First, what an unexpected and creative approach to historical fiction! In brief, a young ghost who has haunted a monastery since her death centuries ago falls in love with the visiting author George Sand who is accompanied by sickly musician Frederic Chopin. 

We get some delightful looks into the Mediterranean island cultures of the time, some real research into the various struggles--mostly social--of both artists, and some creative commentary from a ghost who has had the better part of eternity to reflect upon her understanding of people. Stevens has taken on an ambitious project, one she has made quite accessible to those interested in writing and composing, queer acceptance of the 19th century, and the biographical profiles of Sand and Chopin at this fragile historical moment of a hoped-for vacation and health recovery.

Unfortunately, for me, each of these premises promised was only moderately fulfilled. Yes, we got a bit of insight into Chopin's works and thinking, but only bits and pieces. and outside of a few poetic paragraphs, Stevens never really submerges herself into the music itself. The same is true of Sand's writing which gets even more short-changed for details about cow's milk and servant schemes. More is offered on the effect of the cross-dressing Sand making her way through past and present, children often in tow, but even here the camera is largely held at a distance, even with a ghostly protagonist set to explore it more richly.

So while I enjoyed the spark of the story and its read, it was far too brief (pun intended) to fully satisfy, perhaps thinking too self-consciously about its own marketing and the patience of popular readership.