Our Strange Duet

by Erin A. Craig

A reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, spotlighting Christine Daaé as she rises to fame while torn between love, ambition, and the haunting secrets of the opera house from #1 New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig, in a deluxe hardcover edition.

Inspired by Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, Le Fantôme de L’Opéra, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a mysterious masked figure who lurks beneath the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with a young soprano, Christine Daaé, and devotes himself to nurturing her extraordinary talents, employing all of the devious methods at his command. Our Strange Duet centers Christine’s emotional journey and her agency within this sweeping, atmospheric opera.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Retellings, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Gothic, Horror

390 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2026

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig has always loved telling stories.

After getting her B.F.A. from the University of Michigan, in Theatre Design and Production, she stage managed tragic operas with hunchbacks, séances, and murderous clowns, then decided she wanted to write books that were just as spooky.

An avid reader, decent quilter, rabid basketball fan, and collector of typewriters, brass figurines, and sparkly shoes, Erin makes her home in West Michigan with her husband and daughter.

To find out more about Erin and the worlds she creates, follow @penchant4words on Instagram and Threads.

She is represented by Sarah Landis at Sterling Lord Literistic.

Reviews

[Erin Craig]

Wildly excited to welcome you all to the Opera Populaire… it’s stranger than you remember it……

[Andi]

EDIT: 101 of you! And it keeps growing... Now thanks to goodreads rolling out .25 and .50 stars, this gets .25.

I am so glad I didn't pay a cent for this. I like to thank my friend who gave me a physical copy.

I'm not going to talk about my background with Webber and Leroux Phantom, if you know me you know me. What I am going to talk about is this book and how it is a completely different piece than the musical it is based off of. It is as if Webber spoke to Mrs. Craig and said "so I've been thinking, I absolutely hated how these bits go down in the show now that Love Never Dies is existing, can you re-write them?" And of course, she obliged to it. In changing the narrative of a few characters and rearranging events from the show, we have a book that has the outcome of Christine choosing Erik instead of Raoul.

The fact that we are using the Phantom film's Opera Populaire is bothersome.
Since the Opera Populaire is now here instead of the Garnier, the author can't seem to choose historical or fantasy. She uses the name of a cafe across from the Garnier several times but it would not be across the street from the Opera Populaire - since the Opera Populaire does not exist. This Opera Populaire is also suffering from the same issues that the Garnier has with their underground lake (however she has indicated this one gets the run off from the Seine, where the Garnier does not). Because we are adding Love Never Dies, we are also changing the time of the musical and the events at the Opera house to 1895. The author references several Russian Operas that were not popular to France until after 1900's (Eugene Onegin for one) that its as if she drew the opera out of a hat because she needed an opera to put there. Along these lines, the location of the scarf fetching has changed. In the novel the scarf fetching took place in Brittany, in here it is changed to Normandy (cannot tell if it's because we're honoring the Battle of Normandy which will take place in about 45 years). In conjunction to the use of the novel, she also chooses to give the Phantom the name Erik. The Webber musical never gives him a name, but she chooses the name Leroux has given the Phantom. She could have given him any other name but comes back to Leroux.

Those who appreciate Raoul will be not surprised (that since we are accounting for Love Never Dies) any shred of decency from Raoul is gone. Gone are Raoul's genuine care and devotion for Christine, it is replaced by liking her to that of a bauble to show off. There is also the inclusion of gambling, drinking, and the alluding to of scandalous activities. He is very superficial and quick to jump to thought without a second glance. (He also takes her to visit his now alive mother who gives her a shake down and tells her she's nothing more than a fling.)

Meg's future in Love Never Dies is heavily alluded to here. She gets jealous of Christine's suitor, the love triangle, and Christine's apparent good fortune with regards to her voice. She blows up at Christine and blames Christine for her lack of a job for six months (post chandelier fall), and then in the same breath asks Christine on how to get with the Phantom so he could make her a star. After this they are not on speaking terms until post musical events. (There is also the fact Meg becomes a dancer at Moulin Rogue because she and her mom need money.)

Mrs. Craig also rearranges events from the musical in order to fit the narrative (of Love Never Dies). Christine is told of Erik's history (not Raoul), giving her some sort of... reason... to why she makes the decision she does in the end. And what I mean by that is that Christine willingly, 100% without a doubt, chooses the Phantom. In the musical and the book, Christine chooses Erik to free Raoul because she has no other choice. In this, she chooses him because she believes genius and madness are one in the same and that if people like Mozart could be both, what makes them so different than Erik? (This is also given leverage to the fact that she does not witness the Phantom killing Joseph Buquet - his death is now up to interpretation if the Phantom killed him. Same with Piangi, too. He has five other deaths he is responsible from that were caused when he dropped the chandelier.) She is willing to go with Erik but is told to go with Raoul, leaving her upset that Erik is choosing to let her go instead.

On that same note, there is an addition of a sex scene in the form of a dream (which could be almost ambigious) where she finds out Erik's name... to confront him of it when she's awake and when he asks how does she know she goes "I just know". (?)

There is also the fact that several songs are now real songs within the world of Opera Populaire. Music of the Night is no longer a song to the audience of the Phantom expressing his feelings for Christine, it is now a love song about Psyche and Eros in a Greek opera he is writing about. The song Masquerade is now the chorus singing a song about... a masquerade. It would have been nice to nix these additions or simply not sing them out in the text.

This book was just a really upsetting piece and so much work is being put into it thanks to the audio cast it has and the publicity it has gained (thanks to Webber's company). I felt as though I'm watching what Disney did to Star Wars only happen with Phantom. Do I like it? Not really. Can I do anything about it? No. Can I share my opinions? Of course. So here they are. It's funny that Hal Prince is given a nod in the acknowledgements where I'm pretty sure that (if alive) he would have been rolling his eyes (he was not a fan of Love Never Dies nor the changes made to the show to incorporate it before his passing). Gillian Lynne didn't get a nod, but I am sure she would have been kind of aghast seeing some of her choreography made into the text along with bits and pieces of the film.

My last bit, and probably my favorite part (and only part of this entire book) is Raoul literally gives Christine the choice of wanting to still marry him. She chooses because they seem to have undergone some shared trauma. Thus, making clearing the path for Love Never Dies. So in the end, she causes her own death... funny how that all works out.

PS: Shout out to the tacky Hot Topic ring that Erik has instead of the black and gold (or silver) ring from the stage show. This one has a skull with ruby eyes, lol.

EDIT: Seeing more reviews about how accurate this is to the stage show is taking me out. Did we even see the same show? Stop. You know damn well Raoul was told the backstory by Madame Giry and not Christine. Also, Christine clearly saw the Phantom hang Joseph Buquet. Lets not whitewash his character just to get him to end up with Christine.

[S {Semi-Hiatus}]

*Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review!*

4.25 stars!

Erin Craig is one of my favorite authors, so I was already excited to have received a copy of thid book, and a Phantom of the Opera retelling always makes me curious. Phantom of the Opera retellings are always so eerie and deliciously readable, and Our Strange Duet was exactly that. I ended up devouring it in one sitting.

The atmosphere was haunting, mysterious, romantic, and just the right amount of unsettling. Erin Craig is so good at creating dark and beautiful worlds that completely pull me in, and this book was no exception. I loved getting swept up in the story and honestly wish I could read it again for the first time.

Another Erin Craig book that I know I’ll be thinking about for a long time.
_____________________________
A Phantom of the Opera reimagining by Erin A. Craig... and I already have an advanced copy? This has to be a dream.

[Liana Gold]

Nothing like young love! This is a reimagining of Phantom of the Opera!!
A rising soprano with a gift is torn between two loves--a childhood friend and a mysterious masked figure that lurks beneath the Opera House. She must decide who she is and what she is willing to risk for the life she wants.


Many thanks to NetGalley, Random house Childrens Books/Delacorte Press and the author, Erin. E. Craig for an early copy!

Publication date: September 1, 2026

[Alex Z (azeebooks)]

stop trying to make Love Never Dies happen!!!!!

(does this book canonize the fact that the phantom drinks black drip coffee? in Paris in the 1800s?)

[ellie]

— 3.5 ☆ .ᐟ 🪶 spoiler free + mini review
⤷ i cant wait to see these characters grow even more
arc

⋆˚࿔ 92nd review of the year

⌗ ꒰ my thoughts ꒱ 🎭
⤷ okay this was a really pleasant surprise! and the perf read to start my autumn month with 🤭💐 i really appreciated how fast paced, intense, and unique this book was. I need more books that have to do with theater, espc if it can be spooky hehe. ALSOO this reminded me havily of 'a stage set for villains' and ive been dreaming of finding more books with that same vibe so this was great!

unfortunately i didn't connect with the characters as MUCH as i wanted to 😭 but they its fine, you can't feel deep for everyone! in the end, im happy i got the opproitunity to read this and i will def watch the musical now 🙂‍↕️🤞 see you with my next autumn read! (THANK YOU UNDERLINED!!)

---------------

💌 — pre-read .ᐟ ⌗

𐔌 ♯┆9.21.26
⤷ happy fall yall!! so happy to be reading this and its out now! thank you underlined 🤞 i def wanna try the movie that this is based off of! (phantom of the opera)

[Monica Thomason]

I am a fan of the musical and I personally feel like this book doesn’t add much. I was expecting there to be something new, that changed the story of the Phantom of the Opera. Instead, I got the musical in book form.

You could argue we got more of Christine’s actual thoughts but I feel like that is portrayed when actress act the part of Christine. You SEE her indecision. Her hesitation. Every production I have seen has portrayed Christine’s complexity perfectly. I have felt like I understood her thoughts.

I just wish this book added something that changed the story, making me think a different way about the musical. But it didn’t.

[Starr ❇✌❇]

*Review to come*

[Denise Ruttan]

I do appreciate Erin A. Craig's writing style, though I felt lukewarm about her last book. I was, however, eager to see her take on the Phantom of the Opera from Christine's point of view, because she's been a Phan ever since 8th grade band class, and she worked in theatrical productions for a number of years. I would not say I'm a Phan, I don't have the Swiftie-levels of obsessive devotion that they do, but I'm more of a casual fan. I also saw the musical for the first time this year, so I was intrigued to try this, as this is also authorized by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Plus what a gorgeous cover.

If you're a Phan who doesn't ship anyone in particular, you ship Christine/Erik, or don't know anything about the stage production, you may enjoy this more than I did. It was basically a copy of the musical in book form with slight variations, and Raoul and Christine do end up together and until the attempted forced marriage with Erik, I felt it treated their love respectfully. The end, however, killed this for me. Christine never has any agency and never really chooses between the two men who love her. Raoul is her safe choice, and Erik is the toxic, obsessive lost puppy whom she burns for. I liked Erik in the musical because he had mystery and he had the lost puppy in spades (I love a man who's a broken lost puppy), but in this he is cruel and manipulative, and it is a darker version of him.

I didn't want Christine to end up with either of them, and in the musical I loved her choice of Raoul even if I could ship either of them. I prefer Christine/Raoul. But the way they ended up, they didn't have any passion or fire, and they just had their halcyon summer love and not the reality of living together from very different class backgrounds. Christine also gave up singing to be with him. It didn't feel like a HEA, it felt like a HEA with regrets.

My issue with a lot of m/f romance is that it centers the man in the woman's life and she can't do anything without a man taking care of her. I felt this way about this author's last book too. In my dream Christine POV, she is a stronger woman than this weak, lovesick, angsty thing who gives up her dreams for the security a man can bring, no matter whom she ultimately chooses.

I also loved the stage production because it was a play within a play, and I felt we got none of that here because we got too much of their inner thoughts. This was too straightforward of a musical in book form.

It was, however, dripping with Gothic atmosphere, the author's theatrical background really shone through, and it was full of melodrama just like the musical.

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. It just didn't quite match the magic and mystery of the stage production.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bookishness]

Soft DNF at 30%

It was gothic and enchanting with a beautifully haunting atmosphere, maybe right book wrong time!!

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is]

Thank you PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook! Thank you Getunderlined for the opportunity to read and review.

I loved the audiobook for this story. It has a full cast with opera singing and music. There are also audio animations. Definitely will listen to this story again.

This story followed Christine. Her dad was a famous musician but played his music at a cafe instead. He passed away early and Christine moved in with a family friend. She taught ballerinas and so her daughter Meg and Christine both are dancers at the opera house. The opera house is rumored to have been haunted by the opera ghost aka the Phantom of the Opera. He knew of Christine and took it upon himself to give her singing lessons. When the lead singer Carlotta took to the stage to play the starring role, the Phantom of the opera didn't like it and caused troubles.

Once Christine took over the starring role in the musical and sing, her fame took off. She has an amazing life with her childhood sweetheart Raoul who came to see the musical and recognized Christine as the girl he met while he was on holiday with his family.

One thing I dislike is Christine insta love with every guy she has a close contact with. She spent months with the Phantom of the opera Eric for her singing lessons and became desperate for him and his touch. But when Raoul showed up in her life, she also became desperately in love with him. The second thing I don't like about Christine is her quick decision to toss her dreams of singing aside as soon as the possibilities of being a wife seems better. Before that, she said her dreams were to sing when she was a dancer. She changed her love for guys and careers as fast as the weather.

Other than that, the story was good. Raoul sounds like a good guy only exists in books who shower his love with clothes, flowers, vacation, and all happiness money can buy. He seems to earn his money through gambling.

The French pronunciation in this audiobook is awesome. The deluxe edition of this book is gorgeous!

[Alιce ♥♠]

ahh so very excited about this 🥀

[Nenia Campbell]

Just inject it into my veinsssss

[Maddie]

I'm so disappointed. I'm a huge theater kid. I was so excited for this book. I love phantom, the book looks beautiful. I was so excited.

This book is just Love Never Dies propaganda. And I'm sorry, but no one will ever convince me that Love Never Dies is good.

[Mikey]

I absolutely loved Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig! As someone who loves The Phantom of the Opera, I was so excited to read a reimagining that puts Christine Daaé at the center of the story, and this book did not disappoint.

I loved getting to experience the story through Christine and seeing more of her thoughts, emotions, dreams, and ambitions. Instead of simply being caught between Raoul and the Phantom, Christine truly feels like the heart of the story. Her complicated feelings toward both men made the romance even more interesting. Raoul represents warmth, safety, and the possibility of a happy future, while the Phantom brings this darker, mysterious, obsessive connection that makes their relationship so fascinating.

The atmosphere was probably one of my favorite things about the book. The Opera House felt beautiful, glamorous, mysterious, and haunting all at once. Erin A. Craig really captured that gothic feeling I wanted from a Phantom of the Opera retelling. There were moments where I could practically picture the stage, the costumes, the candlelight, the hidden passageways beneath the Opera House, and of course, the Phantom lurking somewhere in the shadows.

I also really enjoyed watching Christine grow throughout the story. She isn’t just someone’s love interest or the beautiful soprano with an incredible voice. This is her story, and I loved watching her discover what she wants for herself while dealing with love, ambition, fame, and everything happening around her.

One thing I highly recommend is listening to The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack while reading this book! It made the entire experience so much better for me. Having songs like “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Music of the Night,” “All I Ask of You,” and “The Point of No Return” playing while I read made certain scenes feel even more dramatic and emotional. It almost felt like I was watching the musical while reading the book.

Our Strange Duet was romantic, gothic, emotional, atmospheric, and beautifully haunting. I really loved and enjoyed this book, and I didn’t want to leave the world of the Opera House when it was over. If you’re a fan of The Phantom of the Opera, gothic romance, or retellings that give familiar characters a chance to tell their own story, I definitely recommend picking this one up.

An easy 5 stars for me!

[MyNeverEndingTBRList]

I am really struggling with how to rate this one...

The audiobook was amazing. I loved the full audio production, especially having the songs playing in the background while listening. It really made the experience feel special.

However, I have seen the movie and the stage musical many, many times, and I went into this expecting a retelling with different twists and a fun new take on a story I already love. Unfortunately, I just don't feel like this added anything new for me.

I think Craig is extremely talented, and I have really enjoyed her other books, which is probably why I feel so torn about this one. I wanted to love it more than I did.

3 stars

[Jenni Howell]

Oh my GOSH I was wandering around the house reading this obsessively and singing to myself. The lyrics to my favorite Phantom songs are embedded so seamlessly into this book that sometimes I was humming the tune before I even realized why. A stunning dive into Christine's story, and a must-read for all Phantomheads!

[meg ✨]

Overall Rating: 2 stars

Characters: 3 stars
Setting: 2.5 stars
Plot: 3 stars
Themes: 2 stars
Personal Enjoyment: 2 stars
Emotional Impact: 2 stars

Would I recommend this book? No

As a huge fan of the stage production and the 2004 Phantom of the Opera film, I was convinced this retelling was going to feel like it was made for me. I am so disappointed to report that I was wrong in that assumption. Though I pictured Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, and Patrick Wilson in my head for much of the book, even that could not keep me invested in this story.

Unfortunately, my biggest struggle with “Our Strange Duet” was the pacing. Too much time was spent on Christine's internal monologue and there were numerous scenes that didn't feel as though they advanced the plot in any meaningful way. Much of the new material also felt like filler between recognizable moments from the original story, which made it increasingly difficult for me to maintain interest. I found myself struggling to pick the book up, and by the final quarter, I was skimming simply to reach the conclusion.

The retelling itself was a mixed experience. The familiar pieces worked largely because I already loved the source material. The author successfully recreated or borrowed enough recognizable moments that I could easily picture the stage production and the 2004 film playing in my head as I read. Unfortunately, the adaptation felt strongest when it was leaning on the story I already loved, while the newly developed material wasn't compelling enough to make me invested in this particular interpretation of it.

The romance was similarly complicated for me. Christine and Raoul's lack of chemistry didn't necessarily bother me on its own, since the story clearly intends for their relationship to contrast sharply with Christine's connection to Erik. Raoul and Christine's history stems largely from a brief summer romance when they were teenagers, and their relationship felt appropriately surface-level as a result. The book was very clear about how differently Christine felt about Erik, describing the way he could set her aflame in a way Raoul never could. Their shared love of music, emotional intimacy, and Erik's intense obsession with Christine were all intended to create that sense of a powerful, almost consuming connection. I understood what the story was trying to establish, but unfortunately, knowing Christine was supposed to feel that intensity didn't always make me feel it alongside her.

I also struggled to connect with Christine as a character. At times, her decisions felt irrational, naive, or inconsistent, and while the story generally provided explanations for her motivations, I didn't always find those motivations emotionally convincing. I could understand why Christine was making a particular choice without necessarily understanding why she would feel compelled to make it, which made it difficult for me to be invested in her journey.

On a more positive note, I don't think the author's writing style itself was the issue for me. On a sentence-by-sentence level, I found the prose perfectly readable, and there were certainly moments where the writing was effective. My problem was that the storytelling never managed to hold my attention. I was rarely eager to find out what would happen next, rarely felt a sense of urgency, and ultimately found the reading experience much more of a chore than I had hoped.

By the time I reached the end, I felt both relieved and disappointed. Relieved to finally have reached the conclusion, but disappointed that so much of the story ultimately led to such a lackluster payoff. Most notably, Christine's ending did not feel particularly satisfying to me. Even while contemplating wedding flowers, she was still looking for Erik everywhere she went, which made it difficult to believe that she was genuinely content with the life she had chosen. Rather than feeling like a meaningful resolution to the emotional conflict at the heart of the story, the ending left me feeling that Christine was settling rather than finding happiness.

Ultimately, I think this book simply wasn't the Phantom retelling I was hoping it would be. There are elements here that I appreciated, particularly the recognizable moments from the original story and the author's ability to recreate some of that familiar atmosphere, but they weren't enough to overcome the pacing and characterization issues that made this such a difficult read for me. As someone who came into this with a deep love for the story and film that inspired it, I truly wanted to fall in love with this interpretation. Unfortunately, I spent far more time trying to get through it than enjoying the journey.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Special thanks to Random House, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for providing an eARC.

[Avery]

I looooooooooooove phantom of the opera and I saw this in the story and then the pretty drawings and I had to 😩

[Fifi’s Bookshelf]

This is a MUST read for Phantom fans. This was so good I stayed up until 3 reading it and I’ve missed unputdownable books like that! As someone who’s read basically everything Erin has written (I love her brand of dark fairytales) I knew she was perfect for writing Christine’s story. This perfectly captures Christine’s naivety, her innocence, her goodness, her softer and more understated type of strength.

I mean, I have my hyperfixation characters that I don’t stray from. Namely characters I feel like I can relate to. Snow White, Juliet Capulet, Winnie Foster, and yes, Christine Daae. These four characters are somewhat similar, in that they all radiate gentleness, naivety, sweetness, and youthful innocence. And this book brought to life Christine’s persona very well. It felt very much true to her.

I went into this thinking this would make it clear that Love Never Dies is canon in this book’s universe (based on other reviews I read) but after reading the ending, now I’m not so sure. I hope it’s not. Because that would be super depressing. Anyways.

This book makes you feel the same way the play does. The tone, the atmosphere, it’s all so true to the play. Erin captured Phantom’s aesthetic perfectly. I loved getting to know one of my hyperfixation characters even better. I want mooooooore

[MillennialMomReading]

Absolutely obsessed with this one on audio! Phantom of the Opera was my first Broadway show experience as a teenager, and this did not disappoint. I LOVED the deep dive into Christine’s psyche by getting to hear HER voice in it. The audiobook production is amazing-it’s a full cast performance with music included and I truly feel like this book should be experienced this way by everyone. If you love Phantom, you need this. If you love immersive audiobook productions but haven’t seen Phantom, go read a synopsis of Phantom and THEN listen to this. So good!

[RavenCantRead]

Our Strange Duet

Erin A. Craig does it again! A masterful and beautifully written gothic YA retelling of The Phantom of the Opera from the perspective of our beloved heroine Christine Daae!

When I first heard that Erin was given the reins for this story I was THRILLED! Nobody does atmospheric/gothic YA like Erin A Craig! And you know when ALW gives someone the helm to help expand this story…you can trust that judgement!

This is so beautifully done! Christine’s story is expanded on, her relationship with Raoul and her life before the Opera Populair. We also get to know the inner workings of her mind and her complicated feelings surrounding Erik, The Phantom, her Angel of Music. We see her conflict, her desire and confusion, the feelings of betrayal but her reaction to his music. It’s all written so beautifully while still maintaining the naive and optimistic voice that a woman like Christine would have.

Erin also does a magnificent job of intertwining the lyrics from the show throughout without it feeling heavy handed or like I’m just reading the lyric book. There are even a few nods to Love Never Dies (iykyk) that I screeched at!

If you are like me and are a HUGH Phan of Phantom of the Opera this will tick all the right boxes! I laughed (the managers keep their whimsy) I cried (the monkey music box makes his appearance) and I immediately put on the 25th anniversary and laughed and cried some more!

Thank you so much to Penguins Random House Childrens Books / Delacorte Press and Erin A Craig for the e-ARC, you’ve made this theatre kids heart soar!

[CBW]

This book was the love letter to phantom of the opera I desperately needed. It’s a gorgeous combination of both the musical and the film that adds extra elements that expands on the characters and helps make some of their decisions make so much more sense. Getting a peak into Christine’s mind and seeing how her thoughts play into her choices was such a joy. I read this book while listening to instrumentals of the soundtrack and it was everything to me. I wish I could put into words how much I enjoyed this book. Plus for the hardcore fans, it leads to the set up of Love Never Dies, letting the Christine and Erik fans have their moment of knowing what comes next.

[Emily Pallotta]

I’m feeling a little conflicted on my rating here because it was an easy 5 star right up until the literal epilogue in which it immediately lost a full star just for making me live with the implications of the words “beneath a moonless sky (if you know you know). But I’ve decided that’s not Erin Craig or this book’s fault so I’m not gonna hold it against it enough to fully lower my rating.

As someone who has been in love with Phantom of the Opera for over a decade– who once had a shrine to the musical in my room, who’s read the Leroux novel countless times and seen nearly every adaptation, who used to have a top 10 list of performers who’d played each character, who once performed the entire musical with my friend in her basement complete with costumes and backdrops to livestream on twitch, who has written Phantom fanfics that had hundreds of thousands of reads, who once ran an instagram account literally called “ourstrangeduet,” I feel uniquely qualified to review this book. I am so, so grateful to have been chosen to receive the arc from NetGalley.

Although this is certainly not the point of the book I want to say that Erin Craig understands the character of Raoul in a way that VERY FEW people do. I mean, in a way that I truly thought only me, my group chat, and one Mr. Jordan Donica did. I went into this book expecting to eye roll at the Raoul portrayal because he’s such a widely misunderstood character, but he was written perfectly, with every complex facet of who he is but the loving and heroic heart of gold at the center of it. As someone who has always loved Raoul, it made my heart so happy to see him handled with so much care when it would’ve been much easier to villainize him.

The portrayal of Erik in this book was also extremely spot on. Erik is a hard character to portray well– he’s extremely complex, and most people fall into the trap of leaning too far into either romanticizing him or villainizing him. The only proper way to pull him off is to land in the gray area in the middle, to use enough nuance that both things can be true at once. Erin Craig MASTERED this in this book. I spent so many moments thinking and feeling that he truly was just purely evil, in ways that weren’t even in the musical, but in the end– you really can’t hate him, can you? I often think back to Leroux’s words, “Poor, unhappy Erik! Shall we pity him? Shall we curse him?… Ah, yes, we must needs pity the Opera Ghost.” You just can’t help but love him and want to root for him, no matter how much he messes up. I really think Erik, when handled well, is one of the most complex and interesting characters ever written, and I loved getting to dive into that in this book, written by an author who clearly understands him.

And of course, the real star of the show, the reason for this book, is the ingenue herself, Christine Daaé. I have always, always adored Christine. Her strength is often overlooked, but she is really one of the strongest people, and she’s not a wide-eyed little damsel the way a lot of people seem to mischaracterize her. Christine is a character who demands agency over her own actions and her own life and gets what she wants. She’s a character with dreams and ambitions and a character who fights to make her own choices and I think it’s so beautiful. This book really leaned into that, taking the strength her character has always had and elevating it. My favorite thing about her though has always been her kindness. She’s kind in a way that IS her strength, not her weakness. She sees Erik for who and what he really is, and in the face of that, CHOOSES compassion for him anyway. Not fear, not hate, not blind devotion; compassion. I think she’s largely a very unique character in that aspect. To be blind to someone’s flaws and care for them because you’re choosing not to see them is one thing, but to face those flaws head on and stand your ground and care for them anyway is different, and it’s beautiful.

I also really appreciated the fact that this book shows Christine as a victim of grooming. I was really afraid the book was going to lean too much romanticizing the relationship between Christine and Erik– and it DOES, to an extent– but it really lets you see the effects of Erik’s grooming (and that’s what it is!! He pretends to be a literal angel sent to her by the father she’s grieving to get her to do what he wants!!! That’s literally grooming!) and how that is affecting her choices, her mind, her feelings. It does this in a way that doesn’t make her seem naive or unintelligent but just genuinely someone who’s been groomed. And even with that, still manages to keep her strength and her agency, which is the core of the story. It’s a very hard balance to write a character who is a victim of something like that but also someone who takes control over their own story, but it’s done perfectly here.

Genuinely, this was such a beautiful read and I think anyone who is a fan of Phantom of the Opera should pick it up once it releases. Particularly with the star studded cast of the audiobook– I’ll be giving that a listen even though I’ve already read the book, if for no other reason than to hear the incomparable Sierra Boggess as Carlotta (who had some absolutely beautiful moments in this book, surprisingly? I know Ms. Boggess is going to actually have me in tears in that audiobook).

I truly loved everything about this book right up till the epilogue, and again, that’s not the author or the book’s fault. It’s just the unfortunate state of the Phantom of the Opera canon, and I’ve been living with it for all these years, I can live with it now too.

If you love Phantom of the Opera, please give this a read. It’ll give you a beautiful new perspective on this beautiful, timeless classic.

Thank you once again to the NetGalley and the folks at Random House Children’s Books and Delacorte Press for allowing me the great privilege of an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sam Donovan]

Agh! This is my lowest rated Erin A. Craig and this being 3 stars devastates me.

I have been a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (2004) movie adaption with Gerald Butler for a large portion of my life. I have loved Erin A. Craig's stories since I first read House of Salt and Sorrows in 2021. I own every book with multiple editions.

So imagine my heartache when I got the e-ARC for Our Strange Duet, the book that on paper is 1000% perfect for me, and I struggled to get through the first 50 pages. Craig can write gothic atmosphere like no other and yet I was left wanting more. This particular retelling was said to give Christine Daae her strong feminist story of choice and sadly that was not this story. Christine was equally naive and lacked depth beyond her grief for her father.

Do NOT get me started on these MEN. I have never hated the Phantom more in any piece of media. He was toxic and not in a charming dark romance type of way, just icky every time he was on the page I was annoyed Christine was even the slightest bit into him.

Now for some positives. The audiobook. If you are not an already established Phantom of the Opera fan either from the soundtrack or the movie or the musical production itself, then the audiobook is the way to read this. Even if you are a fan I would still highly recommend this way of reading. When I was reading the e-ARC I struggled picking it up because my thoughts the whole time were "I could just watch the movie instead" because I was lacking enough changes or additions to make this story unique. Once I got the audiobook from Libby on release day, MILES BETTER of an experience. Full cast, sound effects, SINGING the lines. It was a treat to listen to and made me feel less anger while tandem reading.

I enjoyed the scenes we got with Raoul and the Moulin Rouge. I wish we got better for Meg and honestly all of the characters. I hate to say this book disappointed me but I think I went in with such high expectations that I was of course going to be let down by an official retelling authorized by Webber because there's no way Craig could write whatever into this, it had to be approved and follow the cannon events of the musical and it's sequel Love Never Dies which is certainly a choice.

Plenty of readers are going to enjoy this, pick up the audiobook and let the music of the night carry you through your evenings. Now, I must watch the movie to satisfy my soul and move on from this tale that I am sure in a few months time I will remember more fondly than I do in this moment.

[Madilynn G.]

DNF (audiobook): A 13-year-old on Tumblr can write better fan fiction than this, and for free too.

The book’s beautiful cover, voice cast full of well-known Broadway actors and actresses, and its careful inclusion of the musical’s score are impressive on a purely sensory level. Ironically, like the Phantom’s mask, it’s all just a pretty facade.

•


TL;DR
In this age of illiteracy we (Americans) are currently in, simplifying stories down to their most basic and trite themes and components does not bode well with me.

•

I am obliged to share my thoughts even though I DNF’ed, because I am very opinionated and very particular when it comes to Phantom-related things.

- THE EPIGRAPH: “The Phantom of the Opera is about love. It’s as simple as that.” This really told me all I need to know about where this book was headed. Turns out, the love this epigraph refers to is, of course, the romantic tension between the Phantom and Christine — which is totally healthy, laudable, and the pinnacle of true love, guys!!! /s

- Within the first five minutes, I read one of the worst sentences I’ve read in recent memory: “[The mirror] was an enormous behemoth, taking up an entire section of the room and towering over me like a giant.” Seriously, how did that get past the editor???

Revealing the Phantom’s true name in the prologue was certainly … a choice. I’m imagining reading this as someone who had little exposure to Phantom before this book, their sense of suspense and mystery ruined because they learn the infamous “Opera Ghost” and “Angel of Music” is actually just some dude named Erik. Names have power, and choosing to reveal this one so early humanized the Phantom in a way that was anti-climactic rather than impactful.

[Sarah Brewer]

This is just phantom of the opera fan fiction from someone that wants Christine and the phantom together

[Kyle Webb]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, which I was so excited for!

Unfortunately, the way this book is being marketed is doing it a huge disservice. Our Strange Duet is billed as a reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera from Christine’s perspective, except it’s actually just the musical in written form. If you’ve already seen The Phantom of the Opera, there’s no need to read this book. You already know the entire story. There’s nothing reimagined about it except for a little more (incredibly dull) backstory on Christine. But even those things are things that are already hinted at in the musical.

It’s also not nearly as compelling as the stage show. It’s categorized as YA but the writing level feels middle grade and frankly I was bored. I’m so so bummed because I thought this had so much potential based on how it was described. Feels like a big bait and switch.

[Leah M]

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

For someone who doesn’t really like musicals and only rarely watch them, I find myself surrounded by people who love them. It is only in recent years that I’ve watched classics like The Sound of Music and Fiddler on the Roof, and really loved both of those. However, I know nothing about Phantom of the Opera but I do know that I have loved Erin A. Craig’s writing, so I was willing to take a chance on this one.

I clearly didn’t read the summary well, because I had originally thought this was an adult read but only discovered that it was YA until I sat down to write the review. It was also hard to classify this one—it is a musical retelling, historical fiction, and a romantasy all in one. Naturally, it was all new to me so it felt original, although I have seen some feedback that said the story was predictable when compared to the original. Also, I was running behind on reading this so I decided to read part of this as an audiobook, which had a full cast and all kinds of background sounds such as singing, practicing scales, and sounds that you’d hear making it sound like I was at an actual production.

The story centers around Christine, a dancer in the corps at the Paris Opera House with dreams of using her powerful soprano achieve her true dream of becoming a singer rather than a dancer. However, Carlotta is the opera house’s principal singer and is automatically given the main role. Staff relies on Carlotta so much that there is no understudy to her roles. Which works fine, although there is a little push back on the more mature Carlotta playing young roles, until the ‘opera ghost’ haunting the theater causes an accident that threatens to hurt Carlotta and she walks away.

As for pacing, the story was a bit slow-moving, especially in the early part of the book. The author takes a lot of time setting the scene, which I didn’t really mind as someone new to the story, but for people who are already familiar with the world of Phantom this might be a really slow, boring, and unnecessary section in this much depth. Between the big plot points, a lot of the material felt unneeded and slowed down the pacing of the novel further.

The characters and their development was one of the high points of the read, for me. Christine’s job as a dancer gives her plenty of opportunity to deal with her female coworkers. She crosses paths most often with Meg, a fellow dancer whose mother owns the theater; and Carlotta, the diva who always stars as the lead female singer. While her relationship with Meg is that of a best friend, they also give each other a bit of space that speaks to a long-term, supportive relationship. The connection between Christine and Carlotta changes over the course of the story: initially Christine doesn’t even register on Carlotta’s radar, but then Carlotta becomes aware of Christine as first a threat to her position but her adversarial stance towards Christine continues to change. Additionally, Madame Giry serves as a stand-in for maternal attention.

As usual, Craig does a fantastic job of creating a vivid and atmospheric image of a world within a world—the family nature of the opera house juxtaposed with the wider world of Paris in the early 20th century. The glamour of the theater is in stark contrast with the shabby world that Christine lives in, and the appearance of ‘the theater ghost’ is welcome to her, since she is convinced that he is the ‘angel of music’ who her father credited for his gift. When he begins training sessions with Meg so she can be a stronger singer, it only reinforces her belief. Things change over time, and I was honestly so disappointed with how long it took Christine to see what is staring her in the face. Knowing that this is actually a YA book made it feel a bit more realistic and less disappointing to see how insipid and naïve Christine is.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read, even if you’ve never seen Phantom. The pacing was a bit slow for my taste, and often had short sections that were faster-paced with a lot more sections that dragged and sometimes felt repetitive and unnecessary. On the other hand, the characters and their arcs were done really well, despite the presence of one of my least favorite tropes—the love triangle. It felt as though there were things that Christine liked about the Phantom aside from her reaction to his looks, while also leading her childhood friend Raoul on. At times, Christine was a bit frustrating to read about, but she grew on me over time. And by the end of the book, I was left with a strong urge to watch the musical.

Bottom line: A great story, with some pacing issues, that kept my attention from start to finish, although it may be somewhat predictable if you’re already familiar with the bones of Phantom.

[Camille]

Erin A. Craig is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read every YA fantasy book she’s written, and several are 4.5 or 5-star reads for me! When I heard her newest book was a Phantom of the Opera retelling, I think I screamed. When I saw the gorgeous cover and stenciled edges, I know I did. This is one of the prettiest books I’ve ever seen.

Our Strange Duet follows Christine, a ballet dancer who dreams of becoming a famous singer. When a mysterious Angel visits Christine and offers to give her voice lessons, Christine’s dream seems closer than ever. But there are signs the Angel may have plans of his own. Falling stage props, murderous chandeliers, and a lead singer whose voice resembles a croaking frog plague the theatre’s performances.

The situation grows more complicated when Christine’s childhood friend—and first love—arrives at the theatre. He is a wealthy benefactor, and he wants Christine back. Christine will have to decide between a life of luxury outside of the theatre, or to embrace her dark angel and the enchanting music they can create.

I read part of this book, then listened to the rest as an audiobook. I was not ready for the orchestra music, opera singing, and sound effects. The audiobook was a production in itself! I think it did a great job of bringing the characters and setting to life.

While I was a little disappointed by the way the story ended, Our Strange Duet is still my favorite Phantom of the Opera retelling that I’ve read. Erin A. Craig’s gothic, haunting writing style was the perfect pairing for this 40th anniversary retelling. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

I received a copy of Our Strange Duet as a #GetUnderlinedPartner from Penguin Random House. All opinions are my own.