Review - Nocturne by Alyssa Wees
I received a free galley of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Nocturne is a lyrical fantasy about an orphaned ballerina in Depression-era Chicago. This story is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast or Phantom of the Opera.
Grace has risen through the ranks of her ballet company, seemingly through her own talent and determination. When her best friend, Emilia, is set to retire from her position as prima, Grace is selected to take her place, and a specific role is set for her by a mysterious benefactor.
Soon Grace realizes that things are not as simple as they seem, and she becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of her patron, Master La Rosa. Once the show run ends, Grace is taken to live with La Rosa—an exchange that seems to have been made between her Mistress and her patron to secure the future of the ballet company. Grace is cut off from all she has known, isolated from her friends, and spends all her time either alone, dancing with La Rosa, or driving with La Rosa’s assistant Mr. Russo.
The first half of this novel is slow and took me quite a while to get into. Grace has a tragic backstory, filled with the deaths of those she loved most. But she has also been given so much as she was taken in by the Mistress and allowed to train in ballet. Once she joins La Rosa, she must decide if she is to give herself wholly to him or not (though it’s never made clear what will happen if she refuses). The relationship between Grace and La Rosa was supposed to be a romance, but it felt more like abusive grooming to me, especially at first.
Eventually, a plot is uncovered that makes Grace question everything once again. Ultimately, the book ends with Grace having redeemed herself and resumed her rightful position. But the reader is left wondering if she ever really had any choice.
I found the author’s description to be beautiful, but sometimes overdone. There were details within the story that I kept expecting to find were important later on. Some were, but others weren’t. I felt Wees’s strength lies more in describing settings than it does in building complex characters and relationships.
I gave this book 3 stars because I felt that the premise was a good one, though it could have been executed more cleanly. The plot was slow to progress through the first half, then seemed scattered through the second half. Grace is the most well-developed character, though I found myself feeling sorry for her more than I was rooting for her. I would have loved to see more of Lorenzo, Emilia, Beatrice, and a more fully developed relationship between Grace and the Mistress.
Nocturne by Alyssa Wees is available now!
