Sunday, October 6, 2019

Secret Love: "An Eternity of This" by Amanda Osborne

Christine has left him, married now to Raoul. The Paris Opera House was destroyed in the process of his trying to make her love him and be his bride. Erik still lives and stalks the  hidden passageways of the rebuilt Opera, listening to all the secrets shared within, and it is through this habit that he discovers a new employee now occupying the room Christine once did.
Genevieve Devereaux, a new seamstress has joined the staff at the Opera Populaire. She is tall and almost pretty, though she dresses in severe dresses with her hair pulled up in a tight bun and glasses, giving the air of a spinster. In fact, she is a former Comtesse, now divorced from a handsome titled man whose façade hid the sadistic abusing monster beneath. She has affected the disguise to hide her whereabouts in fear of her life, and also to indulge her talent for designing and sewing, a talent that had been frowned on as unseemly for a girl, then woman, of her station.
It is this secret, Erik overhears, and decides he can make use of it. But first, he might need a new wardrobe, his having been damaged in the fire. Will his hold over Genevieve force her to follow his written demands?
And as for Genevieve, has she left one form of hell for this new one where this Opera Ghost could turn her over to her hated ex-husband if she did not follow his instructions?
Amanda Osborne has given us a sympathetic and believable protagonist in Genevieve  and her story which takes us behind the scenes and into the demanding roles of the costume designers and seamstresses as they work with the various cast members who populate the operas presented on stage.
And Erik, the commanding, attractive yet exasperating figure who will act out in destructive ways if he can't get what he wants. Still desperately longing for Christine who could never love him for who he was, was he destined to always be alone and unloved?
This is a love story for anyone who loves Erik and hoped for more for him. Beautifully written and realized and filled with details, passion and heartbreak. If you are a Phantom Phan  (and even if you're not) then don't hesitate to get a copy of "An Eternity of This". You won't be disappointed and you'll find yourself hoping for more from this author!

































There is a love story that's kept secret in "An Eternity of This". Who could sing about secret loves better than Doris Day through the miracle of Youtube?