I found this book haunting and beautiful,
Grace has always dreamed of being a ballerina, poor and hungry. She performed on the streets for money until she finds a mysterious benefactor willing to fund her rise as a dancer. Is there more to him than the seems ? and will she lose her free will to secure her dreams, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I could definitely see some similarities between the story and beauty and the beast but I would definitely recommend this for somebody wanting to read a new modern fairytale.

This is a really magical book with a great concept. The writing style was not quite for me and was often unnecessarily descriptive and distracted from the plot in parts. Grace had great character development and I enjoyed her arc and I loved the Chicago setting.

I had high hopes for this lyrical book, but in the end, it fell a bit short for me. This was still enjoyable and enchanting, I would've simply wanted it to be a bit less overdescriptive.

This was an interesting read, i did like it but it kind of dragged for me. The idea was interesting but i didn't love it entirely. It feels like it needed a little more work as the characters felt underdeveloped and a little flat. It did have promise but i don't think it was there to really sell the story.

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

was drawn to this book by the front cover and it didn't disappont. It is well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters that I loved. I really enjoyed it.

This was a really great story. Grabbed me from the start and refused to let me go. Would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for granting me access to this eARC.

Nocturne is at times beautifully written and, at other times, overwrought with metaphors, imagery and superfluous adjectives. As a reader who had admittedly enjoyed 'purple prose' more often than not, even I have to admit that it was a little too heavy handed for me in this one. Certain metaphors or ways of describing things were used very repetitively, which did irritate me. If you don't like this style of writing at all, then I would not recommend this book for you. Just find something else to read. On the other hand, some of you might love this book because of the writing style - it's all personal preference.

Writing style aside, I didn't dislike Nocturne, per se; I read it in its entirety and I was more interested to find out what was happening and what would occur next than I wasn't - but it wasn't an easy, free-flowing, un-put-downable read for me. I liked the concept at the heart of it, this retelling of Beauty and the Beast with different folklore and an interesting story of Death and and his brother at its heart, but ultimately, the outcome was a bit confused, and not least due to the at times difficult to comprehend writing.

Mostly, I didn't find that there was enough plot here to make this one a winner, for me. It had a nice idea and it was executed just fine - but that's mostly all I can say about it. It took me a while to get through because of the prose, and because I just didn't care enough about the characters for the most part. I didn't see enough character or plot development to really win me over - but I will say the end was somewhat satisfactory for me.

A shame that I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped, but not a terrible book by any means.

I thought I was done with Beauty and The Beast reimaginings but this has a strong flavour of that story and it turns out I was wrong. While the MC is not the most engaging character, the story which draws on Phantom of the Opera, Hades and Persephone and Death and the Maiden, is sufficiently engrossing that I was hooked. I also have a soft spot for ballet stories and I enjoyed the gothic, historical setting. Overall I really enjoyed this one.

A brilliant and magic book. A dreamlike story that reminded me of The Phantom of the Opera but it's also a very original story.
Well plotted, great characters and storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Overall I really enjoyed this book. In a lot of ways it had some similar vibes to The Night Circus, especially in that I was a bit underwhelmed with the overly detailed depictions here and there but slowly fell for the story.

Grace is a very bittersweet character and, as I said I was slow to warm to the book, in the end she left me feeling sad for her.

There was some good hinting throughout the book that meant you ended up with an "I knew it!" moment but also not so much there couldn't still be some surprise.

I'd have to say the main and major side characters progressed the story well. The infinitely less important characters were mentioned in brief and moved on. I was on the fence which way Emilia would go but I found I actually really liked her full Ride or Die friendship and sisterhood with Grace.

I think we all knew Mr Russo and the Mistress would be dodgy but I hadn't quite expected how dodgy. Again, enough hints but not enough to spoil the surprise.

The whole book is an easy read, it flows well, the writing is good (if not a little wordy here and there) and I have no doubt I'll just be randomly getting melancholy about Grace the next few days.

Nocturne follows Grace, a talented ballet dancer teetering on the edge of ultimate success prima ballerina but creepy patron waiting in the wings. Set in the 1930s in Chicago, the location is brought to life as is the settings when things take a more fantastical turn. Beautifully written, many sentences touched the soul and drew me into this haunting, dark tale reminiscent of old fairy tales where maidens were faced with impossible decisions and warring, manipulative god-like antagonists.
Slow-paced I enjoyed the gothic atmosphere and the blend of ballet and fantasy. Despite not adoring it as much as I wanted to, this is a strong novel showcasing the author's talent for worldbuilding, imaginative and prose. I look forward to seeing where the next novel goes.

Think Beauty and the Beast meets Phantom of the Opera in 1930s Chicago and you're on the right track!

This is described as a haunting, lyrical tale, which is true but I wanted more edgy darkness than this delivered and for me the writing was overly descriptive. Anyone who loves ballet and intricate fairytales I think this will be perfect.

I loved the premise for this book; a haunting lyrical fantasy. Unfortunately for me, the lyrical element completely took over for the majority of the book and what could have been a stunning book became a rather confused mess of a novel.

The concepts behind this, a Hades and Persephone twist, set in Chicago in the 1930's against the backdrop of a struggling Ballet school, are wonderfully unique and helped to carry the book along. So little happened in the first half of the book, I'd actually forgotten what I was supposed to be reading and had to go back and check the blurb.

The last quarter of this book was exactly what it should have been throughout; gothic and mysterious, creepy and filled with devastation. This would have made a superb short story, but the padding out with pages of nothingness that I skimmed took away from the main idea. I know some people really enjoy this style of writing and pairing that with the underworld element, I can imagine lots of readers really being pulled into this story and held captive by it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an arc in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed my read through of this book! The blurb got me in mentions of ballet and the gothic premise! It was a longer read but I still enjoyed it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Del Rey for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

"Nocturne" is a strange story to try and review, as I have such conflicting feelings about it. The writing is beautiful and fairy tale like, taking the reader through 1930's Chicago as we follow Grace, a ballerina. She wants nothing more than to be the prima of her company, having taught herself virtually everything from a young age due to being orphaned and poor. Her chance finally comes but it's with a price- the company's new patron, Master de Rosa, has paid for everything but wants things exactly his way. Grace must live with him, dance with him and perform in a ballet he has written himself, but it soon becomes clear that he isn't entirely a man.

This book really had me in it's grasp for the first half, especially with the build up and the background stories of the characters, but this soon changed as I got further in. The writing is gorgeous but there's not enough concrete detail to work from and too much metaphor. The idea of gods of Death and Sleep is excellent though it doesn't run throughout the whole book in a clear way. I enjoyed reading this, it could have used some more work, and I loved the friendship between Grace and Emilia.

Chicago, 1938. Grace Dragotta, a ballerina of the Near North Ballet, has been chosen for the lead role of the Firebird, a Russian ballet. However, her dream of becoming first ballerina is not what she thought it would be, especially when she attracts the attention of the company’s new patron, Master La Rosa, who attends every single ballet, but remains always a shadow. And when Grace starts to discover the Master’s secrets, she realize that she may finally get what she’s always wanted, but at what cost?

Nocturne is a haunting and enchanting fantasy with fairy tales elements. The protagonist is Grace Dragotta, who is very well-drawn and well-developed. At a very young age she’s already suffered incredible loss, having lost her mother, brother and a close friend. Becoming first ballerina means losing her best friend who is leaving the company to get married. And then Master La Rosa appears and he seems to be able to give her what she wants most.

Nocturne is a beautiful retelling of Beauty and The Beast mixed with the myth of Hades and Persephone. It is a unique, dark, and tragic tale about death and lost souls, about loss and freedom. The story is very well-written with such evocative and beautiful descriptions that kept me completely immersed in the narrative and with an ending that was emotional, unexpected, and perfect all at the same time. I loved every page of it!

I only wanted to like this, I only wanted to love it, but no, I couldn’t just do that, this book was my addiction, I was obsessed and I adored it, it’s amazing, fantastic, I don’t think there’s a word hyperbolic enough to express how much I liked this. I love Beauty and the Beast so much, so to see this give tribute/vibes of this and the darker Phantom of the Opera was just a heavenly delight, I can’t get enough of characters like Death real fully fleshed characters, there need to be more for me because this I’m here for the likes of Death and Sleep being personified so much more. This is magical, fantastical, beautiful, it’s got some twists you won’t see coming and that end, this is just a haunting and every perfect tale.


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

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Del Rey for the ARC. Here I leave my honest review.

The book is so beautiful and feel so magical. With all the ballet, violin, sleep and death. I really love the story. I like how mysterious it is and I can't expect anything to happen. It kind of slow paced because we know this mysterious patron after 30% of the book.

I love Grace, I love how strong she is. She determined with her dreams and her life. I also love her relationship with Master La Rosa. It is beautiful even though it really sad. This book has a twist I never expect, I never expect something to happen like that to Grace and Master La Rosa. And I'm hurting with them. It so sad even it is so good. I can't get rid of this sadness even with what Grace has done to fix everything, I'm still sad about what happened between Grace and Master La Rosa. Still wishing the ending would give me good news but no nothing. I can't accept the ending at all....

I wanted to like this, I wanted to be beguiled, I wanted to escape into the magic. Alas I just got irritable about the tropes around the fragile young girl having all these sinister men falling in love with her. And I do recognise that it's playing homage to various other stories such as Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera and all that jazz but unfortunately for me it felt more derivative. Another issue is that for me any book featuring Death as a character feels iffy because in my head the Grim Reaper is just the one from Discworld. So while I wish many other readers lots and lots of enjoyment from this, it didn't quite come together for me personally.