Manifestations of a Phantom's Soul: A Phantom of the Opera Story Collection

by Michelle Rodriguez

“The Phantom of the Opera” is a story about love, obsession, music, and passion. For the past few years, published author Michelle Rodriguez has been sharing her stories with the Phantom community, exploring the original characters and giving them new adventures and reasons for hope. Take a journey with her through a love story as sensual as it is eternal. “Manifestations of a Phantom’s Soul” is a collection of ten of her most loved stories online combined with two that have never been read before. Whether in the mood for something dark and passionate or something sweet and romantic, you will find a story featuring the disfigured Opera Ghost and his true love and learn that it is more than a face that defines a man.

Genres: Romance

490 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2012

About the author

Michelle Gliottoni-Rodriguez wrote her first novel in high school. Fifteen years later, she’s up to 28 and still counting. Fascinated with Gothic romances, she calls her greatest influences the works of the Brontë sisters and adds in an adoration for “The Phantom of the Opera” and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In August 2011, she published her first novel, a Gothic vampire romance titled Opera Macabre. Over the past two years, she has published another vampire romance and the first three novels in her series The Angel and Demon Chronicles; the fourth installment, Imprinted on a Demon’s Heart, will be out next summer. In addition to writing about vampires, angels and demons, she posts Phantom of the Opera stories online and has even had the honor of having them translated into German and Russian for worldwide fans. Due to the wonderful support of her Phantom “phans”, she released two collections of Phantom short stories titled Manifestations of a Phantom’s Soul and her Phantom novel, The Opera Ghost Unraveled last year.

The other side of her life is a passion for music; she’s also a trained opera singer with a Bachelor of Music from Saint Xavier University in Chicago. She’s won various awards and accolades in the Chicagoland area and has portrayed such roles as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute.

From writing at 4AM to practicing for her next performances at 7AM and then onward to being a full time wife and mom with a 7 year old, a 4 year old, and 7 month old, one would call her life crazy, but she likes to think of it as “full”.



For more information, please check out her website: www.michellegliottonirodriguez.webs.com

Or like on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michell...

Reviews

[Gemma]

Oh boy, am I ashamed I didn't review this faster! The only problem is that it's so darn hard to review story collections...especially the good ones. It's so easy to just go on and on about them!

I was jumping for joy when I heard that the wonderfully talented Michelle Rodriguez was publishing some of her amazing Phantom stories, and to see not only several of my favorites, but new ones as well, made my day! I laughed, cried, you know, the whole nine yards. Maybe even ten, because Ms. Rodriguez knows how to get to you. It's impossible to pick one single favorite, so I'm going to look over my notes and share a few thoughts on a few specific stories.

"To Look With Blinded Eyes" - This one has been a favorite of mine for a looong time. And it's no wonder why, really. Take, for instance, this line: "At least her fear I could control when her heart was full of lies anyway." That's just heartbreaking, and that's only the tip of the iceberg! Erik's musings on love feel spot-on, and I go from crumbling to melting in the span of a few paragraphs. The tragedy and scope of his character are perfectly detailed in this piece, the love, the pain, the self-loathing, and the certifiable hope. Major love!

"Monsters and Masks" - I was first struck by Erik's views of masquerades, and struck hard. It's not a game for him; he's like everyone else only when they pretend. What's only imaginary for others is real for him, and that just...it hurts, man. It hurts. A maskless Erik being the most intimate possibility of all is a nice detail, because it's true. But I also feel pity for Raoul, loving Christine as he does, yet she hides everything from everyone until she's alone with Erik...and I love the phrase "the truth in the darkness." Love it! Love it to pieces!

"Something Like A Promise" - This would be one of those new never-before-seen ones, and it didn't disappoint. It's rather decadent...bittersweet, yet with just the right amount of fluff. And hey, look at that! Philippe is here! And...wait for it...I cried! I swear, this woman turns me into the biggest darn baby!

"The Anatomy of a Kiss" - I'm just going to quote straight from my notes on this one, as my thought processes on it were vaguely amusing: Why should so much hang on a kiss? Why are they so important, and if they really are, why are they treated so lightly? Christine's confusion in thinking she'd made a mistake in kissing Erik if she was supposed to be in love with Raoul, then that her kisses with Raoul since the opera were lies after all drove home how mixed up she is. (Recognizing Raoul's worth, but damn it, he's just not Erik! Sob!) I like her hurt at being upbraided in her own choice and her grudge with Erik on that issue. The walking sin comment was really striking, him hiding his identity with the mask, and her hiding hers with the wedding gown, and also a tender image of him holding her in his arms. Sigh-worthy in every aspect. Erik assuming she lied when she kissed him, but being so confused because he doesn't know what a kiss should be, and asking her to make it a lie so he can learn...sob! Going about it as if it was all an experiment was bizarre and genius! Reject Raoul and the lies she felt for him and embrace the truth that comes with kissing Erik! See the light, Christine! See it! Clever observation in that they've only ever lied to each other, so how could they possibly see the truth when it's ringing the doorbell? Short, sweet, and moving.

"Lie To Me" - Favorite! Favorite! (Well, one of them, anyway...) So damn awesome! Intense, seductive, and dark indeed, but in more ways than one. I LOVED Christine's musing in the first few paragraphs. Has this darkness in her soul always existed, or is it of Erik's creation? Is she evil because of it? Will the world see it on her? It sickens her, but she doesn't care, she's that far gone. You know, it's rare to find a Christine so dark, yet sound so in character. And this Erik is...just...WOW! So aggressive, and I mean aggressive, yet still longing for her love and so wounded that she won't give it. He's not so much the Phantom here so much as a man holding on with both hands to what he has but wishing he had even more. He really does love her, but all she is willing to admit to is the desire he inspires within her. I didn't cry; I wanted to beat my head against a wall. It has that effect on you.

"A Passionate Interlude" - Another new one, and...WOW! Good God, I wasn't expecting THAT! Naughty! Kinky! Scandalous! Holy cow! Fluff, you say? I think NOT!...no, wait, that ending has the warm fuzzy feeling inherent to fluff...all I can say is, boy, this was FUN!

Now, about that rumor I hear about a second volume...

[Chelsea]

This was a cute collection of 12 Phantom of the Opera stories of varied length. I think the shorter ones were great and the longer ones were great too; each story seemed to not over stay its welcome or exit to soon/abruptly. I will say this isn't the sort of collection you can just sit down and plow through though as some of the stories felt a little repetitive. If you read a story and set the book down and read other things come back and do another story a few days later, I think it'd be more enjoyable as then the themes and plots would be fresher.

I like that Michelle Rodriguez drew inspiration from multiple sources. I felt influence from the novel, from Susan Kay's interpretation, from the musical, and even the 04 movie had it's hand in a few of the stories. Something for everyone, this felt like very fair interpretations of the characters.

[Gina]

Don't judge these books by their covers

I at first purchased and read other Phantom of the Opera phan-fiction books here on Amazon because they had beautiful covers. Those books were not as good as this one. With the exception of "Hero Beneath a Villain's Mask", Michelle's books have unappealing (to me) cover art. Sorry, but that's how I feel. BUT... the inside of these books are BEAUTIFUL. I mean the WRITING and STORY is beautiful. I was so caught up in these stories, every one a unique spin on Gaston Leroux's characters. I was swept away with emotion of every sort. BUY MICHELLE'S BOOKS!
I do not know the author personally, have not even interacted on Social Media... I'm just a fan and connoisseur of well written prose.
I recommend reading "The Hero Beneath the Villain's Mask" first. (The one with the beautiful cover) .... because it is a beautiful slow burn love story that will have your heart racing the entire time. It also has some comic relief thrown in for good measure. Get these books...even if you usually only read Kindle Unlimited books, make the small investment and treat yourself to a good story. You're worth it.

[Elisabeth Hawke]

Gorgeous. The author's love and passion for music is very clear, and there's nothing I love to see more than a writer being so knowledgeable on the subjects they write about. It lends the stories a sense of grounding and realism, understanding the struggles of these characters in a way many others wouldn't be able to.

[Lisa Downard]

Wonderful, romantic stories of Erik and Christine...beautiful as always!

[Karrah Epperson]

An interesting collection of short stories.

For a fan of the Phantom of the Opera, this is a fun read. In general the author writes her stories well from different points of view and often changing the outcomes so that the Phantoms story ends happily. At times the author is a little tedious, but she generally keeps the story moving.
If you are like me and try to avoid graphic sex scenes, however, then this is a problem with this book. FYI.

[Megan]

3 stars overall. Some stories are much better than others. However, reading all the short stories at once was repetitious in themes and in wording. I got tired of reading about Erik's "mismatched eyes" and his "misshapen lips." Those descriptors were very overused. I also got tired of reading the word "ange" as a nickname for both Christine and Erik. Too many exclamation marks and too many italicized words, I found both distracting.

Blessed are the Forgotten- 3 stars. Christine runs into Erik again after she just unmasked him. He rages (of course), but eventually there is a tender embrace.

Choices and Perceptions- 4 stars. Story beings right after Christine chooses to marry Erik to save Raoul's life. In this version Christine does marry Erik, he doesn't let Raoul have her back. A beautiful story about how a simple choice can change everything.

A Heartbeat- 3 stars. A quite singing lesson between Christine and Erik from Erik's POV when he teaches her about the passion in his music. No HEA here.

A Beautiful Lie- 3 stars. The bargain is that Christine has to pretend she is in love and married to Erik for a week to save Raoul's life. Will it become real? From Erik's POV.

To Look with Blinded Eyes- 2 stars. After Christine chooses Erik to save Raoul's life Erik seeks to teach Christine how to love him. From Erik's POV. Has a HEA, but felt contrived and I didn't feel the love.

Monsters and Masks- 2 stars. During the Masquerade Ball Erik pulls Christine aside to tell her she must choose between Raoul and himself. They share a brief passionate moment. No answer is given, so no ending for this short story.

Something Like a Promise- 2 stars. Erik's POV. Christine invites Erik to Raoul's party. They go together and we have another mask ripping scene where Christine shows compassion this time to give Erik hope.

The Anatomy of a Kiss- 3 stars. Short and sweet. From Christine's POV, she is getting ready to marry Raoul and all she can think about is the kiss she gave Erik to save Raoul. Good thing Erik abducts her again.

Lie to Me- 4.5 stars. Lying is a common theme in this anthology, however this is the best one. A dark short story from Christine's POV. Christine's will and desire don't agree. 1/2 a star deducted because there was no ending. I would have loved for this to be a complete story.

A Revenant's Love Story- 2 stars. Takes place after Christine saves Raoul's life by agreeing to stay with Erik and Erik in turn lets her go. Nadir helps Raoul fake Christine's suicide so that Erik will never bother them again. The longest story in the anthology at over 150 pages. Unfortunately, the plot is melodramatic and the characters are two-dimensional.

A Passionate Interlude- 3 stars. A naughty Christine and Erik scene. Fun.

Cadence- 2.5 stars. A very short tale from Christine's POV. When the mob arrives for Erik when Christine and Raoul are leaving Erik gets hurt and Christine helps him. Erik and Christine come to an understanding and Raoul leaves without a word.

[Tina]

This book is a collection of ten different Phantom of the Opera short stories. In every story Raoul is the bad guy and Erik is very possessive of Christine. Christine however manages to grow into a strong woman in every story. I wish that some of the longer stories had been separated into chapters.

The stories are really very good and I'm glad that this book was finally released for the kindle as I've been wanting to read it for awhile. This book is the first book in a series. I recommend this book for any Phantom fan.

[Liesl de Swardt]

This is a truly wonderful read. A collection of fabulous short-stories. Really you cannot go wrong with Michelle Rodriguez.