moyarb's reviews
309 reviews

This was supposed to be a horror, but nothing is happening even at the halfway point. 

This was an interesting, fast-paced read. I appreciated that none of the characters (except the villain) were assholes. I get so tired of thrillers/horror stories with groups of people in a situation like this and one or two are unlikable and make things harder for the other characters. These characters actually are friends and like each other which helped me root for them. 

My only criticism is the layout of the location was very confusing sometimes. I had trouble envisioning where the characters were. It felt like the author had never been into a mall before. A map would’ve not only helped, but it would’ve fit the theme too!

I only knew The Phantom of the Opera by name only, never having read the book or seen any adaptations including the musical. I loved the atmosphere and compared to other classics, this was one of the easier ones to read. Since this felt like it was through Raoul’s POV, I saw this as someone witnessing a close friend/loved one experiencing an abusive relationship. The epilogue felt like a last ditch effort to “humanize” Erik. It was hard to feel sympathetic when throughout the book he was emotionally abusive and literally kidnapped Christine. He’s an interesting villain, but I went in thinking he was a tragic character. I really hate the villain with a tragic backstory trope because nowadays y’all will adore a white man even when he’s a piece of shit.