3 Stars

Full Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. This has in no way influenced my review.*

To be honest, I probably should’ve stopped reading this after the first few pages because I could tell it wasn’t for me. But a Dorian Gray retelling! I had to keep reading because that’s one of the only classics I’ve ever loved, plus it’s just got a great premise with lots of potential, and I really wanted to see how this author would put his own spin on it.

Unfortunately, it seemed like this book was trying too hard to BE the original story rather than a unique retelling. Sure the book was set in present day America rather than 1800s England, the character of Henry was a drag queen rather than whatever Henry was, the artwork was a hologram rather than a painting, the character of Sybil was a stripper instead of an actress, etc., but those things are all just minor details. The plot was almost exactly the same (not just the general idea, but conversations the characters had and everything), and the characters had the same personality traits, right down to Henrietta’s love for giving paradoxical advice. Even some of her quotes were almost exactly the same as Henry’s just with more modern words/ideas. I can concede however that this disappointment might just be on me for having certain expectations—I personally prefer retellings to have more of a twist, or to have something unique to them, or to explore something from the original more in depth—so other people may like the fact that it was pretty much the exact same story, just modernized, especially if you haven’t read the original and don’t already know what’s going to happen.

Another problem I had though was that the characters felt flat. Gary (Dorian) was a jerk, which was to be expected. Liam (Basil) was reserved and kind of pathetic. Henrietta (Henry) was loud-mouthed and opinionated. But that’s kind of all they were. And the way their new identities were forced to mesh with the traits and situations of the originals felt unnatural. Some of the thoughts, feelings, actions, motivations, speech, etc. of the characters didn’t fit with the modern world or the new identities.

That being said, somehow the book got a little better around halfway through. It was still basically the same plot, but it stuck to the modern aspect more and showed more of the actual depravity (you know, all those parts the original skipped over).

But because of all that depravity, this book is not for the faint of heart. There was *TRIGGER WARNING* murder, death, suicide, graphic (but not particularly erotic because it wasn’t supposed to be) M/M and M/F sex, sexual assault/rape, and lots of drug use. *END TRIGGER WARNING* I’m not sure I’d classify this as LGBT though, despite the M/M sex. Yeah, the protagonist had sex with men sometimes, but he didn’t identify as gay or bisexual; he simply had sex with men when he was so high that he didn’t care and was physically incapable of doing it with women. The two main side characters were gay though, and there were brief M/M sex scenes on screen, so I guess that’s why it’s considered LGBT.

So overall, I was disappointed that the story wasn’t more original, and I guess the book just wasn’t quite for me.

Recommended For:
Anyone who wants to read a story that's almost exactly the same as the original Dorian Gray, but modernized and more graphic.

n  Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlightn

For those of you who saw the movie "Beastly" and liked it, this is the book for you.

It's a modernized version of the Picture of Dorian Gray with a drag queen named Henrietta whose humor makes up for the lack of Wilde himself writing this book. Yes, I'm aware. The main character, the handsome Dorian of this story, is oddly named Gary. Maybe because of how close it is to Gray? Gary doesn't scream hunky guy. He's perfection personified. Despite the brief backstory we get in one of the earlier chapters, I still don't understand how someone described such as he doesn't have any friends he hangs out with or people he socializes with. He meets Liam and suddenly Liam is his best friend. Then Henrietta. You don't see the relationships develop because the time jumps around to get to that point.

I thought there'd be something more about Liam going on with the holographic painting deal. When we get to the wish which sets the downfall in motion, Gary comments on how it seemed Liam was engulfed in shadows. I was expecting him to somehow know about the curse and how everything was going to go horrible for Gary. It didn't work out that way.

Gary, once he became the prime jerk of the universe, was very intolerable.

As I pointed out, this is on the Beastly level of adaptations. It's not bad but did we really need it?

I'm curious to see, because I did like the different characters, other stuff the author has done.

Potential Triggers: suicide, sex, cheating and rape, drug use, suicidal thoughts and murder.

Oscar Wilde's the Picture of Dorian Gray has always been one of my favorite books. When I stumbled across this novel I knew I had to read it.

A Face without a Heart is a retelling of Oscar Wilde's 1890 classic philosophical novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. In A face without a heart we meet Gary Adrion (an anagram of Dorian Gray) and Liam ( The artist), as well as an entire slew of characters. The story is told from multiple points of view and bounces between narrators to give a broader view of the events.

While I dont think its comparable to the original at all, I found myself enjoying this modern take. The characters were developed well and while I cared for some more than others , I enjoyed having the perspectives of the multiple narrators. Overall, I think this book was beautifully written and worth reading.

I recieved a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review Copy received from author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed for Alpha Book Club by Cheryl

3.5*
Having only a very basic understanding of the original story of Dorian Gray, I started reading this book with no particular expectations or presumptions, not really knowing what I was getting myself into, also, this is my first experience of this author and although this is not my usual type of reading matter, I was in no way disappointed. His writing style keeps the reader interested, it’s engaging and being told from the POV’s of several characters, you don’t get bored listening to the inner monologue of just one MC alone. The scenes are so well described, you can easily imagine that you are there.

The book starts off with Liam, the artist responsible for the piece of art that ages. Having spotted Gary Adrion (genius move with the anagram) and being somewhat taken by the young mans apparently flawless beauty, chases after him and virtually begs Gary to pose for him. The end result is a hologram that is Liams best work yet and that Gary is so taken with, he unwittingly sells his soul in order to stay as young looking as he does in the picture.

From the very beginning, we see that Gary is not the most pleasant person. He is very self assured and self centred, so his high opinions of himself do not diminish as the portrait takes on his burden. With a sense of feeling more and more untouchable, his hedonistic lifestyle leads Gary down a path of blackmail, drug abuse and even murder which, as the years go by, he slowly realises that perhaps it was not worth having sold his soul for in the first place. This is a suspenseful and quite gory telling of this mans life, which we know cannot end well and the chances are, that the reader will have little to no sympathy for him anyway.

In Rick R. Reed's Face without a Heart, he does his take on Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. For Reed it seems more of a challenge to take on and is relevant to the live the fast lane culture that youth sometimes decide to take on.

Reed's story moves at a fast pace to keep my interest. The major problem I had was most particularly in the beginning in how it is written. Gary Adrion, an anagram for Dorian Gray, talks about how he falls in love, and the next time he narrates he talks about how he fell out of love.

To me it was too sudden. Gary doesn't talk about how he falls in love or a narrative leading up to it. He is just suddenly in love at first sight and of course she's in love with him. The break up also happens so quickly, which at this point in the book, both characters are annoying.

Gary overall is definitely a character to find annoying and it was intentional. It was the other characters that i felt empathy and aggravation with. In real life, i don't feel they would hang on to their friendship with him considering how selfish Gary is.

Overall, I enjoyed Face without a Heart. Brutally honest and at times gruesome. A modern day retelling that is fun to read and goes places the original couldn't go to, due to the times. Rick R. Reed is someone I look forward to reading some of his original works.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

This is a modern day retelling of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" with Liam as an artist taking pictures of his muse and modelling them into holograms. The hologram of Gary Adrion (see the pun?) is his masterpiece and he falls in love with the ethereal beauty of young Gary. But Gary soon makes wrong decisions and as his actions become more cruel, violent, and terrible, he remains young and beautiful.

As retellings go, this was super predictable, but this one didn't take me in, emotionally. I thought many things were quite ridiculous (SUCH A LONG PENIS!), especially that graphic sex scenes are supposedly super shocking and how the wickedness of Gary, but it felt more like a caricature. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see what the modern setting would do to the story: surprisingly, not a lot. The alcohol, the drugs, the sex and the artist's helpless infatuation are the same. Yes, it was dirtier and more graphic, but it didn't make it much more shocking. Also trigger warnings galore: violence, abuse, rape, sexual assault,...

2,5-3 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Ninestar Press for providing a copy for review.

This was so different from what I was expecting. I really liked the characters. Gary had a crazy character arc, Liam was interesting, and Henrietta was a riot. This book starts with a punch to the gut, and a slight mystery. There is quite a bit of insta-lust going on. Gary is basically walking perfection. He just seems to naturally draw attraction. Liam is a photographer, with a penchant for younger men. Henrietta is a brash, fairly cynical drag queen who keeps the other two in check as best she can. There was a lot more LGBTQ rep than I was expecting and I loved it! It was also a pretty heavy and dark story. For a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray, this was not expected. It deals really well with what happens if you sell your soul for youth and beauty. It also deals with AIDS and the heavy party scene. There is A LOT of partying happening. The second half of the book was definitely darker than the first. The second watches Gary's descent into turmoil while he realizes that he's not aging and life had essentially lost meaning. I just really enjoyed this one.

I really enjoyed this book.
I felt attached to the main character and willed him to see the errors of his ways. I felt all the emotions he felt. There are some parts that I wish had been more explored.
I am really glad I picked this book up.

Firstly I'd like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange of an honest review.

A Warning; the book contains graphic sex, drug use and lots of other immoral topics. Take that into consideration before reading.

It's been a long time since I've read Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, and I have always been fascinated by the story. It's been something that stuck with me, whilst I didn't adore the original I did enjoy the story and the commentary it has on corruption.

I found getting into this story, for me at least, took a bit of work. It was unexpected to come across multiple POV's as I thought we would hear the slow decline of our Dorian (named Gary - which I hated but that's beside the point) purely from his point of view. I really didn't like it, and found that I couldn't connect to the story because of this in the early chapters. I felt that all the different characters felt written the same and were indecipherable, at least at the beginning. Later on in the book it changes and each character develops a distinct voice and it improves the flow of the story.

The focus of the story is Gary, his innocence and decline into corruption when given the opportunity to get away with things he otherwise wouldn't have because of his immortal beauty. I really enjoyed how the 'portrait' of Gary was now digital/holographic. I appreciated how none of his actions were glamorised. He was an unlikable and disturbing character and the author had no qualms about showing this. My favourite character was Henrietta, I loved her charm, poise and presence and felt that the story would not be the same without her.

I did feel however that the story both felt too long and too short all at once. I felt there was at times a lot going on without much flesh to it. The relationship he has at the beginning of this book being a prime example, instalove to instahate almost immediately. It felt flippant and annoying, but I suppose it does lend itself to the man he becomes and the start of his downfall.

Overall it was an enjoyable story, I am still fascinated by the plot and idea of it and think this version would make a much more enjoyable movie than the original. I loved the creepiness and it was definitely a book that had me feeling actually disgusted with the main character and making remarks about him out loud.

3.5 stars

This book provided me with the opportunity to try to read the original work by Oscar Wilde so I could fully appreciate both works and their creators.

'A Face Without A Heart' is a modern retelling of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' that follows a more modern setting with Drag Queens and a more heavily set LGBT+ themes.

It commences with a holographic maker rather than painter, Liam, who spots the gorgeous Gary Adrion (Love the anagram by the way) and asks the beautiful young man to be a model for him. Liam goes as far as to follow the man off the train the two were riding together in the hopes of getting the man's attention and permission for his project.

From there the story is continued on like Wilde's original classic with a more modern tone and setting and the language much easier to comprehend. I would definitely recommend this book to those who love The Picture of Dorian Gray or even those who struggled to get into the classic. As it possesses writing that is beautiful but more manageable to read, it may help one fully understand the story in Reed's new light of how a man's soul acts as a bargaining chip between him, the hologram and the life he is.

Dark and sinister, this book play's on the darker side of the human mind and revels in the dark details of Gary's new world.

Just a slight notice that there are graphic scenes of drug use, suicide, and sexual content within this book so please be aware of these when you are reading.

Gary, raised by an aloof grandfather in a rich family, has never wanted for money or beauty, only for love. Liam, a photographer who creates holograms, sees Gary on the train one day and, astonished by his beauty, requests to make a hologram of him. Gary agrees and Liam creates a masterpiece which highlights both his artistic skill and his awe for the other man. Liam's best friend, the cynical drag queen Lady Henrietta, believes this awe to be only a passing fancy but quickly becomes Gary's best friend as well, encouraging him in some of the more hedonistic parts of life. After tragedy strikes, it becomes apparent to Gary that his hologram ages while he does not. At first this is a blessing, allowing Gary to partake in any number of pleasures without worry for the consequences. But as his friends age without him and his life continues with little purpose, he realizes that maybe beauty and decadence aren't all they're made out to be.

Content warnings: graphic sex, drug use, suicide, rape, murder, victim blaming

This novel is a modern retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray, a classic which I unfortunately have yet to read. So this review will not be analyzing A Face without a Heart in comparison to the original story, but instead relaying my experience of reading it as a independent novel. Still, I began this book with expectations for it to be an examination of youth, hedonism, and depravity which makes more explicit the homoeroticism of Dorian Gray that I have heard so much about. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

Prose usually isn't a huge deal to me. I've read prose that others find over dramatic (Nevernight) or overly descriptive (Wheel of Time) and though I can acknowledge the flaws, I usually get past them fairly easily. However, the prose in this novel did bother me. It wasn't necessarily awful, but it was lacking in nuance. I'm not one for flowery writing, but the writing here was so straight-forward that I found it unpleasant to read sometimes. There seemed to be a good deal of telling, rather than showing. Something I am a bit more picky about is dialogue, which felt unnatural to me throughout most of this novel. If nothing else, the plainness of the righting made it quick and easy, though not necessarily enjoyable, to read.

Yet, the biggest issue for me was the characters. Ignoring the fact that "Dorian" was named Gary of all things, I simply didn't connect with him, Liam, or Lady Henrietta. I realize that these characters weren't supposed to be likeable (except perhaps Liam who I think I would have liked if we had seen more of him). I can appreciate unlikable characters who are bad people so long as they're still good, well-developed characters. In this case, however, they felt one-dimensional and unrealistic. Henrietta, in particular, seemed like a conglomeration of stereotypes whose defining features were being excessively outspoken and pessimistic.

At around 250 pages long, this novel is much shorter than most others I read. On the one hand, this was good for me because if it wasn't so short, I probably would have stopped reading about halfway through, and the book does get much better in the second half. On the other hand, I think the quick pace of the novel is part of what contributed to its unbelievability for me. I know that an in depth narration of Gary's entire adult life isn't possible, but I think I would have been much more convinced by his character development, such as it was, if it occurred more gradually and we got more insight into his inner dialogue. There were even a couple of critical scenes that we only heard about in retrospect as he talked about them with Henrietta, which is a decision I didn't understand at all.

In the end, I'm most disappointed because I didn't find much of a point or takeaway from book unless it was "don't do too many drugs" or "don't promise to marry someone you've only just met." Of course, not every book has to have a meaningful takeaway, but I was expecting that this one would since it is a retelling of a well known, philosophical classic. I think the message was perhaps supposed to be that hedonism doesn't make for a satisfying or happy life, but the depravity in this book was almost too extreme for that to be a convincing conclusion. (I could easily argue that one could live hedonistically, pursuing the pleasures of life, without complete disregard for their own well-being or that of others and thus might have a better life than Gary did.) Having never read The Picture of Dorian Gray, I can't say whether it shares this downfall with A Face without a Heart or not.

Finally, I feel I have to mention that if you're looking for a retelling of Dorian Gray with a greater focus on homo/bisexuality, this isn't it. Not that it really claims to be, but I think some people will come in with that misunderstanding. There is no M/M romantic relationship, and though Gary has sex with other men, I (as someone who is bi) don't think you could label him as bisexual; he only does so when he's too drugged up to care and even then doesn't seem to receive any pleasure from it.

Despite my lack of enjoyment of A Face without a Heart, I am giving it two stars rather than one because it's not truly a bad book. I can see how many people who didn't have the same issues I did with the prose and pace might like it, and I did find myself slightly more invested in the second half of the book even if it was too little, too late for me.

Many thanks to NineStar Press and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Check out my blog for more reviews!

It's fine. Many of Reed's updates and interpretations are creative and interesting. I think I just enjoy Wilde's lovely writing style and lyrical flow in the original too much to separate the two enough to enjoy this one as much as I probably should.