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About The Book

“Desperate, dark, and violent, this amazingly complex and beautifully written novel…offers excitement on every page” (VOYA).

War erupts in this bittersweet sequel to Of Metal and Wishes, inspired by The Phantom of the Opera.


In the year since the collapse of the slaughterhouse where Wen worked as her father’s medical assistant, she’s held all her secrets close. She works in the clinic at the weapons factory and sneaks away to nurse Bo, once the Ghost, now a boy determined to transform himself into a living machine. Their strange, fragile friendship soothes some of the ache of missing Melik, the strong-willed Noor who walked away from Wen all those months ago—but it can’t quell her fears for him.

The Noor are waging a rebellion in the west. When she overhears plans to crush Melik’s people with the powerful war machines created at the factory, Wen makes the painful decision to leave behind all she has known—including Bo—to warn them. But the farther she journeys into the warzone, the more confusing things become. A year of brutality seems to have changed Melik, and Wen has a decision to make about him and his people: How much is she willing to sacrifice to save them from complete annihilation?

About The Author

Photo credit: Rebecca Skinner

Sarah Fine is the author of Of Metal and WishesOf Dreams and RustThe Impostor QueenThe Cursed QueenThe True Queen, and The Guards of the Shadowlands series. She was born on the West Coast, raised in the Midwest, and is now firmly entrenched on the East Coast. When she’s not writing, she’s working as a child psychologist. Visit her at SarahFineBooks.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (August 4, 2015)
  • Length: 320 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781442483637
  • Ages: 14 - 99

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Raves and Reviews

“Brimming with thrilling tension, this continuation of Fine’s retelling of The Phantom of the Opera is just as heartbreaking as the original.”

– Romantic Times Book Reviews

“A solid continuationof Fine’s Of Metal and Wishes (S. & S., 2014), aunique retelling of Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera.Fine excels at creating the frenzied chaotic landscape of a racially drivenwar-ravaged world. Her satisfying graphic action scenes serve as quite theantithesis to the quiet, romantic moments that rely on brief descriptions whichleave much to readers’ imaginations… Set in a dystopian landscape with avariety of diverse characters, this romantic steampunk novel will have readersoften on the edge of their seats as they try to keep up with the heroine’sadventures.”

– School Library Journal

“Fine has an incredible way with words, hookingreaders with her intense prose from page 1.”

– Booklist Online

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