What do you think?
Rate this book
The Phoenix of the Opera #2
Out of the Darkness: The Phantom's Journey
Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, has escaped the hangman's noose and fled Paris for Italy with his bride, Meg. But the Phantom cannot so easily escape the demons that haunt him. Self-doubt and despair lead to a quarrel with Meg, who injures herself running from him. Despite his tender ministrations, when she comes to, Meg screams upon seeing the Phantom unmasked. Erik flees. The Phantom's journey takes him back to the sordid carnival-and the trauma-of his youth, to the luxurious home of the cruel and decadent nobleman Don Ponzio and his desperate and beautiful wife Lucianna, and to a battle between the man and the monster within. While Erik finds himself trapped in a complex weave of seduction and violence, Meg, recovered from her injury, is beset by suitors, one of whom is the handsome yet ominous Giovanni. But Meg longs for one man only. Will she draw Erik back to her? Can she inspire the Phantom to love himself and her enough to create a life together? Will Giovanni prove an obstacle to their happiness? Out of the Darkness continues the story of Sadie Montgomery's dark hero, his beloved Meg, and their stalwart friends Raoul and Christine.
- GenresFiction
230 pages, Paperback
First published July 2, 2007
2 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 21, 2022
The Phantom's story continues in this gem of a novel. I really enjoyed this story, and I believe it is a must-read for the Phans out there.
Literally the only thing I didn't like was the constant switching up of tenses. I prefer a novel to be written in one tense and one tense only.
Nonetheless, The Phantom of the Opera has held and will always hold a special place in my heart, and Sadie did a wonderful job carrying on not only the legacy that is The Phantom, but all the legacy characters connected to him.
Literally the only thing I didn't like was the constant switching up of tenses. I prefer a novel to be written in one tense and one tense only.
Nonetheless, The Phantom of the Opera has held and will always hold a special place in my heart, and Sadie did a wonderful job carrying on not only the legacy that is The Phantom, but all the legacy characters connected to him.
October 24, 2019
Great story that continues the movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. Characters are well developed. The story is compelling. The erotic bits are tastefully done. Easily addicting.
April 10, 2024
When I write a book review I do not like to give a opinion, since tastes differ. But I do like to offer some info that might help people decide if this book might be an interesting read for them.
The story seems to originate from the 2004 movie. Things are described as having happened exactly like in that particular movie ( and that do not appear in the original leroux story or the alw stage musical) The phantom character is also described like in the movie, a half disfigured face and for the rest handsome and sexy.
I personally prefer a book written in the style of an all-knowing narrator. My second choice are I-narrator or third person narrator. But this style of writing I have never come across and to be honest, I find very confusing. I will try to explain it.
There are descriptive parts in normal tekst, a little like a all- knowing narrator but without names and the dialogue not quoted but described. So you get things like: she was sitting in the chair and looked out of the window . A man servant came in and asked her if she was okay.
There are also extensive inner musings of characters in cursive text. But if musings follow a scene description they are not always the musings of the one in the scene before.
Further there are letter from main characters to each other.
The first two chapters are with time jumps and very confusing due to the style of writing. In these two chapters its only still mostly a aftermath of the story in the movie.
At the start of chapter three the real story begins and the prozastyle also changes enough to be easier to read. There are less time jumps and the all- knowing parts contain more dialogue and names.
Let's see if I can describe the story without giving away any clues. It starts about two years after the events in the opera house. The main characters The Phantom, Raoul, Christine and Meg are still in Paris. There is a reasonable part for Madame Giry also. Its a story about several persons trying to pursue an unrequited love and dealing with jealousy and loss. There also is a character named with the surname Leroux. But it does not feel like its done to honor the original creator of the phantom of the opera story because the character is very unpleasant and partly serves as the phantom's nemesis.
The phantom character is not too bad but I prefer a phantom with more power and cunning genius. This phantom is wallowing in self pity and puppy dog stalking, except for a few scene's in which he rises above that.
The ending is not really happy but also not sad. But probably written that way so it could be continued in part two.
The story seems to originate from the 2004 movie. Things are described as having happened exactly like in that particular movie ( and that do not appear in the original leroux story or the alw stage musical) The phantom character is also described like in the movie, a half disfigured face and for the rest handsome and sexy.
I personally prefer a book written in the style of an all-knowing narrator. My second choice are I-narrator or third person narrator. But this style of writing I have never come across and to be honest, I find very confusing. I will try to explain it.
There are descriptive parts in normal tekst, a little like a all- knowing narrator but without names and the dialogue not quoted but described. So you get things like: she was sitting in the chair and looked out of the window . A man servant came in and asked her if she was okay.
There are also extensive inner musings of characters in cursive text. But if musings follow a scene description they are not always the musings of the one in the scene before.
Further there are letter from main characters to each other.
The first two chapters are with time jumps and very confusing due to the style of writing. In these two chapters its only still mostly a aftermath of the story in the movie.
At the start of chapter three the real story begins and the prozastyle also changes enough to be easier to read. There are less time jumps and the all- knowing parts contain more dialogue and names.
Let's see if I can describe the story without giving away any clues. It starts about two years after the events in the opera house. The main characters The Phantom, Raoul, Christine and Meg are still in Paris. There is a reasonable part for Madame Giry also. Its a story about several persons trying to pursue an unrequited love and dealing with jealousy and loss. There also is a character named with the surname Leroux. But it does not feel like its done to honor the original creator of the phantom of the opera story because the character is very unpleasant and partly serves as the phantom's nemesis.
The phantom character is not too bad but I prefer a phantom with more power and cunning genius. This phantom is wallowing in self pity and puppy dog stalking, except for a few scene's in which he rises above that.
The ending is not really happy but also not sad. But probably written that way so it could be continued in part two.
February 22, 2020
There’s a LOT, and I mean A LOT going on. I never thought I could hate Erik as much as this. Erik throughout the book claimed that he loved Meg, but he could NOT keep his hands off other women. While he was in an inn with Meg, he sneaked out to the stable to talk to some horses. Unexpectedly, he met Lucianna who apparently flirted with him and made him aroused. He came back to his wife and suddenly he’s in the mood to have a go at it. The audacity of seeking something so physical when what inspired it was another woman. He doesn’t deserve shit!
How Meg seemed to never be enough apalled me! Okay, he felt like he didn’t deserve it that’s why he kept pushing her away but really? He has time to be concerned with women he didn’t even love—some of which are strangers—but he neglected his wife?! Get a grip!
He gets caught up with his past and wow, that was really tragic. He got sexually assaulted at a young age, but that was not all! He saw Lucianna as a spectator along with her husband, Don Ponzio, who loved strange creatures and was a certified pervert.
Now, what really gets my blood boiling is that Lucianna is a rapist. She drugged him with medicated wine and did the deed when he was asleep and not in the right mind. Her goal was to be pregnant as she already miscarriaged before. HOWEVER! Doing that with no absolute consent from Erik—it sickened me! I felt so bad for Erik...What sickened me more was that Erik still wanted to associate with her some time after and they came to an affair. Of course, her husband already knows of it and her wife even made a show for him and his friends as he did it with Erik. Erik, of course, was unaware at first but he finally realized.
My point was the fact that Lucianna raped Erik got swept under the rug. I will never understand how Erik still has respect for her and dare I say, their relationship got so much romanticized. This made no absolute sense!!! Just.....no.
Love and hate with this series so far. Love because the book has affected me to the point of crying. Hate because...it seemed to be a jumble of angsty mess. Everyone is full of shit. I am absolutely disgusted about what Lucianna did and the fact that Erik still cared for her. I am NOT looking forward to Lucianna’s appearance in the next book. At all.
How Meg seemed to never be enough apalled me! Okay, he felt like he didn’t deserve it that’s why he kept pushing her away but really? He has time to be concerned with women he didn’t even love—some of which are strangers—but he neglected his wife?! Get a grip!
He gets caught up with his past and wow, that was really tragic. He got sexually assaulted at a young age, but that was not all! He saw Lucianna as a spectator along with her husband, Don Ponzio, who loved strange creatures and was a certified pervert.
Now, what really gets my blood boiling is that Lucianna is a rapist. She drugged him with medicated wine and did the deed when he was asleep and not in the right mind. Her goal was to be pregnant as she already miscarriaged before. HOWEVER! Doing that with no absolute consent from Erik—it sickened me! I felt so bad for Erik...What sickened me more was that Erik still wanted to associate with her some time after and they came to an affair. Of course, her husband already knows of it and her wife even made a show for him and his friends as he did it with Erik. Erik, of course, was unaware at first but he finally realized.
My point was the fact that Lucianna raped Erik got swept under the rug. I will never understand how Erik still has respect for her and dare I say, their relationship got so much romanticized. This made no absolute sense!!! Just.....no.
Love and hate with this series so far. Love because the book has affected me to the point of crying. Hate because...it seemed to be a jumble of angsty mess. Everyone is full of shit. I am absolutely disgusted about what Lucianna did and the fact that Erik still cared for her. I am NOT looking forward to Lucianna’s appearance in the next book. At all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2009
Well. I am torn with this book. Loved it and became semi-appalled by it I did.
In Sadie Montgomery's The Phantom's Journey: Out of the Darkness, (book 2 in The Phoenix of the Opera series) we return to Erik and his new bride, Meg Giry, making their way over the French border into Italy, where they hope to reside and live a normal, quiet life. Meg hopes for this more than Erik does, because he still does not trust people in general, believing they are the same everywhere, as most prove to be in this book.
Before they arrive at their new home (a beautiful villa), which Raoul helped them to get, Meg suffers an accident when she finally loses her marbles due to Erik's coldness towards her. After giving her husband a well deserved beating, she runs off into the woods and takes a fall. Erik, genuinely worried for his wife's health, spends most of his days and nights at her side, praying she will be alright so he can start fresh with her and their relationship. (There's nothing like a health-rattle to a loved one to make you see how much you really care!) When Meg awakens, delusional from a fever and severe head injury, upon seeing Erik without his mask, she begins screaming uncontrollably, causing Erik to flee the villa, and her life for around three to four years.
He returns to his *roots* and comes across a few old faces and memories he'd rather keep buried deep down inside. While there in the traveling fair, he sees a recent past face (Lucianna) and ends up going to her home to help her rid herself of her perverted cruel husband. Which he succeeds at, after experiencing a few (disgusting) deceptions and surprises from husband and wife alike. When he is through there, and manages to dodge the clutches of Lucianna, he returns to Meg with Lucianna's somewhat reluctant help. While he was trying to find the right time to make himself known, I couldn't help but wonder if Lucianna had something up her sleeve, I was glad to see she didn't, but she makes a return in the next book, and it looks like she gets her way with her same old deceitfulness. But I will pause that speculation for the review of the next book, whenever I get to it, and actually buy it!
Anywhoozer, to wrap this up quickly, Erik and Meg overcome even more turbulence in their relationship, even when he finds he must flee again, to Rome, and finds himself in a theater, again. Only in a better way this time, the fear of him as a mad ghost is not there (thankfully), and Meg (and their son!) have resolved to join him there. & That is where this part of the series ended.
Even though I loved and hated this book for the way the plot went (trouble just loves that awesome phantom - hell, I'd follow him everywhere he went too if I could!) and even though I felt the writing could have been better, I can't wait to get on to the next part.
In Sadie Montgomery's The Phantom's Journey: Out of the Darkness, (book 2 in The Phoenix of the Opera series) we return to Erik and his new bride, Meg Giry, making their way over the French border into Italy, where they hope to reside and live a normal, quiet life. Meg hopes for this more than Erik does, because he still does not trust people in general, believing they are the same everywhere, as most prove to be in this book.
Before they arrive at their new home (a beautiful villa), which Raoul helped them to get, Meg suffers an accident when she finally loses her marbles due to Erik's coldness towards her. After giving her husband a well deserved beating, she runs off into the woods and takes a fall. Erik, genuinely worried for his wife's health, spends most of his days and nights at her side, praying she will be alright so he can start fresh with her and their relationship. (There's nothing like a health-rattle to a loved one to make you see how much you really care!) When Meg awakens, delusional from a fever and severe head injury, upon seeing Erik without his mask, she begins screaming uncontrollably, causing Erik to flee the villa, and her life for around three to four years.
He returns to his *roots* and comes across a few old faces and memories he'd rather keep buried deep down inside. While there in the traveling fair, he sees a recent past face (Lucianna) and ends up going to her home to help her rid herself of her perverted cruel husband. Which he succeeds at, after experiencing a few (disgusting) deceptions and surprises from husband and wife alike. When he is through there, and manages to dodge the clutches of Lucianna, he returns to Meg with Lucianna's somewhat reluctant help. While he was trying to find the right time to make himself known, I couldn't help but wonder if Lucianna had something up her sleeve, I was glad to see she didn't, but she makes a return in the next book, and it looks like she gets her way with her same old deceitfulness. But I will pause that speculation for the review of the next book, whenever I get to it, and actually buy it!
Anywhoozer, to wrap this up quickly, Erik and Meg overcome even more turbulence in their relationship, even when he finds he must flee again, to Rome, and finds himself in a theater, again. Only in a better way this time, the fear of him as a mad ghost is not there (thankfully), and Meg (and their son!) have resolved to join him there. & That is where this part of the series ended.
Even though I loved and hated this book for the way the plot went (trouble just loves that awesome phantom - hell, I'd follow him everywhere he went too if I could!) and even though I felt the writing could have been better, I can't wait to get on to the next part.
March 27, 2009
I liked Sadie's series. She took the characters places and directions that I wouldn't have taken them had I been writing the stories. But that made the books interesting.
January 4, 2012
I was so happy with both these books. The emotional roller coaster the characters go through will have you alternately hoping then crying. Will read these again.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews