*REVIEW* The Phantom Diaries by Kailin Gow

  What happens to the Phantom after the tragedy at the Paris Opera House is the basis for this fantastic tale of The Phantom Diaries, loosely based on Gaston Leroux's classic, The Phantom of the Opera, but with a new tale and a modern twist. This new series for older teens and young adults is told through the eyes of 18 year-old Annette Binoche, who lands a job at the New York Metropolitan Opera House as a seamstress' assistant only to become the lead singer of the Opera House, with the help of the mysterious, yet highly-seductive Phantom.

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  Don't start this expecting to read something that is exactly the same as The Phantom of the Opera.  Although it has it's similarities and uses a couple similar names it is its own story.  Kailin takes a classic that we love and turns it into something new and different that we can love.

  I think the reason this twist was so acceptable to me was the new characters.  I become much more critical when they are using the exact same people (even if they try different names).  


  I liked Annette.  I did find at times she had some of the more irritating qualities that drive me nuts but her mind and heart always seemed to go to the same place and person that I enjoyed reading about.  She has all of the passion and emotion I feel you truly need to make it on the stage.  Although it was obvious from the start that she was going to get the lead role with her raw talent she was still willing to push herself to get better (with the help of a hansom stranger of course).


  There is three guys to love in this novel. First you meet Chace who is a talented first chair violinist and then Eric the mysterious stranger  that want to help land her the leading role.  Lastly you meet Aaron Aragon, the arrogant yet charming owner of the opera house.  There is a lot of mind blowing kissing and some more suggestive scenes that may be a little beyond what some people want to hear.  I would say 17+ for these scenes but honestly I love them.  Nothing like a little extra steamy scene to get the heart rate up.


  The pace in this novel is fairly consistent and you never have time to get board. There is always one thing or another to be thinking about, or you push forth wanting to see if it is going to work out the way you hope it will.  Annette has a way of just falling into the place that she should be but as easy as that sounds you're never really sure where she should be.  Confusing right?  I think that this is part of why I was so drawn into it all, the hustle and bustle of the world that Annette lives in and all of the people that surround her.


I look forward to picking up book #2 which currently resides on my shelf.  Kailin Gow never fails to captivate me with her writing and always seems to leave me wanting a little more.