My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was…WAY over-the-top and campy.. I learned way more about opera than I ever imagined I would. Gilbert Eugene Rose (or Kiri De Uwana or Guilia Hancock or Christopher Wren.) is a talented opera singer trying to make a name for himself. He ends up taking roles in two operas organized by two different opera houses, and he takes a job performing privately for a reclusive fan of opera. Drag queens, psychics, spirit guides, mobsters, lesbian best friends, ex-lovers, hitmen/women, crazy love interests, absent parents, multiple identities, kidnappers…you name, this book has it. In fact, it has so many kooky characters and situations that I felt overwhelmed. I know not every story needs to be based in reality but, man, this one went off the deep ends at times.
That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy any of the book. There were parts I did like and I managed to read the entire book in a day and a half. It was an easy read for me. I didn’t have trouble following all the weird tangents the author takes the reader on. While I might have smirked at some of the funny lines, nothing made me laugh at loud. I’ll say it was amusing but not funny enough to chuckle.
This book has action, suspense, and comedy along the lines of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. If you’ve ever read any of Stephanie’s adventures, you have a very good idea at how ridiculous (and not always in a bad way) this story got.