This is a gender-bent YA retelling of the Phantom of the Opera which was enough to intrigue me. If you want a good cry, then definitely give this one a go. My only criticism was the abrupt ending which left too many loose threads.

4.5 ⭐
Wow! This was a beautifully crafted, well written story that I didn't expect to love as much as I did. There was something about it that ended up just clicking with me and once I got a few chapters in I was hooked.

Sing me Forgotten is a heartbreaking, gender swapped YA Fantasy retelling of Phantom of the Opera that has an interesting magic system and morally grey characters. I felt fully immersed in not only the magic of the world but also the world itself: the seemingly lavish world of opera above, and the decaying darkness of the catacombs below where our main character, Isda, is exiled. The romance was sweet, a classic YA romantasy pairing, and I loved Emerie and Isda together, especially uncovering how their pasts, and the secrets they keep hidden, have informed their present.

Overall I would definitely recommend this beautiful book if you're a fan of gothic undertones, morally grey characters forbidden love and unique magic systems... also if you don't mind having a good cry when you read a book!

I really enjoyed this book it was well written with a captivating storyline and well developed characters. It was a lot better than I expected it to be

I really wish I could have loved this book as much as I wanted to! I loved the setting and the spin on the Phantom of the Opera, which I love with all my heart. Maybe that was part of the problem. I think my biggest nitpick was simply the prose, because it felt lacking somehow. An old, gothic tale like this truly deserves a more ornate writing style, which is what I'd hoped for when I picked this up. Alas, it felt more flat than anything else. It wasn't bad by any means though, my expectations were probably just too high.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC. This was an interesting read. I really enjoyed reading this book and I can't wait to read more by this author. It was full of twists and turns you couldn't see coming. And I'm still not over the ending of this book. It was.... well I don't want to spoiler you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

I really loved Olson’s A Forgery of Roses so I was really excited for this!

I love the world building here. The retelling is like a mash up of Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback of Notre Dame with a lot of creativity thrown in.

I like this explanation for the phantom - Isda - and their obsession with their singer. I wanted to root for her but I can’t help but see her dangerous qualities. It felt more complicit than in the Leroux novel because we’re in Isda’s head. We’re apart of her thoughts and actions, good and bad.

I couldn’t tell if this was going to be a villain origin story or a redemption story for Isda and it was kind of both. I love the ending. I think it fits for Isda and is so lovingly influenced by the original novel.

Isda needs a lot of therapy but I am rooting for her. I hope Emeric gets a <spoiler> Christine Daaè style ending with a Raoul who loves him safely and his sister not being evil </spoiler>.

Although I didn’t love it as much as Forgery of Roses, this is one of my favorite Phantom retellings and a great fantasy novel! 4 stars.

This is a gender swapped Phantom of the Opera, with an interesting music based magic system. Its an easy read but I didn't find it particularly gripping. Worth a read, but probably won't go back to it again.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This story is loosely base on The Phantom of the Opera but it stands on its own and it's a compelling, moving, and well plotted story.
I loved the world building: Isda, the one who cannot be seen and should not exists, Cyril the men who risks all for his theatre.
They're very strong characters and I think that the first part of the book is brilliant, the second part is a bit weaker and less gripping.
I enjoyed it and it's recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

A good, easy read, I enjoyed it very much. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Sing Me Forgotten is a gender swapped Phantom of the Opera retelling. The concept of this book sounded really good - all about accessing and manipulating memories through song. First of all, I really loved writing and world building. The setting of the Opera house was perfect for this story, both beautiful and creepy at the same time. I also enjoyed Isda, and her many badass moments throughout the story. But I didn’t enjoy the romance, and the story felt a bit bare bone at times. Also this book unfortunately had the same problem as A Forgery of Roses - that the first half of the book had me heavily engaged in the story and absolutely loving it only for it to change in the second half, something that made me lose interest. The ending wasn’t satisfying as there still were quite a few unanswered questions for me, which brought down my enjoyment of this book.

Spoiler Free Review

Finished reading 15 February - 25 March 2023

Less than 5-word critique: Compelling, romantic, thrilling, and binge-worthy

Sing Me Forgotten is the first book I've read by Olson and it's perhaps the best Phantom of the Opera retelling, and compelling love story, you may ever come across. Long story short, it's pitch perfect.

We follow Isda, a girl who's born with disfigurement and powers and is rescued by a man named Cyril who owns an opera house. Whenever someone sings onstage, she can alter and steal their memories according to Cyril's desires. Everything changes when she meets a compassionate boy named Emeric who has a voice like an angel. The more time Isda and Emeric spend together, as well as developing feelings for him, the more she discovers about people like her ostracized from society and her determination to become the person she wants to be.

Olson's writing and style is written beautifully.

Great characters and romance.

I especially cried at the ending.

For my fancast, I see Halle Bailey as Isda, Gaten Matarazzo as Emeric, and Stanley Tucci as Cyril.

Recommended to those who enjoy:
*Phantom of the Opera retellings and vibes
*The Hunchback of Notre Dame vibes
*Sweeping and forbidden romance
*MC with deformities
*MC with musical talents
*Magic
*Race against the clock situations
*Love interest with musical talents
*Music and/or opera

A big thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK Children's, and HarperCollins Children’s Books for an ARC copy. I really appreciate it.

First of all I should tell you that the only thing I know about the Phantom of the Opera is that Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser were in it and did a great job. Also, there's someone called Christine? Anyway, you might imagine that I knew next to nothing about the story when I started reading this book.
I also have no idea which parts came from the authors imagination and which ones are from TPotO.

The storyline was fine. It was nice and imaginative. The magic system was... well. It didn't really fit into the story. The whole world didn't feel like a fantasy world with magic, so throwing just one very specific type of magic in there felt quite artificial. I also wish we had learned about the magic in a more showy manner and less by having the main character literally read a book about it with instructions and a nice explanation. A bit too much on the nose.

Emeric and Isda are kind of adorable, but it was a bit too insta-love for me. Especially Isda's character didn't feel realistic. She was way too cheeky and outgoing for someone who had been hidden away all her life. Also - being able to perfectly ride a horse, because you have seen other people do it in memories? I hope the author realises that there is a physical aspect to horse riding and knowing how to do everything doesn't mean you'll physically be able to.
I didn't really feel any chemistry. Especially from Isda's side the romance seemed more like puppy love but then it turned into "my one true love" way too quickly.
But apart from that, Isda's character was wonderful. She was the perfect amount of kind, but so manipulated that she doesn't even realise how evil she can be. She was brutal and hurt and fierce and vulnerable and my heart ached for her.

What I also really loved was the writing style of this book. Definitely pushed it up a star. Beautiful story telling and there were a couple of quotes that had me stop and reread them immediately because they were so lovely.

The ending of the book was - as you might have expected from a retelling of this story - perfectly tragic. I loved it, but I do wish there had been a dash more tragedy. Or a better build up of the tragedy. It had potential and the writing was gorgeous, but I simply didn't care enough about the characters to actually be hurt by the ending.

So, overall, nice book with slightly unrealistic characters and an unformed magic system (that however does have potential) and truly beautiful writing.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, Children for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sing Me Forgotten is a standalone young adult fantasy retelling of the Phantom of the Opera. I had such a good time reading this book and immediately became immersed in the world. This is a clever retelling in which the author puts her own spin, specifically that in this case the phantom is female. There are musical elements threaded throughout the story and little nods towards the stage musical and in my opinion the author captured the dark and magical atmosphere beautifully. It took me a little while to grasp the differences between gravoirs and fendoirs, however on the whole the world building is good and the concept of the memory elixir magic system easy to understand.

Isda and Emeric are the two main characters and are wonderfully crafted. Isda is a gravoir born with the characteristic facial disfigurement, she escaped instant death at birth and is now hidden away from the world and confined to the catacombs of the opera house. She has the ability to manipulate and steal memories but only when someone sings or screams. Emeric is a little darling, a playful and humorous character who sings like an angel and makes homemade caramels!

As many other reviewers have said the ending hit me hard. It was completely heartbreaking but also very poignant and beautiful. It is a refreshing and unusual way to end a YA fantasy, we had closure so this sits firmly as a standalone novel (although a sequel would definitely be rather nice).

I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and story telling and I have immediately added A Forgery of Roses to my TBR. Sing Me Forgotten is a must read if you enjoy a fantasy retelling, even if you don’t know the Phantom of the Opera story.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC via Netgalley

2.5/5 stars! So not going to lie, I grabbed this book purely based on how pretty I thought the cover was. I was pleasantly surprised when I read the premise and thought it would be right up my alley. This book read like a gender-swapped Phantom of the Opera + magic. Unfortunately, the overall payoff wasn't there for me. The book felt like 80+ pages too long and I hated the main character, which makes it kind of hard to invest in the outcome. I really enjoyed my first read by this author, but this was slow and dull for me.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Isda has no memories of her early days. She was cast into a well at birth, destined to die for her sin of being born with the ability to manipulate memory when song can be heard. She was saved from this fate by Cyril, the owner of an opera house, who gave her sanctuary from the world of the unmarked in the sewers below his establishment. She lived there with her music, her organ, and her voice for company but always with a longing in her heart to dwell with the masses above. When she meets Emeric, the hatred for her solitude intensifies and she begins to break free from the constraints that might have been keeping her safe but were also holding her hostage.

[book:The Phantom of the Opera|480204] is a favourite book and movie adaptation of mine and so when I read the synopsis, and realised that this was a gender-swapped variation of the story, I was immediately intrigued. I thought the author did a stellar job of making this initially similar enough to the original to retain the same Gothic-infused atmosphere and eerie undertones but varied enough, as the storyline progressed, to retain something of its own magical flavour.

The fantastical inclusions aided in this story's progression differing vastly from its genesis. I loved learning about the odd magical abilities some in this world obtain and exploring how Isda uses her own strengths for both personal gain and to extort Cyril's customers and grow his business. The inclusion of this magic was slow to be revealed, meaning I got to understand the characters and this world absolutely before further reveals were made.

My main source of love for this story stemmed from the abundant emotion that featured here. Blossoming romance was sweetly spoken of but the longing in Isda's heart to belong was fiercely felt and overwhelmed her senses and most scenes. Olson wonderfully recreated these feelings for the reader to experience and it transported me into the story and bonded me absolutely with its central character.

Thank you to Harper Collins Children’s Books U.K. and NetGalley for the arc of Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This book is the epitome of Phantom of the Opera, albeit with a female phantom, Isda, born disfigured and labelled by society as a monster. Isda is a ‘gravoir’, with magical abilities to read, change and extract memories from people in this alternative French society, where memory is currency, bought and sold and those like Isda are penalised and at best enslaved for their abilities.

Isda has lived a solitary life within the crypts of the opera house, knowing only a father-like figure, Cyril, until suddenly her world explodes with music, vitality and colour with the arrival of Emeric. Emeric is a talented but, untrained opera singer whose arrival is a true catalyst for change in Isda’s life.

Initially, this book felt very YA and despite the character gender swap, cleaved closely to the original Phantom plot line but, then there is divergence and the story truly comes to life with a crescendo. You knew I had to get a musical reference in somewhere!

Whilst the world building aligns closely to around 18th century France, the magic system is what truly brings this world to life, encompassing multi-layered levels of ability, a history of uprising and devastation and the resulting prejudice, fear, enslavement and persecution.

And whilst I had my initial doubts, the Olson does wonders in partnering a gradually increasing tempo of plot and pace, alongside educating and informing the reader of the history and magic, with not a lecture in earshot or sight, all whilst keeping me on the edge of my seat, desperate to find out what happens next.

If you’re looking for a magical opera of a novel that will carry you through all the emotions, a great plot line, some definitely morally grey characters and an intriguing magic system, definitely pick this one up. It’s a great debut that will totally transport you away.