Cassie Sweet

When world-renowned violinist Andres Valentine suddenly announces at the end of one of his concerts that it is his final show, his fans are shocked. The only person who seems even more surprised is Herr Maestro Wilhelm Kering, the famous conductor who discovered Valentine and nurtured his talents. But things take yet another turn when Kerin pushes Valentine out a window. With the distance of the fall, the violinist is surely dead. But lucky (maybe?) for Valentine, one of his biggest fans, Dr. Stanslovich, happened to be in the audience that day. And he also happens to be experimenting with reanimation. It is after being whisked away to Stanslovich's lab and somehow recovering from his fatal injuries that Valentine meets Henri Vauss, a medical student and Stanslovich's assistant. The attraction is instantaneous, though neither feels they can act on it under Stanslovich's watchful eye. Though Valentine may have "survived" the fall, he has much bigger problems, even bigger than Kering. There is a dark force responsible for his success, and it turns out that force may be connected to more people than he ever imagined.

One part Frankenstein and one part Doctor Faustus, with a sprinkling of m/m romance mixed in. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this story, especially since it could have gone in so many different directions. The characters are well-written, and the conflicts that come up (both internally and between each other) make for an authentic-feeling story in a clearly science fiction setting. This is the first book in a series, and I certainly look forward to reading more...

[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]… (mais)