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Cover of Once Upon a Song

Once Upon a Song

by Nadine Bells

🌶️fade to black·spoiler

Why Read This?

A stunningly atmospheric gothic standalone where the icy hotel feels alive — perfect for readers who love haunting settings, eerie mysteries, and character-driven stories over romance-heavy plots

Synopsis

Welcome to the Hôtel de Neige. Let yourself be swept away by its grandeur and glamor, but beware…the cold may swallow you whole. When lonely waitress Ana lands a job as a singer at the prestigious Hôtel de Neige, she believes it to be the beginning of her fairytale. Yet she soon finds that in those eerie halls, the line between Cinderella story and Gothic nightmare blurs. Sinister dreams cause her to sleepwalk, a ballerina makes ominous threats, and a phantom in white haunts the hotel—and Ana. As Ana discovers that the hotel’s last singer lost his life under mysterious circumstances, she needs to decide if happily-ever-after is worth it. She knows she cannot trust her secretive colleagues or the charming but elusive hotel manager, Dimitri. All Ana ever wanted was to belong, but at the Hôtel de Neige, that may mean never leaving again…

At a Glance

3.94 ★ Goodreads
Spice Level🌶️fade to black
Endingspoiler
PairingM/F
Romance Pacingslow burn

Top Tropes

Phantom of the Opera retellinggothic romanceforbidden love

Mood

gothichauntingatmosphericeeriefairytale dark

Book Details

Goodreads Rating

3.94 ★

Page Count

274 pages

Published

2026

Primary Genre

Dark Romance

Pairing

M/F

POV

Third Person

Romance Pacing

Slow Burn

Cliffhanger

spoiler

Audiobook

Available

No

Tropes

RomanceMagicActionAngstWorld
Theme Constellation

sign in to see all 5 tropes

Mood & Vibe

Mood

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Characters

FMC: the lonely dreamer sign in to unlock

Spice Details 🌶️

minimal spice sign in to unlock

death of previous character (mentioned)sleepwalkingnightmaresthreatsgothic horror elementsisolationgaslighting dynamics

World & Setting

contemporary with paranormal elements sign in to unlock

Reading Context

cathartic self-discovery and confrontation with the past sign in to unlock

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