Written by A.G. Howard
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia
In "RoseBlood", we meet teenage Rune, a musical prodigy, who has been sent by her mother to a wonderful and prestigious musical academy. Rune's talent is outrageous, forcing her into a compulsion to perform as loudly as possible whenever she hears lyrics or a few notes. Rune has a very flat personality, following many characters around, creating unnecessary conflicts, and placing her trust in a manipulative character of whom she sees in her dreams.
Told in a parallel to Rune's storyline, we meet Thorn. He had been taking in by the Phantom, Erik, who has been sucking the life out of unwilling participants at his nightclub. Erik still lives in the catacombs and tunnels under this opera house. Thorn was a child when he was abandoned in an orphanage. We see him tormented by his love for the man he calls his father and his love for Rune, from whom he hides information and watches secretly.
Thorn and Rune are modern characters, living under the evil eyes of Erik, in a modern setting. Placing this in a current day setting and location allows most of the magic of the classic novel and musical to float away. The modern connections of society ruin the beautiful and scenic inspiration. Additionally, Rune has read the book by Gaston Leroux, which in "RoseBlood" is a misunderstood account by a real person to have existed in the universe. Rune has a few secret connections to the real Christine of whom Erik was once obsessed. Unfortunately, having Rune and most characters know who the Phantom is beforehand took most of the mystery out of the novel.
I truly feel that this novel would have been great if the characters had never heard of "The Phantom of the Opera". If we had characters in the 20th or 21st century unwillingly enter into a "Phantom"-like Paris with a twist on the original, that would have been excellent. Taking the original characters and twisting them into the world we know as reality feels bizarre. It's as if a retelling of "The Wizard of Oz" was created, in which the great-granddaughter of Dorothy happened to find herself in Oz, but she knew that "The Wizard of Oz" was a book written by L. Frank Baum. The magic of a retelling, which would be original and a bit unique, vanishes. The way that Howard creates her story feels less imaginative and feels less interesting to me. It feels too meta, too easy.
Rune's savant-like singing ability is far too unbelievable. I understand that she is a Christine-like character, excellent at music, and being instructed by the Phantom, her Angel of Music. However, the writing of this novel felt immature. Rune has an "auditory photographic memory", in which she can replicate any tune in perfect clarity and ability. She was able to recall and master Spanish opera at four years old.
To continue, I did like Thorn's perspective. His story was more unique, as a loving but horrified son to the Phantom, who has watched his father commit horrific crimes. Having him find a romance with Rune felt like it straddled the line of abuse, since Thorn was complicit in most of his father's actions. Additionally, I did like the created Frankenstein-like hobby of his, in which he helps scared and hurt animals in the lair. If this book was entirely in his perspective, I would have enjoyed it much more. Rune's whiny and irritating personality lessened the appeal of this story.
Sadly, the reveal of the true villains of this story were not as to be desired. I felt that most twists and turns were predictable and could have been spotted.
In conclusion, I just felt that this retelling was unnecessary and disappointing. I absolutely love "The Phantom of the Opera", but I do not feel that I only disliked it because it was different. I have loved many different retellings of classic books and films that I've loved. However, this modern and meta take on the source material left much to be desired. As mentioned prior, if this was created as a pure retelling, without any characters understanding that they had walked into the lair of the fabled Phantom, if the Phantom was not already a local boogeyman, that this would have been more effective. How can we be afraid of someone we already know to be terrifying? (Also, he wasn't all that terrifying here!)
I do not recommend this novel. I felt my enjoyment of the book was completely outweighed for the aspects that I severely disliked. I do not plan to continue to read any other books by this writer. I unfortunately could not enjoy this story as an older reader. However, I often read young adult, so I do not think that I could have aged out. I could not stand the "My father is a terrible murderer, you're in danger, but let's make out in a corner" ever-present dialogue and terrible decision making. Run away; don't make out in the Phantom's catacombs!!!
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