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Nocturne: A Novel
In this haunting, evocative fantasy set in 1930s Chicago, a talented ballerina finds herself torn between her dreams and her desires when she’s pursued by a secretive patron who may be more than he seems.
“An utterly unique, lyrical play on the Persephone and Hades myth for fans of . . . Madeline Miller.”— Booklist (starred review)
Growing up in Chicago’s Little Sicily in the years following the Great War, Grace Dragotta has always wanted to be a ballerina, ever since she first peered through the windows of the Near North Ballet company. So when Grace is orphaned, she chooses the ballet as her home, imagining herself forever ensconced in a transcendent world of light and beauty so different from her poor, immigrant upbringing.
Years later, with the Great Depression in full swing, Grace has become the company’s new prima ballerina—though achieving her long-held dream is not the triumph she once envisioned. Time and familiarity have tarnished that shining vision, and her new position means the loss of her best friend in the world. Then she attracts the attention of the enigmatic Master La Rosa as her personal patron and realizes the world is not as small or constricted as she had come to fear.
Who is her mysterious patron, and what does he want from her? As Grace begins to unlock the Master’s secrets, she discovers that there is beauty in darkness as well as light, finds that true friendship cannot be broken by time or distance, and realizes there may be another way entirely to achieve the transcendence she has always sought.
“An utterly unique, lyrical play on the Persephone and Hades myth for fans of . . . Madeline Miller.”— Booklist (starred review)
Growing up in Chicago’s Little Sicily in the years following the Great War, Grace Dragotta has always wanted to be a ballerina, ever since she first peered through the windows of the Near North Ballet company. So when Grace is orphaned, she chooses the ballet as her home, imagining herself forever ensconced in a transcendent world of light and beauty so different from her poor, immigrant upbringing.
Years later, with the Great Depression in full swing, Grace has become the company’s new prima ballerina—though achieving her long-held dream is not the triumph she once envisioned. Time and familiarity have tarnished that shining vision, and her new position means the loss of her best friend in the world. Then she attracts the attention of the enigmatic Master La Rosa as her personal patron and realizes the world is not as small or constricted as she had come to fear.
Who is her mysterious patron, and what does he want from her? As Grace begins to unlock the Master’s secrets, she discovers that there is beauty in darkness as well as light, finds that true friendship cannot be broken by time or distance, and realizes there may be another way entirely to achieve the transcendence she has always sought.
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First published February 21, 2023
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About the author
Alyssa Wees
3 books322 followersAlyssa Wees's is the author of The Waking Forest, Nocturne, and We Shall Be Monsters. She lives and writes in the Chicagoland area. To learn more about Alyssa and her writing, go to her website alyssawees.com, and follow @alyssa_wees on Instagram.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 774 reviews
July 4, 2024
This book is REAL MAGIC! Glorious and competitive world of ballerinas, kingdom of death consisted of lost souls in pain, an unconventional retelling of Beauty and the Beast sets in 30’s Chicago! I’m absolutely sold! This is more than I expected!
Once upon a time a girl was born in the thick of a plague: her name is Grace Dragotta : she grew like a weed in the garden of death, stubbornly clinging to the soil in the midst of so much tragedy. She got through the Mafia murders, the depression and the hunger. At young age she became orphan, losing her brother and mother.
She plays her violin at the streets to earn money. But only escape from her tragic reality is dancing. Then suddenly her dream to become a famous ballerina comes true!
Under the protecting wings of the mistress, she becomes the prima ballerina of Near North Ballet Company.
She thinks she earned this position with her hard work but she realizes she’s chosen by a mysterious patron named Master LaRosa: a prince who finally supported the ballet company and saved it from bankruptcy in exchange of giving Grace the position of prima ballerina.
Then Grace finds out she has to live with her patron to shoe her appreciation ! She is driven there, sleeping through the way, finding herself at an eccentric mansion located probably in Hyde Park.
From now on she’s going to eat his food, wearing clothes her master will provide. She’ll have access her master’s gallery, library and gardens. In return she will only dance with him: one waltz every Sunday at midnight!
As Grace tries to earn her freedom, she finds herself drawn into this mysterious beast who holds her free will into his hands, taking her to a dreamland called Nocturne where she dances for painful souls.
She can be the queen of this wonderland if she accepts to marry with her master. But what if she may have more lose than her freedom by accepting offer. Will she obey him and give her heart to see her loved ones again at this mysterious land? Will she dance for her master forever?
Overall: this is book lyrical, so unique, tragic fairy tale, heart wrenching fantasy! I absolutely loved it! Especially the epic ending took my breath away!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine/ Del Rey for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
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Once upon a time a girl was born in the thick of a plague: her name is Grace Dragotta : she grew like a weed in the garden of death, stubbornly clinging to the soil in the midst of so much tragedy. She got through the Mafia murders, the depression and the hunger. At young age she became orphan, losing her brother and mother.
She plays her violin at the streets to earn money. But only escape from her tragic reality is dancing. Then suddenly her dream to become a famous ballerina comes true!
Under the protecting wings of the mistress, she becomes the prima ballerina of Near North Ballet Company.
She thinks she earned this position with her hard work but she realizes she’s chosen by a mysterious patron named Master LaRosa: a prince who finally supported the ballet company and saved it from bankruptcy in exchange of giving Grace the position of prima ballerina.
Then Grace finds out she has to live with her patron to shoe her appreciation ! She is driven there, sleeping through the way, finding herself at an eccentric mansion located probably in Hyde Park.
From now on she’s going to eat his food, wearing clothes her master will provide. She’ll have access her master’s gallery, library and gardens. In return she will only dance with him: one waltz every Sunday at midnight!
As Grace tries to earn her freedom, she finds herself drawn into this mysterious beast who holds her free will into his hands, taking her to a dreamland called Nocturne where she dances for painful souls.
She can be the queen of this wonderland if she accepts to marry with her master. But what if she may have more lose than her freedom by accepting offer. Will she obey him and give her heart to see her loved ones again at this mysterious land? Will she dance for her master forever?
Overall: this is book lyrical, so unique, tragic fairy tale, heart wrenching fantasy! I absolutely loved it! Especially the epic ending took my breath away!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine/ Del Rey for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
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February 21, 2023
This book was so overdescriptive and overwritten it was exhausting.
I'm sorry to say, but someone must've kindly told the writer, who has a degree in English, that her prose is so overwrought it's ridiculous, surely? When I first tried her work, I found hers was the purplest prose I had ever read since some French classics, and that she had neglected characterisation and plotting in favour of being so absorbed in finding the next precious words to string together. In Nocturne, Wees has hardly improved on the pretentiousness or the purple.
The first thing you notice is the propensity for using a dozen words where one would suffice and needless wanderings that add nothing to the plot, and that the author overdescribes everything from the colour of the sky to a character's retching to the appearance of snow on a coat, and what's worse, can't create an emotion without going all purple prose and telling us everything about it, with analogies and metaphors that make you feel annoyed for how shallow they are and leaving you with the impression of a whiny main character that can only think of every single thing that crosses her head or her field of vision as if she's some addict to hallucinogens that absolutely has to describe every single little detail. And she comes off as empty, with no depth, no personality. A blank canvas to pour lovely-sounding but ultimately superfluous phrases over. Grace Dragotta has the quality of a receptacle mixed with a human camera.
Then, whilst you're wading through that purple prose mudlake all huffing and puffing, you try to make sense of the plot, which suffers from authorial lack of focus. What is the story here, really? What does this story want to be? I don't know, and I wonder if the author does, too. At first, it looks like Beauty and the Beast, but then all this has of B&B is Grace's imaginings about her patron being a "beast" and a "monster," and him being called La Rosa ("the rose"), which is too thin to be B&B. Is this Phantom of the Opera? It would appear so from the mysterious patronage for a talented artist, but then it's clear that La Rosa is no Erik and Grace is no Christine. She's not been chosen because he is a great connoisseur of ballet that wants to help an unsung talent shine, and she doesn't have an exceptional talent either. So, what is this?
Is this Hades and Persephone? It would make sense, it does make sense as such, what with the Underworld and the kidnapping and the souls, but then this male lead is... how to put it, Death that can be killed. Does that make sense? No. Then, is this Death and the Maiden? Gotcha! You think you've finally hit on the plot driving this... and then there's Death's brother and his love and something about souls needing a guide that can dance and sing them to their proper places in the afterlife and Grace killing Death to become Eternal Life... Are you there still? Have you understood? I haven't, either.
So, this isn't Beauty and the Beast, isn't Phantom of the Opera, isn't Hades and Persephone, and isn't Death and the Maiden. It's shreds of all of them ripped off and sewn together to form a quilt your dog would be offended to be offered to chew on. This has no coherence at all, no goal, no sense, no story to tell. Which is most likely why it's so overdescriptive and overwritten and why all the early reviewers strenuously zoom-in on the lush prose. If all you want is pretty words and no plot, then this is for you.
But not for me. I wanted a story, not to be treated to Alyssa Wees' command of the dictionary or any frustrated poet dreams she may have. I wanted to know Grace, which started interesting enough as an orphan girl in Chicago's Little Italy and ended up being a stereotype of Italians and ballerinas alike. I wanted to see her struggle due to the tragedies that took away her brother and her mother and left her to live off of playing violin in the streets, but we hardly get a few lines of that before she walks into a ballet rehearsal like a sleepwalker and the ballet instructor immediately adopts her and teaches her ballet for no reason at all. Everything is so extremely easy for Grace it defies believability. Nobody threatens her as a homeless child, nobody tries to take advantage of her innocence, everyone just adopts her instantly, and the only people who don't like her is the other ballerina that's her rival for the Prima Ballerina position. Even her patron makes it so easy for her: she's not the best dancer, Emilia is, Beatrice is also implied to be better, but Grace is selected to be the Prima Ballerina because her patron said so. We never see any hints of Grace's talent if any before Mistress bestows on her the title of Prima Ballerina Assoluta, which in real life is so rare only a few ballerinas have got it after a lifetime of dancing, but Grace gets it at merely seven years as a dancer?
The relationship between La Rosa and Grace, that would make for a good Death and the Maiden plot if it had been done well, is also strange. La Rosa doesn't kidnap her, or rather buy her like some expensive pet, because she's a great ballerina, doesn't kidnap her because she's beautiful, doesn't kidnap her because she has an arresting personality. No, he is obsessed with her death. Oh? Death is obsessed with her death, does that mean Grace's death is somehow so very beautiful in a macabre sense or something? No. Death is in love with Grace keeping her death in her heart, because apparently everyone else keeps theirs elsewhere! How does this ever make sense, I'll never know. And then, she ends up killing him, which makes even less sense. I mean, he's Death incarnate! He's not a Koschei the Deathless, who was ultimately a sorcerer that could be killed. He's Death, but somehow he can die. How do you even kill Death itself unless you are God? I'm getting a headache trying to make sense of this mess.
I found Death's brother more interesting, and wish his story with Catherine had more page time instead of being merely filler and a way to serve the heroine's nonsensically manic finale. I can't even describe that ending, not because of spoilers, but because of how utterly overdone and confusing it is. Suffice to say I won't recommend this book to anyone.
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm sorry to say, but someone must've kindly told the writer, who has a degree in English, that her prose is so overwrought it's ridiculous, surely? When I first tried her work, I found hers was the purplest prose I had ever read since some French classics, and that she had neglected characterisation and plotting in favour of being so absorbed in finding the next precious words to string together. In Nocturne, Wees has hardly improved on the pretentiousness or the purple.
The first thing you notice is the propensity for using a dozen words where one would suffice and needless wanderings that add nothing to the plot, and that the author overdescribes everything from the colour of the sky to a character's retching to the appearance of snow on a coat, and what's worse, can't create an emotion without going all purple prose and telling us everything about it, with analogies and metaphors that make you feel annoyed for how shallow they are and leaving you with the impression of a whiny main character that can only think of every single thing that crosses her head or her field of vision as if she's some addict to hallucinogens that absolutely has to describe every single little detail. And she comes off as empty, with no depth, no personality. A blank canvas to pour lovely-sounding but ultimately superfluous phrases over. Grace Dragotta has the quality of a receptacle mixed with a human camera.
Then, whilst you're wading through that purple prose mudlake all huffing and puffing, you try to make sense of the plot, which suffers from authorial lack of focus. What is the story here, really? What does this story want to be? I don't know, and I wonder if the author does, too. At first, it looks like Beauty and the Beast, but then all this has of B&B is Grace's imaginings about her patron being a "beast" and a "monster," and him being called La Rosa ("the rose"), which is too thin to be B&B. Is this Phantom of the Opera? It would appear so from the mysterious patronage for a talented artist, but then it's clear that La Rosa is no Erik and Grace is no Christine. She's not been chosen because he is a great connoisseur of ballet that wants to help an unsung talent shine, and she doesn't have an exceptional talent either. So, what is this?
Is this Hades and Persephone? It would make sense, it does make sense as such, what with the Underworld and the kidnapping and the souls, but then this male lead is... how to put it, Death that can be killed. Does that make sense? No. Then, is this Death and the Maiden? Gotcha! You think you've finally hit on the plot driving this... and then there's Death's brother and his love and something about souls needing a guide that can dance and sing them to their proper places in the afterlife and Grace killing Death to become Eternal Life... Are you there still? Have you understood? I haven't, either.
So, this isn't Beauty and the Beast, isn't Phantom of the Opera, isn't Hades and Persephone, and isn't Death and the Maiden. It's shreds of all of them ripped off and sewn together to form a quilt your dog would be offended to be offered to chew on. This has no coherence at all, no goal, no sense, no story to tell. Which is most likely why it's so overdescriptive and overwritten and why all the early reviewers strenuously zoom-in on the lush prose. If all you want is pretty words and no plot, then this is for you.
But not for me. I wanted a story, not to be treated to Alyssa Wees' command of the dictionary or any frustrated poet dreams she may have. I wanted to know Grace, which started interesting enough as an orphan girl in Chicago's Little Italy and ended up being a stereotype of Italians and ballerinas alike. I wanted to see her struggle due to the tragedies that took away her brother and her mother and left her to live off of playing violin in the streets, but we hardly get a few lines of that before she walks into a ballet rehearsal like a sleepwalker and the ballet instructor immediately adopts her and teaches her ballet for no reason at all. Everything is so extremely easy for Grace it defies believability. Nobody threatens her as a homeless child, nobody tries to take advantage of her innocence, everyone just adopts her instantly, and the only people who don't like her is the other ballerina that's her rival for the Prima Ballerina position. Even her patron makes it so easy for her: she's not the best dancer, Emilia is, Beatrice is also implied to be better, but Grace is selected to be the Prima Ballerina because her patron said so. We never see any hints of Grace's talent if any before Mistress bestows on her the title of Prima Ballerina Assoluta, which in real life is so rare only a few ballerinas have got it after a lifetime of dancing, but Grace gets it at merely seven years as a dancer?
The relationship between La Rosa and Grace, that would make for a good Death and the Maiden plot if it had been done well, is also strange. La Rosa doesn't kidnap her, or rather buy her like some expensive pet, because she's a great ballerina, doesn't kidnap her because she's beautiful, doesn't kidnap her because she has an arresting personality. No, he is obsessed with her death. Oh? Death is obsessed with her death, does that mean Grace's death is somehow so very beautiful in a macabre sense or something? No. Death is in love with Grace keeping her death in her heart, because apparently everyone else keeps theirs elsewhere! How does this ever make sense, I'll never know. And then, she ends up killing him, which makes even less sense. I mean, he's Death incarnate! He's not a Koschei the Deathless, who was ultimately a sorcerer that could be killed. He's Death, but somehow he can die. How do you even kill Death itself unless you are God? I'm getting a headache trying to make sense of this mess.
I found Death's brother more interesting, and wish his story with Catherine had more page time instead of being merely filler and a way to serve the heroine's nonsensically manic finale. I can't even describe that ending, not because of spoilers, but because of how utterly overdone and confusing it is. Suffice to say I won't recommend this book to anyone.
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 16, 2024
Let's start off this review with a little confession, shall we?
I participated in a Readathon this week where one of the prompts was to read the lowest rated book on your TBR. While this isn't the lowest rated book overall, it was the lowest rate ARC that I currently had to read.
Always trying to check off some ARCs, I decided to give it a go, but I didn't go in with high expectations.
Luckily for me, Nocturne turned out to be a pretty great example of why I tend not to look at ratings and reviews before I pick up a book. I know that goes against everything we're doing here, but it's the truth.
Reading is an incredibly subjective activity. Pair the right book, at the right time, with the right Reader and magic can happen. Read that same book when your in a certain mood and it can be a total flop.
I'm clearly the right Reader for this book. This story is set in 1930's Chicago and seamlessly blends Historical Fiction with Dark Fantasy and light Romance.
Our main character is Grace Dragotta, who after being orphaned, ventures out on her own and joins a dancing company. A life she dreamed of. When we meet Grace, she is a teen and on the cusp of being elevated to prima ballerina within her company.
Unfortunately for Grace, raising to this rank is bittersweet. She only gets the role after her best friend, Emilia, leaves her spot as prima to be married. Grace is losing the closest person to her in all the world. She doesn't know how she'll get by without Emilia's comforting presence.
Not long after her ascendancy, Grace receives word from her Mistress that she has caught the eye of a mysterious, wealthy patron. In order to keep her dance house afloat, the Mistress essentially sells Grace to this man.
Grace is forced to live at his estate, only traveling back to the studio to train and perform. There's a lot of whispers about her new life, but Grace tries her best to just get on with it.
As she learns the shocking truth about her patron, it's clear that the life she dreamed for herself will never come to be.
Y'all, I really enjoyed this. It's not a complicated story. It's pretty straight-forward, well-written and the concepts are easy to understand.
I should note that I grew up in dance and playing the violin, the two artistic pursuits that the main character engages in. Having my own personal experience and passions in those two areas did increase my connection to the story. I loved Grace and learning about her life.
This feels very much inspired by Beauty and the Beast. I loved those elements. I wasn't expecting them and every time I would come across something that made me think of that classic tale, it would make me happy.
The relationship between Grace and her Master, was lush and evocative. I really enjoyed the truth of him and what he was offering her. Additionally, I enjoyed the evolution of her feelings for him and her place in his world.
Wees writing is quite beautiful and I liked the way she wrote the initial set-up and then progressed the plot. I thought the pacing of this was fantastic, it kept me engaged the entire way through.
Overall, I found Nocturne to be lyrical, dark and enchanting. Wees successfully swept me up and away into a whole other world. In a way, it felt like a love letter to the healing power of artistic expression. I'm so glad I finally made time for it.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was gorgeous and I look forward to reading more from Wees in the future!
I participated in a Readathon this week where one of the prompts was to read the lowest rated book on your TBR. While this isn't the lowest rated book overall, it was the lowest rate ARC that I currently had to read.
Always trying to check off some ARCs, I decided to give it a go, but I didn't go in with high expectations.
Luckily for me, Nocturne turned out to be a pretty great example of why I tend not to look at ratings and reviews before I pick up a book. I know that goes against everything we're doing here, but it's the truth.
Reading is an incredibly subjective activity. Pair the right book, at the right time, with the right Reader and magic can happen. Read that same book when your in a certain mood and it can be a total flop.
I'm clearly the right Reader for this book. This story is set in 1930's Chicago and seamlessly blends Historical Fiction with Dark Fantasy and light Romance.
Our main character is Grace Dragotta, who after being orphaned, ventures out on her own and joins a dancing company. A life she dreamed of. When we meet Grace, she is a teen and on the cusp of being elevated to prima ballerina within her company.
Unfortunately for Grace, raising to this rank is bittersweet. She only gets the role after her best friend, Emilia, leaves her spot as prima to be married. Grace is losing the closest person to her in all the world. She doesn't know how she'll get by without Emilia's comforting presence.
Not long after her ascendancy, Grace receives word from her Mistress that she has caught the eye of a mysterious, wealthy patron. In order to keep her dance house afloat, the Mistress essentially sells Grace to this man.
Grace is forced to live at his estate, only traveling back to the studio to train and perform. There's a lot of whispers about her new life, but Grace tries her best to just get on with it.
As she learns the shocking truth about her patron, it's clear that the life she dreamed for herself will never come to be.
Y'all, I really enjoyed this. It's not a complicated story. It's pretty straight-forward, well-written and the concepts are easy to understand.
I should note that I grew up in dance and playing the violin, the two artistic pursuits that the main character engages in. Having my own personal experience and passions in those two areas did increase my connection to the story. I loved Grace and learning about her life.
This feels very much inspired by Beauty and the Beast. I loved those elements. I wasn't expecting them and every time I would come across something that made me think of that classic tale, it would make me happy.
The relationship between Grace and her Master, was lush and evocative. I really enjoyed the truth of him and what he was offering her. Additionally, I enjoyed the evolution of her feelings for him and her place in his world.
Wees writing is quite beautiful and I liked the way she wrote the initial set-up and then progressed the plot. I thought the pacing of this was fantastic, it kept me engaged the entire way through.
Overall, I found Nocturne to be lyrical, dark and enchanting. Wees successfully swept me up and away into a whole other world. In a way, it felt like a love letter to the healing power of artistic expression. I'm so glad I finally made time for it.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was gorgeous and I look forward to reading more from Wees in the future!
January 19, 2026
huh
i think i would have enjoyed this book more if it did not take me 4.5 months to read it… something about it was beautiful and magical, but also so incredibly confusing and undecided and odd.
i think i would have enjoyed this book more if it did not take me 4.5 months to read it… something about it was beautiful and magical, but also so incredibly confusing and undecided and odd.
May 24, 2022
An enchanting and lyrical fever dream bursting with dazzling prose and dark romance. NOCTURNE enthralled me.
July 26, 2022
read this in the dead of summer and could practically feel the cold because that's the power of Alyssa for you!!!!
oh hi just casually marking one of my most anticipated books of all time "to read"
if you haven't read Alyssa's THE WAKING FOREST yet, you should do that right. now. to tide you over
oh hi just casually marking one of my most anticipated books of all time "to read"
if you haven't read Alyssa's THE WAKING FOREST yet, you should do that right. now. to tide you over
November 10, 2022
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC!
I didn't realize how much I needed a book like this. Not only does the main character dance, she plays violin???? Which at this point is literally my only personality trait at school????
The writing style of this book was literal magic. The descriptions and emotions just felt so immersive in the most realistic-fantasy-esque way possible. At first, I tended to agree with other reviews I'd read that called the writing too flowery, but as the chapters went on I really fell in love with it.
"Here there were only those who smiled when they said something kind, and those who smiled when they said something cruel.
Mistress was both."
The plot of this book made me want to become a world-renowned performer, because it was just so freaking gorgeous and so...spotlighted?? I'm sure that's not the correct context or meaning of that word, but I took an English final this morning so I'm disregarding all those rules.
This book is spotlighted. It's got this infused aesthetic that makes dance and music seem so extraordinary. Oh, and did I mention that it's basically a cross between a Hades and Persephone story and a Beauty and the Beast retelling? Because it is and it's absolutely gorgeous.
"It was a trick; it had to be. He was only a mirror, no different really from the ones on the walls, reflecting what I so desperately needed to see: a prince in place of a monster, kindness challenging cruelty. An illusion; this was not his true skin. For only a monster would tear a young woman away from her home, flexing his wealth to exert his dominion over her. He did not have to smile for me to know it."
Grace Dragotta, an orphan who has been taken in by Near North Ballet, is promoted to prima ballerina of the corps. Her performance is at the behest of a mysterious, wealthy benefactor who promises to keep the Ballet running in exchange for one thing: Grace. He demands one waltz every Sunday at midnight. Stolen away from her constrained, stultifying world of rehearsals and competition and cramped quarters, Grace is taken by the Master la Rosa to his mansion.
Grace's character development was absolutely stunning. I thought her character was pretty cool in the beginning: she was a determined person who felt a need to get away from the walls of her life. As the book went on and she learned more and more about the worlds outside of her own, her perspective changed into something that I just absolutely adored.
"But when had fear ever stopped me from doing what I must do? I was afraid when Mamma died and left me alone; I was afraid to play my violin for an audience of strangers. I was afraid when Mistress took me in, and I was afraid to perform for the Master. I was afraid of coming here, and afraid of the Master, and afraid of the dark and of the beasts and of the labyrinth. I was afraid to say goodbye to my best friend, my sister.
But all these things I was afraid to do - I did them anyway."
This book was one of the most motivational things I've read this year, and I don't know why. It's a dark, historical fantasy retelling about a ballerina. But at the same time it's just so pretty and haunting and more than a little bit off-putting at times. It made me want to learn how to dance pointe (my ankles and coordination skills say no) and practice violin (my schedule and wrist injury say no).
"Playing violin was like breathing, but dance was the thing that kept my heart beating, wild and free. Breath or blood? Air or ichor? If I had to choose, I chose my heart."
Also, the setting was so new to me. I've been to Chicago a lot of times before, but reading about it during the era of the Great Depression and reading it described in these twisted metaphors was just this overwhelming, slightly Gothic experience.
"I felt like fate as I danced - like something inevitable, unavoidable. Cold, perhaps, but radiant. My shadow was long and touched every single person in that room as I piquéd and promenaded."
Overall, Nocturne was the exact form of escapism I needed. At first, I thought it was a little bit depressing and a little bit overdone; I mean, I was reading about the deathly snowfall in Chicago while on my way to Florida for fall break, so the contrast is more than a little bit ironic.
But this book made me feel the cold, the soreness and the want that ripped through Grace's character. It made me reconsider life and death and music, because it described art forms in such a transcendental way that I never thought could be put into words. Maybe I related to it too personally. Maybe it's because I'm a violinist who does dance and wants to be an author and loves mythology. But this book felt like it was tailored to the parts of my brain that live and breathe dark fantasy.
"I was stuck here, in this world, and there wasn't another one; there wasn't anywhere else I could go. There was nothing beyond this earth with its wonders, pyramids and waterfalls. With its horrors, war and poverty; with its art and cynicism; with its cathedrals and trenches.
Please, please, there has to be more, I thought, I need there to be more."
August 11, 2022
I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance (a wish! granted) to read this book before it comes out. I also like to add: thank god I read this now than paying 20 dollars for a mess.
This book is probably one of the most bizarre books I've read in a while about 'death'. I expected something Phantom of the Opera inspired, since that's what you would think. A 'mysterious' benefactor? Or maybe something bit like Trilby or The Red Shoes? No. Not, not quite.
There is this girl, she had a very bad and traumatic life. Her mother died of illness, her brother was shot on the streets of Chicago in the 40's, and she became an orphan playing the violin in the streets. She also had an obsession with ballet and wanted to be a ballet dancer. So she wandered over to a ballet / opera house, creeped on them for a while until they adopted her and she became a girl in the company.
Over the years she has been hoping to get a prima role. Until one day, it happens, but she ends up getting a patron who starts obsessing over her, buying her gifts and roses. She is not told who they are, but one day she decides to spy on the person who keeps to their box and it's some weird demon with claws and a hooded cape.
This is where it gets messy. Apparently Death is obsessed with this girl - it's never really clear why other than that he fell in love with her 'death'. He starts stalking her and wants her to marry him. He takes her as collateral to his house (Death lives in a townhouse) which is also a gateway to the land of the dead and makes her dance and dance. He has a butler dude who basically is all 'you should not be here, you should deny him' which causes some issues.
I think the problem is that there is a lot of different things grabbed from various 'man in love with a frail, innocent girl' angle. Phantom, Beauty and the Beast, Hades and Persephone, the Maiden and Death, the list goes on. But it's wrapped around in this shit story about a ballerina who has not an ounce of personality and spends so much time moaning and moping about her dead brother and mom. The violin aspect which is also something the author wanted to focus on means little to nothing to the plot, other than she can play. The obsession that death has with ballerinas is ... important, but it's just so weird and apparently he needs her to dance to summon the souls so they don't go wandering all lost in the land of the dead.
The ending is also weird too. Like it's some kind of nod to something? Dunno know what the nod was, it was lost on me and I didn't grasp the outcome.
I've read better stories that have to do with Death. Save your money on this one before purchasing it.
This book is probably one of the most bizarre books I've read in a while about 'death'. I expected something Phantom of the Opera inspired, since that's what you would think. A 'mysterious' benefactor? Or maybe something bit like Trilby or The Red Shoes? No. Not, not quite.
There is this girl, she had a very bad and traumatic life. Her mother died of illness, her brother was shot on the streets of Chicago in the 40's, and she became an orphan playing the violin in the streets. She also had an obsession with ballet and wanted to be a ballet dancer. So she wandered over to a ballet / opera house, creeped on them for a while until they adopted her and she became a girl in the company.
Over the years she has been hoping to get a prima role. Until one day, it happens, but she ends up getting a patron who starts obsessing over her, buying her gifts and roses. She is not told who they are, but one day she decides to spy on the person who keeps to their box and it's some weird demon with claws and a hooded cape.
This is where it gets messy. Apparently Death is obsessed with this girl - it's never really clear why other than that he fell in love with her 'death'. He starts stalking her and wants her to marry him. He takes her as collateral to his house (Death lives in a townhouse) which is also a gateway to the land of the dead and makes her dance and dance. He has a butler dude who basically is all 'you should not be here, you should deny him' which causes some issues.
I think the problem is that there is a lot of different things grabbed from various 'man in love with a frail, innocent girl' angle. Phantom, Beauty and the Beast, Hades and Persephone, the Maiden and Death, the list goes on. But it's wrapped around in this shit story about a ballerina who has not an ounce of personality and spends so much time moaning and moping about her dead brother and mom. The violin aspect which is also something the author wanted to focus on means little to nothing to the plot, other than she can play. The obsession that death has with ballerinas is ... important, but it's just so weird and apparently he needs her to dance to summon the souls so they don't go wandering all lost in the land of the dead.
The ending is also weird too. Like it's some kind of nod to something? Dunno know what the nod was, it was lost on me and I didn't grasp the outcome.
I've read better stories that have to do with Death. Save your money on this one before purchasing it.
August 3, 2024
I actually really loved this book despite the mixed reviews. I love a gothic, ballet fairytale. I loved the fantasy elements as well as a darker spin on the classic Beauty and the Beast. Beautiful book.
March 9, 2023
4.5 stars This book was something magical. What a beautiful twisted fairytale Wees has weaved. A goal of mine in 2023 was to read both more historical and fantasy books and Wees has made me want to read more from both her and the genres. I adored Grace and her journey. I love a story another a woman finding herself and wow cods she have to find herself while she deals with a secretive patron, broken friendships, and becoming and maintaining being the prima ballerina. This books is just haunting, creepy, but beautiful and romantic filled with a dark heart. It’s truly something original that I adored. It’s Phantom of the Opera mixed with Beauty and the Beast and truly feels like nothing I have ever read and I adored it. Thank you to Del Rey for the copy
September 9, 2023
This is such a hauntingly beautiful book! I really enjoyed reading this one. There’s heartbreak, love, suspense, danger, and the supernatural. Which means there’s something for everyone. Grace is our main character and she’s easy to love. Grace is a beautiful ballerina who has goals of being the prima ballerina in her troop.
Her journey is one that is easy get hooked onto and I found myself eager to find out what happens to Grace. I especially enjoyed the romance portion of the book. I also only took off one star because I wasn’t entirely pleased with the ending. I just wanted more.
I highly recommend this read to young adult romance lovers who enjoy the supernatural.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion.
Her journey is one that is easy get hooked onto and I found myself eager to find out what happens to Grace. I especially enjoyed the romance portion of the book. I also only took off one star because I wasn’t entirely pleased with the ending. I just wanted more.
I highly recommend this read to young adult romance lovers who enjoy the supernatural.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion.
July 19, 2024
3 Stars.
By seeing this in the bookstores the past few months I thought at first this was a classic literature, until I saw the release date.
By seeing this in the bookstores the past few months I thought at first this was a classic literature, until I saw the release date.
April 6, 2023
Headlines:
Little bird and the beast
The veil between worlds
Darkly delicious
I saw this book being likened to beauty and the beast and phantom of the opera, having read it, I can see these themes but Nocturne is truly its own story. It was a book full of mystery, twists and turns eroded by darkness and fog. I really enjoyed the dark vibe, occasional horrorish vision and twisted tale it evoked.
The main character, Grace was an orphan of sorts, having experienced life of familial tragedy in the 1930s hardships of Chicago. Grace was a ballerina in a struggling dance company. However, this wasn't only Chicago, there was a foggy veil between two worlds. That otherworldly place was sometimes scary but it became familiar and a place Grace came to want to exist in.
The other main character was the Master, her patron at the dance company. He was a mysterious, unseen character, in a private box at the theatre, sponsoring Grace for an unknown reason. How this story and relationship played out made me trepidatious for Grace but I came to settle into how things evolved. I hated the house and I didn't trust the Master's assistant.
Things got pretty messed up through a unique storyline as the two worlds collided and enmeshed. I couldn't put the second half of the book down. This isn't a neatly tied up story but there's a cleverness and authenticity in where this tale ends.
Thank you to DelReyUk for the review copy.
Find this review at A Take From Two Cities Blog.
Little bird and the beast
The veil between worlds
Darkly delicious
I saw this book being likened to beauty and the beast and phantom of the opera, having read it, I can see these themes but Nocturne is truly its own story. It was a book full of mystery, twists and turns eroded by darkness and fog. I really enjoyed the dark vibe, occasional horrorish vision and twisted tale it evoked.
The main character, Grace was an orphan of sorts, having experienced life of familial tragedy in the 1930s hardships of Chicago. Grace was a ballerina in a struggling dance company. However, this wasn't only Chicago, there was a foggy veil between two worlds. That otherworldly place was sometimes scary but it became familiar and a place Grace came to want to exist in.
The other main character was the Master, her patron at the dance company. He was a mysterious, unseen character, in a private box at the theatre, sponsoring Grace for an unknown reason. How this story and relationship played out made me trepidatious for Grace but I came to settle into how things evolved. I hated the house and I didn't trust the Master's assistant.
Things got pretty messed up through a unique storyline as the two worlds collided and enmeshed. I couldn't put the second half of the book down. This isn't a neatly tied up story but there's a cleverness and authenticity in where this tale ends.
Thank you to DelReyUk for the review copy.
Find this review at A Take From Two Cities Blog.
August 13, 2022
This is not my usual type of review for starters, because this book was “different”
So, I will be rating by Star system alone, with an explanation.
2 stars for that absolutely “STUNNING” cover. Whoever did that artwork is phenomenal! Any girl would love to have that over their bed.
2 Stars for this book reminding me of Rhianna’s song “Disturbia”. I absolutely love that song. So, I had to have enjoyed the book. It was just a bit, “different”
Wees just went all out with this book...
Thank you NetGalley/Alyssa Wees/Random House Publishing Group.Ballantine Del Rey/ for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are of my own volition.
So, I will be rating by Star system alone, with an explanation.
2 stars for that absolutely “STUNNING” cover. Whoever did that artwork is phenomenal! Any girl would love to have that over their bed.
2 Stars for this book reminding me of Rhianna’s song “Disturbia”. I absolutely love that song. So, I had to have enjoyed the book. It was just a bit, “different”
Wees just went all out with this book...
Thank you NetGalley/Alyssa Wees/Random House Publishing Group.Ballantine Del Rey/ for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are of my own volition.
August 25, 2022
There is a great gothic fairytale hidden in this book, but it's buried under heaps and HEAPS of hyperbole and mixed metaphors. This book needs a thick, black, editor's sharpie taken to it, Victor Vale style. If all the excess were deleted, there would be a beautiful and tragic story underneath, with many homages to ballet and the theater woven together.
However, the line between Homage and Derivation gets blurry. While Parts 1 and 3 made heavy nods to Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and The Firebird in a way that felt thematic and appropriate....Part 2 felt like a straight up rip-off of A Court of Thorns and Roses, which itself is highly derivative of Disney films and classic fairytales. Death was like a Tamlin-Rhys combo with practically zero personality; the occasional act of aggression or devotion but no banter, no heart. And his duplicity of Grace in order to keep/gain a kingdom is clearly ripped from Tamlin's motives. Also, the descriptions of Death and his secret, beautiful kingdom, where darkness is many-faceted and even comforting, is a clear ripoff of Rhys and Velaris.
Also....has this author seen Princess Tutu?.... Because I have. And the end of the book, where Grace realizes Death and Sleep's feud over Catherine IS the plot of the ballet The Little Bird, and our hero Gracie is completely irrelevant to their story, but chooses to fight with her art regardless....That feels A LOT like the ending of Princess Tutu. "Hey, I might not be in your story, I might not be destined to get the prince, I might just be a little duck...but I won't let evil win! I will Art my heart out, until Evil is driven back!"
I also got Pan's Labyrinth vibes from the final chapter. Our hero becomes the new royal ruler of the afterlife, all the creepy fairytale beasts she encountered were just people in disguise, and in reality the hereafter is beautiful and bright and all her loved ones are there, and it's ok that she's dead! The End!
So, if all the excessive elements were stripped away.... And all of the stolen elements were stripped away... There IS still some original writing here that's good... But it needs a massive rewrite. More Showing instead of Telling. More dialogue and character interactions instead of Grace Explains It All. More characterization of the brothers Death and Sleep. More character growth... A story can't be told in metaphors and homages alone, there has to be a core that people care about, and that core starts at the heart of the characters. I don't feel like I know Death. I don't really pity Sleep. And Grace is vain and dramatic, somebody I want to see humbled; pride goeth before a fall and all that. Give the audience someone to root for, pass or fail.
But that's a bitter pill. Saying "Your book would be amazing, if you completely changed it" is not a ringing endorsement :/. I hope, with editing, this book comes into its own, because it really could be something amazing if given a chance to refine.
However, the line between Homage and Derivation gets blurry. While Parts 1 and 3 made heavy nods to Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and The Firebird in a way that felt thematic and appropriate....Part 2 felt like a straight up rip-off of A Court of Thorns and Roses, which itself is highly derivative of Disney films and classic fairytales. Death was like a Tamlin-Rhys combo with practically zero personality; the occasional act of aggression or devotion but no banter, no heart. And his duplicity of Grace in order to keep/gain a kingdom is clearly ripped from Tamlin's motives. Also, the descriptions of Death and his secret, beautiful kingdom, where darkness is many-faceted and even comforting, is a clear ripoff of Rhys and Velaris.
Also....has this author seen Princess Tutu?.... Because I have. And the end of the book, where Grace realizes Death and Sleep's feud over Catherine IS the plot of the ballet The Little Bird, and our hero Gracie is completely irrelevant to their story, but chooses to fight with her art regardless....That feels A LOT like the ending of Princess Tutu. "Hey, I might not be in your story, I might not be destined to get the prince, I might just be a little duck...but I won't let evil win! I will Art my heart out, until Evil is driven back!"
I also got Pan's Labyrinth vibes from the final chapter. Our hero becomes the new royal ruler of the afterlife, all the creepy fairytale beasts she encountered were just people in disguise, and in reality the hereafter is beautiful and bright and all her loved ones are there, and it's ok that she's dead! The End!
So, if all the excessive elements were stripped away.... And all of the stolen elements were stripped away... There IS still some original writing here that's good... But it needs a massive rewrite. More Showing instead of Telling. More dialogue and character interactions instead of Grace Explains It All. More characterization of the brothers Death and Sleep. More character growth... A story can't be told in metaphors and homages alone, there has to be a core that people care about, and that core starts at the heart of the characters. I don't feel like I know Death. I don't really pity Sleep. And Grace is vain and dramatic, somebody I want to see humbled; pride goeth before a fall and all that. Give the audience someone to root for, pass or fail.
But that's a bitter pill. Saying "Your book would be amazing, if you completely changed it" is not a ringing endorsement :/. I hope, with editing, this book comes into its own, because it really could be something amazing if given a chance to refine.
February 13, 2023
Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
Nocturne by Alyssa Wees is a fantasy, about a young girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina set in Chicago from the end of World War I, through the great depression.
Story Recap:
Grace Dragotta had a rough life growing up in Chicago. Orphaned at a young age, and then her brother is brutally murdered by the gangs in Chicago, Grace plays the violin for money on a street corner, but she really wants to become a ballerina. After hanging out near the North Ballet Company, they take her in and train her to become a ballerina.
Eventually, she becomes the Prima Ballerina because she has a benefactor. The mysterious benefactor takes her into his huge home and only asks that she dance with him every Sunday evening. Who is her mysterious benefactor and why did he choose her?
My Thoughts:
The first part of this book reads like historical fiction, we learn about Grace and how she grew up. We see how hard she works to become a ballerina and her relationship with her best friend and fellow ballerina, Emilia. We meet Mistress, the matriarch of the Ballet company see how she rules the girls. This first part of the story is mostly straightforward as we learn about Grace’s life as a ballerina, but there is an air of mystery that made me uncomfortable and anxious to find out what more would happen next.
The book's second part is more about the Master or the benefactor. Things start to get more mysterious as the Master keeps his identity secret from Grace. We know not all is clear with the Master, but I had to read and find out what happens next.
I loved this beautifully written fantasy.
Recommendation:
I highly recommend Nocturne to anyone who enjoys fantasy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Nocturne by Alyssa Wees is a fantasy, about a young girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina set in Chicago from the end of World War I, through the great depression.
Story Recap:
Grace Dragotta had a rough life growing up in Chicago. Orphaned at a young age, and then her brother is brutally murdered by the gangs in Chicago, Grace plays the violin for money on a street corner, but she really wants to become a ballerina. After hanging out near the North Ballet Company, they take her in and train her to become a ballerina.
Eventually, she becomes the Prima Ballerina because she has a benefactor. The mysterious benefactor takes her into his huge home and only asks that she dance with him every Sunday evening. Who is her mysterious benefactor and why did he choose her?
My Thoughts:
The first part of this book reads like historical fiction, we learn about Grace and how she grew up. We see how hard she works to become a ballerina and her relationship with her best friend and fellow ballerina, Emilia. We meet Mistress, the matriarch of the Ballet company see how she rules the girls. This first part of the story is mostly straightforward as we learn about Grace’s life as a ballerina, but there is an air of mystery that made me uncomfortable and anxious to find out what more would happen next.
The book's second part is more about the Master or the benefactor. Things start to get more mysterious as the Master keeps his identity secret from Grace. We know not all is clear with the Master, but I had to read and find out what happens next.
I loved this beautifully written fantasy.
Recommendation:
I highly recommend Nocturne to anyone who enjoys fantasy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
August 11, 2022
A magical winter read. All I can say without giving spoilers is that if you love the starless sea, you will love nocturne. I’ll do a more thorough review closer to release.
Why does this have to come out in 2023 and not now? 😭
Thank you to Del Rey Publishing for the arc.
Why does this have to come out in 2023 and not now? 😭
Thank you to Del Rey Publishing for the arc.
March 31, 2023
this book is so metaphorically and lyrically written that it felt like a fever dream reading it (not in a bad way by any means).
it kinda gives phantom of the opera, beauty and the beast, with a little dash of belladonna.
it kinda gives phantom of the opera, beauty and the beast, with a little dash of belladonna.
September 19, 2023
Es como un sueño febril. Empieza con la decadencia de Chicago, diez años después de la caída de la bolsa del 29. Sigue con el miedo a las calles que no acaban de ser seguras, con el hambre, con el frío, con el pánico a no ser lo suficientemente buena. Porque Grace se deja la piel en cada actuación. Da igual cuánto le duela la piel, se levanta del suelo. Y sigue.
Antes de ser bailarina, tocaba el violín en la calle. Era un sonido que desgarraba por dentro, que abría un poquito el alma, que acariciaba y mordía. Todo a la vez.
Grace tiene miedo. Ha llegado el día de saber si será la bailarina principal, la prima; y puede que lo consiga. Porque lo merece. Lo merece, ¿verdad? Ha trabajado muy duro. Y Emilia, la antigua prima, se va porque se casa, porque se le cae el teatro encima, porque bailar, para ella, ya no es suficiente.
Se cierra la puerta a sus espaldas. Grace mira a la directora. Y espera. Pero, a veces, esperar sólo hace que haya más abismos. Que el tiempo se dilate, se contraiga, se desestabilice.
Cuando era pequeña, vio cosas complicadas de explicar. Y vio la muerte demasiadas veces: su madre, su hermano, su vecino - el que le enseñó a tocar el piano. - Cada pérdida era una herida que no dejaba de sangrar, una cicatriz que, a veces, supura dolor.
Tal vez consiga el papel. Tal vez, las cosas cambien. Y tal vez, se dé de bruces con una realidad completamente imposible que, pese a todo, la ata en corto.
He adorado esta novela. Es… demasiado siendo tan poco, un grito helado que te estremece por dentro. Porque es cruda, afilada, perfecta. Tan perfecta que me pregunto cómo, en tan poquito, cabe tanto. No quiero contar nada más - la gracia es llegar a ciegas y enamorarse del camino que recorre Grace -, pero, si tenéis oportunidad, leedla.
Antes de ser bailarina, tocaba el violín en la calle. Era un sonido que desgarraba por dentro, que abría un poquito el alma, que acariciaba y mordía. Todo a la vez.
Grace tiene miedo. Ha llegado el día de saber si será la bailarina principal, la prima; y puede que lo consiga. Porque lo merece. Lo merece, ¿verdad? Ha trabajado muy duro. Y Emilia, la antigua prima, se va porque se casa, porque se le cae el teatro encima, porque bailar, para ella, ya no es suficiente.
Se cierra la puerta a sus espaldas. Grace mira a la directora. Y espera. Pero, a veces, esperar sólo hace que haya más abismos. Que el tiempo se dilate, se contraiga, se desestabilice.
Cuando era pequeña, vio cosas complicadas de explicar. Y vio la muerte demasiadas veces: su madre, su hermano, su vecino - el que le enseñó a tocar el piano. - Cada pérdida era una herida que no dejaba de sangrar, una cicatriz que, a veces, supura dolor.
Tal vez consiga el papel. Tal vez, las cosas cambien. Y tal vez, se dé de bruces con una realidad completamente imposible que, pese a todo, la ata en corto.
He adorado esta novela. Es… demasiado siendo tan poco, un grito helado que te estremece por dentro. Porque es cruda, afilada, perfecta. Tan perfecta que me pregunto cómo, en tan poquito, cabe tanto. No quiero contar nada más - la gracia es llegar a ciegas y enamorarse del camino que recorre Grace -, pero, si tenéis oportunidad, leedla.
February 21, 2023
Edit: this book was released today, but I am knocking down my rating from a 3 to a 1.5. The fact is, I remember nothing about this book except a feeling of dissatisfaction when finishing it. I hope that this book works for other readers, but it was not for me personally.
(also, for the sake of my pride, I like to believe that my reviews have gotten a little better since last August)
This book had one strength, but a lot of weaknesses. The prose in this book was hauntingly beautiful. I have so many quotes underlined that I would love to share, just because of how vividly it is written. I was completely immersed in the world and able to picture it in exact detail. Not only was the world described, but the character's feelings and thoughts as well.
However, the writing was the only intriguing part of the book. The plot was unoriginal, an odd mix between Beauty and the Beast, Hades and Persephone, and Phantom of the Opera. The characters had no depth, which made it hard to care about what was happening to them. The romantic plot line fell flat, ironically being the most unbelievable part of the magical world. It felt like the author wanted to just write beautiful descriptions, but pretty writing is not enough to make a book great.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
(also, for the sake of my pride, I like to believe that my reviews have gotten a little better since last August)
This book had one strength, but a lot of weaknesses. The prose in this book was hauntingly beautiful. I have so many quotes underlined that I would love to share, just because of how vividly it is written. I was completely immersed in the world and able to picture it in exact detail. Not only was the world described, but the character's feelings and thoughts as well.
However, the writing was the only intriguing part of the book. The plot was unoriginal, an odd mix between Beauty and the Beast, Hades and Persephone, and Phantom of the Opera. The characters had no depth, which made it hard to care about what was happening to them. The romantic plot line fell flat, ironically being the most unbelievable part of the magical world. It felt like the author wanted to just write beautiful descriptions, but pretty writing is not enough to make a book great.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
January 3, 2024
3.5 stars
Nocturne is beautifully written, there's no doubt about that. It reads like a fairy tale or a greek myth, with decadent imagery and poetic diction. There are elements of Phantom, Beauty and the Beast and a little dash of Black Swan. (Fair warning though, there is *NO* romance plot here - or next to none, so if that's what you're looking for, you will be disappointed).
My main problem with it, and the reason it only got 3.5 stars, is that I think Wees was too focused on making pretty sentences. The plot became unclear, and the message she was trying to get across got muddled up with too much conflicting and changing imergery. Lyrical writing only works when there's a balance with plot and action, otherwise you might as well just write a poem. I found myself bored more often than not, to the point where this short book felt like it was way longer.
There was also the fact that one of the main descriptors for the book was that it's set in 1930's Chicago, but from reading it you would barely be able to tell. There are a few mentions of the Depression, and I think the metaphors do make sense as they pertain to that time in history, but again, this is very unclear in the book. You could have told me it was set anywhere between 1890-1950 in any major American or British city and I wouldn't have questioned it.
Overall a beautiful read, but you have to be very much in the mood for something that is less plot-driven and more imagery-driven.
Nocturne is beautifully written, there's no doubt about that. It reads like a fairy tale or a greek myth, with decadent imagery and poetic diction. There are elements of Phantom, Beauty and the Beast and a little dash of Black Swan. (Fair warning though, there is *NO* romance plot here - or next to none, so if that's what you're looking for, you will be disappointed).
My main problem with it, and the reason it only got 3.5 stars, is that I think Wees was too focused on making pretty sentences. The plot became unclear, and the message she was trying to get across got muddled up with too much conflicting and changing imergery. Lyrical writing only works when there's a balance with plot and action, otherwise you might as well just write a poem. I found myself bored more often than not, to the point where this short book felt like it was way longer.
There was also the fact that one of the main descriptors for the book was that it's set in 1930's Chicago, but from reading it you would barely be able to tell. There are a few mentions of the Depression, and I think the metaphors do make sense as they pertain to that time in history, but again, this is very unclear in the book. You could have told me it was set anywhere between 1890-1950 in any major American or British city and I wouldn't have questioned it.
Overall a beautiful read, but you have to be very much in the mood for something that is less plot-driven and more imagery-driven.
July 11, 2022
Nocturne was an absolute beautiful fairytale that I couldn’t stop reading. Grace was such a likeable MC and I couldn’t stop myself from rooting for her. This story is beautifully woven with its detailed descriptions of places that I truly felt THERE. The twist at the end I did not see coming and the ending was very satisfying!
March 11, 2023
Nocturne reads like a fever dream—more of a visceral aesthetic impression than a cohesive plot, but I’m not mad about it! It combines bits and pieces of Beauty and the Beast, the Phantom of the Opera, and the story of Koschei the Deathless. I liked the Russian influence and the blurry way Grace slipped between worlds. Unsettling and beautiful!
January 4, 2025
I want to like this book, but it was really just a mess. Don’t start your year off by reading this.
March 5, 2023
Actually fantastic. I really wasn't sure about this at the beginning. Its new I figured give it a try. I didn't expect this so be so beautiful and haunting. A story about a girl and her beast. Not a love story. A nightmare and a dream. This is something I didn't want to put down. And as unsure as I was from the beginning something I will gladly read again one day when my memory dulls. I highly suggest this to literally everyone. It's quick, it keeps going it's a refreshing read
December 29, 2022
This week I opened up Nocturne by Alyssa Wees, a gift granted to me by the publishers Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and Del Rey via NetGalley. I know absolutely nothing about ballerina-ing (that’s a word right?), but I loved the summary of this book so I decided to wish for it.
My wish was granted and I received a free copy of the book. The review below is reflective of my honest and voluntary opinions.
What I liked about the book:
1. That cover is gorgeous. Something about it is breathtakingly haunting and so avant-garde that I knew I was hooked after seeing it.
2. Overall, I liked the idea behind this story. I don’t want to spoil too much, but this definitely had a mythological feel to it, which I was absolutely crazy for! I love stories within stories and the worldbuilding that goes into fantasy-laden stories is usually so interesting to me. This was no exception.
3. Overall, I did enjoy the lyrical writing style the author employed. There were A LOT of descriptors used on the simplest of things. If done right, I absolutely love this approach. To me, it’s why I love Orwell and Bradbury: taking a simple thought or topic and strangling words out of it until you feel every word connecting you to the story; as though every word breathes fresh energy into you. However, if done wrong, it just feels exhausting.
I see a lot of reviews for this book with this as a critique. To me, I did not mind, and even enjoyed, the writing style. What I did not enjoy was waiting so long to understand where those beautiful words were taking me (see item 1 in the “What could have been better” section).
What could have been better:
1. What at times was reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, The Phantom of the Opera, and Hades and Persephone, somehow managed to feel uneventful. I was waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen, for some big reveal to come, for the other ballet slipper to drop, and it didn’t really do it for me when it did. Instead of being a large *BANG!* of excitement, the “reveal” was a slow *fizzzzzzzle*. It was pretty easy to figure out early on what it was going to be, but then it wasn’t really satisfactorily done in my opinion.
On top of this, I felt like the main story didn’t really take off until about 55-60% of the way through the book. I swore when we were this deep into the story and she had just started meeting the other MCs, that this was going to be a duology. So, of course, I stopped reading and scoured Goodreads and the author’s website to see when the next book was going to come out. End result: this isn’t a duology, it just wasn’t set up well. With all the fluff in the front of the book and the meat of the book not really happening until the last half, it was hard to become attached to any of the characters or the plot.
2. My biggest gripe was the character development. Bottom-line, there wasn’t any for 2 of the 3 main characters. For a book praised as a “dark romance” and a “lush gothic romance that will dance you dizzy”, I found exactly zero romance in this thing, which makes sense when you realize the author only expands on one character for the entire book.
Furthermore, I did not feel a connection to the main character, Grace. She wasn’t annoyingly perfect or relatedly flawed; she wasn’t over the top silly or fiery fierce. She just was, which I found a bit boring for a main character that acted as really the sole character for such a large amount of the book.
3. As much as I loved the mythological feel, I didn’t feel like we got enough backstory into it. I would much rather have focused on the deal between the brothers and who they were as characters, than read over and over again how this chick wanted to jump out of a window.
Final Rating: 2.5 stars
My wish was granted and I received a free copy of the book. The review below is reflective of my honest and voluntary opinions.
What I liked about the book:
1. That cover is gorgeous. Something about it is breathtakingly haunting and so avant-garde that I knew I was hooked after seeing it.
2. Overall, I liked the idea behind this story. I don’t want to spoil too much, but this definitely had a mythological feel to it, which I was absolutely crazy for! I love stories within stories and the worldbuilding that goes into fantasy-laden stories is usually so interesting to me. This was no exception.
3. Overall, I did enjoy the lyrical writing style the author employed. There were A LOT of descriptors used on the simplest of things. If done right, I absolutely love this approach. To me, it’s why I love Orwell and Bradbury: taking a simple thought or topic and strangling words out of it until you feel every word connecting you to the story; as though every word breathes fresh energy into you. However, if done wrong, it just feels exhausting.
I see a lot of reviews for this book with this as a critique. To me, I did not mind, and even enjoyed, the writing style. What I did not enjoy was waiting so long to understand where those beautiful words were taking me (see item 1 in the “What could have been better” section).
What could have been better:
1. What at times was reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, The Phantom of the Opera, and Hades and Persephone, somehow managed to feel uneventful. I was waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen, for some big reveal to come, for the other ballet slipper to drop, and it didn’t really do it for me when it did. Instead of being a large *BANG!* of excitement, the “reveal” was a slow *fizzzzzzzle*. It was pretty easy to figure out early on what it was going to be, but then it wasn’t really satisfactorily done in my opinion.
On top of this, I felt like the main story didn’t really take off until about 55-60% of the way through the book. I swore when we were this deep into the story and she had just started meeting the other MCs, that this was going to be a duology. So, of course, I stopped reading and scoured Goodreads and the author’s website to see when the next book was going to come out. End result: this isn’t a duology, it just wasn’t set up well. With all the fluff in the front of the book and the meat of the book not really happening until the last half, it was hard to become attached to any of the characters or the plot.
2. My biggest gripe was the character development. Bottom-line, there wasn’t any for 2 of the 3 main characters. For a book praised as a “dark romance” and a “lush gothic romance that will dance you dizzy”, I found exactly zero romance in this thing, which makes sense when you realize the author only expands on one character for the entire book.
Furthermore, I did not feel a connection to the main character, Grace. She wasn’t annoyingly perfect or relatedly flawed; she wasn’t over the top silly or fiery fierce. She just was, which I found a bit boring for a main character that acted as really the sole character for such a large amount of the book.
3. As much as I loved the mythological feel, I didn’t feel like we got enough backstory into it. I would much rather have focused on the deal between the brothers and who they were as characters, than read over and over again how this chick wanted to jump out of a window.
Final Rating: 2.5 stars
July 16, 2023
I won this book in the Goodreads book giveaways; thank you to Goodreads, Random House Book Club, and Alyssa Wees! I am thankful for the opportunity to try a new author and genre I don’t read as often.
I would give Nocturne a 3.5 rating (rounded up to 4 stars) for a good read with an interesting storyline and characters. The first part of the book was a little hard to read because while I enjoyed the story, it was a tad bit overwritten with literary techniques. Sometimes less is more. As I read further though, I got used to the writing style, and I found myself more into the story rather than focusing on all the metaphors and similes. It definitely kept my interest, and I would read another book by Alyssa Wees.
*I received this book as a free giveaway, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*
I would give Nocturne a 3.5 rating (rounded up to 4 stars) for a good read with an interesting storyline and characters. The first part of the book was a little hard to read because while I enjoyed the story, it was a tad bit overwritten with literary techniques. Sometimes less is more. As I read further though, I got used to the writing style, and I found myself more into the story rather than focusing on all the metaphors and similes. It definitely kept my interest, and I would read another book by Alyssa Wees.
*I received this book as a free giveaway, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*
February 6, 2023
Lesson learned: avoid books that are marketed as "lyrical"
Until seeing one mentioned in the acknowledgments section, I was thinking that maybe this book/author didn't have an editor....
I'd estimate about 75-80% of the book is just the author using as many words as possible to make things sound as 'pretty' as possible. And much of the time, the obnoxiously overly-described parts don't make any sense at all if you stop to think about them for even a fraction of a second. One theory: the author wanted to repurpose a creative writing assignment, something along the lines of "how many ways can you describe silence?", and then tried to fit a story around that.
Sadly, what little story did make it into the book isn't very good, either.
*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC*
Until seeing one mentioned in the acknowledgments section, I was thinking that maybe this book/author didn't have an editor....
I'd estimate about 75-80% of the book is just the author using as many words as possible to make things sound as 'pretty' as possible. And much of the time, the obnoxiously overly-described parts don't make any sense at all if you stop to think about them for even a fraction of a second. One theory: the author wanted to repurpose a creative writing assignment, something along the lines of "how many ways can you describe silence?", and then tried to fit a story around that.
Sadly, what little story did make it into the book isn't very good, either.
*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC*
January 23, 2023
i was lucky to receive an ARC for this and i got to read it while it was still snowy outside which made it an even better reading experience. such a magical wintery read (although it would be wonderful any time of the year)!
i thought this book was beautifully written, both unsettling and enchanting. the author did a great job with the pacing as well; getting straight to the point without skipping over too much. i read it in a couple sittings. also had a couple twists near the end that got me, which is always fun.
i would highly recommend to anyone, but to those who love winter reads, myths and fairytales, or dance/ballet, this book is especially for you!!
i thought this book was beautifully written, both unsettling and enchanting. the author did a great job with the pacing as well; getting straight to the point without skipping over too much. i read it in a couple sittings. also had a couple twists near the end that got me, which is always fun.
i would highly recommend to anyone, but to those who love winter reads, myths and fairytales, or dance/ballet, this book is especially for you!!
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