Christine

Maidens & Monsters #1

by Marie Piper

Each Sunday for ten years, the young and prominent Maidens of Mapleton club have met in the town schoolhouse and told each other all. A town with a violent past, now-booming Mapleton dotes on its favorite daughters: Christine, a performer at the town's beautiful music hall, Mina, the daughter of the newspaper owner, Esme, a ward of the church and Lucy and Elizabeth, daughters of the widower Mayor-one ladylike, the other a hellion.

Slowly, the truth begins to cloud. The pieces of the past don't add up, bad dreams are haunting Esme, and familiar tales and faces fail to comfort. In this five novella series from Marie Piper, comprised of Old West adaptations of gothic/horror tales, the Maidens find their friendships tested, fall in (and out) of love, and are forced to unravel the mystery of that one terrible day. What really happened on the day of the Mapleton Massacre?

In the first installment, CHRISTINE, there's a music hall under new management, a mysterious patron, a dancing girl turned soloist, and murder to boot. It's a Western romance tribute to a story that has delighted for decades, this time with a mystery girl squad!

Genres: Gothic

136 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 21, 2016

About the author

MARIE PIPER is a graduate of Michigan State University, a former actor/director, and a lover of stories. She’s especially interested in writing stories set in the weird and wild history of America.

The steamy western trilogy, FIRES OF CRICKET BEND, is available from Limitless Publishing. The five-part dime store serial, MAIDENS & MONSTERS, can be found on Amazon. Marie's short stories, ranging from erotica to sci-fi fairy tales, can be found in a variety of collections.

Marie lives in Chicago with her husband, kiddo, and three cats. In non-pandemic times, she goes on adventures with her zany family, reads everything she can get her hands on, loves visiting all the museums Chicago has to offer, and tweets too much. (Tweets have increased because, you know, pandemic.)

Currently, she is wearing a mask like a responsible citizen while working on a romance set during the Salem Witch Trials, as well as the third and final book in THE GILDED BRIDES.

Find her on Twitter/Instagram at @mariepiperbooks and say hi!

Reviews

[JG · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing retelling of famous gothic stories, CHRISTINE is the first book in Maidens & Monsters series. Its basically about children in the old west who survived a horrific tragedy that resulted in their town being founded in blood shed. Because of this, the surviving children has become close to each other and banded together to form The Maidens of Mapleton. As they grew into young ladies, each of them encounter their own adventure. These young womens' character harkens to a beloved female character of another tale. Its up to readers to guess. As you read through CHRISTINE, however, the elements of the beloved Phantom of the Opera shines through quite quickly but not obviously. But because this is a retelling, there are a lot of twists and turns, mystery and suspense waiting around the next corner. Ms. Piper has successful harnessed the element of "turning the page with anticipating dread" in each word. The novella intrigues the reader so much so you also want to continue reading the next book and the next. Suffice to say those who love their gothic romances retold in another way would positively be attracted to the Maidens & Monsters series.

*ARC provided by the publisher*

[Goth Gone Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A first person account from Christine with familiar characters & scenes spun in new ways and new places. An overall elegant tale, well crafted and engaging to read. This version of the tale is set in the Old West, a group of Maidens and their stories intertwined with classic Gothic fictional characters with a twist - perhaps the villains aren't as bad as they were always made out to be?

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book 10 stars out of 5, I would! It’s a twist on the original story, but holds all the moments you wish had happened with the Phantom. Hidden Easter eggs and puns that make you laugh, moments that had me actually swooning, and an ending that has me begging for book 2! MUST READ!

[Kristen Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Maidens of Mapleton have quite a past, bonded together after a horrible incident which left some of them orphans, and another to be adopted by the church, their lives have not been happy or easy for a while. They find joy in their friendship, in their time together, but then mysteries abound and the girls are left trying to figure things out. The story starts out by giving us the basic details and then dives into a more fitting tale of memories of the past, Christine's memories to be precise.


Christine was quite an interesting read once the action all got into play. It was mysterious and had you questioning things almost from the first chapter. I enjoyed the set up of how the story was being told.

Christine is an intriguing character who sucks you in and vividly draws you into the world she existed in at that time, as a part of the Maidens of Mapleton, as a member of the cast of the music hall. She comes across as the girl who could be everyone's friend, the girl next door.

This story is filled with twists and turns, drama, angst, and suspense. There's also a bit of romance tossed in to change it up a little bit. I got caught up in story and look forward to future installments and gaining more insight into the rest of the story.

[Books 2 Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading a gothic/horror type story, and I really enjoyed it! I've always been a fan of murder mystery type books, and re-telling's/re-imagining's of classics/fairytales, and I thought the author did a great job creating this Phantom of the Opera, type tale.

The mystery floating around, that the Maiden's are trying to uncover, is quite intriguing. Curious to find out the truth surrounding the town and that one fateful day. One thing that bugged me a little was the almost insta-love between Christine and Eric. I think it bothered me because it seemed like Christine had a thing for Rafe and then switched gears so quickly. I liked the mention towards the end, of some new characters, from other classics, that I'm sure we'll be seeing in books to come. Looking forward to reading more about the other Maidens of Mapleton, especially Elizabeth, I really liked her spunk. I think her story might be a fun one to read about. Great start to this mysterious series!
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[United Indie Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting unique twist on The Phantom of the Opera. Christine draws you in and becomes a friend. This book has mystery, drama and romance. It's a quick read that holds you interest until the end. I look forward to reading more in the series.

Review by Raychel

[Janet Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of a series that puts a new spin on classic horror stories. I enjoyed this version of "Phantom of the Opera". The setting was changed and the character's names changed (but easy to recognize). I like the way characters were added from other stories. Looking forward to the next book.

[Lydia Andres]

I have a feeling I would have appreciated this more if I'd known the story of the Phantom of the Opera before reading it (I know, I know) but as it was, there were lots of things about it to enjoy: a brave, compassionate music hall singer heroine, clever girls who look after each other, a sweet romance, a plot that hints at an overarching mystery, a dramatic conclusion and, of course, the intriguing concept of heroines from gothic literature coming together in a Western American town to uncover the truth behind an event that impacted them all.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really nice reading. Not a pleasant though. My ebook was edited quite bad. But the writing style is good, and thanks god it had no modern slang (which is a common mistake of the most fanfic writers, alas).

So we've got here a retelling of the Phantom of the Opera story with a twist. It's the 1st book of 5, and there is a storyline going through all of them, combining them: a tragedy happened long ago in a small town when Christine's father and several other people were murdered.

For Phantom fans: Eric is an ALW's type, with half-scarred face. But it was not a bad retelling. I'd say more. Me, read 50++ Phantom-ish books, I quite enjoyed this one. More, I was interested.

Even more, I want to read the rest of books to reveal the truth about that massacre of the past. That means a lot, believe me.

So 4 almost full stars for this story. Simple yet intriguing. I only hope the author will find a good editor.