Eric Asher has always dreamed of being an opera singer, instead of making his living seducing wealthy women out of their money. He finally gets his chance when he’s hired to join the chorus of the Grand Opera House.
He has never seen the owner of the opera house. She speaks from behind mirrors and has the most haunting voice he’s ever heard. But Eric still reckons he can charm her into promoting him out of the chorus and into a main role.
Ada Byron’s only true love is engineering, but as the daughter of England’s most infamous peer, she’s pressured into an engagement she doesn’t want. When she runs away to the Grand Opera House, the mysterious owner agrees to hire her to work on the special effects machinery.
But what at first seems like a dream come true for both Ada and Eric slowly turns to a nightmare as they realise that their mysterious employer is both jealous and deadly. She wants Eric all to herself, and she doesn’t take kindly to his fascination with Ada.
As Ada and Eric are drawn deeper into the opera house’s world of haunting music and secret passageways, it becomes clear that their employer has no intention of letting Eric go…
Music & Mirrors is a retelling of the Phantom of the Opera with a twist. Come discover the labyrinthine Grand Opera House where the walls have ears, mirrors aren’t what they seem, and where something skulks through the hallways at night, watching.
My Review
An intriguing retelling of this familiar story begins with the introduction of a fearsome creature who talks of his mistress to whom he is devoted. It was not easy to warm to Eric at first as he is a gigolo seducing older women for money, but we soon discover he is saving money to take his sickly sister to a sanatorium, and he lives for singing for an audience. In contrast Ada Byron is an unhappy brilliant young woman on the autistic spectrum unable to cope with the society her mother plunges her into.
At the Grand Opera Eric has the chance to achieve his ambition while Ada has escaped an unwanted marriage and enjoys working with the special effects team backstage. At first they are both enchanted by Marian, the mysterious invisible owner of the Opera House but there are unfortunate events, mysterious sounds behind the walls and mirrors through which Marian observes them. Soon the couple realise they are trapped and must seek help before all is lost.
I found myself reading late into the night, routing for Ada and Eric but I wanted to know more about Marian and how she created her assistant. As there is a sequel more may be revealed then.
Music and Mirrors on Amazon UK
Lizanne lost in a good book 