It’s reasonable to expect that a gender swapped contemporary Phantom of the Opera is going to be bonkers. The genius of Jen Comfort is that her bonkers romance is both almost excessively over the top and extremely well thought out. I loved Comfort’s first book, The Astronaut and the Star, though it is not without it’s faults. Midnight Duet is an even better book and I love it even more. The story is tighter without sacrificing the roller coaster about to fly off the rails feel. It’s sweetly sensitive while also being a bonkers gender flipped contemporary Phantom of the Opera retelling. Comfort dedicated the book to the former theater kids, and yes, that is who it’s for – the adults who can surf big waves of emotion and ideas while also remembering to put sunscreen on first. Jen Comfort is not afraid to go big.
Broadway diva Erika Greene is injured in an onstage accident and is left with scars on her face. She leaves New York City for Opera House (former brothel) she inherited from her grandmother in Paris, Nevada. Christof Daae is the lead singer and manager of a German hair metal band looking for a place to write the English language album that’s going to take Nacht Musik from local sensation to international stars. Erika lies about the habitability of the opera house and rents it to the band for 5 weeks. Christof lies about why the band’s guitarist (and his now ex girlfriend) isn’t with them to write music. Erika is convinced she’s a terrible person who must now hide in the shadows of obscurity (drama!), and she’s also ok with herself exactly as she is. Christof is so tightly wound he vibrates. He is also the most glamorous man you’ve ever seen.
Naturally the lust is instantaneous.
There are secret voice lessons, a sex dungeon, attempts to commune with the spirits, real estate shenanigans, pet rats, secret passages, the Eurovision contest, magical mushroom operas, and a love story for the ages. The framing may be Phantom of the Opera, but it is so much more.
Jen Comfort posted this scene (on Twitter) which is not in the book, so I feel free to share it.
[Image description: Text (on a purple background): Tonight, she was going to fuck Christof so thoroughly that she embedded herself in his soul. She wasn’t a mere entry in his spank bank; she was going to be his whole fucking economy. He was going to jolt awake at midnight three decades from now, covered in his own cum, with her name on his lips. He could sleep with every curvy, dark-haired woman in Europe and beyond to try and satiate the Erika-shaped craving in his psyche and it still wouldn’t be enough. On his deathbed, he’d grasp at the air, desperate for one last taste of her breasts that would never come, and with a final rattle of breath, he’d leave this mortal plane holding nothing… Nothing but regret that he’d ever, ever dared to leave her.]
If you haven’t read The Astronaut and the Star, you don’t need to for this book, but you should. And then get very excited about Midnight Duet and read it when it comes out in January.
CW: alcohol use, description of recovery in hospital, but no graphic description of accident or injury, infidelity (not between the MCs), financial instability, fire.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Montlake and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.