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The Angel of Music #1
The Enchanted Violin
Christine Daaé, a beautiful child of eleven years, travels by bus from Chicago to Los Angeles with her widowed father, where he hopes to enroll her in The Belen Conservatory of Music as a scholarship student. Homeless and destitute, carrying everything they own, they arrive in Los Angeles and immediately begin working as street performers to earn money for food, making their way to Santa Monica, where Christine is excited to see the beach for the first time.
Twelve-year-old Raoul Chagny, strolling along the Santa Monica Pier with his governess, is enraptured by this beautiful young girl who sings with the voice of an angel. Raoul, either heroically or foolishly, leaps off the pier into the Pacific Ocean to rescue Christine's scarf, floating away on a sea breeze, and the seeds of an enduring romance are planted.
Christine and her father find lodging in the guest house of Professor Valerius, a university music professor, and his wife. Raoul, a promising violinist, is soon taking lessons from Daaé.
The Angel of Music is loosely based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux, and is a current-day retelling in three parts of the timeless story. Part I: The Enchanted Violin, follows young Christine from her trip to Los Angeles to her audition for the conservatory.
Twelve-year-old Raoul Chagny, strolling along the Santa Monica Pier with his governess, is enraptured by this beautiful young girl who sings with the voice of an angel. Raoul, either heroically or foolishly, leaps off the pier into the Pacific Ocean to rescue Christine's scarf, floating away on a sea breeze, and the seeds of an enduring romance are planted.
Christine and her father find lodging in the guest house of Professor Valerius, a university music professor, and his wife. Raoul, a promising violinist, is soon taking lessons from Daaé.
The Angel of Music is loosely based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux, and is a current-day retelling in three parts of the timeless story. Part I: The Enchanted Violin, follows young Christine from her trip to Los Angeles to her audition for the conservatory.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 11, 2012
11 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 11, 2015
DNF at 30%.
I just can't do it. The story telling reads like a middle school kid wrote it. The dialogue is non existent. The changes in point of view are jarring at best. No character development. No real plot so far.
I'm 30% in and Christine is still 12 years old. This is supposed to be a retelling of Phantom of the Opera? No. This is nowhere close besides the names and the fact that the girl can sing (which is an error unto itself). If you are a Phantom lover, skip this one.
It feels like a campfire story that got written down for some unfathomable reason.
Deleting off the Kindle.
I just can't do it. The story telling reads like a middle school kid wrote it. The dialogue is non existent. The changes in point of view are jarring at best. No character development. No real plot so far.
I'm 30% in and Christine is still 12 years old. This is supposed to be a retelling of Phantom of the Opera? No. This is nowhere close besides the names and the fact that the girl can sing (which is an error unto itself). If you are a Phantom lover, skip this one.
It feels like a campfire story that got written down for some unfathomable reason.
Deleting off the Kindle.
January 7, 2020
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I enjoyed the way they wrote. I liked that this was kind of a retelling of The Phantom of the Opera. I didn’t like the characters a lot. They were too nice, polite, and kind. They were too perfect in a way. I loved how Raoul found Christine and how they began to form a relationship. I like that Christine was so happy. Overall I’d rate this book a 3/5 stars.
September 15, 2017
Topless teen angst & hormones, not Phantastic
Perhaps I'm a bit too old fashioned for this version, but the incessant references to partially clad teens and their sex lives wore thin to the point of being uncomfortable with the book and almost not finishing it.
Christine is beautiful with an amazing voice that makes people weep. Erik is a horn dog (no, really, it's in the text) in therapy for his issues with some stalker tendencies. Raoul is... well, he's there, then not, and rich, spoiled and smitten with Christine.
Like the first in the series, this book is ripe with repetition. An abridged version of all three books together may have a better flow as this can be tedious to read at times.
Perhaps I'm a bit too old fashioned for this version, but the incessant references to partially clad teens and their sex lives wore thin to the point of being uncomfortable with the book and almost not finishing it.
Christine is beautiful with an amazing voice that makes people weep. Erik is a horn dog (no, really, it's in the text) in therapy for his issues with some stalker tendencies. Raoul is... well, he's there, then not, and rich, spoiled and smitten with Christine.
Like the first in the series, this book is ripe with repetition. An abridged version of all three books together may have a better flow as this can be tedious to read at times.
September 18, 2023
wonderful story.
I hope this gets made into a mini series! It it a great read. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
I hope this gets made into a mini series! It it a great read. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
January 11, 2013
I beleive it's a book for young-adults. I'm giving it 5 stars, mostly because it's the less painful The Phantom of the Opera related book.
First of all, it's well-written. Accurate, with good language, nice descriptions, etc. It can be interesting to read not only for Phantom's fans, but for anybody, who's interested in young-adult romance books. It's the first book in the series.
It's a modern retelling of the Leroux's novel, and it starts with Christine Daae's childhood. Here we don't meet the Phantom himself (not face to face, I mean), but we meet Daae family, Raoul's family and Valerius family. What I liked the most, here we actually have Professor Valerius. (I hope, we'll meet Persian later.)
Characters are well-developed, with strong background. Here we can found some additional stories about Christine grandparents, or Raoul's parents, there are several "stories within the story", it's very interesting to pick up all the pieces and make the whole picture.
What I dislike: too much sweetness, and everyone in the book is understanding and polite, too much sugarsweet. Well, I can bear with it, hey, it's a book about young for young, let it be sweet instead of dirty and full of violence.
Mr. Stephens did a good job, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
First of all, it's well-written. Accurate, with good language, nice descriptions, etc. It can be interesting to read not only for Phantom's fans, but for anybody, who's interested in young-adult romance books. It's the first book in the series.
It's a modern retelling of the Leroux's novel, and it starts with Christine Daae's childhood. Here we don't meet the Phantom himself (not face to face, I mean), but we meet Daae family, Raoul's family and Valerius family. What I liked the most, here we actually have Professor Valerius. (I hope, we'll meet Persian later.)
Characters are well-developed, with strong background. Here we can found some additional stories about Christine grandparents, or Raoul's parents, there are several "stories within the story", it's very interesting to pick up all the pieces and make the whole picture.
What I dislike: too much sweetness, and everyone in the book is understanding and polite, too much sugarsweet. Well, I can bear with it, hey, it's a book about young for young, let it be sweet instead of dirty and full of violence.
Mr. Stephens did a good job, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
September 2, 2013
An interesting story. The author's style of writing reminded me of children's chapter books that I have read and enjoyed. It will be interesting to read the following books in the Enchanted Violin series.
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May 6, 2015Best book I have read
When you read as often as i, you don't get moved to tear easy. Two pages it I had tears running down my face. I the end I again had this happen. I hope others read this and see life happens and good can still come out of it.
When you read as often as i, you don't get moved to tear easy. Two pages it I had tears running down my face. I the end I again had this happen. I hope others read this and see life happens and good can still come out of it.
August 19, 2015
Wonderful story
I didn't know what to expect, but I loved this story, I loved these people! I smiled and I cried with Christine and her father. I will continue reading this story since I most have an ending.
I didn't know what to expect, but I loved this story, I loved these people! I smiled and I cried with Christine and her father. I will continue reading this story since I most have an ending.
Want to read
July 5, 2012coming-of-age(42)
romance(42)
tween(42)
young adult(42) angels(41)
music(41)
classical music(40)
phantom of the opera(40) jackie evancho(36)
music lovers(25)
romance(42)
tween(42)
young adult(42) angels(41)
music(41)
classical music(40)
phantom of the opera(40) jackie evancho(36)
music lovers(25)
February 16, 2013
This book was a tear jerker! Beautifully written story about a family's love of music & one gifted.little girl & their struggle to see a.dream realized.
April 25, 2015
I loved this book. I am a Phantom fan. But, I found this to be a nice modern version. The characters were well formed and easy to relate to. LOVED IT!
July 4, 2014
I absolutely loved this book.
April 28, 2017
Captivating story.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews