Just a fair warning this chapter will probably be extremely ranty and a lot of you will probably disagree with me but I really hope you don't mind because I really want to talk about this book. It's relevant I swear.

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So the novel Roseblood by A.G Howard is a new Phantom of the Opera adaptation. It follows a girl named Rune and her amazing opera talents, but the catch is that every time she sings she becomes drained and sick. So she's sent to this French boarding school where she sees the mysterious boy named Thorne who may or may not where a mask, I'm not really sure, but he's not in any of her classes or anything so then she becomes intrigued with him. So ultimately throughout the novel their friendship turns to love and I think he gives her singing lessons. But I think ultimately he has to choose her or choose to obey his father figure, aka the Phantom.

Now I have not read this book, I just saw it on the shelf at Barnes and Noble today so this rant is going to be solely based around the plot of the book which I based on several synopsis and reviews. So don't get too mad at me for judging a book I've never read. First impressions do count.

So just based on these impressions, I don't think I would like it. And it actually made me a bit angry in the store today and here's why:

I am definitely all for different adaptations and versions of Phantom. There are several movie adaptations that I love that are not in anyway similar to the original and I adore Susan Kay's Phantom which isn't always true to the original either. However, there are certain changes - even in Susan Kay's Phantom - that I am not okay with.

Like, the Phantom having a kid with Christine or anyone else for that matter. For whatever reason, I just cannot get behind that. Personally, I don't think the Phantom is capable of having children. Not physically, but mentally he wouldn't be able to take the steps to ever get there. And even if this kid is adopted somehow, I don't believe the Phantom would make a good father as he's simply not a good person and he's mentally unstable. And even if he isn't in this version that makes it all the worse to me. The idea of changing the character completely also greatly bothers me. Obviously changes in character aren't bad but major ones I believe are. Anyway, the idea of the Phantom living alone with Thorne is just not very reasonable to me and I don't think I'd like it very much at all. (There's no mention of Christine being in this novel so I'm assuming he lives alone)

Another thing, this novel takes place in modern times but the Phantom seems to be the same Phantom from the 1800s, which means that he's lived for centuries, which means that he's like immortal. This is just a personal preference, but I hate the idea of immortality. In anything. I'm not very much into fantasy or anything like that and I think certain forms of magic or fantasy elements are unnecessary and cause too many story problems. So that's just something that I'm not personally fond of but doesn't really do much to the story.

Also, before Rune ever even gets to this school, she is obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera book and musical. I really dislike this idea because it creates this terrible paradox because if he actually existed then the book and musical shouldn't exist, especially since he's a hidden figure. And ultimately he should know about them, so then there's no point in ever hiding. Also the book and musical have contradictions which then contradict him as a real person.... so it doesn't really make sense then. I think this is the only actual poor decision on the author's part. The rest is just my personal preference, but this actually causes a lot of rift in the plot.

Also, why does Rune get sick when she sings as if it's some magical power? I'm sure you find that out in the novel but just the fact of describing being a phenomenal singer as some sort of superpower or magic bugs me a little. Like it seems like a very random detail, like why couldn't she just be a good singer and go to a boarding school? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me really. Again, I'm sure it does if you read the book but as I said before I don't really like fantasy elements and it's definitely not needed in a Phantom story in my opinion.

All in all I think this novel seems very fanfiction like, but not in a good way. I like fanfiction, I read it, I write it. However, for a professional author who's very good and very popular to come out with something like this shocks me. The last book that came out like this about Phantom was A Phantom in Manhattan and I really really wasn't fond of that one. And of course one could argue that Susan Kay's Phantom is fanfiction because essentially it is, and that's fine because she stays true to the original story in a much better way. There are just way too many major changes in this novel that I can't get around, but to each his own. A lot of people really loved this book and that's absolutely fine! It's definitely not a bad book, these are just my preferences! And of course I have no disrespect against the author, she worked really hard on in I'm sure and it's cool that she's such a huge Phantom Phan! It's just my opinion!

That all being said I do plan on reading this book when it's more available online or in libraries as I don't want to spend a lot of money on a book I don't think I'll like! After that I'll update again and see if my thoughts stayed true!

But if you guys think you will like it, you should check it out! This is the cover:

The cover also confused me because I'm not sure why Rune is wearing a mask as she's not deformed. But you guys can definitely see why this caught my eye!

UPDATE: Okay so I found a full spoiler included summary and...... guys omg. Only read this part of you don't care about spoilers or anything. So I figured out why Erik is immortal..... he's a vampire. He, as well as Rune and Thorne, are vampires that feed off of the energy of people or something. I'm not even kidding. I wish I were. And, Erik owns a rave in which he goes and feeds off the fear of people because he shows them his face...... as if that's in character at all......

Also Thorne and Rune share the same soul which is why they are meant to be and whatnot.

And his adopted son, Thorne, wears a mask but isn't deformed at all. He's gorgeous, he just wears it for fun.

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Again sorry for the really ranty chapter, I might delete it if I start to feel bad about it haha.

But again this is just my personal opinion and I don't mean any disrespect to A.G Howard or anyone who enjoyed this book! I'm sure it's a perfectly fine book for some people it just doesn't seem to be my thing!

But if any of you have read it or plan to, let me know! I'd love to hear from you!