by Erin A. Craig
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pub Date: September 1, 2026
Genre: Adult, Retelling, Fantasy, Romance
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads Amazon Bookshop
A
reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera,
spotlighting Christine Daaé as she rises to fame while torn between love,
ambition, and the haunting secrets of the opera house from #1 New York
Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig.
Inspired by Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, Le Fantôme de L’Opéra,
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera tells the story
of a mysterious masked figure who lurks beneath the Paris Opera House,
exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it.
He falls madly in love with a young soprano, Christine Daaé, and devotes
himself to nurturing her extraordinary talents, employing all of the devious
methods at his command.
Our Strange Duet centres Christine’s emotional journey and her
agency within this sweeping, atmospheric opera.
My Review: Erm...
I have many thoughts on this book and I still don't know if I liked it or not.
At first, I really liked this book, however, as we get around the 50% mark it starting to fail for me. It became too slow and boring and I had to push myself to drag through the rest of the book.
Also, there were MANY inaccurate things about the book which was hard to get over.
I liked Christine, she was a good character, but everyone else fell flat for me. Though, I'm not a fan of the whole a woman gives up everything simply to marry a man and be taken care of. So all your hopes, dreams, wants, etc. go out the window. Although, there is Raoul who gives off the opposite for Christine. He won't stop her from following her dreams, further her careers, etc. He was even willing to leave the estate after his mother was an absolute horror to Christine. The rest of the girls though were too quick to want to marry and have a man take care of them.
I tried to push through and there were moments that gave me hope again and then it would come crashing down. This book has the potential to be something amazing but there were too many things that needed to be done and changed to make it so.
While, I didn't exactly hate it, I wouldn't say I loved it either. Kinda like a right book but wrong time situation.
For those that are fans, I'd say give it a read but go in with caution.
