First published 2026
Christine Daaé stands on the stage of the Paris Opera House, her voice soaring through the gilded theater. Below in the shadowy depths, a masked figure watches her every move. The Phantom has chosen Christine as his protégé, nurturing her extraordinary vocal talents through mysterious lessons and dark manipulation. As Christine's star rises, she finds herself caught between her growing fame and the terrifying devotion of her hidden mentor. The Phantom's obsession drives him to increasingly desperate measures to control both Christine and the opera house itself. Christine must navigate the treacherous world of Parisian opera while confronting the masked man's twisted love. She faces an impossible choice between the safety of the world above and the magnetic pull of the creature who has shaped her voice. Craig centers Christine's perspective in this retelling, giving agency to a woman torn between her artistic ambitions and the dangerous passion that threatens to consume everything she has worked to achieve.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, fantasy, 21st-century, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, obsession, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Paris, Paris Opera House
Period: 19th-Century
400 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press
Content warnings: abuse, emotional-abuse