What happens to the Phantom after the tragedy at the Paris Opera House is the basis for this fantastic tale of The Phantom Diaries, loosely based on Gaston Leroux's classic, The Phantom of the Opera, but with a new tale and a modern twist. This new series for older teens and young adults is told through the eyes of 18 year-old Annette Binoche, who lands a job at the New York Metropolitan Opera House as a seamstress' assistant only to become the lead singer of the Opera House, with the help of the mysterious, yet highly-seductive Phantom. (From Goodreads)
I had pretty high hopes for this one, especially after seeing the four/five star ratings on Goodreads. I also love the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, but I'll admit I've never read the original story. Still, I was excited for the story to continue in Gow's book. I found the synopsis intriguing, and couldn't wait to pick it up. Due to my high expectations, I was a bit disappointed. There were, however, a few aspects of the book that I did enjoy.
I really enjoyed reading the last quarter of the book. The story really picked up, there was quite a bit of action/suspense, and information regarding the history of certain characters. The writing seemed to flow well in this portion of the story, and everything was paced well. I also enjoyed Gow's portrayal of Eric. She did a great job of recreating a character that many people love (love to hate, pity, etc). His manner of speaking, behavior, and emotions seemed consistent with past versions of the phantom. Plus, there was quite a good twist at end of the book.
My issues began with something that wasn't the fault of the author. I'm going to mention it here, but keep in mind it has nothing to do with the story. There were quite a few issues with editing. I can usually handle a few typos and missing punctuation, but the number of things I noticed distracted me from the story. Another issue I had was with the flow of the book, it just didn't work for me until the action picked up toward the end. I also really wanted to know more about how Annette ended up at the New York Metropolitan Opera House. There is a brief mention of how she ended up there, but I would have loved to have seen it at the start of the story.
The ending left me wondering what was going to happen to the characters, and there is a sequel in the works. Despite only getting into the story toward the end, I'm interested to know how Gow resolves the conflict she's created for Eric and Annette. Overall, this book didn't work for me, but since many people really enjoyed this one, I'm in the minority.
The Phantom Diaries
By Kailin Gow
Published by The Edge
218 Pages
Rating: C (the last quarter of the book)/D+ (the start of the book)
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Book Review: The Phantom Diaries by Kailin Gow
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Waiting on Wednesday (September 15)
Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.
Ripple by Mandy Hubbard
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But it's not the swimming that troubles Lexi. It’s the singing that goes with it.When she turned sixteen, her siren song killed the only boy she's ever loved. Now, she avoids the popular shores of the Pacific in favor of a long forgotten lake up in the mountains, where she can swim and sing in peace, far from the population of her oceanside home.
Until, that is, Cole Mills discovers her lake. He’s new to Lincoln City High, and he doesn’t know about Lexi’s reputation as an ice queen—a reputation she’s carefully cultivated to keep everyone around her safe. He pushes her, talks to her, forces her to dream of what life could be like if she weren’t a siren.
Lexi can’t stop herself from warming to him, from falling for him. Soon, he’s demanding answers, following her to the lake, unknowingly risking his life. How can she keep him safe when the one thing she wants most--to hold him close-- will endanger his life? (From Goodreads)
Release Date: July 21, 2011
Published by Razorbill
This one is a long way off, but I loved both of her previous YA books.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Teaser Tuesday (September 14)
What is Teaser Tuesday?
It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:
Grab your current read...
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers.
"The wheels screeched across the damp pavement as we reached a dead end and he brought the bike to a stop. The tunnels ended here."
-The Phantom Diaries, page 68, by Kailin Gow
Sunday, September 12, 2010
In My Mailbox (September 12)
In my mailbox was created by Kristi of The Story Siren, who was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Here are the books I got this week...
For Review:
The Phantom Diaries by Kailin GowWhat happens to the Phantom after the tragedy at the Paris Opera House is the basis for this fantastic tale of The Phantom Diaries, loosely based on Gaston Leroux's classic, The Phantom of the Opera, but with a new tale and a modern twist. This new series for older teens and young adults is told through the eyes of 18 year-old Annette Binoche, who lands a job at the New York Metropolitan Opera House as a seamstress' assistant only to become the lead singer of the Opera House, with the help of the mysterious, yet highly-seductive Phantom. (From Goodreads)
Part of Traveling Arc Tours
Friday, September 10, 2010
Book Review: Kiss Me Deadly, Edited by Trisha Telep
If you can possibly thirst for more mysterious metaphysical accounts of love, Trisha Telep has organized some of the greatest and most thrilling tales of paranormal paramours since The Eternal Kiss. She presents the acclaimed literary talent of thirteen unique authors, creating a collection of stories that will undoubtedly capture the imagination of every soul who dares to read them. Werewolves, ghosts, zombies, vampires, and fallen angels drive the plot of these riveting romances. (From Goodreads)
Kiss Me Deadly contains 13 short stories involving paranormal romance. There are quite a few recgonizable names among the contributing authors. Michelle Zink, Sarah Reese Brennan, Carrie Ryan, and Daniel Waters were just a few that drew me to the book. Of course, I also love a good paranormal romance.
Each story offers something different to lovers of the paranormal. There were angels, werewolves, Mara (parasitic empaths), zombies, unicorns, witches, djinns, and so much more. As with all anthologies, some stories were stronger than others. Still, majority of the stories kept me from setting the book down. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by the nice mix of the perfect short stories, and stories that I wanted to be turned into full-length novels. For example, Caitlin Kitteredge's story, Behind the Red Door, was perfect as a short story. It was engaging, spooky, and it wrapped up nicely. Diana Peterfreund, and Maggie Stiefvater also had great shorts. They each fit into their respected universes nicely, and built upon them. Plus, in the case of Peterfreund, I love a good unicorn story.
I also mentioned that there were a few stories I believe could be made into novels. I wanted to know more about the characters, histories, and basically 300 more pages. The stories by Karen Mahoney (vampires, djinns), Sarah Rees Brennan (Peter Pan as a spy), and Michelle Rowan (witches) were three of those stories. Finally, there was the story by Daniel Marks. He wrote about purgatory, and after checking his website found out that he has written a trilogy (yay). Once they find a publisher, I'll be buying my copies.
Overall, this was a great anthology of strong paranormal romance stories. If you're a fan of any paranormal creatures, I'd give this one a try.
Kiss Me Deadly
Edited by Trisha Telep
Published by Running Press Teens
432 Pages
Rating: B
Thanks to Nicole at Running Press for giving me the chance to review this one!
