This was so much more than I thought it would be. I struggled to fall asleep thinking of this after it finished, and it was the first thing I thought about the next morning.

Hauntingly beautiful, orphaned Grace finds herself living in a sort of void, things never seeming quite as they should. She lives to dance - it's the one time when she really feels alive, when things are as they should be. When her best friend and the current prima of their dance company, Emelia, announces that she's leaving to get married, Grace is hoping but still surprised to find that she's selected as the next prima. It's not until the first showing of the ballet that Grace learns she's been handpicked as the next prima by a mysterious sponsor, Master La Rosa. Nor until the last showing that she's told he's paid enough that she's now going to live with him, eat his food and wear clothes provided by him, and dance one waltz with him every Sunday. She'll still be allowed to dance with their company during the week, but everything else is changing.

Convinced by now that her patron is something more, something monstrous, Grace tries to run. It's hopeless though, and she soon agrees to go without a fight. La Rosa's assistant, Mr. Russo, says that he'll answer her questions when they arrive at the mansion. He's not as forthcoming as he suggests though, and Grace finds herself with even more questions.

At times, I had to read aloud. To bring the words even more to life, and to slow myself from devouring it even faster. It may have been the speed at which I read, or some part of the writing, but at times things could get kind of muddled, a little too dreamlike. In a fairytale though, is it the storyteller's job or the reader's to keep themselves from being too swept away?

Told in 3 parts, I was drawn in by the end of Part One. That was also the point where I was texting friends that it wasn't out yet, but as soon as it was, they needed to pick up Nocturne right away!

I wanted to like this book, but it was not for me and I stopped reading at about the halfway point. The text was a little too flowery and lyrical for me. There are a lot of comparisons to Phantom of the Opera floating around, and it fits. Like Phantom, the heroine is… fainty. She doesn’t do much besides get overwhelmed and throw herself around. I don’t think I would mind so much if it weren’t for the Depression-era setting– I expect more grit and determination and less luck and lash fluttering from someone surviving the mean streets of Chicago in the 30s

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting and hauntingly beautiful novel.

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.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, but this doesn’t influence my review. The trope of this book was a historical ballet paranormal romance, and I think this was too much for the author. The writing style was wonderful, but there were too many flashbacks, the intro of the “love interest” was at 50% of the book, and there was no chemistry or romance. The book and plot was confusing af

This book wasn’t for me. The author put a lot of work into the plot and all of that. But it just didn’t click for me.

Thank you Penguin Random House & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was ONLY 240 pages? This was the LONGEST 240 page book I’ve ever read.

“We played until there was nothing but music, and the music warmed us, like light”

Having been born in the midst of the Spanish Influenza, growing up during the Great Depression, losing all her family to violence and death, Grace has always known Death.

“Mobsters were thieves and murderers, violent and corrupt; Lorenzo was neither, never had been, but desperation scraped away his goodness like paint from a wall, chips and cracks over time until he was nothing but bones and teeth, raw and irascible beneath.”

I was both blown away and entirely over the lyricism of this book. There were moments where I was enamored by the writing. And then other times where I was skipping over pages because there was nothing valuable being said.

“But no-destiny is not destiny if it is not yours from the start, and so maybe I was always a little burning beast in my heart.”

The first quarter of the book was great for background & really set the stage. After that, it wasn’t until about 3/4 through the book, that something started to make sense. Or something was happening. I’m giving this 2 stars for the moments where the writing felt truly moving and beautiful.

2.5 / 5 rounded up

The writer clearly knows how to write beautiful prose, but I felt like I just didn’t get this book. I didn’t understand the main character, or why she allowed herself to be placed in the situation with the master and well a lot of it.

It felt a bit like Beauty and the Beast meets 50 Shades of Gray meets Black Swan maybe… I’m not sure.

I know that there are going to be plenty of people that find this book wonderful and that's fine. I really hate to give negative reviews - I really do.

That being said I'm giving this book two stars because I know that though I don't like it, there was enough in the plot and story that others would so I didn't want to completely bring it down to one star.

Let me explain. I felt that the overdescriptive prose and often unnecessary use of words, led to a story that was lost amongst the weeds that author had sown. At time there were 10 words used to describe something that only needed one. I was quickly bogged down in all this minutiae and lost the plot.

Was there a plot?!?

What I gathered as I waded through all the weeds of words was this story was a retelling of Hades and Persephone? Or no wait, maybe, it was a mash-up of that and Beauty and the Beast? Phantom of the Opera?!? Urghhh . . . I don't know!!! Like torn scraps of cloth gathered together to make an ill-fitting coat, the plot was suppose to some how come together stronger, a better fit, and overall a better story than the originals. I think not. In the end, the story was just tattered pieces of other masterpieces held together loosely by too many amd not enough heart.

** Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to review this advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion **

This story started off strong, the writing is beautiful and immersive. I was completely sucked into this world of a ballerina living in 1930s Chicago. I loved the friendship Grace had with Emilia, and how hard she worked to get to the top even at the same time longing to be free.

I think what lost me was all the jumping around it did between the past and present, and somewhere in the middle it became very descriptive and wordy which had me skimming some parts. Also, it took me way too long to figure out who the Master was supposed to be, and I'm still not sure why he chose Grace. With that being said I did love the way it ended. Grace had this frantic energy as she was executing her plan, which had me reading every word and excited to see how it would all end.
I would definitely read more by this author in the future.

Unfortunately, I feel that this novel derailed. It started off smoothly riding down the tracks. I was enjoying learning about the characters, the setting, immersing myself in the world of ballet. However, a bit over halfway, things became convoluted. I feel that the novel blurred good and evil. The passage that stated that Grace was struggling with whether there was a literal heaven and hell was disturbing to me. At other times the novel seemed to properly represent "light" and "darkness"...and then it didn't.
I also feel Master as a character added to the confusion. Initially I thought he was going to be a Beauty and the Beast type character/a Daddy Long Legs benefactor, if you willl. Then it appeared that he was the representation of a Phantom of the Opera/Hades and Persephone mash up. I was never able to form a distinct opinion of him. Even at the conclusion.
I think this illustration of character represents a large issue with the book. It had a lot of very good, grand ideas. Too many of them were attempted and therefore, it created a confusing read.
With some additional editing, a tune up of the ending, and simply nixing several unnecessary metaphors and descriptive passages, this could have been a better book. A defined understanding of what was being written and sticking to a particular script...possibly saving the additional ideas for a next novel. But as you can see from the length of this review, that is a lot of what ifs.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Nocturne in exchange for an honest review.

Ballet mixed with 1920’s gangsters in Chicago, count me in! When I read the description I was immediately on board because ballet…duh. The writing conjured up images of Degas’ various ballet school paintings as I read through the story. The story was kind of chaotic and did flow very well as it swung between ballet rehearsal, flashbacks of a brother’s murder by gangsters, and into memories of a father long past. I would give The Nocturne 3 out of 5 stars and definitely give it another chance read in the future.

thanks to netgalley and ballantine for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Nocturne is the story of Grace, a talented ballerina living in 1930s Chicago. She's elated when she's finally promoted to principal dancer, but not all is what it seems when she attracts the attention of a mysterious patron, Master La Rosa.

On the surface, this book has everything I could want. I absolutely love ballet stories, and even more when there's an element of fantasy as well. Nocturne is loosely based on the Hades x Persephone story, and with a mysterious love interest, I was so excited to dig into this.

The story started out so strong, too! The prose was dreamy and romantic, and Grace was an interesting, dynamic character. I also loved Grace's spunky best friend, Emilia.

Unfortunately, I think this was a matter of timing. I read this book at the same time as Belladonna by Adalyn Grace. Master La Rosa just felt like a water-downed version of Death. He was completely one-dimensional. I couldn't tell why he liked Grace beyond the fact that she "kept her death in her heart" (what does that even mean). And it wasn't clear why Grace liked him, other than giving her space and freedom to dance. This was certainly supposed to be enemies to lovers, or loathe to love, but it was more of a quick switch. On one page, Grace and Master La Rosa were enemies. On the next, they were in love. It didn't feel like a totally natural progression.

Alyssa Wees spends the first half of the book setting up Grace's story, and it's too much. We don't get enough time with Master La Rosa, and his character and the romance suffer for it. This failed as a romance and a retelling for me, unfortunately.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. I enjoyed this way more than I initially thought I would. It did start slow for me but once it picked up, it really took off. The imagery was astounding and the way the author wrote helped to set the mood for the entire second half of the book. Four ⭐️ from me! I look forward to reading more from this talented author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the premise of the story and felt it was compelling enough to want to see how it ended. I struggled with the writing style and felt myself skipping over some content that was overly descriptive. I also did not feel very strongly about what happened to the main character. I wished there were more interactions between the characters with more dialogue.

This was a really enchanting read. I believe we don't fear failure, rather we fear getting everything we ever dreamed of and still being unhappy and this story reflects that sentiment.

In the words of the author, "It's beautiful, exquisite, overwhelming, unnatural, enchanting, eerie" ...

In this lyrical fantasy set in 1930's Chicago, Grace, a ballerina is pursued by a mysterious patron who may be more than he seems. Torn between dreams and desires, she realizes the world is not all that it seems.

This book has a lot going on. I overall did enjoy it but because it felt very long and wordy I went from loving it to tolerating it about 2/3 the way in.

1/3 I was totally emersed in this atmospheric version of Chicago in the Great Depression. I was loving the ballet elements and the way the author set the stage, so to speak, was very magical and bewitching.

2/3 Things started to get a little bit too "unnatural" for me and the fantasy element really took hold. I was still enjoying the book but definitely having to suspend disbelief to stay in it

3/3 This is where things fell apart for me. The author is very descriptive which I liked at first but towards the end, I just got tired of consuming so many words. I was no longer enchanted, I just wanted it to end.

While overall good, I felt like this book could have been great if it wasn't trying to be and do so many things at once.

This is a must read if you love ballet, Phanton of the Opera, Beauty & the Beast, Black Swan, or Greek Mythology. All of these felt like the inspiration the author drew from.

Thank you to Net Galley and Del Rey Books for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I really, really enjoyed Nocturne. It felt like returning to The Secret Garden, or The Little Princess, but as an adult, and ready to experience a far richer tapestry of emotions. The story feels timeless—like those fairy tales told and retold and retold again until we all have a slightly different version imprinted on our marrow. It will enchant you, and transport you.

We open on a girl named Grace, who, living in the face of the hard times of 1930s Chicago, wants to be a ballerina; wants to dance. She is named the Prima Ballerina of her company—everything she has dreamed of—on one condition. The company has a patron, a mysterious man, and she must live in his house, eat his food, wear his clothes, and at midnight, every Sunday, she must dance a waltz with him. Thus, Grace’s story begins with her dream coming true, and it continues through a magical Chicago, at once recognizable and alien, a story of tragedy and drama and love and death, and maybe even life. What happens when you get everything you want, and you still want more. What do you owe your friends, your family? What would you give to bring back the things you’ve lost?

I recommend this for fans of Uprooted, and Alix E. Harrow, the teenagers who loved Grimms Fairy Tales, and Illustrated Classic Ballet stories, and maybe never quite grew out of it, and didn’t feel like they should have to. This book is for anyone who wishes their world were a little more magical, and had a little more drama.

A dark romantic fairy tale, to read while sipping mulled wine by the fire this weekend. You won’t be sorry you did.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

Are you a fan of highly descriptive books - ones that have lots of description that could arguably be left out but for some of us that description just adds to the magic of the book. This is a book that will captivate those who are in love with books that invite you to feel and see everything through the descriptions.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine for the opportunity to read rage and review this book which is out Feb 21 2023.

So this is Phantom of the Opera a la 1930s Chicago but instead of a ln opera singer you have a prima ballerina. And that is quite literally the entire premise. It’s not original in any sense beyond the different time period and career chosen. I was bored. It was unoriginal. There were no surprises or even moments of pleasure because it is recycled fan fiction.