For so long I had been desperate to escape Death, but maybe I’d been mistaken – what I’d really wanted to defy was time.


Nocturne by Alyssa Wees is a dreamlike experience into a ballet themed adaptation and mixture of classic stories like Phantom of the Opera and Hades and Persephone. With a dark, almost desolate feel, this story transports you to another time, place and even realm of existence. Grace Dragotta’s pursuit of the enigmatic call of dance places her in a position she thought she always wanted, yet one that turn out to be her worst nightmare. As her understanding of the consequences of her choices becomes more clear Grace ultimately has to decide between her heart and her own self-interests.

Nocturne was an interesting read in that it was able to elicit the same feeling you get after having a lucid dream. While there is definitely a clear plot progression, the journey through the book is in constant flux between reality and fantasy. This is due to both Alyssa’s style of writing and her focused intent on layering the meaning of objects, actions, and events. While not necessarily a type of book that I would want to constantly read constantly this gothic yet sinuous delivery fit really well with the plot. Also, Alyssa’s knowledge of ballet is also quite evident. Her love and appreciation of this technical yet stunningly beautiful form of dance permeates each page and pulls you into the elite world of classical ballet.

I let myself smile, feeling deliriously nocturnal, an animal in the dark. It was a last moment of peace before the breaking.

While the premise of Nocturne initially led me to believe that it could also be a romance, the end result is not entirely true, which is not to say that this detracted from the experience. Nocturne is a love story on multiple planes; “My desire to dance was more than merely wanting to be seen, but I couldn’t have explained it then. Playing the violin was like breathing, but dance was the thing that kept my heart beating, wild and free. Breath or blood? Air or ichor? If I had to choose, I chose my heart.” Grace’s journey of self discovery and empowerment explores the way we look at others and at ourself. The “happy ending” is relative but their is no doubt that Alyssa takes you on a lyrical journey through love and loss, life and death that will linger in your consciousness.

shorter and a bit younger skewing than i expected it to be, while still a straightforward and evocative exploration of art and boundaries and perverse watching. obviously very death and the maiden dependent. not bad

Nocturne is the story of Grace, a ballet dancer in Chicago in the 1930s. She has lost everyone and now her best friend is leaving the ballet company to get married. To Grace's surprise, she will be the new prima because she has a patron she has never met that will save the company. But she must go live with him and has no say in the matter. The only requirement of her is that she must dance with him once a week.

This is a book where nothing seems to happen and yet everything does. Where time goes really fast and yet does not. It is just a blah book. I wanted to like it but was bored most of the time and confused the rest. Not sure who the audience was but it feels like an overly descriptive, under developed pre-teen book. There are better magical fantasy novels out there that you could spend you time reading.

Nocturne was a lyrical and enchanting read. While I found parts of this book to be a bit too over descriptive, I did enjoy the world it took you to. This novel embraced escapism and beautiful prose. It’s a great read for fans of The Midnight Circus and similar works.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

🩰 NOCTURNE 🎻

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

This book was pretty good! It delivers on its premise as a Phantom of the Opera retelling set in the 1930s Chicago ballet scene without feeling like a carbon copy of the stage musical or book. The book begins with some recognizable plot points, but quickly evolves into its own story with some unique takes on magic. My only criticism is that the middle third of the book is a little slow and repetitive plot-wise, but the ending makes up for it with plenty of action and surprising decisions from the main character. Also, there could have been more ballet in the back half of the book. This is marketed as a new adult fantasy (I guess for its darker themes?), but there’s nothing too graphic or explicit for teenagers in here - more appropriate in the YA section than ACOTAR, in my opinion. If you’re looking for a short standalone dark fantasy romance, consider picking up Nocturne.

Nocturne came out on 2/21 and is available at most book retailers. Many thanks to @delreybooks and @netgalley for allowing me to read and review an eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Read if you like…
🩰 The Phantom of the Opera
🩰 The Little Mermaid
🩰 The Red Shoes

If you loved fairy tales and ballerinas as a kid, and have been searching for a grown up story to fill that niche, Nocturne is the perfect book for you.

The story takes place in a fantastical version of Depression-era Chicago and focuses on Grace, a prima ballerina who takes on a mysterious patron. Despite being labeled as a fantasy book, I think Nocturne is a story that is accessible to everyone. While it is labeled as fantasy, the world-building is light and easy to follow. It also incorporates elements of romance, family drama, mystery, and light horror. Maybe it’s the cover, but for some reason this book gave me big winter vibes, so if you’re planning on checking it out maybe save it for when the weather turns colder.

Nocturne is out now. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book slow and confusing. It was extremely difficult for me to get through this book. The book focused more on world building then on fleshing out the world that was explained.

I wanted to love this book, but it’s just so overwritten. It feels like a love affair with the words at the expense of pacing, plot, and character development.

Im including my instagram post and review on this stunning book. https://www.instagram.com/p/CpknYD6roJ9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

DNF'd at 70% - I really wanted to love this book, but it was just too slow for me that by the time something started happening I was no longer invested. I think the author described the world of this book wonderfully and I loved all the lingering descriptions and the magical atmosphere, but I needed a bit more plot earlier on. I might come back and finish it one day, but for now this is where I stop. I do think this book has an audience and the cover is gorgeous, it just wasn't for me!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a dnf for me. The characters weren’t very interesting and the pace rather slow. Not a story I’d recommend.

I wanted so desperately to love this book. I fell in love with the cover at fist sight and the premise sounded so intriguing that I knew it was going to catapult to the top of my TBR. I was extremely grateful to NetGalley for sending me an arc copy and I dove in right away. The review took much longer because honestly, I was hoping that after some reflection, I would look upon Nocturne a little more favorably. Alas, I did not. While I was entertained by the story somewhat, I had great difficulty with some of the prose, and it made it difficult for me to ultimately enjoy the plot progression. I felt like there were plot holes and character actions that were never fully explained or explored, leaving me wanting by the end. I finished this book with more questions than I started with and I never really developed any connection to any of the characters. The writing appears beautiful and lyrical, but the story felt so flat to me that I couldn’t recommend it in good conscience.

I really wanted to like this book because of the premise, but it just lacked in execution. It read like it was a first draft that could really have benefitted from a few rounds of editing. The bones of an incredible story and world were there, but it fell flat.


*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I enjoyed the parts about ballet, and the mystery of the patron (at first) and even the scenes later in the book but it just takes so long for anything to happen, and the book feels very young adult to me. I am sure someone will like it, just not me.

DNF. I just wasn’t that into it. It started off good, and after 1/3 of the way through the book it got super dark and disturbing

I got about a third of the way into this book. This is typically a book I would really enjoy, but the writing was too much imagery for me. It made it hard to read. Perhaps this is one I'll try to return to in the future. Otherwise, the right idea is there.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

It seems like my experience with this book was similar to other reviewers. It truly felt like this book would have benefitted from another round of editing. There was a LOT of .. information in this book that we could have done without... Sentences / chapters didnt' add much to the plot / storyline.

The character development was good...but there were times I had to PUSH myself to finish this book ... unfortunately.

Way too much purple prose for me. I ended up skimming the whole second half. I don't think my students will enjoy this.

I almost didn’t finish reading this one. Not because it wasn’t okay, the story was there and the characters were compelling. To preface, I was granted the privilege to read an ARC (advanced reading copy) through NetGalley, and I have to say that I felt like an ARC. There were plenty of times when I felt that something needed to be clarified for me to understand continuity or that something needed to be trimmed because I felt that it was superfluous. I say this because those things, in my opinion, felt like it didn’t actually advance or enhance the plot in any way. These things pulled me away from the story, and I disliked that. I really hoped those were things that would be fixed by the end edit. The only reason I gave this four stars was because I couldn’t give it 3 1/2 in Goodreads.
The story and magic is intriguing. The retelling of Phantom of the Opera is genuine and I enjoyed the premise even if I didn’t enjoy the actual end product. My personal opinion of the book came from me not looking forward to finishing it, but mainly because I guessed the ending before I was even close to it.

Oh my! This book was gorgeous and immersive! I have to hand it to the author, her writing was such beautiful prose, it didn't even touch my scale of flowery because it was descriptive and ever-flowing.

As far as the plot, it made me want to go back to my personal dance days. It encapsulated exactly the way dance and music alone or combined make people feel.