I love supporting queer horror and I thought the theming surrounding Dorian Gray was very clever, but I just could not get into this one. The beginning was amazing, but I am not enough of a romance reader to be patient enough to be horror. I have decided to DNF it. I do not publically rate or review books I don't finish.

Firstly I'd like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange of an honest review.

A Warning; the book contains graphic sex, drug use and lots of other immoral topics. Take that into consideration before reading.

It's been a long time since I've read Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, and I have always been fascinated by the story. It's been something that stuck with me, whilst I didn't adore the original I did enjoy the story and the commentary it has on corruption.

I found getting into this story, for me at least, took a bit of work. It was unexpected to come across multiple POV's as I thought we would hear the slow decline of our Dorian (named Gary - which I hated but that's beside the point) purely from his point of view. I really didn't like it, and found that I couldn't connect to the story because of this in the early chapters. I felt that all the different characters felt written the same and were indecipherable, at least at the beginning. Later on in the book it changes and each character develops a distinct voice and it improves the flow of the story.

The focus of the story is Gary, his innocence and decline into corruption when given the opportunity to get away with things he otherwise wouldn't have because of his immortal beauty. I really enjoyed how the 'portrait' of Gary was now digital/holographic. I appreciated how none of his actions were glamorised. He was an unlikable and disturbing character and the author had no qualms about showing this. My favourite character was Henrietta, I loved her charm, poise and presence and felt that the story would not be the same without her.

I did feel however that the story both felt too long and too short all at once. I felt there was at times a lot going on without much flesh to it. The relationship he has at the beginning of this book being a prime example, instalove to instahate almost immediately. It felt flippant and annoying, but I suppose it does lend itself to the man he becomes and the start of his downfall.

Overall it was an enjoyable story, I am still fascinated by the plot and idea of it and think this version would make a much more enjoyable movie than the original. I loved the creepiness and it was definitely a book that had me feeling actually disgusted with the main character and making remarks about him out loud.

3.5 stars

This book provided me with the opportunity to try to read the original work by Oscar Wilde so I could fully appreciate both works and their creators.

'A Face Without A Heart' is a modern retelling of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' that follows a more modern setting with Drag Queens and a more heavily set LGBT+ themes.

It commences with a holographic maker rather than painter, Liam, who spots the gorgeous Gary Adrion (Love the anagram by the way) and asks the beautiful young man to be a model for him. Liam goes as far as to follow the man off the train the two were riding together in the hopes of getting the man's attention and permission for his project.

From there the story is continued on like Wilde's original classic with a more modern tone and setting and the language much easier to comprehend. I would definitely recommend this book to those who love The Picture of Dorian Gray or even those who struggled to get into the classic. As it possesses writing that is beautiful but more manageable to read, it may help one fully understand the story in Reed's new light of how a man's soul acts as a bargaining chip between him, the hologram and the life he is.

Dark and sinister, this book play's on the darker side of the human mind and revels in the dark details of Gary's new world.

Just a slight notice that there are graphic scenes of drug use, suicide, and sexual content within this book so please be aware of these when you are reading.

A Face Without a Heart is a fantastic take on all of the amazing themes from Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray. The great thinks discussed in Wilde's novel like the human soul, but more importantly, the sins that corrupt a human being are brought to light in this modern version. We discuss in the modern day society what is a sin in a society that is supposed to be more advanced and less judgemental than it was in the Victorian era. The book also covers the topic of corruption of innocence and to the human soul. With characters in the LGBT community that would have been a scandal in Oscar Wilde's days. A great way to bring back a classic and really immersed the vital parts of it into a phenomenal discussion into today's world.
Trigger Warnings: Use of drugs, suicide and alcoholism (which if you have read The Picture of Dorian Gray are a given)

To live life without a moral compass or conscience: chilling!😈

What a horror story for our times when the search for physical perfection dominates the culture! The author really gave me chills as he described one man's descent into ever more depravity and a friend who seems intent on egging him on.

Young Gary Adrion somehow bargains his way to maintain his peak 20 year old physical perfection but the deal leaves him free to live a life without consequence. His 17 year descent into a murky world of excess where he indulges himself constantly and hurts others indiscriminately was compelling, but I did find the end result depressing.

Still, I love the wide variety of Rick R. Reed's work, particularly his romances and his novels with an element of magic or fantasy. This is not my favorite of the dozen or so of his books I've read but I did find it a pageturner. A gritty drug and party culture features prominently and Reed includes some pretty violent scenes that showcase the lengths to which this remorseless anti-hero will go.

I've never read the horror classic upon which Reed's story is based, maybe to the good so I could evaluate it on its own merits and not as a comparison to the original. I've read several of the author's works that describe the seedier side of 🌃Chicago's nightlife and, like those, this is a cautionary tale. Beware the consequences of getting what you impulsively wish for!😲,

Thanks to publisher NineStar Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review and the opinions expressed are my own.

I've always been fascinated by Oscar Wilde's story about Dorian Gray. I think it is an absolute must read for those that enjoy classics. So, when I saw that A Face Without a Heart is labeled as a modern day retelling of it, I knew I had to read it.

The book follows Gary Adrion (very clever), who is basically a 21 year old trust fund kid. He has been extremely spoiled with material things his entire life, yet he lacked any emotional guidance. After being spotted by Liam; who is not a painter, but rather makes holograms of people; he agrees to model for him. If you are familiar with The Picture of Dorian Gray, you can probably guess where this story is headed.

Let me say this is a interesting and well done book. Each character in the story gets their own chapters, and they are all told from their point of view. I think the characters are all well done, if not very likable. I don't think I connected with a single person in this book. They all have their own problems, and mostly don't know how to handle them.

A Face without a Heart is definitely a dark and gritty read. The sex scenes are told as a matter of fact and in explicit detail. It isn't for the faint of heart. Suicide and drugs also play a big role in it. Just as a fair warning to potential readers.

3 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ninestar Press for the review copy.

Rick R. Reed has undertaken a big task in re-telling “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and I have a mixed response to it.

It’s pretty clear in “A Face Without a Name” who the characters are. Gary Adrion is an anagram for Dorian Gray, Henrietta is Henry but as a drag queen… etc. Reed’s version of this story is in a contemporary setting. In some ways that makes the story more gritty and visceral. It’s much less subtle than the original story was and I think that both ways work when it comes down to it.

Liam is an artist who creates holograms of people. When he sees Gary he knows that he wants to relate a hologram of him in spite of the fact that he immediately feels as though Gary is a threat. The hologram is created… and Gary says that he would “sell his soul to the devil” to stay as beautiful as the way Liam has depicted him. Thus begins the supernatural connection between Gary and the portrait.

Reed’s story focuses on the downward spiral of Gary Adrion’s life. Once he learns that the hologram takes on the aging that his physical being would normally do, Gary hides it away. At the same time as he is bothered by the connection, he is aware enough that he doesn’t want anyone to know about it.

The main theme of the story is that a focus on pleasure and hedonistic behavior as the dark side of human nature. The more that Gary does that is cruel, dark, evil, the older, and more disgusting the hologram becomes. As a fan of the original story, I found Reed’s to be much more literal. There’s a finesse in Oscar Wilde’s version that makes Dorian still likable in a way… even as he spirals out of control. I found Gary to be unliveable. He was at best, naïve and at worst he was a complete monster. It was a bit too black and white for me.

I would say that none of Reed’s characters in this story are likable.. that makes this a hard read if you like to connect with characters.

If you haven’t read the original and like very dark literature, this may be the book for you. If you’re interested in comparing them, Reed is certainly a great writer. I’ve been a fan of quite a few of his books. I wouldn’t say this book was a “favorite” but I can see the great writing and appreciate the attempt to retell and modernize a great story.

A modern-day retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Beauty is a quality that can go deeper than what you can see. It can be dark, dense, and make you powerless to resist. It can stir within you a longing that leads straight to your own demise. Now imagine that this beauty, this feeling, can be captured. In A Face without a Heart, the beauty of a single man is captured within a hologram portrait that is stunning and breathtaking.

"It's depressing, though, to think that even if this is really what others see when they look at me, this beauty is nothing I can hold on to, nothing that won't wither on the vine, darken, age..."

It's simply a moment in Gary's existence, captured by Liam, his new friend. Gary begins to struggle with the idea that this moment, this captured image, could very well be the best version of himself. Every moment, every breath he takes, leads to his beauty slipping away towards a darkness that begins swallowing him whole. He ends up bargaining his soul away -- his hologram portrait will age and decay so that Gary will be untouched. He quickly learns that he can engage in earthly pleasures and have it not affect his beauty -- however over the span of 20 years, his soul has not been left untouched. Gary finds himself moving through friends quickly, becoming excluded from locations due to his behaviors. Gary is initially admired for his beauty and appearance however as people begin to see his true self, superficial qualities are not enough to be able to maintain these relationships. Upon first sight, people appear to him as beautiful however an ugliness quickly envelopes his senses when he sees them for who they are, engaging in these same activities as he. It's like turning the mirror towards himself.

The story is told through several different POVs and I enjoyed how this allowed me to connect to some of the secondary characters. I do wish the friendships and backstories were fleshed out a bit more. Liam and Gary became best friends within days of meeting each other and there was a predominance of instant love which is my least favorite trope. Their mutual friend, Henrietta, provided a good balance in the story and moments of humor when it was needed. At the end of the day, I was hoping the narration would've delved a little deeper because it ended up feeling like we didn't scratch the surface with these characters and I was missing the lyrical writing -- the matter of factness left me yearning for me.

CW: Contains sexually explicit content, graphic scenes of death, and use of narcotics.

Thank you to Netgalley, NineStar press, and Rick R. Reed for the advance reading copy to review!

For those of you who saw the movie "Beastly" and liked it, this is the book for you.

It's a modernized version of the Picture of Dorian Gray with a drag queen named Henrietta whose humor makes up for the lack of Wilde himself writing this book. Yes, I'm aware. The main character, the handsome Dorian of this story, is oddly named Gary. Maybe because of how close it is to Gray? Gary doesn't scream hunky guy. He's perfection personified. Despite the brief backstory we get in one of the earlier chapters, I still don't understand how someone described such as he doesn't have any friends he hangs out with or people he socializes with. He meets Liam and suddenly Liam is his best friend. Then Henrietta. You don't see the relationships develop because the time jumps around to get to that point.

I thought there'd be something more about Liam going on with the holographic painting deal. When we get to the wish which sets the downfall in motion, Gary comments on how it seemed Liam was engulfed in shadows. I was expecting him to somehow know about the curse and how everything was going to go horrible for Gary. It didn't work out that way.

Gary, once he became the prime jerk of the universe, was very intolerable.

As I pointed out, this is on the Beastly level of adaptations. It's not bad but did we really need it?

I'm curious to see, because I did like the different characters, other stuff the author has done.