Wow. This book is an absolute masterpiece of mythic, atmospheric storytelling and world-building. Set in Chicago circa the Great Depression era, this mysterious story captivated my imagination from first page till the very last. Alyssa Nees is past mistress of literary cadence, with each word and sentence flowing like a lightly tripping river, and although the emotion of the story can feel a bit overwrought at times, it perfectly encapsulates the romanticism, the all-encompassing emotion only found in youth and the young. This book will stay with me for a long time.

*This ARC has been kindly provided to me by Del Rey Books and NetGalley, and releases to the world on Feb 21st, 2023.

It’s Prima Ballerina + Phantom of the Opera = delivering all the thrills and the chills.

Grace is selected by the mistress to be the new prima ballerina; an unexpected boon because she is an orphan. Grace learns that she has a secret and suspicious patron. One who knows secrets from her past.

A darkly beautiful and creepy tale. Perfect for fans of BELLADONNA by Adalyn Grace and THE MIDNIGHT DANCE by Nikki Katz.

Alyssa Wees is a magical storyteller with lyrical language that had me re-reading lines because they were so well crafted. Nocturne is my favorite kind of story, a true fairy tale in concept and execution. One that left me spinning and breathless as the story swept to its conclusion.

This was a magical read. Alyssas writing is so great, I could practically feel like I was living in the story. This was an absolutely beautiful fairytale, the characters were so likable. Such a beautiful setting Chicago 1930's. I much enjoyed this book. Thank you @netgalley for the ARC

An orphaned young woman who becomes prima ballerina…a daughter taken too soon….a mysterious patron…..and a wager between Death and Sleep. This is the story in Nocturne.

By the age of 13 Grace Dragotta is an orphan. Her brother was killed by the Mafia and her mother has died from poverty and hardship. Grace takes the violin her brother bought her and makes a living of sorts playing on the streets. But Grace has dreams of becoming a ballerina like those she sees practicing at the nearby school. And one day she takes her violin and herself to the school and convinces them to take her on as a student. Life is hard but Grace is on the cusp of major success, becoming prima ballerina. Times are hard for dance companies and when this one a patron must be found or the company will fold. The mysterious Mr. La Rosa steps up, and Grace becomes the prima ballerina, setting off a chain of events that no one could have anticipated.

Mr La Rosa asks just one thing of Grace; that she live in his home and continue dancing with the ballet, and every Sunday, that she dance with him. That doesn’t seem like too much to ask to save the dance company, but Grace feels she’s been sold. As her relationship with the man also known as The Master develops Grace begins to see how she is helping lost souls through her music and her dance. But things are strange and getting stranger, and Grace finds herself the prize in a wager between two powerful mystical forces.

Nocturne is an adult fairy tale. Lyrically written and startlingly beautiful, Nocturne is a fantasy adventure not to be missed.

This was definitely a different read for me I did enjoy it though not sure if I'd read it again but I did like the story alot

Some people will probably describe this as lyrical, so if you're into that, this book may be for you. But frankly it is a description I run from when I see it in reviews, and this book is the reason why.

There are so many metaphors and similies and overwrought descriptions that you can barely find the plot. The main character Grace is the reason women used to be committed for "hysteria" if she really thinks half the thoughts the author puts in her head. A lurid imagination and propensity for self destructive acts at the very least.

Suffice it to say that I did not find her erratic behavior and macabre sense of description likable, and as an extremely character driven writer that made this book even more of a slog for me. It took me almost an entire month to read and I am not even sure why I persevered to the end, something in the story must have kept me going, however slowly.

So, recommended for overdramatic teens who are in their goth phase, but not for me.

4.5 This was a dark, haunting, atmospheric, and lyrical fantasy. It's a beauty and the beast reimagining with a little bit of Greek mythology influence and some phantom of the opera vibes. I loved it!
If the ending was slightly different, I would have given it a 5. I don't want to spoil anything.
If you like magical, atmospheric reads check this one out!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGally and Random House Publishing Group - Ballatine for the E-ARC

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing in this book. I thought the prose was beautiful and throughout the book I had to stop and write down my favorite quotes. However, I found the actually story to be dull. While I enjoyed some of the story between The Master and Grace, it was just so slow that I really found myself putting down this book to read something else. The last 20% or so really ramps up and I finally couldn't put the book down as I was racing to see how it ended. So, if you enjoy kind of a rollercoaster read where you're bored then intrigued this might be the book for you.

4/5 stars!
This book was very mystical. I love the plot of the book and the aesthetic is amazing. The book might be a longer read because it included a lot of description that sometimes got boring. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book! Thanks Alyssa Wees, Del Rey, and NetGalley for the ARC!!

Nocturne is one of those stories that has a pretty cover, an interesting synopsis but has a messy plot. Although parts of the book were written beautifully, it felt like the plot was all over the place. I’m struggling to decide, is this Beauty and the Beast? Death and the Maiden? Phantom of the Opera? Or Persephone and Hades. Because it felt like the author wanted to try to mix them all in one, and kinda did but failed at it. Although the story was nice it was just confusing? I wish Wees would’ve just stuck to one, but it felt like she wanted to do all of them. I didn’t enjoy the Masters' character, he was pretty creepy obviously expected though, but it just turned me away from their ‘love’. I also wish the ending went another way because what the hell was that? I just don’t get it. I don’t see the point in all of it and I'm truthfully confused. The start of the story was okay, but once you are at least 6 chapters in it all starts going downhill.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m unsure how to rate this one. I was SO excited for this premise: Phantom of the Opera meets Hades & Persephone in a historical setting and ballet. The execution was just odd though. I can’t even figure out if I enjoyed it or not?

The big thing to know before you read this book is the prose is SO purple-y. Like over the top. Normally I love lyrical prose and at first I was really digging it, but as the pages went on it become over the top to the point that it was tedious to read. I found myself skimming most of the pages because it was all random metaphors and deep description with little plot. If this kind of vibe is your favorite, you’ll probably love it. For me, it overshadowed any sense of plot or character development to the point I couldn’t get into the story.

Next thing is the slow moving plot. There were so many descriptions and flashbacks in the beginning that honestly the plot didn’t really kick in until 40-50% through the book. It was hard to wade through. I kept reading because I wanted the story so badly but it was frustrating. Once the plot really started, it was very repetitive. The biggest thing that frustrates me was there were no stakes. I never once felt any sense of urgency or reasoning for characters to actions. The Master was so flat I couldn’t even care what he did. I wanted to feel the sympathy and terror that you feel for the Phantom, but instead he was just kind of there.

The ending 15% of the book was the best. There was enough action to keep me engaged, but having trudged through the rest of it I wasn’t sure if the pay off was worth it. And it still felt rather lackluster.

Overall, I can’t decide if I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the premise and promise of it, but the actual execution? Not so much. I enjoyed the lyrical prose to an extent, but it was too heavy handed to be sustainably read for a whole book. I do feel like there IS any audience for this book though. Maybe folks who love a a strong literary bent to fantasy with lots of deep prose.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

Nocturne by Alyssa Wees, a fascinating read. Times are hard all over and troubles abound, when the ballerina company lands a Patron. Who is this enigmatic and strange individual and what does he want with the new head ballerina?

I don't give out five stars lightly, but this book has earned it. A wonderful read that is a mix of Beauty and the Beast and Black Swan.

I'm a retired ballerina, and I loved reading about Grace. She had the drive of a dancer, and the will to match. Alyssa Wees knows how to write a wonderful dance scene that I could invasion with ease. To say I was enthralled in the story, is an understatement.

There were so many twists and turns in this story with the introduction of Master La Rosa. His story is torturous, but filled with hope. I wanted the best for him, but with the amazing story telling, I wasn't sure who to trust until the end. La Rosa was a great character, portrayed in a mysterious light. Loved it.

If I could go back and read this book again and feel the same excitement as the first time, I would in a heartbeat. This was a great read and I can't wait to see what else Wees brings to the table.

**Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Nocturne is a chilling, mysterious story of a beautiful ballerina who falls into a nightmarish fairy tale. With very Phantom of the Opera/Beauty and the Beast vibes, this story was always magnificent and magical. Grace is a beautifully complex character and Master La Rosa is a beautiful Phantom/Beast who admires her.

The book, shockingly being less than 300 pages truly felt like a 600 page book. In some descriptions, it did drag, but not to the point of being difficult to read or wanting to put it down. For that, I do knock a star off. I felt like I was reading the book forever (even though I was enjoying it).

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a Phantom of the Opera fan as Grace is much like our cherished Christine, however I do sense a greater independence in Grace.

4/5 stars for a beautiful, magical setting as well as chilling and mysterious characters.

thank you to netgalley for providing me an ARC

DNF 28%

i really couldn’t get through with this.

i cannot go through pages if so much unnecessary detail that are clearly just there for a try-hard flowery prose. like no i don't need that much eccentric detail about "lushous blue the sky was". i understand doing so for the sake of creating an imaginative world, but it became too frustrating to follow.

i could not connect for the main character. she was so flat. literally all i could tell you about her is that she’s a ballerina and she had a tragic backstory.


also if i’m gonna read a historical fiction, i expect imagery and setting description. instead we got too much repetition and irrelevant info dumps.

this made a really good premise, but once again it falls into the “great concept, bad execution” kind of book ://

This is a great concept, a dark fairy tale, filled with ballet and some haunting mystery. I felt the writing was good, but I wanted the story to pop out at me more, not just be described to me. This one will be liked by some of my teens, but I do feel it might need a bit of tweaking before it goes out into the world.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of "Nocturne" by Alyssa Wees to review.

Grace Dragotta has been running from death her whole life. It nearly took her as a child, and eventually came to claim her mother and older brother. She finds a safe haven in the corps of the Near North Ballet company, working her way up to become promoted to the newest prima ballerina. Although her new position comes with strings: a new patron has set his sights upon Grace, and for providing a way to keep the ballet company afloat, he requests that Grace be the lead in the next ballet. This new patron is unknown, haunting Grace's waking and sleeping dreams. But soon she finds herself reacquainted with death and falling deeper into an unknown world in pursuit of this mysterious new benefactor.

First and foremost, this is undoubtedly a book from the heart, imbued with a profuse knowledge and deep passion for the art of ballet, for music, for love of every kind, and for art itself. Wees' prose was truly lush, with some lines and descriptions sinking their teeth into my heart, embedding into the marrow of my bones. Her sentences and descriptions were as fantastical as the story itself.

However, sometimes this lofty prose was a detriment to my reading and to the overall pacing of the story. Wees continuously tries to amplify her writing with the overuse of literary devices. Hollow metaphors, long-winded similes and extended descriptions of emotion, action, and setting filled the book rather than an actual plot, and while at times such turns of phrase and comparisons were beautiful to read and certified her lushness of prose, most of the time these proved to be highly superfluous and merely decorative. Some healthy editing of these devices--or really any kind of editing--would have helped provide more meat to the story rather than these airy descriptions that dominated the book

I would have loved more of an emphasis on furthering the plot and really giving the reader a sense of a bubbling conflict. But it simply felt like the conflict only came in the last 25 or so pages and really only appeared to check off a box rather than feeling necessary to the story.

The premise of this book sounded highly promising--very reminiscent of "Phantom of the Opera" or Beauty and the Beast--but I found myself wanting more plot and less descriptive language, The beginning of the book where it focused on Grace's background and centered on the ballet was the strongest part of the novel. I only wish the rest of the book had held up.

This book is simply not for me, and I can't say I would recommend it to others.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of Nocturne by debut author Alyssa Wees. I thought this was a good concept, just not well executed. Also, I thought it was over written. It dragged. I did not like the ending also.

This is a beautiful and haunting story which loosely follows the Beauty and Beast fairytale but really it is it's own wonderful dark fairytale. It has ballet and music all in the setting of dark and gritty Chicago in the 1930s. The cold winter backdrop is the perfect setting for this story of death and love. I love the the fantasy world of death and dark. The words are slow and lyrical and I found myself re read large sections out loud to enjoy the verse. It reminds me a lot of Erin Morgentern's The Starless Sea with the prose being extensive and very descriptive but completely enjoyable.

The story was well done and thought out. I enjoyed the main character of Grace a lot. I found her a strong female character that was put in a bad situation over and over and came out on top. I loved the characters of Death and Sleep but the character I was most invested in was the Mistress of the studio. What a truly tragic and complex character. I didn't see the twist at the end coming. So good.

Highly recommend to anyone that likes dark fantasy with light romance and beautifully, descriptive writing. .