ARC Review: "The Monsters of Music" by Rebecca F. Kenney


The Monsters of Music by Rebecca F. Kenney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

A darkly romantic gender-swapped modern retelling of The Phantom of the Opera, with a scarred Muse girl, a rock-star boy, and a singing competition. For fans of The Wicked Deep (Ernshaw), Wintersong (S. Jae-Jones), American Idol, or The Voice.

Mel must share her creative magic or be driven mad by it. But finding her first protégé isn't as easy for her as it is for most Lianhan Sídhe (muses of Celtic myth). Though the women of her race are naturally beautiful, she carries horrifying scars across one side of her face, inflicted by her mother's obsessive boyfriend. And Mel isn't only interested in pouring her creative energy into a man; she wants to use her musical genius herself, too. But the laws of the Lianhan Sídhe, and her own savage appearance, stand in the way of her ever singing onstage.

To relieve the painful pressure of her magic, Mel latches onto Kiyoji, a boy with a beautiful voice, and coaches him through a televised singing competition. But neither of them are prepared for the power of their connection, or for the new kind of magic that happens when the two of them sing together.

Fans of Holly Black's contemporary fantasy books (Tithe, Valiant) or Brigid Kemmerer's A Curse So Dark and Lonely will enjoy this dark, offbeat retelling with a hint of cyberpunk and a dose of Celtic mythology. The novel celebrates a broad range of music from various decades.



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REVIEW

I received an e-ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The retellings of The Phantom of the Opera are rare and difficult to find. So I was very surprised when Rebecca approached me with the chance of reviewing her book! The Monsters of Music is inspired by the Phantom of the Opera, only that it's gender-swapped, set in a more contemporary time and with a slight touch of Fae myths.

The Phantom is Mel, a muse of the Lianhan Sidhe who needs to share her magic or she’ll become insane and in Christine’s role is Kiyoji who is also hugely talented. As she tries to share her magic with him, a bond will form which will evolve into romance. I loved how the book was set. Every chapter has songs and lyrics and the descriptions of the Fae were amazing as they hide and blend with the humans.

You are going to enjoy this book, especially if you had always supported Erik (like me.)





About the author:

I write YA fantasy, contemporary fantasy, and sci-fi, always with a thread of romance. My most recent novel is The Monsters of Music, a genderbent Phantom of the Opera retelling. My debut novel was Korrigan, about a girl cursed to turn into a monster each day and spend her nights as a human. Korrigan is the first book in my YA contemporary fantasy trilogy, and it's followed by Druid and Samhain.

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