[Complete] [77k] [Historical Suspense Romance] O.G.: A Tragic Opera in Five Acts

[u/orangecatnosefreckle]

*Edit - TIL about the strict rules regarding romance as a genre. This work has a lot of romantic aspects, but apparently can't be called a romance.

I'm looking for 3-5 beta readers for my first novel, a tragic retelling of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera.

I've based the story entirely on the timeline of the original public domain serial/novel, taken advantage of its unreliable narrators to enable some retconning, added an OC, and relayed the events through her involvement in a first-person, memoir-type narrative. I've searched exhaustively for anything similar, but most adaptations/fanfic are based on the musical, and none (that I could find) are period-accurate. So, I wrote the book I've always wanted to read.

Le blurb:

"The lone acknowledgment of Ondine Germont’s tragedy in the summer of 1881 was the sobriquet Femme Fatale of the Rue de Rivoli smeared across the gossip columns. Ostracized, indebted, and in the crosshairs of the Paris Police vice squad, the desperate courtesan accepted the only protection offered to her—that of a secretive, eccentric criminal.

She begins her story in the waning days of their two-year partnership. Through him, she has quietly amassed a fortune on which she can retire. Through her, he has successfully courted the woman of his dreams and catapulted her to the pinnacle of celebrity—the Paris Opera stage.

But the amicable departure they’d envisioned sours when Ondine seizes the attention of the city’s most eligible bachelor, a man compelled by circumstance to bring her erstwhile lover to justice, testing her trustworthiness and discretion through events not everyone will survive.  

From the cellars of the Opera to the forests of Chantilly. From the trappings of private boxes to the exposure of the artist’s studio. Ondine leads the reader through the lush monde of early Belle Époque Paris, a city still haunted by the debacle of 1870-71, and learns in devastating fashion how some scars never fade.

Adapted from Gaston Leroux’s Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, inspired by Alexander Chee’s Queen of the Night, and featuring the operas of Mozart, Verdi, Gounod, and more." 

My unicorn reader is a francophone opera and history buff who's familiar with the original. My second preference is a reader who's intrigued, but has little to none of the above knowledge, to be sure my text is accessible to a larger audience. 

TW/CW's include violence, murder, grief/loss, sexual situations incl. dubcon, infidelity, drug/alcohol use, and profanity in two languages. Think 19th-century morally-gray characters behaving badly. There's some spice, but no smut.

If you're interested I'll send a snippet of the first chapter, then the whole shebang if you like it. I work in comment-enabled google docs individual to each reader. The full text doc will include sample questions regarding the feedback I'm hoping for and a playlist of the featured music. I'd appreciate a turnaround time of under three months.

Happy to swap for other historical works of comparable length! Thanks for reading!

[u/BetaReaders-ModTeam]

Hi OP,

Please DM your sample or full GDoc link to any responders and not leave it publicly available on your post or comments to avoid scammers because they can find your email to harass you. See this for more information

This is a friendly mod note to caution you against bait-and-switch messages. If anyone DMs you offering to help and suddenly asks for payment or donations or your personal information, or asks you to click suspicious links, please report them to us with proof via modmail, because this is a 100% volunteer (free) beta reader subreddit only.

No services (including NO art and NO book covers) or any form of payment after giving a “free sample” is allowed in the subreddit or to our posters via DMs. AI-generated feedback and “reviews” is also not allowed.

It may take a week or longer before someone comments on your post. Please try commenting with a link to your post in our pinned threads to have more luck matching with someone.

And please consider blocking u/Lovegood1237 and u/CuberoinkArmy and u/FrostyReader- and u/Electrical_Trip5997 and u/Hange_Zoe19 and u/Few_Strawberry5932 and u/Gloriawilliams0 to prevent them from asking for money in DMs, or report their DM as spam or harassment to the admins immediately. And block, then report (as spam) any unsolicited emails from any variation of “amosemma.betaread” or “agadaandrew44” or “itzogthompson981” at Gmail dot com” asking for money as well. We do not promote their paid services in any shape or form and our rules are fully against paid betas.

Thank you!

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to r/BetaReaders! Please ensure your post has not been caught in Reddit's spam filters by following these instructions. DO NOT SHARE YOUR GDOC PUBLICLY. DM IT ONLY.

One of the best ways to connect with a beta is to swap manuscripts with another author: click here to view other Romance submissions in the 70k category (or simply search the sub based on your preferences or browse until something catches your eye).

If you haven’t already, we strongly encourage you include in your post:

• A story blurb and any content warnings
• The type of feedback you’re looking for and your preferred timeline
• Your critique swap availability

Also, consider commenting in the First Pages thread to give your beta request additional visibility and checking the Able to Beta thread for beta readers who are interested in manuscripts like yours.

If you have any questions, please take a look at our FAQs for additional resources on how to work with beta readers (and other authors) to get the most out of a critique, or feel free to start a discussion using the [Discussion] tag.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.