Review of "A Keen Mind & A Phantom Song" by A. Carina Spears

Score: 90/100 (9.0 out of 10)

What if the Phantom of the Opera didn't die under the Paris Opera House as popularly believed?
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What if his legacy lived on, creating problems for those who knew of the secret genealogy of his bloodline—a lineage interwoven with supernatural abilities, empathic gifts, and a voice that could stir the soul or shatter stone?

What if, buried beneath centuries of myth and manipulation, the truth about Erik’s descendants threatened to unravel the careful lies of a powerful council determined to keep history silent?

And what if that truth—resonating through music, memory, and magic—finally found its voice in the unlikeliest of people?

If you are a fan of urban fantasies, Gothic fiction, unique magic systems, unorthodox detective mysteries, and The Phantom of the Opera, you may find something to enjoy about this book.

You might enjoy this book more than we did.

This book is truly a mixed bag!

On one hand, we really love The Phantom of the Opera--the titular character (for all his faults and misdeeds) and the play itself. We love the idea of expanding on the character's back story and on his life after Christine Daae, Raoul, and being left in the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, presumably to die alone.

On the other hand, this book seems to lack... something. It's hard to put a finger on it, but we think it has something to do with the writing and the pacing of this book. It's missing a certain... oomph.

We wouldn't exactly say it's boring, but it came across as flat and drawn out to us. This plot just doesn't warrant filling 500+ pages of content. Yes, we know they're small pages, but this book really feels like 500+ pages because it meanders and spins its wheels so much. There are so many descriptions of mundane things like the complex magic system and genealogy.

Is it supposed to be an epic? Because we didn't perceive it that way.

If you are coming into this book expecting fantastical, epic action and adventure with witches, warlocks, and wizards throwing hands, you might find yourself underwhelmed. Yes, there's adventure, but it's mostly contained to Paris, France and Pyreshore, New Hamshire.

Yes, there are scenes in here in which characters use their unique supernatural/superhuman abilities/powers, but they're far and in between. Most of this book reads like a cozy detective mystery. You need to brace and prepare yourself for that.

Yes, this is a book about a banshee, a witch, and some folks born with special abilities, but it's also a book about a geneticist.

You're basically on board for an investigative research project. You're either going to jive with that or you're not. That's either going to excite you or it's not.

Essentially, this book follows Deirdre Gale, a banshee with empathetic abilities and a geneticist invited to contribute to supernatural research on behalf of the Division of Sciences (DoS). DoS operates under the governance of the Keepers of Knowledge, a powerful supernatural organization that oversees magical affairs and knowledge preservation. It pretty much operates like the Bureau in The Alpha's Hunter by Lily Redd.

The Keepers of Knowledge are headquartered in the supernatural community of Pyreshore, a secret, warded coastal town in New Hampshire. This hidden settlement serves as the central location for the organization’s governance, research, and archival operations, including (as mentioned) the Division of Sciences (DoS).

Deirdre is joined by her husband, Sean—a witch with an affinity for air magic—and their two children, Finnegan ("Finn") and Orla.

Orla's empathic magical abilities emerge from time to time as she exhibits empathic sensitivity (particularly to music), emotional broadcasting, and spontaneous magical resonance.

Finn, on the other hands, shows himself to be the more grounded of the siblings, demonstrating more of a logical, intellectual leaning. In a lot of ways, the two siblings seem to represent the two halves of the human brain.

Fiona is here and cool sometimes.
Sean is here existing and being Sean.

You know, honestly, a lot of these characters just seem to be here and get mixed up and lost in the shuffle. Maybe it's because we couldn't read the previous books in the series? Maybe these characters do more and stand out more in the other books?

Deidre's banshee powers are sporadically cool. They reminded us of what Sindel does in Mortal Kombat. Deidre's powers include things like banshee screams, sonic manipulation, and what becomes known as "warding." Warding is the creation of invisible barriers or enchantments that shield people, places, or objects from danger, surveillance, or magical intrusion.

Later on we get to learn about "empathic tuning" and about how to make a spell with chicken soup.
You know, maybe that's it... Maybe that exemplifies how tacked on, fluffed up, and mundane a lot of the things seem in this book.

There are so many scenes in which the characters are standing or sitting around, deliberating and explaining things.

We get moments like the aforementioned chicken soup scene. We also get lines like: “I’m sorry if I
hurt you little baby plant. You’re a nice plant. I hope you and your mommy find a good home."

Yes, we know it's supposed to make Orla seem childish and cute, but it also killed any sense of tension. People who are in serious, life-or-death situations with real stakes don't talk like that. She should be like: "Mommy, we need to hurry up and solve this mystery about Erik before we end up like the flat squirrels and deer on the road!"

Now, that's some tension. Those are some stakes.

Much of the book revolves around Deirdre’s slow-burn investigation into supernatural genetics, particularly the legacy of Erik—the Phantom of the Opera—whose supposed death beneath the Paris Opera House may have been a lie concealed by one or more members of the council.

What begins as a research assignment turns into a full-blown genealogical mystery that spans generations, leading Deirdre and her sister-in-law Fiona to uncover a long-suppressed bloodline intertwined with empathic magic, trauma, and the corruption of those who govern supernatural knowledge.

Taking special interest in this investigation is Vic, who may or may not have motivations of his own.

So, yes, it’s a book about supernatural and magical elements—but it’s also a book about data, bloodlines, encoded music, and political cover-ups. If you love methodical world-building, magical bureaucracy, and emotional mysteries wrapped in Gothic aesthetics, you might feel right at home. If you're looking for fast-paced action or high fantasy spectacle, this may feel more like poring over case files than racing through spell duels.

There are a few memorable lines like:

"Time is an illusion, and death is a doorway."

There's also a twist on the classic "butterfly dream" story in which the butterfly is replaced by a fish metaphor:

“I felt like a fish that worried so much about the shadow of a cloud being a bird that it missed the
silhouette of a fish coming up to eat it from below."

But a lot of the things we loved about this book aren't so much the original story, original characters, original world-building, or original magic system, it's really just the time-tested story of the Phantom of the Opera, Erik. Yes, we learn a little bit more about Erik, Christine, and Raoul and a secret character (we won't spoil) after the play. However, Erik's whole back story with the circus and Madame Giry is basically the same back story as the play just with a magical/supernatural twist added. That's cool and all, but as a standalone, original story with standalone, original characters, we felt this left a lot to be desired.

Raise the energy level, improve the pacing, and don't get so caught up in the weeds of having to explain everything.

Check it out on Amazon!