A review by nasselin
The Phantom's Apprentice by Heather Webb

4.0

Well, this book could not have come at a better time! Tomorrow I’m going to see the “sequel” to Phantom, “Love Never Dies” at the Boston Opera House.

I was never a HUGE fan of the original, and then the movie was just okay. So I was excited for this retelling of the story from the perspective of the manipulated woman, Christine Daae. This book makes her a strong character in her own right, just trying to honor her dead father’s memory by singing in the Paris Opera. She is fantastic at it, but she longs to do something more with her life. Her mother taught her illusions from a young age, and she was fascinated by mechanical objects. She loves being on stage, but wants to become an illusionist in her own right.

The story follows the plot of the musical. She starts to be tutored by the Paris Opera Ghost, “the Phantom”. He becomes increasingly more unhinged and takes to kidnapping her. We as readers find out more about how/why he became increasingly dangerous, and why he was so obsessed with Christine. I love that she uses her smarts to try and break free from his increasingly tight stranglehold.

For fans of the musical, this book takes a deep dive into a character we don’t really know about. I enjoyed it and I think it’ll be interesting to see how the show goes tomorrow. The end of this book opens the door for more in the lives of Christine and the Phantom.