keira anne with an e

Nora was kidnapped as a child, and it changed everything.

Now, her mother is in an insane asylum, and her father busies himself with work while leaving her hidden in the shadows where she won’t be hurt.

But she dreams of the opera– the one thing that could bring her captors back from all those years ago, and unravel the truth behind the past that keeps her entire family locked in their own prisons.

But then comes Ezekiel, who makes her believe that maybe she could be free… if only the past wasn’t following her even now.

I received an advanced paperback copy of this book from Kregel Publishing. I was not required to leave a positive review.

⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 stars)

Wow, did this one keep me on the edge of my seat! Something about the fusion between the near-gothic aesthetic of the opera scenes and then the eeriness of the asylum scenes… ooh, it was just enough to keep me on my toes the entire time I was reading. I believe this was my first book by this author, and now, I realize I’m going to have to put her up there with Joanna Davidson Politano for slightly eerie historical Christian fiction.

Alright, now we get to move on to the fun part– the characters! This book had far more complex characters than I was expecting. Not that I wasn’t expecting good characters, but I suppose I was just assuming they would be a tad more archetypal, but that was definitely not the case.

Our main girl had some serious PTSD to deal with, and her entire family situation was just so hazardously confusing… honestly, I thought she was coping rather well, all things considered. I was very glad she had good friends to help her– and now I kind of need to go back and read the first book in the series, because that couple looked super cute together in this story.

And poor Ezekiel… my heart went out to him. He seemed like a genuinely sweet person who was doing his best where he could, and if he would have known the whole story, I think he could have saved himself a lot of worry and stress, because he obviously couldn’t have been expected to know her entire tragic backstory… but I digress.

Their relationship and the story that unfolded was very cute… with the exception of the darker elements in this story, of course. But, when they had a few spare moments of peace, I was so happy, because I thought they deserved that break from all the chaos that was raining down on them.

Honestly, my only hesitation with this story was those darker elements. I don’t really like books set in asylums, and I didn’t love how creepy the villains were in this story. Things just ended up spiraling very quickly, and that just wasn’t my favorite, so I would definitely caution readers who are easily triggered by insane asylums in stories, or characters who attempt suicide, etc., because that was definitely dealt with here.

All in all, this was a very atmospheric and interesting book. I really enjoyed the opera aesthetics, and the way that things ended up for our main couple. Plus, Tristan. Because, who doesn’t need an adorable cat, right?

If this sounds like it’s your cup of tea, please make sure to check it out, because it officially releases today, and I think that you may be the perfect person to get swept up in this atmospheric and mysterious historical novel.

EMOJI REVIEW!

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Thank you so much for reading this review! Please let me know if you’re excited to read this book in the comments below!!!