Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Review: Phantom by Laura DeLuca

Phantom (Dark Musicals #1) by Laura DeLuca
Publishers: Pagan Writers Press
Published: March 20th, 2012
Pages: 262
The “Phantom” was a musical phenomenon that Rebecca had always found enchanting. She had no idea that her life was about to mirror the play that was her obsession. When her high school drama club chooses “Phantom” as their annual production, Rebecca finds herself in the middle of an unlikely love triangle and the target of a sadistic stalker who uses the lines from the play as their calling card.

Rebecca lands the lead role of Christine, the opera diva, and like her character, she is torn between her two co-stars—Tom the surfer and basketball star who plays the lovable hero, and Justyn, the strangely appealing Goth who is more than realistic in the role of the tortured artist.

Almost immediately after casting, strange things start to happen both on and off the stage. Curtains fall. Mirrors are shattered. People are hurt in true phantom style. They all seem like accidents until Rebecca receives notes and phone calls that hint at something more sinister. Is Justyn bringing to life the twisted character of the phantom? Or in real life are the roles of the hero and the villain reversed? Rebecca doesn’t know who to trust, but she knows she’s running out of time as she gets closer and closer to opening night. Only when the mask is stripped away, will the twenty first century phantom finally be revealed.


Hi everyone! First, as usual I'm going to be going over the cover.  The cover doesn't give away too much, which is nice and lends to the mysterious air that the book has. I like how it lets you know that you'll be dealing with the Phantom of the Opera, which, I admit reeled me in. I normally don't like to judge a book by it's cover, but in this case I made a small exception.

The book is focused on Rebecca, a teen girl that's used to blending in that wants to stand out, so she auditions for the school production of The Phantom of the Opera. She gets the role of Christine and she plays opposite Tom Rittenhouse (Raoul) and Justyn Patko (The Phantom.) Naturally there's a love triangle between the three but someone doesn't want Becca to be happy. She starts getting letters, grotesque gifts, and creepy voice mails. Then, it gets serious when people start to die. The real Phantom leaves quotes from the play for Becca to find and they won't stop until they have her. I was thoroughly impressed with the character development and the plot. The ending was to die for. On a personal note I'm tickled pink with Justyn. I have a serious crush on him.
Being Wiccan I get annoyed when characters claim to be Wiccan, but spout nonsense. Ms. DeLuca is a practicing pagan so I'm pleased that she put real information into the novel that will hopefully clear up misconceptions as well as entertain.


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