of the world) and her grandparents are killed while her brother gets shipped off to prison.
Here, our wonderful protagonist sets off on an adventure (le gasp!) to rescue her brother. She (attempts) to do that by begging them joining forces with the resistance leaders and ends up going on a mission of UTMOST IMPORTANCE in the heart of the empire. Yes folks, you read that right. They're not sending an experienced fighter on this mission, no, they're sending our sPeAcIaL girl because she's so... sPeAcIaL (there's seriously no logical reason for this... it makes no sense but hey, plot!)
Let me tell you, our female lead is no dumb blonde, no sir! She's a dumb brunette instead. She somehow escapes all the wonderful things reserved for slaves (like torture, maiming, rape, etc.) AND stays incognito right under the Commandant's nose (even though the Commandant is Satan herself, and that she has historically caught and killed most resistance leaders and spies). But great things await our precious little Laia; there's NO WAY that an expert army general will EVER find out that Laia is a spy. Nope. Not gonna happen. She's sPeAcIaL, and god knows that sPeAcIaL girls like her can outwit experienced generals because they're SMORT and STRONK GURLS.
Elias is a Martial and a Mask (a term used to distinguish fighters from normal folks). He's tall, handsome, intelligent, etc. Of course he is. He has been training all his life at Blackcliff academy to become a Mask with some of his BFFs, including Helene, THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ACADEMY. Helene is seriously a badass; she's the only reason I read this book till the end. BUT THEN, she falls for Elias because, of course, but guess who Elias has his sights on? Not our own little slave girl?!? NEVER SAW THAT COMING. But Laia, being “such a pretty thing,” has more than one suitor (of course she does), including a handsome and rugged member of the resistance! Oh, whatever shall she do now? Wait. Aren't we forgetting.... oh yeah! Darin (the missing brother)!
Darin is Laia's older brother of whom we hear about in the first few pages of the book and who then gets whisked away to prison to be tortured and/or killed. His survival is dependent on his little sister finding a way to save him. Yikes. RIP Darin. For the rest of the book, the only time we hear about Darin is when Laia conjures him up in her mind as her voice of reason.... which translates into more woe-is-me whining. Can we just take a moment here to remind ourselves why Laia infiltrated the resistance in the first place? To find her brother, you say? WELL NOW. Seems like she's completely forgotten that little fact. Must be because of all the swooning (and whining) over boys. eye roll
PLOT (or lack thereof)
Each chapter swaps perspectives between Laia and Elias, offering a stunningly unreliable first-person narrator throughout the book. The Elias-POV chapters were better, if only for the presence of Helene and some actual plot development (the trials to decide the new Emperor, for example, are actually interesting). The whole world within Blackcliff is well developed and interesting. If the whole book had been about Elias trying to break free from his destiny as a mask, it would have been a whole lot better.
The other half of the book is seen through Laia's eyes, which equates to a whole bunch of whining, pining, and feeling sorry for herself. Even though she's a slave, and slaves are supposed to be beaten into submission and under complete control of their masters (the book's opinion, not mine ofc), Laia somehow gets to roam the academy at night, escape to festivals and meet with the resistance regularly, WHILE NEVER BEING CAUGHT. This means that either a) Laia is uber clever (nope, that's definitely not it) or b) the Commandant is not as good at keeping track of her slaves as she pretends to be (which seems to be the logical answer, and yet makes no sense at all. SHE'S A SEASONED ARMY GENERAL. #logic).
Along with glaring plot holes, contrived story line and more editing mistakes that I can shake a stick at, An Ember in the Ashes gets a huge 1-star rating. The only thing that gave it more than zero in my rating is Helene, Elias (most of the time) and the whole story behind Blackcliff.
If you like good, thought-out writing, this one's not for you.
If you enjoy an engaging plot with endearing characters that pull you into their universe, this book is definitely not for you.
If you like dumb characters with no depth and simple linear plots then, by all means, READ IT.
“You see, yet you do not observe” is a phrase to live by. Holmes and Watson encounter the mysterious Irene Adler in this short story, which then puts into question everything that Holmes is and represents. For one, he is often thought of as being a misogynist and/or gynophobic (something that I do not entirely agree with), but his meeting with “The Woman” changes that perception very quickly. While Irene Adler is an interesting character inasmuch as she helps the reader to see a different side of the detective-hero, she is not as spectacular as what a lot of critics make her out to be. The BBC TV series really expanded on her character and made her a true force to be reckoned with, but the original Irene is rather dull by comparison and does very little in ways of outwitting the great Sherlock Holmes. Overall, this little story is enjoyable just as much as the others, but it is not the most interesting of cases in the canon.
I first read this book in the original Japanese back in 2016 because the movie adaptation was coming out that same year. One of my favourite actors, Sato Takeru, played the lead role in the movie, which is why I picked up the book in the first place. Honestly, I don't remember much of the plot other than it revolves around a terminally ill MC. Now that it has an English translation, I should probably reread it and see if my rating still stands.
This is one of those “why am I still reading this bullshit” kind of book.
Why is this so popular? Why was it expanded into a whole series? Why do reviewers hype it up so much?
It's beyond me why I decided to stick through with this, no matter how painful and full of mistakes it was. The biggest issue I have with this book–apart from the fact that 1) there is no character development, 2) the main girl is a typical brainless, moody teenager, and 3) the love interests are as dumb-witted as the mud on their boots–is that it took me 45 chapters to discern which of the two dudes was the prince and which one was the assassin. I'm not going to lie, for 45 chapters I thought that Rafe was the assassin and Kaden the prince... apparently I was wrong because ch 45 finally puts a name to the descriptions. This book insulted my intelligence in every way possible. Never have I mistaken two characters for the better length of a novel. Clearly the author needs to work on better describing her protagonists or, even better yet, not swap their personalities midway and create unnecessary confusion. Now, some reviewers say that this trick is “clever” and that the author is a “genius.” No. There is nothing clever about the way this was executed; it's sloppy and lazy writing, period.
Also, allow me to address the elephant in the room: there is nothing about this book that makes it a fantasy book. I don't care that it takes place in a pseudo-medieval, vaguely “other world” setting; It. Is. Not. Fantasy. Fantasy is my preferred genre... I've read hundreds of books in this genre. This is not it.
Do yourself a favour a save your precious reading hours for another, much more worthy book.
I give this book two thumbs waaaay down. I wish I could rate it with negative stars.
Summary
Mr. Richard and Mr. Moncharmin are the two newly appointed managers of the grand Paris Opera House in the late 1800s. Their predecessors, Mr. Debienne and Mr. Poligny, warn them about a certain “ghost” who lives in the opera house and requires a monthly allowance of 20000 francs. On top of these unreasonable demands, the ghost asks that he have full control of box 5 all year round so that he may be able to attend performances. Richard and Moncharmin quickly dismiss this whole affair and resort to trying to uncover who the ghost is. In the meantime, frequent opera goers Phillipe, Compte de Chagny and his brother Raoul, Vicompte de Chagny can often be seen at the opera house on packed nights, enjoying performances by La Sorelli, and old friend and prima ballerina, and Christine Daae, an angelic opera singer who is cursed with having only minor roles due to La Carlotta being the current prima donna.
As Richard and Moncharmin continually test the ghost's patience by selling his box, dismissing his letters and firing his box keeper, the ghost exacts vengeance upon the artists of the opera house, namely La Carlotta where, in her place, he orchestrates a plan for Christine to take lead roles in major operas. One evening, after an especially otherworldly performance, Christine faints on stage and is sent to her quarters where Raoul, an old childhood friend tends to her. We soon learn that Raoul, being desperately in love with Christine, intends to marry her, much to his brother's opposition, and without knowing about the curse that plagues his lady.
Christine reveals to be in contact with “the angel of music”, who is none other than the famed ghost of the opera house. While he coaches and trains her voice relentlessly, she is never once graced with his physical presence. Once, however, after the ghost takes notice of Raoul, Christine is kidnapped from stage during a performance and brought down to the basement of the opera house where the ghost, now known as Erik, has a house built on the side of an eerie subterranean lake. There he tells her of his masterpiece, “Don Juan Triumphant”, an opera entirely composed by himself which will require several years of writing before its completion. This is also where Christine, being curious as to who her “angel of music” really is, removes his mask and sees his retched face. Afraid that she will leave him, Erik confines Christine to the lake house and refuses to let her go. Christine bargains with him that, if he lets her go, she will come back of her own free will to visit him. This arrangement is agreed upon and Erik, after giving her a ring to wear on her finger, let's her return to the world above ground.
During her release, Christine and Raoul devise a plan to escape together far from Paris and from the ghost's reach. This however backfires when the ghost hears of Christine's betrayal. He kidnaps her once more and this time, he has no intention of letting her go back. She is forced to make a decision: either marry him and live, or refuse his hand and die.
During Christine's disappearance, Raoul is frantic to find her and tries to convince everyone that the ghost is real and that he is the mastermind behind everything at the opera house. Naturally, he is dismissed as a lunatic, mad with love for a pretty singer who will not have him. One man, however, comes to Raoul's aid and leads him through a series of adventures in between the walls, floors, trap doors and basement of the opera house. This man, known as the Persian, is a longtime acquaintance of Erik and knows his secrets well and how he moves about the opera without being seen or heard. On the ultimatum that Christine should either marry the ghost or refuse him, rests the fate of the whole opera house. Finally, Raoul and the Persian reach Erik and Christine in the lake house where, if not for Christine's ultimate sacrifice, they and most of Paris would have been annihilated by the ghost. Raoul and the Persian are ultimately saved by the ghost who, upon hearing Christine's plea, decides to spare their lives in exchange for her hand. After the Persian is found alive and well, however, we find out that Raoul and Christine are still held captive by the ghost.
Several years later, in a little apartment in Paris, the Persian is visited by Erik, now haggard and “dying of love.” The ghost reveals how he released both Raoul and Christine from his hold and let them escape and live together on the condition that Christine would come back one day and bury his body. Erik leaves and returns to his house underneath the opera house and dies. Christine hears of his demise and, as promised, comes back and dutifully fulfills his wishes.
Review
Very short and easy to read, Gaston Leroux's novel is the background work for the famous musical of the same name. The whole story reads much like a report of historical events rather than a fiction novel. The author is active in the story and narrates by retelling each character's story via “writings” and “manuscripts” supposedly left behind and found by the author himself. Even though this is the original work, some things are very unclear to the reader such as, for example, the origin of the Erik's disfigurement. This is in fact never explained and leaves the reader wondering how he became afflicted with such “ugliness.” I use here the word ugliness, as per the book, but I believe that that is not the case. Erik's disfigurement, whether by birth or caused, should not be considered as such. Of course, keeping in mind the late 1800s France, it is quite obvious why people around him were terrified and disgusted by his appearance. Anyone who was not deemed “normal” in those days was cast aside and made the center of ridicule, as seen in other major works of the time such as “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.”
Erik's appearance aside, one of the major difficulties I found was in the last quarter of the book, when the Persian and Raoul go off in the basement of the opera house to try and save Christine. This whole arc becomes nebulous and hard to understand as Erik's various contraptions illicit the imagination (and delirium) of the characters and readers alike. The final battle, which happens in a torture chamber, is a sequence of disjointed events that make it hard to follow the action. Nonetheless, this style brings forth feelings of excitement and wonder at what the outcome will be. The mirror room (aka the tropical forest) reminds us strongly of the mirror room at the Musée Grévin in Paris and, if anyone has been lucky enough to see it in person, one can understand the distress felt by Raoul and the Persian when they were trapped in it for hours.
The characters in this book have very high strung emotions and are not afraid to display them at any given moment. Raoul is childish and dependent, Christine faints at every occasion, Philippe is possessive, and, of course, the ghost is all but psychotic. Because of their common obsession with Christine, both Raoul and Erik display similar traits. Both are madly in love with Christine and would move heaven and earth for her, and both are insanely jealous of one another. Unlike the musical adaptation, however, there is no great battle scene betwixt the two. In fact, Raoul never meets Erik until the very end of the book when he and Christine are released. Even then, their encounter is not described, but rather assumed. As far as what is known, 3 people have been in close contact with the ghost: the Persian, the Maharajah, and Christine. All three happened to see his face and, contrary to the legend, all three survived. Erik propagates that anyone who sees his face shall die; however, thrice as he been unmasked, and thrice have the perpetrators gone unharmed.
In the end, The Phantom of the Opera is as intriguing and entertaining as the musical, and remains a timeless classic that will forever spark the imagination of its readers. Was the ghost real? Was Erik really a mastermind architect, forsaken by society because of his looks, and forced to live in the depths of the opera house? The question that remains forever unanswered is surely that of the subterranean lake and its house.
You see, the lake beneath the opera house is very real. In order to support the structure of the opera house, its architect Garnier used the flooding of the basement to his advantage and created an artificial lake beneath his construction. Another noted historical event that is recaptured in the novel is the fall of the great chandelier in the auditorium. It broke its chain and feel on stage, killing one member of the audience and injuring others. This scene is repeated in the novel, where the ghost is the one to blame for the accident. Maybe Mr. Leroux's fantastical tale of a brilliant man who lived by the lake is not as far-fetched as one might think.
Poor, poor Erik. No matter how evil, ugly and terrifying he was, one cannot help but pity this poor misunderstood creature. In the Persian's words, he was a “demigod;” incredibly genius yet so terribly cursed. His final act of kindness towards Raoul and Christine shows how innocent and childlike he could be, and how madly in love he was with the Swedish angel.
Where to start?
CHARACTERIZATION
The main character lacked depth, explaining about her tortured background does not make her a deep character. IMO Yalek has more depth than Yelena. The side characters such as Ari, Janco and even Rand, were likable and I was happy to read about them whenever they appeared. The Commander's “secret” is a very thinly disguised attempt at incorporating an element of LGBT to the story. That, and the passing remark from the seamstress that Valek was thought to maybe be gay... that is until Yelena appeared of course.
The evil characters, on the other hand, were clearly all trained in the same school of unoriginal hunt/torture/rape plots. It's a wonder Yelena made it alive up until the end of the book. Every other page she's either captured/kidnapped, hit in the face, stabbed at or shackled. That is, of course, until one of the strapping young men amongst her friends list turns up “just in the nick of time” to save her poor defenseless self (Read here: very thick sarcasm). My major annoyance throughout was Yelena's relentless dizzy spells and vomiting whenever it got a bit too stressful. For someone who doesn't eat all that much, she sure does vomit a lot.
PLOT
What plot? This book was supposed to be about poisons, precisely a food taster to the higher up of Ixia (the Commander). The topic of poison was touched upon in the first half of the book (maybe I'm generous here, I think it may have been the first 10 chapters). After that, the storyline changed from a very scientific “poison tasting” plot to a predictable “let's play with magic” one. Before this could happen though, Yelena goes through a third plot change known as the “I'm going to become a pro fighter”. All is well here when Ari, Janco and Marren help her out by having little training sessions in the basements. However, even though our heroine is clearly able to ward off her three friends, whenever the action gets serious outside she suddenly loses her abilities and has to really on gasp Valek! Who just so happens to be EVERY WHERE.
LOVE AND OTHER PLOT HOLES
Ok, of course she has to hook up with someone. From the description of the book, I had gathered that she would develop a thing for the Commander. However, after reading a few reviews I learned that Valek was to be the love interest. I followed his every move in the book to see how this could happen. Well, it kinda happened all in one go. Sure he helps and protects her in dangerous situations, but that doesn't mean anything really. Then Yelena gets drunk one night and sticks her hands in his pants and I'm like “whoa girl, calm yourself. Aren't you a torture/rape victim? Shouldn't you be weary of men, especially sex?”. Then nothing else happens for the rest of the book until at the end we mysteriously have a love declaration from the man himself, whilst being trapped in a dungeon waiting for death... very credible if you ask me.
HOLE #1 I thought there was a no nonsense policy about killing in Ixia? You know, the iron clad rule of “if you kill someone, even if accidental or in self-defense, you must hang”? Weeeeeell, I guess that doesn't apply to Yelena and Valek, seeing as the collectively kill about 10 people in the book. Also the killings themselves are odd. I would expect Valek not to flinch, he's a trained assassin, but Yelena? She killed once before in self-defense, after years of abuse. That is very different from fighting of palace guards and crushing their windpipes/bashing in their heads. She doesn't even blink or feel remorseful. Yelena is a psychopath. Not Valek, definitely Yelena. (Actually, declaring her a psychopath makes my skin crawl, she isn't actually psychopath in the clinical terms but, to use the exact words from the book, I chose this diagnosis. IMO she has an affective disorder, my bet is on depressive with a touch of anxiety)
HOLE #2 Criollo couldn't affect Valek because he is impervious to all things magical, but why would Yelena be spared from its effects? According to Irys, this substance in small quantities is used on students of magic to help them open their minds. If that's the case. Then Yelena should have had a similar reaction to it as the Commander (because she ate just as much as him). Somehow, she is spared. Let's just chalk it off as “she's the main, she can do anything and all the rules ever established don't apply to her”.
All in all, it's a very easy read, (two days for me) and, if you can look past the bad plot and characterization, then you could find it enjoyable in a mind numbing sense. If you want to relax your brain after reading something complicated then, my suggestion is “Poison Study” for a quick, painless read.
What can one say about P&P that hasn't already been said a thousand times? It's a literary classic of epic proportions, a romance story for the ages, and a tour de force in artistic genius. Out of Austen's novels, this one is probaly the best known and loved one, and for good reason. I keep coming back to this novel (and its film adaptations) as it remains one of my most favourite stories above all others.