I received a copy from Netgalley and the publisher.

So Nocturne is a flowery story of Death, Sleep and Eternal Life. It follows Grace as she performs for the first time as a prima ballerina, after her best friend Emilia decides to retire from dance. As the prima, she does well enough to receive a patron that keeps the entire corp from going broke, but little does Grace know the mysterious patron as more nefarious intentions.

Overall, I think the prose is really well done, but the plot could have had a little more action into it. The beginning 40% is very ballet heavy and we lose it a lot in the middle part and I think it stall the story a bit. While I really enjoyed this story (especially the end because who doesn't love when the person who was the victim is the only winner in the end), but the story itself (this will be kind of niche) is so similar to Black Swan, The Star-Touched Queen, and Addie LaRue. Not in a plagiarism kind of way, but definitely in a "I read/watched all of these things and am pulling inspiration from them." If you liked any and all of those stories then this is definitely the book for you.

First, I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity of reading an advanced copy of this book. Overall, this was a good book. The weaving of the themes of dancing with Death and Sleep, was well done and quite magical. At first, I thought this would be just another retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but the twist, totally turned it around and I have mad respect for the author as it was a twist that I didn't expect. Brava and grazie for a wonderful surprise and a well written book.

DNF. Posting to Goodreads. 1/14/23
Thank you NetGalley for this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is the first ARC I’ve ever gotten. And I was super excited to read it! But unfortunately, I was bored. There was way too much detail. It’s definitely slow paced, but it feels slower than a typical slow paced book. Nothing happens in the first 60 pages except she gets made prima ballerina. There was nothing that made me want to keep reading. And I’m not the type to push through a book I’m not enjoying, so I decided to DNF this one.

Moving me to tears is a difficult feat. This book did just that. It is beautiful and masterfully crafted; I would recommend it to my friends in a heartbeat. The writing captivated me from the start, and though the plot and romance were slow to develop, Grace was a compelling enough character to carry me through the first part of the book. As a former figure skater (and attempted ballerina), I empathized with her feelings about ballet, her devotion to her art, her longing for transcendence. The slow pace of the plot made ample room for Grace’s thoughts and feelings, and I feel like the ending would have lacked its emotional punch without them.
The romance was a believable slow burn, allowing Grace to take center stage as she navigated her fantastic new surroundings. For a minute, I was worried I was going to get another Beauty and the Beast retelling, but I was pleasantly surprised by the originality of the magic. I was able to guess the twist at the end, but that’s okay. For me, this book wasn’t about big reveals and dramatic twists, but about Grace’s emotional arc. Readers craving fast paced action might want to skip this book, but if you’re looking for a beautiful, atmospheric fantasy to curl up with on a rainy evening, this is your book.

The overall concept for this story seemed like it would be right up my alley. A little phantom, a little beauty and the beast. But the book itself just never came together the way it could have. I’m not sure if I’m just not a fan of this particular author’s writing style, or if the book just wasn’t for me, but I could not seem to get into it. It felt like it was too slow at times but then hinted at buildup for what ended up being a rather anticlimactic ending. The characters were not as relatable as I would hope. I actually really disliked Grace and could not find anything really interesting about her. I was really hopeful, but in the end this book just fell flat.

"In this haunting, evocative fantasy set in 1930s Chicago, a talented ballerina finds herself torn between her dreams and her desires when she's pursued by a secretive patron who may be more than he seems.

Growing up in Chicago's Little Sicily in the years following the Great War, Grace Dragotta has always wanted to be a ballerina, ever since she first peered through the windows of the Near North Ballet company. So when Grace is orphaned, she chooses the ballet as her home, imagining herself forever ensconced in a transcendent world of light and beauty so different from her poor, immigrant upbringing.

Years later, with the Great Depression in full swing, Grace has become the company's new prima ballerina - though achieving her long-held dream is not the triumph she once envisioned. Time and familiarity have tarnished that shining vision, and her new position means the loss of her best friend in the world. Then she attracts the attention of the enigmatic Master La Rosa as her personal patron and realizes the world is not as small or constricted as she had come to fear.

Who is her mysterious patron, and what does he want from her? As Grace begins to unlock the Master's secrets, she discovers that there is beauty in darkness as well as light, finds that true friendship cannot be broken by time or distance, and realizes there may be another way entirely to achieve the transcendence she has always sought."

I always love the dark side of ballet!

Thank you to Del Rey Books for an e-arc of Nocturne, by Alyssa Wees. I devoured this. I knew to expect dark fantasy with strong thematic elements drawn from fairy tale (Beauty and the Beast) and mythology (Hades and Persephone). I had not expected suspense, mystery and poetic horror. Reading this felt like always being in that liminal space between wakefulness and sleep, never quite sure what's real and what's a dream, prodding yourself to move or speak while always feeling pulled back into your own subconscious. Wees's writing is atmospheric, reflecting the 1930s Chicago winter on every page, and shifts fluidly between the macabre and the transcendent. The turn of phrase that still feels most representative of her prose is her description of Grace's approach to the ballroom to see The Master - she describes the light shining beneath the door as a "slit throat" merely two lines before she describes Grace's heart as "clear water, like an ocean at rest."

This is a book for lovers of classic fairy tales, for those who enjoy the enchantment and the constant feeling of not-quite-right, who enjoy a cast of imperfect characters and anti-heroes, who know that true fairy tales are less a battle between good and evil and more a battle between being remembered or being forgotten, who know the ending is rarely happily ever after.

And the ENDING of this book. It is perfect and wholly unexpected and so thrilling. I could see it as though I were watching it on the stage, and the moment everything turns, I wanted to scream with fear and delight.

Know that this is not a romance, though there is romance. This is dark fantasy with touches of horror. If the very first puppet bow was your favorite moment in Thistlefoot, if you longed for more Luc in Addie LaRue, if you have ever felt, like Grace, the pull of music into another world, then I highly recommend Nocturne.

This was my first eARC from NetGalley and it has set the bar so high. Wees is a wonderful writer and her prose drew me into Grace's world. This type of story—a dark, female-lead fairytale—is my favorite, but I tend to have very high standards for them. Nocturne is the rare gem of a book that is willing to tell a story exactly as it needs to be told and it is a better novel for it. The way that both dance and death are interwoven into Grace's life is done so beautifully. I would high recommend this book to fans of Adalyn Grace's Belladonna or Erin A. Craig's House of Salt and Sorrows. I will be thinking about Nocturne for days to come and can't wait to see what Wees does next.

This book was beautifully written! I loved how magical this story felt. I felt like I was able to step directly into the story. Us readers will follow along with Grace and her journey to become prima ballerina

What I did enjoy:
- the writing! Seriously its beautifully written and magical prose. I admired the writing style and how well done it was
- The characters are interesting and fleshed out
- The dancing elements! I felt like a kid again in my ballet obsession. I really liked that element
- The romance was a nice surprise

I really enjoyed this story! 4 stars out of 5. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

2.5/5 stars.

Things I liked about Nocturne:
1. The writing style. It was magical and really brought me into the world. Very descriptive.
2. The dance references. The author either did research very well or knew this from her own experiences. I loved the use of proper terminology and helped me imagine the scenes. However, if I didn’t already know what the steps looked like, I would be confused. They were just name dropped for effect and never really explained. I mainly wanted to read this book because of the dance aspect, as I am a dancer.
3. The ending. I liked how all the characters and little things we had learned throughout the book connected at the end.

Things I didn’t like as much:
1. The plot. The main storyline started around page 80, which in a 227 paged book is a little later than I expected. I was also confused a lot during the later chapters, and it felt rushed at the end.
2. The romance. I thought that Grace disliked the Master, but they acted in love very soon after.
3. The setting. Early 1900s Chicago, but it could have been anywhere in the world after the beginning of the book. There was nothing that distinctly felt like Chicago to me. Noctem was interesting though, and I think that a book told entirely in Noctem would be cool.

Overall, there were just more cons than pros in this book. I did really enjoy the beginning where it was focused on Grace becoming prima ballerina, but once the fantasy elements came in, everything got confusing.

This dark Gothic romance is so enchanting. I could not put it down. So entertaining that you get lost in the story.
I just reviewed Nocturne by Alyssa Wees. #Nocturne #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This book is beautiful, poetic, and a bit surreal. There were parts of it that I really enjoyed. It reads like a lyrical fever dream. It is well written with intriguing characters.

We follow Grace Dragotta as she makes difficult choices while following her dream of prima ballerina. We learn the cost that comes with it and what she must do to find who she really is.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Nocturne by Alyssa Wees in exchange for an honest review. This book definitely started out with a Phantom of the Opera vibe, which I totally loved. It had a great gothic vibe and was definitely worth reading.

When you write a review and post it but it apparently doesn’t save. I remember there being a strong emphasis on descriptions and how I felt like I was jumping into the story. At times I got lost as to what was going on though because I was focused on what the author was describing. I did like that the timeline and I believe time jumping back and forth was a thing. I love when books do that, it makes me work to put the puzzle of the story together and it’s fun. I read this quite a while ago and I remember it feeling like magic. I wish my review would have saved.

This book had me at 1930s ballerina. Nutcracker meets Beauty and the Beast with just a dash of 12 Dancing Princesses, it was magical, enticing, beautiful, and just a little bit mysterious to give it that extra edge. Fantasy and fairytales combine to form this enchanting world that I could not get enough of. I loved Grace's heartbreaking backstory and how she overcame it to get what she wanted out of life and all the secrets that were revealed left me racing to finish. Absolutely add this to your list if you're a fan of any of these genres!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5235603617

3.75/5 ⭐️

Thank you to Random House Publishing for this e-arc. Originally this review was posted on Goodreads on 01/07/2023. Overall I thought this was a beautiful book, however as it continued it got a bit out of hand. Looking at where we started to where we ended it got a bit too theoretical and “mystical” for my liking, to the point where I wasn’t sure what was going on. I wasn’t expecting this to be a fantasy book but I did enjoy that aspect, I just wish the fantasy started sooner rather than 40% of the way through. The ending tied everything up nicely and I saw no plot holes which I enjoyed. Again, I just thing she went too out of control and it became again too vague where it was hard to read.

This book was a rollarcoster. When I read the description of this book, I thought it would almost be a period-piece type of fictional story between a ballerina who wanted more form life and a mysterious patron who fell in love with her (Phantom of the Opera). However, at the 60% mark of the story, it turned into a Hades and Persephone thing, and because the magic was not really alluded to in the beginning, it just felt like that part of the story came out of nowhere.

There were bits and pieces of the story I liked such as the Ballet, Chicago during the Great Depression, and the struggle of families and artisans during that time. I also loved the friendship between Grace and Emilie. They truly were great friends and I liked seeing how Emilie’s marriage affected their friendship dynamic. That part felt very realistic.

However, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if the idea of magic would’ve been hinted at earlier instead of being thrown in at the 60% mark of the story. Also the plot and characters felt very flushed out in the beginning but once the magic, the manor, and Master LaRosa’s true identity was introduced, the plot began to feel more rushed.
As for the ending, I know it’s suppose to be bittersweet and there’s no true end for Death, but I would’ve liked him to have come back fully and present with his Queen, so that she could finally say “yes” to him, but perhaps that is just my personal opinion.

While I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for my review, all opinions remain my own.

This was a difficult read for me. It was dark and a little confusing. What I was expecting to be a historical novel, was something much more. I loved how the author weaved this tale about the Master and who he really is. How Grace finds herself in the ballet but also loses herself in it. This book is just a complex story and really you need to read it. I loved the writing and the world that Wees build for these characters.

I loved watching Grace's relationships grow with her. She learns to see people as more than what they allow her to see, more than just the surface level of friendship.

Oh, and the ending. JUST LOVE!

This book is to be published 2/21 - get yourself a copy (plus, isn't the cover just BEAUTIFUL!) you won't regret reading this one <3

This book is overwritten and the characters are one-dimensional. There's not much of a plot, since the author seems more focused on overdescribing every little thing instead of writing an actual story.

Nocturne was a good story, and I enjoyed the myth/fantasy elements much more than the romance elements. This wasn't too heavy of writing to get through, it was a little boring at times, but overall I liked it.