I feel empty after finishing this. And not empty in a good way. Not empty because I loved the book so much it drained all of my emotions. Empty because this was so unremarkable. I feel so drained just from forcing myself to read it.

Which is so sad because I expected so much. I mean, the cover and the synopsis promise and atmospheric, wintery fantasy. They promise something you can escape into. This wasn't that. This was bleh. It tried to be atmospheric, but failed completely. It was the sheer visage of something impressive, bur without any real substance.

Somehow, the atmosphere had more substance than the plot though. The plot was bad. I finished this, and I can't tell you what the heck happened. A lot did, but it was all disjointed. It was all unremarkable.

After going through some reviews, it's obvious I'm not the only reviewer who felt this way. I hope you (if you pick this up) like it better than me, but don't go into it expecting excellence.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

I liked Nocturne but not enough to recommend it to a friend. It was a sort of retelling of Beauty and the Beast- the author even refers to the male protagonist as a beast. There are also references to the myth of Hades and Persephone. However I feel as though the world building and description was lacking. Some of the sequences were difficult to follow and I was unsure exactly what happened in some parts.

To start, I have to say how beautifully written this book was. I tend to get immersed into the setting of whatever book I'm reading pretty easily but Alyssa Wees went above and beyond with the prose in Nocturne. A mixture of ballet and magic, you'll never guess where this book ends up. A retelling of Beauty and the Beast but I would absolutely recommend if you loved Phantom of the Opera as well.

I didn't realize how much I needed a book like this. Not only does the main character dance, she plays violin???? Which at this point is literally my only personality trait at school????

The writing style of this book was literal magic. The descriptions and emotions just felt so immersive in the most realistic-fantasy-esque way possible. At first, I tended to agree with other reviews I'd read that called the writing too flowery, but as the chapters went on I really fell in love with it.

"Here there were only those who smiled when they said something kind, and those who smiled when they said something cruel.
Mistress was both."

The plot of this book made me want to become a world-renowned performer, because it was just so freaking gorgeous and so...spotlighted?? I'm sure that's not the correct context or meaning of that word, but I took an English final this morning so I'm disregarding all those rules.

This book is spotlighted. It's got this infused aesthetic that makes dance and music seem so extraordinary. Oh, and did I mention that it's basically a cross between a Hades and Persephone story and a Beauty and the Beast retelling? Because it is and it's absolutely gorgeous.

"It was a trick; it had to be. He was only a mirror, no different really from the ones on the walls, reflecting what I so desperately needed to see: a prince in place of a monster, kindness challenging cruelty. An illusion; this was not his true skin. For only a monster would tear a young woman away from her home, flexing his wealth to exert his dominion over her. He did not have to smile for me to know it."

Grace Dragotta, an orphan who has been taken in by Near North Ballet, is promoted to prima ballerina of the corps. Her performance is at the behest of a mysterious, wealthy benefactor who promises to keep the Ballet running in exchange for one thing: Grace. He demands one waltz every Sunday at midnight. Stolen away from her constrained, stultifying world of rehearsals and competition and cramped quarters, Grace is taken by the Master la Rosa to his mansion.

Grace's character development was absolutely stunning. I thought her character was pretty cool in the beginning: she was a determined person who felt a need to get away from the walls of her life. As the book went on and she learned more and more about the worlds outside of her own, her perspective changed into something that I just absolutely adored.

"But when had fear ever stopped me from doing what I must do? I was afraid when Mamma died and left me alone; I was afraid to play my violin for an audience of strangers. I was afraid when Mistress took me in, and I was afraid to perform for the Master. I was afraid of coming here, and afraid of the Master, and afraid of the dark and of the beasts and of the labyrinth. I was afraid to say goodbye to my best friend, my sister.
But all these things I was afraid to do - I did them anyway."

This book was one of the most motivational things I've read this year, and I don't know why. It's a dark, historical fantasy retelling about a ballerina. But at the same time it's just so pretty and haunting and more than a little bit off-putting at times. It made me want to learn how to dance pointe (my ankles and coordination skills say no) and practice violin (my schedule and wrist injury say no).

"Playing violin was like breathing, but dance was the thing that kept my heart beating, wild and free. Breath or blood? Air or ichor? If I had to choose, I chose my heart."

Also, the setting was so new to me. I've been to Chicago a lot of times before, but reading about it during the era of the Great Depression and reading it described in these twisted metaphors was just this overwhelming, slightly Gothic experience.

"I felt like fate as I danced - like something inevitable, unavoidable. Cold, perhaps, but radiant. My shadow was long and touched every single person in that room as I piquéd and promenaded."

Overall, Nocturne was the exact form of escapism I needed. At first, I thought it was a little bit depressing and a little bit overdone; I mean, I was reading about the deathly snowfall in Chicago while on my way to Florida for fall break, so the contrast is more than a little bit ironic.

But this book made me feel the cold, the soreness and the want that ripped through Grace's character. It made me reconsider life and death and music, because it described art forms in such a transcendental way that I never thought could be put into words. Maybe I related to it too personally. Maybe it's because I'm a violinist who does dance and wants to be an author and loves mythology. But this book felt like it was tailored to the parts of my brain that live and breathe dark fantasy.

"I was stuck here, in this world, and there wasn't another one; there wasn't anywhere else I could go. There was nothing beyond this earth with its wonders, pyramids and waterfalls. With its horrors, war and poverty; with its art and cynicism; with its cathedrals and trenches.
Please, please, there has to be more, I thought, I need there to be more."

This book was so good! Dark and haunting in the best way and I could not put it down. This book deserves so much hype and I can not wait for release day to see others that love it as much as I did. The world building and the character profiles were perfect!

This book has a little bit of phantom of the opera and a little bit beauty and the beast and a little bit hades and persephone, but it still feels very unique.

Wees has a masterful grasp on language and how to use it to make the reader not only feel something but to experience that feeling as they read the words on the page. This is not a long book, but each word is expertly chosen in order to have the most impact possible.

Centered around an aspiring prima ballerina in a Chicago ballet company during the Depression, Nocturne takes dance and music and makes them magical. It imbues these arts with capabilities that they are often talked about with hyperbole, but makes them real. Dance and music are escapes, but the question Nocturne raises is, escapes from what? and what happens when you do break free?

While I think some of the execution in the latter part of the story, particularly the inner workings of the world of Noctem could have used a little more explaining, not knowing the rules is also what makes the story work. Because you don't see the ending until its right upon you, even though you've been looking at it the whole time.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Nocturne, while containing some lovely descriptions and wonderful scenes of ballet, is ultimately a confusing mash-up of retellings, under-developed characters, and absent motives. There are several elements that are made out to be important that just fizzle out, and the long descriptions of every. single. thing slow the story down significantly. I found it quite easy to skim large sections of text without missing anything relevant because it was all unnecessary flourishes. I think Nocturne had the potential to be a lovely dark romance, but it lacks focus and believable characters and sadly falls far short of that potential.

Absolutely yes! I really enjoyed reading this novel. The characters were fun, it held my interest, and provided an escape from reality. I would definitely recommend!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. The overwhelming feeling is that I loved it, but I do have a few complaints. I'm not sure I can address all of them 100% spoiler-free so be cautious with this review. To start, the book began VERY slowly. Like DNF slowly. It definitely wasn't a "hook me from the beginning" kind of book. I wasn't really hooked until about halfway through, but when that happened I was already well past my bedtime and still couldn't put the book down. I was only able to go to bed once I finished, that's how hooked I was. I do think the ending could have used some improvement. I didn't like that it took Grace so long to put the pieces together, and that she let Mr. Russo sway her decision so suddenly, but I understand that it was used to progress the story and that it helped emphasis the power of Death vs Sleep. I wish though that there had been more with Death after the big moment. There was an emphasis on giving up his mortal human form and I was yearning for an appearance in the afterlife so that everyone got their HEA. I felt like Grace deserved more than what she got.

The premise of this book sounded so good and I was absolutely looking forward to it until I actually started reading it and found that it embodied the one thing I hate most in books - purple prose. Everything was overly descriptive, just a regurgitation of adjectives, simile, metaphor, etc. I’m not sure if the author felt she needed all this to tell a good story of if she was trying to get her word count up, but whatever the reason it didn’t work for me.

In this haunting, lyrical 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.

Weaving together elements of the Phantom of the Opera, Hercules, and all the haunting, lyrical fantasy. NOCTURNE is heavy on the prose to craft the world that it lives in, with added notes of historical elements and emotion. For me, it wavers between being so full of story that it goes beyond the pages, and being a bit too overwrought. The story is fascinating, but it sometimes becomes clouded within the writing. I found myself at the end of the story wishing that the ending was able to be developed more instead of the long bouts of attention given to describing environments. It’s an interesting book and if you prefer your book with a heavy focus on the writing, then this might be for you.

What originally drew me to this book, and what continued to be my favourite element throughout, was the role of ballet. Through ballet, we are exposed to Grace’s character and seeing how she develops throughout the book. Ballet is such a perfect grey area and works so well within this book in the fight between death and sleep. It reminded me of how much I wanted to be a ballerina when I was little and how I’m still fascinated by it. It is strongest at the core of ballet, and the connections that Grace forms through it.

As a side note, I really loved Grace and Emilia’s close relationship, and I truly wouldn’t change a thing about it.

NOCTURNE is full of beautiful writing, a fascinating concept, and almost leaves more questions than answers at the end. It is not a fairytale with a happy ending, but one that looks at the darker underbelly. It takes a little while to get to the true story and then it feels as if it almost ends too quickly, but it’s hard to put down when you’re in it. And I would certainly go see a show by the Near North Ballet.

This is billed as Sci Fi but I can see a lot of other readers interested in picking it up, too. The prose is overall lovely and evocative.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

4/5 stars
Recommended if you like: fantasy, Hades and Persephone, ballet, magic, curses, fairytales

Big thanks to Netgalley, Del Ray, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book has aspects of several different fairytales/myths rolled up into one beautiful package. There's Hades and Persephone, Death and the Maiden, and Beauty and the Beast. The book was a bit predictable, though I feel like that's my adage for a lot of books. There was a good mix of things I was able to guess and things that surprised me. The ending did surprise me, and I thought the way Wees wrote it was very interesting.

The book does have a lot of descriptions and purple prose, but I liked it. I enjoyed the descriptions and found they helped emphasize certain strange and magical instances throughout the book. It also serves to indicate when something Isn't Right, because there will be gaps in the description (such as the trip to/from Master La Rosa's house).

Grace is someone who's faced a lot of loss in her life. The ballet and her best friend, Emilia, are her only solaces. Grace is an interesting character because she simultaneously has so much fight in her but also a desire to just give in to the magic surrounding her at Master La Rosa's house. I will say this: whatever she decides, she throws herself wholeheartedly into it. There were some moments when she did something that made me go really, but overall she was good at sorting through her thoughts and coming to a conclusion that would meet her needs and wants.

Emilia is only a side character but she's such a good friend. She's excited over Grace's accomplishments and supports her through her journey in this book. No matter how crazy things seem, she's more than willing to reach out a hand to help her friend. She seems like a solid person to have on your side, and I'm glad that she was continually there for Grace.

Master La Rosa is somewhat of a mysterious figure even after Grace begins living with him. His role is pretty obvious from that point on, but I don't really feel like we get to know him even as Grace feels like she does. There's also the situation with how he acted in the private box vs. how he acts in virtually every other scene after that. I think it would've been better had he been developed into a more well-rounded character. As it stands, I sort of get the appeal, but don't really feel that connection. I liked the magic in the book. The other world, where Noctem is located, is interesting. I liked the take on death and spirits, and the 'monsters' had an interesting connection.

This is a little nitpicky of me, but some of the ballet stuff was a little off. For one thing, Firebird was first performed in the US in 1916, not in the 1930s. Second, Grace at one point mentions she dances 12 (I think, maybe 10) performances of Firebird and used 7 pointe shoes...except full solo/prima performances usually wear out pointe shoes, and that's today. In Grace's time, pointe shoes were less sturdy, so she really should've gone through at least a dozen pairs, if not more during the show's running. There were some other things that I noticed, but the timeline and pointe shoe thing particularly stood out.

I think the ending is satisfying as well. It isn't a traditional HEA, but I think it fits. It also really reinforces that Grace's decision is her own and not her being wrapped up in love or lust or whatever.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and think Grace's story is interesting. I liked the ending both because it's satisfying and because I think it matches well with a lot of ballet endings, which kind of fits the theme.

Quick summary: "Nocturne" is a lyrical, well-researched historical fantasy featuring an orphaned ballerina who struggles to fulfill her dream and figure out the competing interests of people around her. I'm rating it 3/5 stars for the well-researched historical elements and abstract prose.

Full review: Alyssa Wees has a unique writing style that many readers will love. The prose is very lyrical and descriptive, which may appeal to a wide audience. Unfortunately, the tedious descriptions and abstract analogies made it difficult for me to become immersed in the story.

Part of the problem was that the main character lacked direction. Grace doesn't show much agency for the better part of the story. As a character-driven reader, I found it hard to connect with such a passive, self-centered main character. Grace had a lonely childhood and struggled to fit in with the cutthroat atmosphere of the Near North Ballet company, but a traumatic past doesn't excuse her self-destructive thoughts and cruel actions at the end of the story. I wish the readers got to see more of Grace's friend, Emilia, as that was the character I connected with and rooted for.

There were several twists in this story, and I commend the author's attempts to keep readers on their toes. However, I don't think the plot twists were executed to the extent they could have been. Two, in particular, were pretty obvious, and I found it somewhat unrealistic that Grace didn't figure them out. Additionally, the ending was somewhat confusing, and I had trouble determining what was real, fantastical, and part of a dream (which is pretty ironic, given the content in the climax).

I can tell the author is very passionate about ballet, and her enthusiasm shines from the pages. I definitely learned a lot about ballet and have a newfound appreciation for dancers! Additionally, this story took place in the 1930s, and I loved the lush historical setting. Several historical details were woven into the plot, and I thought the author did a great job researching the time period.

Before I list my concluding thoughts, I want to mention that this book deals with heavy topics of death, grief, manipulation, and poverty. Readers sensitive to these topics should take notice before starting this story.

Concluding thoughts: "Nocturne" is a unique, fantastical take on ballet, violins, grief, death, and sleep. While I didn't connect with the main character or the lyrical prose, the historical setting and interesting plot place this story at 3/5 stars. I'd recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fantasy, ballet, and deep, metaphorical stories.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alyssa Wees, and Del Rey for this advanced reader’s copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

this book was so beautifully written and I fall in love with this book. the author's ability to capture characters emotions is just awesome. I've never ever read a book like this. highly recommend.

Book: Nocturne

Author: Alyssa Wees

Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars



I would like to thank the publisher, Del Rey Books, for sending me an ARC.



Okay, so this is another one that I went into knowing nothing about. It kind of reminded me a lot of Phanton of the Opera, but with dancing. We follow Grace in 1930s Chicago. She is a dancer in a company that is down on its luck. She gets this patron, who starts to sponsor the company. No one knows for sure who he is. He takes a deep interest in her. The further she gets into this, the more she comes to realize that things are not what they seem. Her world takes a dark turn as she starts to see that death really does play a factor in our everyday lives.



I found the writing to be very beautiful. It is highly descriptive and leans into this. If you do not like over the top writing, then this is not going to be the book for you. The writing pulled me in and made me feel as if I was experiencing the events and emotions right along with the characters. It gave me all of the feels. Now, I will admit that there were times that I found the writing to be a bit too much. There were times that I felt like it did slow the story down and pull me out of the story. However, there were times that I found it to be very enjoyable.



The characters were well developed and highly developed. It takes time to build this relationship. However, I found the rewards outweighed the doubts. By letting us follow the characters around on their day to day lives, it gives us a reason to care about them deeply whenever things start to happen. The complex nature does, at times, make it kind of difficult to see what side they are actually on. I guess that this is what makes them feel real. Human, after all, are very complex beings.



The overall plot is very dark. The atmosphere allows you to paint this darkness. You are in the theater with the characters, going through the streets, and taken to another world. The world that the author has created is not a nice place. Again, the writing does an amazing job at capturing this. You are there with the characters going through everything.



Overall, I did enjoy this one.



This book comes out on February 23, 2023.



Youtube: https://youtu.be/xf-NEb7xtnM

I really loved this book! The way it was written was so beautiful and the story was intriguing. At no point was I bored. I read the whole book in one sitting. The main character, Grace, served as a strong female character. She didn’t need anyone to save her! In the end, she saved not only herself but also Noctem too! Though, I am sad that Master la Rosa had to die in the process. I feel that his relationship with Grace could’ve flourished if he had lived. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable book to read.

I was interested in reading this tale because I grew up in the Chicagoland area and am usually drawn to historical fiction/fantasy that takes place here.

Grace is a ballerina who is chosen by an unseen patron to be the prima in her dance company. What seems an odd choice for an untrained dancer proves correct when she is essentially sold to her benefactor who in turn is actually Death itself.

Despite its lyrical prose, Nocturne fell flat for me in its plot development. A patchwork quilt of elements from Phantom of the Opera, myth of Hades and Persephone, Beauty and the Beast and maybe The Red Shoe, the author doesn’t seem to be able to settle on any one retelling and as a result, the story felt incredibly disjointed. Grace was not a particularly likeable character and the ending did not make much sense given her established personality. Through much of the novel I was left confused as to how and why events were unfolding.

Fans of lyrical retellings may enjoy this one, however for me there were just one too many plot points that were beyond suspension of disbelief, even for a historical fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alyssa Wees, and Del Rey for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.