Synopsis:
There was a time I felt lost and alone…until I met them, and together our souls took flight: My gentle Raoul and our deadly Angel of Music.

Haunted by the violent death of her parents, Christine Daaé longs to find solace in music, but debilitating stage fright keeps her firmly in the shadows. All she can hope for is a few stolen moments singing to herself in the mournful silence of the backstage stairwell…until one night, the shadows sing back.

In exchange for complete devotion, her mysterious Phantom promises to teach her everything he knows—and with his praise boosting her confidence, Christine is finally able to take center stage…catching the eye of her sweet childhood friend turned something more, Raoul.

But her mysterious mentor is as obsessive as he is demanding, and he will not share Christine with anyone—not unless he can have them both in a bargain that is as dangerous as it is seductive. Light and shadows, gentleness and raging passion, the three of them should not fit so perfectly together. Yet as a supernatural force looms, ready to tear them apart forever, Christine must decide if love can truly exist in the space between beauty and madness…and whether she’s finally ready to fully embrace the music of the night.

An addictive and truly original spicy New Adult retelling of The Phantom of the Opera with a magical twist.

Review:
“I am always searching for new music, for a song that will perfectly express everything I feel… and for the perfect voice that will serve as the balm to my wretched soul.” (Page 9)

This book, like the others in the Gilded Monsters series, needs to be considered a separate entity to the book it is a retelling of. This book was very intriguing and original in the way the “opera house” and apartments within operate. I loved the backstory of Christine’s family, though it is very far from the original. In many ways, the only connection between this novel and Phantom of the Opera is a stage shy girl who wants to sing, and someone who can give her the ability to develop her voice. Despite that, I think the story stood very firmly on it’s own with the hints of Phantom of the Opera in the background. The way in which our “phantom” comes to be good at things is quite genius and I very much enjoyed seeing him learn so much of the world that he didn’t get to experience. I also really liked Raoul’s connection to Erik. The why choose aspect of this novel was great, however, there was a lot of intimate moments that just didn’t jive for me personally. All in all, I did like this book, but it isn’t my favourite of the series.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯