Sing Me Forgotten, By Jessica S. Olson ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Classic Story Retellings, Historical Fantasy, Mystery, Phantom of the Opera, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 9th, 2021

336 Pages

Synopsis: Isda does not exist. At least not beyond the opulent walls of the opera house.

Cast into a well at birth for being one of the magical few who can manipulate memories when people sing, she was saved by Cyril, the opera house’s owner. Since that day, he has given her sanctuary from the murderous world outside. All he asks in return is that she use her power to keep ticket sales high—and that she stay out of sight. For if anyone discovered she survived, Isda and Cyril would lose their lives.

But Isda breaks Cyril’s cardinal rule when she meets Emeric Rodin, who throws her quiet, solitary life out of balance. His voice is unlike any she’s ever heard, but the real shock comes when she finds in his memories hints of a way to finally break free of her gilded prison.

Haunted by this possibility, Isda spends more and more time with Emeric, searching for answers in his music and his past. But the price of freedom is steeper than Isda could ever know. For even as she struggles with her growing feelings for Emeric, she learns that in order to take charge of her own destiny, she must become the monster the world tried to drown in the first place. (Goodreads)

I have been fascinated with The Phantom of the Opera since I read the original classic by Gaston Leroux as a child, so when I saw the lovely cover of Sing Me Forgotten and discovered that it was a gender-switched retelling, I knew I had to get my hands on it. As you can guess from my rating, I was not disappointed. The main reason why I didn’t give this 5 stars is because for the first few chapters, I was a little confused about the magical elements. It wasn’t long though before everything became clear, and once that happened I was completely enthralled by both the imaginative story and its characters. Isda is not what you’d call a likable character, yet I felt sympathetic toward her nonetheless. She has been shaped by how society has treated her, and almost every action she took, reflected this. Sweet, loyal Emeric was the perfect romantic partner for her, as he saw the good inside her that even she didn’t see. As their relationship developed I found myself rooting for them even as I suspected, given the tale this story is based on, that they were not meant to be. The villain at first seemed one-dimensional, but even he in the end had a slightly sympathetic side. The detailed world building truly was magnificent, mixing familiar settings of a grand opera house with sprawling catacombs underneath, with the addition of the magic and an interesting political system. The ending definitely isn’t your typically happily-ever-after, and although it seems like Sing Me Forgotten is to be a standalone, the last chapter certainly introduces the possibility of a sequel, which I for one would be thrilled to see. Overall, I highly recommend Sing Me Forgotten for teens and adults who are looking for a unique and beautifully told historical fantasy.

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe, by Melissa de la Cruz ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Classic Story Retellings, Contemporary Romance

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

240 Pages

Synopsis: Darcy Fitzwilliam is 29, beautiful, successful, and brilliant. She dates hedge funders and basketball stars and is never without her three cellphones—one for work, one for play, and one to throw at her assistant(just kidding). Darcy’s never fallen in love, never has time for anyone else’s drama, and never goes home for Christmas if she can help it. But when her mother falls ill, she comes home to Pemberley, Ohio, to spend the season with her dad and little brother.

Her parents throw their annual Christmas bash, where she meets one Luke Bennett, the smart, sardonic slacker son of their neighbor. Luke is 32 and has never left home. He’s a carpenter and makes beautiful furniture, and is content with his simple life. He comes from a family of five brothers, each one less ambitious than the other. When Darcy and Luke fall into bed after one too many eggnogs, Darcy thinks it’s just another one night stand. But why can’t she stop thinking about Luke? What is it about him? And can she fall in love, or will her pride and his prejudice against big-city girls stand in their way?

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe takes the original classic and gives it a contemporary setting with a few extra twists like switching the genders of the two main characters. It’s a fun, fluffy read that’s perfect for this time of year.

I’ve read a few retellings of Pride and Prejudice over the years but this is the first one where the two main characters had their genders swapped. In the beginning, Darcy is pretty unlikable, and that’s okay in the beginning because she’s supposed to be. Although she’s a brilliant and successful business woman, she’s a bit immature and totally self-involved. Several times throughout the story she defends herself by explaining she’s just very confident and ambitious. I wasn’t able to buy into this “I’m misunderstood” defense though. I did like her a little more near the end, but I wish her character had been developed more.

I loved Luke, but he’s not as much a part of the story, which was a little disappointing. The premise describes him as a slacker but he isn’t at all. He’s not ambitious in the business sense like Darcy, but he’s hardworking and loves what he does. There’s actually very little time spent setting up the relationship between Darcy and Luke, and I thought the romance was a bit rushed. But in the latter half of the book they are together more often, which I loved because they’re such a likable couple.

I think the few issues I had with Pride Prejudice and Mistletoe, would have been addressed if the book had been a little longer. But honestly, even with them, I still thoroughly enjoyed this and read it in one sitting. This is the first adult fiction book I’ve read by Melissa de la Cruz, but she makes the transition from YA fiction to adult quite successfully. I recommend this to anyone who’s interested in a light contemporary romance set at Christmas.

A Thousand Nights ~ by E.K. Johnston – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Classic Story Retellings, Fantasy, Societal Roles, YA Fiction

 I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: October 6th, 2015

Synopsis: Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he’ll want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first Sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

“There is life, and there is living–that is what she learned.”

This is the second retelling of One Thousand and One Nights I’ve read in the past few months, the first being the incredible The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh. While it was extremely difficult not to compare the two, for the most part I was successful. If you choose to read both these books, I recommend you space them apart. Unfortunately I find myself feeling a bit conflicted regarding the merits of this book.

Let me first address one of the most criticized elements of the book: the fact that none of the characters actually have names except for King Lo-Melkhiin, not even the heroine. Everyone else is referred to as “my sister, my mother” and my personal favorite, “my father’s father’s father”. Many reviewers have found this to be distracting from the story and I can understand why, but once I got used to the author’s writing style, I found it quite clever on her part. Lo-Melkhiin casts such a strong evil pall over the entire story, you can understand why the other characters would have a difficult time establishing their own identities. But you know what? Amazingly they do. 

First, there’s our unnamed heroine who for the purposes of this review I’m going to call ‘S’ for the original Scheherazade. S is one of the most intriguing characters I’ve read thus far this year. Her quiet strength and fortitude is what drives this story. She sacrifices so much, not only for her sister, but also for her people. She’s presented with the opportunity to escape her situation more than once, yet she refuses to take the easy way out–instead choosing to act for the greater good. This is a woman who uses her wits to survive each night spent with a demon. While she starts out as another soon to be forgotten bride, she ends up as a leader in her own right.

Lo-Melkhiin is anything but a stereotypical dimensional villain. While he’s despicable and commits some horrific acts, not the least taking young innocent girls and killing them shortly after the marriage, there is a reason behind his actions. I’m not going to say too much in the interest of not giving away spoilers, but it’s revealed that he’s a victim also. The descriptions of his life before he becomes the villain makes him just as a compelling character as S. There’s little romance in this book, and the few slightly intimate passage are repugnant because of the corruption in Lo-Melkhiin. 

There are many outstanding secondary characters such as the sister of S, Lo-Melkhiin’s mother, and even the woman who is in charge of painting henna on S whenever she ventures out in public. Which leads me to one of the greatest strengths of this novel. Despite this world seeming to be at first ruled by a patriarchal society, it’s anything but. When all is said and done, A Thousand Nights is about the women–Women whose devotion and quiet strength are the very foundation of this story. It’s the type of female representation that should be included in every novel, especially those written for children and YAs. 

The other strength of this novel is the beautiful language the author employs to create this captivating world and it’s characters. “Sumptuous” and “exquisite” don’t even begin to do justice to what E.K. Johnston has created. Reading this novel for me was like watching an artistic master like DaVinci paint right before my eyes. The amount of detail provided in regards to the physical surroundings, clothing, etc. is simply amazing. I felt the sand of the desert stinging my face and the silkiness of the cloth used to garb S in her role of Queen. Weaving plays an important part in this story: the weaving of cloth, the weaving of the stories told by S to Lo-Melkihiin, the weaving together of the characters lives. It’s all done with incredible care by Johnston. 

All this brings me to what I perceive to be the main weakness of this book: the slowness in the unfolding of events, especially in the first half of the story. As I said, one of the greatest strengths is the amount of detail put into the world-building. Unfortunately, it’s this same amount of detail that tends to bog down the action. Once you reach the midway point however, the pace picks up. The problem is that by the time this happens, I fear many readers, particularly teens, will have given up. This is a shame, because I think otherwise, this book offers so much. 

While in some respects the ending takes a somewhat easy way out, there are some twists which save it from being your typical, eye-rolling Disneyfied happily ever after. 

So. Would I recommend A Thousand Nights? Surprisingly, my answer is yes. While lacking some of the passion and action of The Wrath and the Dawn (I know. I know. I said I wouldn’t compare the two, but honestly, if you read the two books, you really can’t help it), this book is one of those quiet ones that quietly sneaks up on you and winds up leaving quite an impact.