remake of POTO...sort of

remake of POTO...sort of

This was a DNF for me. I liked the new and fresh idea as well as the beautiful cover artwork. The storyline and the comparison to 'The Phantom of the Opera' was just to much for me though, I couldn't separate nor melt the two stories together in a way that would make me content. I really wanted to like this one. I couldn't get into the story and I felt no chemistry between Esti and either of the guys. See how you feel about it! ( )

Devastated by the death of her Shakespearean-actor father, Esti Legard moves to a tropical island for her senior year in high school, where she finds herself torn between a mysterious, masked mentor and a seductive island boy, as she tries to escape the overpowering shadow of her famous father.

I often get frustrated at love triangles in YA books; two hot guys pining after a girl who doesn’t believe she’s pretty or worthy. This triangle has one hot guy, a guy swathed in black and masks, and a girl who can act and has some confidence in her abilities. This felt like a modern version of Phantom of the Opera without the singing, set in the Caribbean. I truly understood the attraction to both guys, knew which one I wanted Esti to chose, but understood the dilemma. I even teared up a bit at the end over her choice. That hasn’t happened in a long time for me. ( )

THE JUMBEE, by Pamela Keyes, is a Caribbean-flavored Phantom of the Opera-esque book filled with mystery, romance, and intrigue. I have read many books with PotO roots and I pretty much loved them all so I was extremely excited to read The Jumbee.

I loved the West Indie environment for this book. I enjoyed learning about the culture and the people's fascination, if not repulsion, with the local jumbees (ghosts). The atmosphere that the locals created was interesting and definitely pulled me into the book.

Since PotO is one of my favorite stories I was excited to find all the similarities from the original, and there were many (which excited me more). I loved Keyes twist on one of my favorite stories and she really did it justice. Esti was the typical Christine in her obsession with the theater and trying to create a name for herself outside her father. But her obsession with his death created the attachment to the Phantom, who in this case was Alan. Alan was an enchanting man and I desperately wanted to know his secret. Keyes stretched my imagination outside of PotO and created a new and unique world which was enchanting and utterly breathtaking. Rafe was the typical Raoul (perfect, handsome, rugged..etc.) and I was curious to see how Keyes would develop this relationship. And I was pleased.

Overall, this was a great read. I enjoyed the different environment of the story and the new essence brought to this story. Any fan of Phantom of the Opera will definitely love this book. ( )