{Review} Phantom - Laura DeLuca

The “Phantom” was a musical phenomenon that Rebecca had always found enchanting. She had no idea that her life was about to mirror the play that was her obsession. When her high school drama club chooses “Phantom” as their annual production, Rebecca finds herself in the middle of an unlikely love triangle and the target of a sadistic stalker who uses the lines from the play as their calling card.

Rebecca lands the lead role of Christine, the opera diva, and like her character, she is torn between her two co-stars—Tom the surfer and basketball star who plays the lovable hero, and Justyn, the strangely appealing Goth who is more than realistic in the role of the tortured artist.

Almost immediately after casting, strange things start to happen both on and off the stage. Curtains fall. Mirrors are shattered. People are hurt in true phantom style. They all seem like accidents until Rebecca receives notes and phone calls that hint at something more sinister. Is Justyn bringing to life the twisted character of the phantom? Or in real life are the roles of the hero and the villain reversed? Rebecca doesn’t know who to trust, but she knows she’s running out of time as she gets closer and closer to opening night. Only when the mask is stripped away, will the twenty first century phantom finally be revealed.

This was one of those books that just clicked for me, I just couldn't put it down even if that meant I didn't get any sleep. I think having elements from Phantom of the Opera in the story added something that makes you want to read it since it is something most people can recognize. Phantom was an exciting book it had a bit of everything romance, suspense, and an intriguing mystery. It had me guessing through the whole story.

Rebecca is a wallflower at her school who is in love with the story of Phantom of the Opera, and when her school's drama club decide to do the play she easily land the role of Christine with her amazing voice while piquing the interest of her long time crush and golden boy Tom along with mysterious new boy goth Justyn. Just when she thinks things are starting to go her way she starts receiving threatening messages from her own personal "phantom," which she brushes off as a twisted prank, until people around her start turning up dead.

The love triangle between Rebecca, Tom, and Justyn was made more complex by the fact that you're not sure whether either of them are the one that is stalking  Becca or not. While having the attention of Tom is something she always wanted there is an arrogance about him that I didn't like and made me not trust him. While there is a certain intriguing mystery about Justyn it also make him seem very suspect when Becca starts to receive the threats.

The best part of the story for me was the mystery of who Becca's stalker is. I had many theories throughout the story, some that made sense and some that didn't. It finally clicked for me who it was right before the reveal, literally at the top of the page of the reveal I figured it out, and would have never guessed it earlier on in the story.

All in all Phantom was a thrilling read that kept me wanting more. I can't wait to read more from Laura DeLuca.

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Laura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart. In addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the sole author of a popular review blog called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying Wicca for close to eight years. Visit her on her websites at http://authorlauradeluca.blogspot.com or http://newagemama.blogspot.com.

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