A Forgery of Roses

It’s a gender-bent loose retelling of Phantom of the Opera. The main character Isda is disfigured magic user (gravoir) who can see, alter or get out memories of a singer. Gravoirs are forbidden by law and have to be killed at birth. But Cyril, the owner of an opera house keeps Isda hidden and uses her memory altering ability to change the audiences experience and thus enhances his reputation and social standing. The second type of less disfigured magic users called fendoirs can only extract memory elixir. Consuming memory elixir keeps one’s minds perfectly sharp and the expanded memory is also an advantage for hording knowledge. Memory elixir is a big part in the economics and fendoirs are therefore tolerated. Although they ruin the lifes of the poor who are forced to sell their memory elixir until they forget everything important to them. All big plot points from Phantom of the Opera are incorporated in Sing Me Forgotten. Unfortunately, we are trapped in Isdas head and she is simply a sociopath. This wouldn’t be a problem with me, were it not for the fact that the story tries to sell her as a decent person who struggles with her power. The love interest Emeric is naïve optimist, who refuses to hold his beloved ones accountable for their actions, even after Isda killed hundreds of innocent people for no other reason than her lust for power. The retelling was intended as a love story. But I just saw the horror and whished the plot to lean more into that genre. The story does not improve the situation for the magic users in this world. The overarching ideas didn’t get a conclusion. Isda is constantly proving why gravoirs are a threat to society and should be extinguished. All in all, a passable story for a female audience who read solely for the emotions and prefer romance without spice. The morale of Isda is more than questionable and there is no redeeming arc.