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Formats
Kindle Edition eBooks Details
  • 12/2018
  • B07HZ3Z55P
  • 282 pages
  • $3.99
Paperback Details
  • 03/2019
  • 9781684547531
  • 290 pages
  • $17.99
Estella Mirai
Author
The Stars May Rise and Fall
Teru came to Tokyo with dreams of making it big in the glam-metal visual kei scene, but three years later, all he has to show for it is a head of hot pink hair and some skill with an eyeliner pencil. He may look the part, but he doesn’t sound it, and constant bickering among his bandmates has him worried about his future. When he finds a mysterious business card in his bag, he’s willing to take any help he can get. Help comes in the form of Rei, a crippled, disfigured composer whose own career was ended by an accident before it had really begun. With Teru’s voice and looks, and Rei’s money and songwriting skills, both of their dreams seem about to come true – but a forbidden kiss and a late-night confession threaten to tear it all apart. Now Teru, who has spent most of his life denying his attraction to men, and Rei, who vowed long ago never to love again, must reconcile their feelings with their careers – and with their carefully constructed ideas of themselves. THE STARS MAY RISE AND FALL is an M/M retelling of Phantom of the Opera, set in Tokyo at the turn of the millennium. It comes with a healthy dose of angst and a dollop of nostalgia, as well as an age-difference romance, a physically disabled love interest, and memorable characters who will stay with you long after the pages are closed.
Reviews
The turbulent romantic connection between two musicians is at the heart of Mirai’s fluid, well-plotted debut, a loose retelling of The Phantom of the Opera set in the year 2000. La Rose Verboten is a visual kei band, the Japanese equivalent of glam rock. After playing a gig in Tokyo, the band’s 22-year-old drummer, Teru, meets 36-year-old Rei, a reclusive, mask-wearing songwriter whose career as a visual kei star ended after a car accident crushed his arm and severely burned his face. Rei promises to make Teru a star, offering him private vocal coaching and arranging for La Rose Verboten’s singer to be ousted and for Rei to take his place. As the band’s popularity grows, Teru struggles to understand his simultaneous attraction to Rei and disgust at his scarred skin, a revulsion that will disappoint sensitive readers. Rei’s attempts to regulate Teru’s life become overly controlling, but his slowly revealed backstory will help readers understand, if not sympathize, with his actions. Though the dynamic of their relationship is murky, the way the complicated characters cope with believable pain provides a window into a fascinating subculture. This competent tale will appeal to fans of gay romance who don’t mind a bit of darkness in their love stories. (Self-published)
Reader's Favorite

5 stars

The Stars May Rise and Fall is a modernization of a classic tale, reinvented and penned by author Estella Mirai. Focused on the glam-metal music scene of early 2000s Japan, Mirai retells the gothic love story of The Phantom of the Opera through introducing us to young ingenue Teru. Teru comes to Tokyo with all of the looks and appeal to make it big, but his songs just don’t cut it, and it looks as though his career might be over before it begins. It’s then that Rei steps in, a disabled and disfigured composer who can skyrocket Teru’s talents when they combine with his. But with forbidden romance looming, one kiss could take it all away.If you’re looking for an intense, intelligent and inventive LGBTQ love story, there isn’t a more perfect book on the market right now. Author Estella Mirai takes us to the slick streets of Tokyo with cinematic description that leaps off the page, guiding readers through twists and turns of a plot which is classic in places, then elevated for the modern day audience in many others. Loving the original Phantom as much as I do, I was delighted to see so many elements redeveloped for the character of Rei, who didn’t lose either his charm, talent or darkness in the process. Teru is an improvement on the original Christine, with a more solidified emotional depth and vehemence about his dreams and desires. Overall, The Stars May Rise and Fall is a superb book and highly recommended.

Formats
Kindle Edition eBooks Details
  • 12/2018
  • B07HZ3Z55P
  • 282 pages
  • $3.99
Paperback Details
  • 03/2019
  • 9781684547531
  • 290 pages
  • $17.99
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