Thank you to Del Rey Books for an e-arc of Nocturne, by Alyssa Wees! I devoured this. I knew to expect dark fantasy with strong thematic elements drawn from fairy tale (Beauty and the Beast) and mythology (Hades and Persephone). I had not expected suspense, mystery and poetic horror. Reading this felt like always being in that liminal space between wakefulness and sleep, never quite sure what's real and what's a dream, prodding yourself to move or speak while always feeling pulled back into your own subconscious. Wees's writing is atmospheric, reflecting the 1930s Chicago winter, and shifts fluidly between the macabre and the transcendent. The turn of phrase that still feels most representative of her prose is her description of Grace's approach to the ballroom to see The Master - she describes the light shining beneath the door as a "slit throat" merely two lines before she describes Grace's heart as "clear water, like an ocean at rest."

This is a book for lovers of classic fairy tales, for those who enjoy the enchantment and the constant feeling of not-quite-right, who enjoy a cast of imperfect characters and anti-heroes, who know that true fairy tales are less a battle between good and evil and more a battle between being remembered or being forgotten, who know the ending is rarely happily after.

And the ENDING of this book. It is perfect and wholly unexpected and so thrilling. I could see it as though I were watching it on the stage, and the moment everything turns, I wanted to scream (with delight).

Know that this is not a romance, though there is romance. This is dark fantasy with touches of horror. If the very first puppet bow was your favorite moment in Thistlefoot, if you wondered about the fate of Luc in Addie LaRue, if you have ever felt, like Grace, the pull of music into another world, then I highly recommend Nocturne.