The Phantom Diaries, by Kaitlin Gow

Annette Binoche came to New York City to work as a seamstress for the New York Opera, but thanks to the Phantom of The Opera, and her mysterious friend Erik, she is now the Opera's newest star.  The fame changes Annette's life, and suddenly she is amid society, and trying to balance her professional and personal lives.  Along her journey, Annette meets several men, including Erik, who factor in to her fate.  She also learns some family history, and realizes her connection to the Opera, and to Erik, is more powerful than she could ever have imagined.

I really enjoyed the young adult re-imagining of the classic Phantom story.  I thought that the character of Annette was pretty relatable to young readers, and the heavy romantic, love triangle aspect are similar to the themes found in Twilight.  In fact, this is a Twilight like adaptation of the Phantom tale.  For that reason, the same audience will most likely enjoy this young adult romance.  Personally, I found some of Annette's boycrazy antics a bit tiring, but I do understand the appeal to the intended audience.

I liked the fact that this was not simply a re-telling of the Phantom's tale, but more of a continuation of his tale beyond the Paris Opera House.  This takes more creativity, in my opinion, than just putting a new spin on an old story.  The storyline is well done, with some intriguing twists on who the "bad guy" really is.  This is the first of a series, and I am looking forward to seeing where the series goes.

A touring review copy of this book was provided courtesy of Traveling ARC Tours.