Book Review: Phantom’s Dance by Lesa Howard

About the Book:
PDCover
Christine Dadey’s family uprooted their lives and moved to Houston for her to attend the prestigious Rousseau Academy of Dance. Now, two years later, Christine struggles to compete among the Academy’s finest dancers, her parents are on the brink of divorce, and she’s told no one about her debilitating performance anxiety and what she’s willing to do to cope with it.Erik was a ballet prodigy, a savant, destined to be a star on the world’s stage, but a suspicious fire left Erik’s face horribly disfigured. Now, a lonely phantom forced to keep his scars hidden, he spends his nights haunting the theater halls,mourning all he’s lost. Then, from behind the curtain he sees the lovely Christine. The moldable, malleable Christine.Drawn in by Erik’s unwavering confidence, Christine allows herself to believe Erik’s declarations that he can transform her into the dancer she longs to be. But Christine’s hope of achieving her dreams may be her undoing when she learns Erik is not everything he claims. And before long, Erik’s shadowy past jeopardizes Christine’s unstable present as his obsession with her becomes hopelessly entangled with his plans for revenge.

About the Author:
Lesa
I’m not the typical author. I didn’t always enjoy reading or writing. While in school, I found it to be a chore I’d just as soon skip. I would rather have been daydreaming, my favorite past time. It wasn’t until I grew up and didn’t have to, that I realized reading was fun. I soon discovered that reading fueled my daydreaming. So, remembering a short story I’d written in high school, I began imagining expanding that story into a book. Before long I found I had loads of ideas for not just the short story but other books and stories as well. Fast forward a few years, a lot of studying about writing, practicing my writing, studying some more, taking classes from people who knew what they were doing, studying and practicing yet more, and ta-dah, author! In the same way I had learned I loved reading, I learned I loved writing, too. It’s just that writing is a lot harder than reading.

My Thoughts:

A wonderful retake on the Phantom of the Opera, this story is well written and has the right amount of suspense to keep the reader hooked. The story follows Christine as she works hard to be ready for an audition and her encounter with the “phantom”. The “phantom” seeks Christine out and starts helping her with her dancing.

The beauty of the story lies in the way it is written. We are given a glimpse into the world of ballet and the amount of effort and work that goes into it. It is an art, a form of dance that relies not only on the person’s ability to balance but also to emote and be the character. All the characters in this story are talented but we are shown that each has some reservations and decisions to make. Christine’s decision regarding her love for ballet and the relationship with her boyfriend and her parents form the crux of the story.

A well written story, this will send chills down the reader’s spine and also shows how circumstances and incidents can change a person. It also portrays how a person’s decision in some situation can affect his/her life and the lives of the people around. This is definitely worth a read for those who enjoy suspense coupled with romance.

2 thoughts on “Book Review: Phantom’s Dance by Lesa Howard

  1. Wow, a rave review. Nice. I was both wary and excited when I saw that this was a retelling of the Phantom of the Opera. Because, on one hand, I love the Phantom of the Opera novel, and I would hate if it disappointed, but excited because it’s a chance to read something that relates to the Phantom of the Opera! Woo! Hopefully I can go get it myself 🙂

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