So when I first picked up this book, I didn’t know what to think. A M/M retelling of The Phantom of the Opera sounded fantastic. Especially since it’s set in Japan. Every expectation that I had was met and surpassed. Teru is a very realistic character with many conflicting emotions. He just wants to succeed, but when he meets Rei, he becomes unsure of just how far he is willing to go to achieve that dream.

As you can guess, there is plenty of angst and suspense. I honestly had no idea how the story would end, and sometimes, I was even confused about who I should root for. Teru though was a very solid character throughout and the growth that he experienced during the story made for a very compelling tale.
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Acquired Book By: I received a complimentary spiral bound ARC copy of “The Stars May Rise and Fall” direct from the author Estella Mirai in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Anchouring us directly into the performance side of Teru's life, I felt was the best place to begin the opening chapter as we start to evolve inside the novel. The best part of 'Phantom' is how a performer has to take the journey to the back of beyond to understand who they are and why they were in need of such a journey in the first place. It is not a journey for the faint of heart or mind, for you have to trust your instincts and then, even if you falter within your own confidence, you have to embrace whatever comes next and own the outcome(s). Giving us a strong representation of who Teru is through the observations of his life backstage, we start to see the underscore of how this narrative is LGBTQ+ with a keen empathsis on those seeking and questioning their identity, sexuality and purpose in life.

You can in-tune this purpose in the narrative straight out of the first chapter as it is how Mirai approached developing the image for Teru which gives us the insight needed to carry forward. Little disclosures here and there about his person offer us a small glimmer of a glimpse into his personal life - for you can tell he's a private individual who doesn't want to oust himself in public. Similar to Rei, whose the 'Phantom' in the story-line - both men are more comfortable in keeping their private lives private. Where the spotlight is not shining on them directly.

Very early-on we meet the 'Phantom' of this story, whose known as Rei - a composer and singer-songwriter who prefers to wear long blue hair and covers his face with the traditional 'mask' of the 'Phantom' but one that has been altered for a modern telling of the tale. His face and part of his body have become 'altered' through a twist in fate which pushed him into the shadows - a place he can hide in plain sight, allowing him to work on his music despite the fact he's self-dissolving into a darker place of depression. His music was his lifeblood - he loved the music as it was a part of himself which was needed in which he could thrive. To abandon such a strong component of his life wasn't taken likely and this is where his life and Teru start to co-merge.

At the same time, Teru is reaching out to his band-mates to gather a better sense of what he is feeling internally towards Rei - continuing the underline thread of Teru being a character whose questioning his sense of self and his own sexuality. He doesn't want to give into the feelings he's naturally akin to feeling as he was raised with a certain perception about where his life should dictate towards and his feelings are living in contrast to those initial beliefs. It is almost like he wants to find a way to talk himself out of feeling a more intimate connection to Rei.

On the opposite end of the ledger, he is also pursuing Kiyomi - his high school friend, who isn't aware of the conflict within his soul but is picking up on the subtle ways in which he is repelling away from drawing closer to her - at least, in their first meetings where he wants to feel a certain way towards her but in reality, he is struggling to take his heart off of Rei.

This is a uniquely told story - almost as if it were part of an autobiographical sketch of the band - as we tuck so close to their journey of seeking venues, finding confidence in the song choices they want to have produce to an album release and dramatic ways in which a band must adapt to the changes that arise in their lives. This leads to Teru putting more trust into Rei's choices for the band than allowing the band to organically come to the realisation they need to make changes in order to grow and develop into a band who could become commercially respected.

What complicates things though is how closely entwined Rei and Teru become - they started this journey as a mentor and a student, but in the middle of the story, there is a shift in how they are relating to each other. In some ways, I saw this foreshadowed in early chapters but part of me wondered if this was a step outside the original canon? I can't say for sure as I hadn't realised how much the musicals differed from the novel and thereby it is hard to comment now if the Phantom and Christine shared a similar close connection. The reason it worked in this adaptation though is because it was showing how dangerous you can walk a line between self-discovery and the obsessive temptations of the heart.

At the core of this story is the music itself - how it lingers in the souls of the musicians who are at the heart of this story and how the music takes on its own kind of character. It is as immortal as time itself and gives way to the impressions of how life as it is being lived is one emotional rollercoaster. The music serves an important line of centre for these characters - they are all interconnected by the music and they each in turn live for the music to the point of forsaking all else. They want to endeavour to create music that fulfills their destinies but also, to hone in on the music itself which renews their own spirit as it captures the emotions they wish to express in their original sound.

What moves you the most though is how heart-wrecking the central theme of the plot becomes as it has its own crescendo to where you can feel their angst and their anguish in not knowing how to reach into the future from where they are in the present. The journey of Teru and Rei becomes a symphony of seeking the greater truth about themselves and of their own natures. The band serves as a catalyst of self-renewing artistry whereas the setting rounds out the immediacy of how so many lives can become intertwined all at once.

This story deviates from the original canon to tell its own story in the end. This variant has the emotional layers of the original with the intuitive touches of a modern romance rooted in the intimacies of platonic friendship which spark into a romantic interlude. For those who are familiar with the musicals, you will see the details woven into the background which pay homage to Phantom whilst the rest of the story has its own unique voice of presence to carry forward the vision the author endeared to give us for her characters.

Mirai adds in little nudges of awareness about Tokyo itself - to root us into the setting and to the visual kei underground of where this unique styling of music has become popular with listeners. She does such a good job at revealling this aspect of the story-line, you feel as if you could find those clubs yourself if you travelled to Tokyo to seek them out.

What really impressed me is that the story I knew was a rock opera whereas this is a new style of music pushing through the canon's arc whilst delivering a very modern adaptation where the emotional heart of the story remains intact. It also explores the central theme of a love triangle though re-imagined to be a walk of discovery for Teru who was questioning his sexuality thereby the triangle in this story moves from how he feels about men to how he feels about women.

// This is a quotation of my full review originally shared via jorielovesastory.com