Like many others, I have always been a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera and was so excited to be given the chance to read this!

I was surprised at how emotional I found it, I wasn’t too sure how much I would be affected but was moved to tears multiple times.

I loved getting to know Christine and Erik, I found their relationship really moving and real.

I’m really excited to see what Beth Morton writes next!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc. 🫶🏻

I like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a shot at this book.

As a Phantom fan, and an old school one, I have to separate myself from most of the fandom - there is a huge amount of the fandom who prefers Erik with Christine. I get it. So selecting this book was obvious to me that Erik and Christine were end-game / focused relationship.
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The problem with most fanfiction to novel is that most authors play in 'fanfiction' world where the characters they borrow try to hit a certain checklist in making the characters feel like accurate representations. In this book, I made it to the 15% mark when I realized I just couldn't go any further. The author was already changing Erik's personality to one neither of the book, the musical. So that would mean that this is an Erik of her own creation...

... but the characters were a variety of names used from the original text ; some with the first letter of the original names kept ; some with nether name or first letter but different entirely.

Some of the things in this story felt too coincidental (and I get Erik was pulling the strings) and written to fall in line with what the author wanted. Christine seemed to not act like a 25 year old, Erik didn't act like a man who was older by 10 - 15 years.

All in all, I was looking for something a little more polished and grittier for the subject and persona. But, here, we got a more woobified Erik.

Romantic, deeply emotional, moving, and poignant, "Phantom, Ghosts, & Other Heartbreaks" is a powerful contemporary romance retelling of "The Phantom of the Opera"!

As a performer myself, and a lover of "The Phantom of the Opera", as soon as I heard about this book, I just knew I needed to read it! Oh my goodness I am so glad I did!

Pulling elements from Gaston Leroux's original novel as well, Beth Morton does an absolutely breathtaking job of bringing this story to the present time. She seamlessly weaves these aspects with many elements original to this novel, and from the first page to the last, I was completely immersed in the story. Her world-building, three-dimensional characterizations, and storytelling are spectacular, and I simply did not want to put this book down. Her passion for the story she is telling is so clear, and this jumps off of the page in a stunning way.

From the moment Christine and Erik meet, there is something between them. However, both, understandably, have walls up for different reasons, yet, as their relationship grows and develops. They are able to help one another to break down those walls in varying ways, and they care for one another in such a beautiful way. I do not want to say too much about the plot due to spoilers, but, I will say, this novel has so much in it. Delving into extremely important topics including mental health, mental health struggles, and disfigurement, the author doesn't shy away from any aspect, and I believe that they are handled with great care and respect. At times heartbreaking, heartwarming, hopeful, and incredibly touching, this novel truly will pull at your heartstrings from start to finish.

I highly recommend this book! I so look forward to reading what Ms. Morton writes next!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the e-ARC of this book, and to Beth Morton for the beautiful finished copy as well! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I had such a hard time getting into this story and getting connected to any of the characters. I didn't think it was actually like badly written or anything and I can completely understand why someone else would like this but I did not enjoy the story or the writing

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Phantoms, Ghosts & Other Heartbreaks by Beth Morton is a contemporary take on the classic Beauty and the Beast theme and loosely based on POTO. The story features a deeply scarred hero, both physically and emotionally, and a heroine who, despite her own personal struggles, radiates warmth and compassion. Their first encounter set in a broken elevator sets the tone with an intriguing mix of mystery and emotional tension. I was immediately drawn in by the suspense hinted at in that moment.

Erik’s disfigurement is severe, and I appreciated the author's unflinching honesty in portraying both its physical and psychological impact. He’s a brooding, haunted figure still wrestling with the aftermath of trauma and resisting the demands of a new reality. Christine, meanwhile, faces her own inner battles, and I admired the way she navigated them especially with Erik’s support.

Themes of fame, infamy, ambition, financial hardship, grief, and healing are woven throughout the narrative, adding depth and emotional resonance.

A really decent and promising debut. There were a lot of really great elements to this, and I loved how the entire story focused on Christine and Erik's relationship development - though there were moments and scenes that needed a bit more editing and finesse.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Victory Co-op for the ARC opportunity.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book. I love Phantom of the Opera.. Music, romance and the characters i was here for it all. I was always waiting for a book like this to happen because it gave me all the feels i was hoping for watching the characters Erik and Christine throughout the movies and original book. If you love the story of The Phantom of the Opera then you need to read this. I would read it again and buy it just to read it again.

Christine Derring and damaged Erik Gardner's story is well written and has a very good storyline with great characters and a happy ending. This is a modern retelling of Phantom of the Opera. I enjoyed reading their story. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Okay I generally don’t like thinly veiled retelling of popular stories — but this one kinda worked! It was loose enough it didn’t feel like straight fanfiction but definitely paid homage to Phantom. I always love a good elevator meet cute and the way this was navigated overall.

Their relationship towards each other was aggressively opposite sometimes, how they just flip flopped from liking to hating each other but they got there eventually.

The dynamic between Christine and Erik was interesting to watch unravel. This is perfect for musical theatre people, fans of Phantom of the Opera, or contemporary romance readers. As a more historical fiction romance girly this was a great book break from my normal genre(s).

Wow, Wow, Wow! An absolutely glorious modern story, based loosely on The Phantom of The Opera, which I enjoyed and devoured every single page of, constantly wanting more!

Christine Derring has been working hard at the Gardner Opera House for 11 months, hoping her dream job of becoming employed at Gardner Enterprises comes true once she secures her MBA. The head of the organisation is Erik Gardner who, due to suffering horrendous facial injuries when he was younger, is now a recluse, only emerging in public when wearing a mask. However, on the night of a high end opera fundraiser gala, which Christine has painstakingly organised, the city suffers a blackout, and Christine finds herself trapped in an elevator with a stranger who turns out to be Mr Erik Gardner himself. Erik feels safe taking his mask off in the darkness and enjoys the 4 hours of conversation he has with Christine until the power is resumed. The spell of magic in the dark elevator disappears but so does Erik’s gentile demeanour as once the lights come back on Christine sees Erik without his mask on. Erik covers his horror of her seeing his horrific scars and disfigurement with a very undeserved verbal tongue lashing. Later feeling contrite he seeks her out to apologise and she opens up to him about her worries about presenting her MBA as she has awful stage fright. Erik resolves to help her overcome this in order to apologise for the way he behaved in the elevator and so a friendship blossoms. It soon becomes clear to both Erik and Christine, after spending time with each other, that they feel more than friendship for each other and fall into a relationship. However this comes with its challenges, Christine is happy to take Erik in any way that he can give her, but he worries that a true relationship is impossible due to him not being able to date Christine properly in the open. He feels he is holding her back from what she truly deserves from a partner and therefore ends things with her, which results in making them both truly miserable and heartbroken. Will Erik be able to open himself up and convince himself that he is enough for Christine and that he really can be her partner who can join her in the real world instead of, like his fears, holding her back in the shadows?! And if Erik can do this will Christine forgive him for breaking her heart or decide the right decision is to run far away from the Gardner Opera House and the ghost of a man who runs it?!

Well, what an incredible story and I really hope that in this review I can do the book the justice it deserves! As soon as I saw the blurb for this book, I knew I had to read it, as it has been 21 years since the movie came out and I became Phantom of The Opera (POTO) obsessed. I admit I was nervous starting it as I went in with quite high expectations, but I need not have worried as they were absolutely 100% met! I can’t quite believe that this is a debut novel from Beth Morton as it was written so well and after reading this I can’t wait to see what she writes next…….. I can’t lie I would love a sequel to this one but that’s just the POTO fangirl in me! I absolutely loved the “meet-cute” in the elevator and the conversation later on about “Love Actually” had me giggling. I adored Christine for being so feisty and standing her ground when she needed to but at the same time being caring and considerate and loving towards Erik who had never really had that type of romantic love in his life before. I thought the masks between events were great and I also loved the playlist at the end of the book. This book brought out all my emotions; I laughed out loud in chapter 15 and then in chapter 18 my heart broke for Christine. Erik was a great character, albeit with flaws, but it hurt my heart how he was so hard on himself despite it being plainly obvious to the reader (and his friends and Christine) that he wasn’t the awful ugly person he thought he was! I loved both Christine’s and Erik’s character development throughout the book.

In all honesty this book blew me away and there was nothing in it that I didn’t like or would want to change. I now truly know the meaning of having a “book hangover” as I have definitely got one after finishing this one (my first book hangover ever).

5 stars doesn’t really do the story justice, so I am going to add a + in there and rate it 5+ stars therefore breaking my rating scale! I have always shipped Erikstine and so this book was perfect for me. It is now firmly in my top 3 of favourite books ever and I can certainly see this is going to be a repeatedly re-read book. I am really looking forward to seeing what Beth Morton writes next.

Overall, a 5+ star rating and I would recommend this for any fans of the rom com genre, whether you are a POTO fan or not you will definitely enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, Beth Morton and C.M Publishing for my advanced reading copy. Out now.

This captivating romance blends heartfelt emotion, longing, and the power of seeing beyond the surface. The protagonist has spent years secretly admiring her brilliant yet reclusive CEO, a man who has hidden himself from the world ever since a tragic accident left him scarred. When fate traps them together in a broken elevator, their carefully kept walls begin to crumble, revealing vulnerabilities neither expected. As their connection deepens, she and he must prove that true love isn’t about appearances, but about the person beneath the mask. With tender moments, undeniable chemistry, and a story of healing and acceptance, this novel is a beautifully written journey of love and self-discovery.

Thanks to Beth Morton, Net Galley, and to Victory Editing Co-op for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

One, huge fan of Phantom of the Opera and romance books that are derived from it!

This was such a cute book. I do enjoy the fact that Christine was not into the arts in this book; although she worked for the Opera House, she wasn't a dancer, singer, etc. as is normally shown in the retellings.

There is enough similarities that you feel the POTO aspect but there is enough differences that make this take unique. Both of our main characters have to overcome some major obstacles but they do so by helping each other out.

This is a great book that focuses on healing, overcoming emotional and physcial barriers, growth within the MC's and love lots and lots of love (and steamy moments as well).

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, I did not end up finishing this book, as I realized it contained explicit content and I prefer not to read books containing it. However, from what I did read, I really enjoyed it. The characters felt very genuine, it was a pleasantly moderate-paced story, the romance was sweet, and the nods to Phantom of the Opera were fun without being overkill. While I did not finish it for reasons of personal conviction/preference, I would give 4/5 stars for what I did read.

It was a very cute and quick read. I am a fan of Phantom of the Opera so this version was refreshing. It was a bit like a fanfic version of modern Erik and Christine. Did miss the drama of the love triangle if you call it that.

Take a trip to the opera house In a modern day retelling of Phantom of the Opera (that’s a bit spicy🔥)

Christine is a graduate student and an employee of the Gardner Opera House. At an event one night she gets trapped in an elevator with none other than the reclusive owner, Erik Gardner. They have undeniable chemistry but Erik deals with demons from severe facial wounds and hardly ever leaves his home. He’s determined though to win her over.

As a POTO lover this spicy retelling was so fun to read. Some of the characters names are the same from the original and Erik wears a mask but he’s a billionaire and definitely doesn’t live beneath the opera house lol. I enjoyed this new release from Beth Morton and a big thank you to #netgalley and CM Publishing for the advanced copy! This is now available on Kindle Unlimited.

Christine meets Erik at work. He is a recluse who keeps away from the world following an accident which left him with injuries he doesn't want the world to see, so do they have a chance together?

A huge thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op & Beth Morton for sharing an e-ARC of Phantoms, Ghosts & Other Heartbreaks with me in exchange for an honest review!

This book was very cute! I am personally a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera (POTO) so I was so excited to dive into this. I think I did enjoy it more because I knew the lore and story of POTO, but it is not necessary in order to enjoy the book! I feel that the plot of the story was executed really well and it was able to strike a perfect balance between being different enough from the original while still paying homage and being able to draw the similarities. I found myself being able to relate to Christine and I loved getting to read about her progression in her stage fright and just overall confidence in her day to day life. I had so much empathy for Erik and felt so bad everytime he pushed someone away due to his insecurities (I wanted to punch the christmas tree dude). I loved getting to see how Christine’s love was able to help Erik as well as how Beth handled the sensitive topics of Anxiety, Depression & physical disfigurement. I love a good slow burn and this book delivered!

Overall if you are looking for a cute romance story, or are a fan of Phantom of the Opera, you will want to pick this up!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying this is a very loosely based Phantom of the Opera modern-day retelling. The characters share similar names and stories, but that's about it.

This book is written in third person, alternating between Christine and Erik's POV. I am personally not a fan of third person. I'm still unsure of how I feel about the third-person/dual POV writing style, but that again is a personal thing, not a jab at the author. There is a third-act breakup and a few spicy scenes.

This book was ok. The writing style was decent. But the back and forth emotions from Erik and Christine were harsh. They're happy and in love one moment, and at the flip of a switch they're angry at each other. The spicy scenes were very abrupt and rushed in my opinion. After reading the synopsis of the book, I was hoping we would read more about Erik helping Christine with her stage fright. We did in the beginning of the book, but this plot point fell to the wayside halfway through the book.

Overall, not bad for a debut novel. Some things could've been fleshed out better in my opinion. But worth a read.

As a fan of Phantom of the Opera and romance books I couldn’t NOT give this a try. What a fun twist on a classic story and idea!