The Ballerinas immerses the reader into a world of ballet, fitness, body image issues, friendships, drama, secrets and discovery. There is light suspense , friendships and drama between the friends. The Ballerinas has two timelines told from one of the ballerinas point of view, Delphine Léger.

Delphine left the Paris Opera Ballet thirteen years ago but now she is back to choregraph a ballet at the Palais Garnier Opera House, where she also hopes to mend her friendships with her two best friends. I enjoyed reading about the world of ballet, how demanding it is, how competitive it is and how important friendships are to maintain sanity in a world that demands you give all of yourself to the dance.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press for an advance review copy of The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale. As always, my opinions are my own and my review is voluntary.

This was a lovely read. The characters were fascinating, and I love the multiple story lines. The setting of the opera house is hauntingly lovely, and provides the perfect backdrop.

I loved the atmosphere in The Ballerinas. The streets of Paris versus the studio felt extremely realistic. The friendship between the three girls made the story more interesting to me and I appreciated that the author continued to develop their relationship through to the end! I found the ending surprising and a bit out of sync with the flow of the book but overall I enjoyed this story immensely.

The Ballerinas was a did-not-finish for me, unfortunately. I would be willing to pick it up at a later date if I were in a different mindset, perhaps.

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale may be about ballet, but the heart and soul of this book are the female friends who dominate the pages. The story is told completely from the viewpoint of Delphine, and I did find it interesting seeing everything through her eyes only. I always enjoy multiple viewpoints, but only having one completely worked for me in this novel. I don't know if I was expecting it to, but this definitely ended up being on the darker side. You will be appalled at some of the actions of these women, but for some reason I still found myself liking them. I loved the look into what being a ballerina entails and I really have no idea how people do it, but I find it fascinating. I love that Dale took something she knew very well and put it on the page, and I could tell just from reading it that she knew what she was talking about without even having to read her about-the-author section.

I was completely enthralled with The Ballerinas and while it is a slow burn, I didn't want to put it down. I honestly might nudge my star rating up at some point (especially on sites like Goodreads where you can't do half or partial stars), because I can see myself remembering this book for some time to come. This is really saying something considering I have basically the worst memory ever! I also just have to mention how wonderful the audiobook is which is narrated by Ell Potter. I have only listened to her voice one other novel so far, but she was clearly the right choice to narrate this one. She put me right into the story and really helped me feel everything the characters were feeling, and not just Delphine either! A stellar performance and I highly recommend doing the audiobook if that's your thing. And did I mention how much I love this cover? I'm guessing Dale didn't have much to do with it, but even if she didn't whoever created it really nailed it. I am kind of excited that this is a debut because I can’t wait to see what else Dale will create!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is solid, character driven, well researched, realistic approach to the ballerinas’ disciplined, competitive, excruciating lifestyle!

I was expecting to read a thriller after seeing the blurb about defining the novel as Black swan meets Luckiest Girl Alive but this is closer to women’s fiction, drama, historical fiction genres.

I have a little hard time to get into the story because of the slow paced story telling. But luckily second half the author wrapped up the story and fasten the pacing to help me get through the entire premise. The conclusion is also better.

The Ballerinas was just ok. Character driven by three females who came up together in ballet school. The story shifts between trio’s present day and teenage years….hinting at a big secret that happened back when they were teens. Unfortunately it took forever to finally reveal what exactly this was.

The story was fascinating and well written but was a very, very slow burn. Strong themes of feminism and what it means to be a woman in society today.

2.5 rounded up to 3.

I enjoyed this book so much I went out and bought three copies for gifts! I’ve always been intrigued by ballet stories and this did not disappoint!

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale is told across two time periods - when three friends were dancers at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet and then as adults who have made difficult choices in their lives - going their own ways in their careers.

Delphine returns to Paris to choreograph a ballet and make amends. What she doesn't anticipate is how the secrets she thought were long-buried are just barely under the surface.

This book had a lot of twists and turns - some more inconceivable than others. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had focused more on the dance and the relationships between the women.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Some books jump back and forth between timelines well and some do not: this one does it very well. I kept turning pages to find out exactly what had transpired all of those years before that was alluded to so many times. I loved the world that this book took me into. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that it seemed like it was a twist that came out of nowhere and not in a great way: it did not seem to "fit" with what/who the author had previously designed. Overall a solid read, but I didn't love one of the ending twists.

I received an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was not an action book like I first expected it to be, however this only made me take some time in finishing the book at a slower pace. The focus is mainly on the struggle that women in this field are facing since early childhood and until they are “forced” to find another alternative to sustain their living since they no longer have the freshness, mobility and attractiveness of the newbies.
In the end it represents the dramatic life of Delphine and her two best friends, the search for meaning in life after they are thrown in this world of spectacle and appearance. I liked to read and discover how the main character was developed, how the mysteries were unfolding until the very last page.

DNF at 40%. I tried reading this one, I really did. I was expecting a mystery, but this was not what this was. I had such high expectations for this one.

This book was so good! I was lucky to be approved to recieve an eARC, but dumb enough to wait a few months before I actually started it. What a mistake that was. As a former professional dancer myself, the tone of this book really hit home. The author captured the hyper competitive atmosphere with a sinister edge. I think I assumed this book was a thriller, but I would definitely say it is more of a dark drama for women. The back half of this book is epic, and I couldn't put it down. If you grew up dancing competitively (or you just live for the drama), this is a must read!

I was interested in this book because my daughter danced for many years growing up. Starting in third grade my daughter was noticed for her dance ability outside the small dance studio she attended. That brought us to BalletMet Academy where she danced for many years and the academy fed into the BaletMet Dance company. This meant the academy students were able to audition for roles in performances such as The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. We loved watching her dance and like Lindsay in the book she might not have always had the exact technique but she came alive on stage. While reading this book I couldn’t help but reflect on my daughter’s days with BalletMet.

About the book
Delphine dances for an academy that feeds into a POB, Paris Ballet. Her mother was a star with the company for many years. Despite Delphine’s physical shortcomings she was admitted into the academy. Her best friend was Margaux and later Lindsay came along from America and the three of them were inseparable.

Their personalities were very different but all three of them shared the goal of wanting to climb the ranks of the academy. When there are only two slots open for the soloist spot their competitive side rears it’s ugly head and things become more sinister. The story is told in a dual timeline. In the opening scenes we see Delphine 13 years after she left Paris to pursue a career as a choreographer and to marry a Russian choreographer. She had returned to POB this time as a choreographer. She wants to make up for mistakes she made in the past but much has changed since she left and not everyone is excited that she is back. Three lives will be changed forever with Delphine’s return as well as the future of POB.

The other timeline we see is when the girls were growing up and dancing for POB together. We seet their bond and the events that test their friendship. This book deals a lot with women finding their place in the ballet world amongst men and having control over their own bodies. It also has to do with ambition and the lengths we have to go to especially as women to be taken seriously. This book is about ballet but there are many more layers such as the female friendships, women having control of their own body, and finding their voice in a world where males primarily dominate.

The Ballerinas is a story of female friendship. Delphine Leger and her friends share a deep and troubling secret. Delphine left the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg only to return several years later. She hopes this will be a new chapter in her life but she soon learns secrets never stay buried.

This book was fine. It was a little confusing with all the time jumps but the characters were interesting enough to hold my attention. The mystery was compelling and while the plot flowed in a lot of different directions overall this was a decent read.

My apologies for getting to this one a bit late - but wow. I really enjoyed it.

While I don't think it is quite a thriller, it definitely has an aura of suspense. I love reading about the cutthroat world of competitive ballet. There truly is something so sinister about training with these people together - but, at the end of the day, knowing they are your competition.

While it was a bit slow at times, I loved how detailed this story was. Just when you thought you uncovered the climax or the twist, there was more ahead. And that ending!

Overall, this was a slower, but so gratifying story that I wish got more hype!

Overall great story idea. Enjoyed looking into a ballerina's life. Enjoyed the complexities each individual character dealt with and the relationships between them - their internal struggle. With that said, I didn't like any of the characters, with the exception of Stella, and I felt that there was no maturity/growth for any by the end of the book. It felt like the story was leading there the whole time, but the characters never quite got there.
I took off stars because the beginning, middle, and end themes did not match up. The start felt like it was introduced as a mystery thriller - a ballerina rivalry. I was anxiously waiting for the big reveal. The reveal fell flat. Did not live up to what it was built up to be in the beginning. I actually was so underwhelmed that it almost made me stop listening.
Then the whole back and forth between past and present led no where. As it was happening I thought it was going to lead up to something bigger, but like the big reveal, although informative and somewhat interesting, really it was just a deeper insight into Delphine's life.
And then ending... well, I thought it went too far into the "huh, well that just happened" and was a little too random.
Great narration.
Loved the cover. Totally what drew me in.

I was excited to pick up this book because I like books with strong women characters set in Paris and with some twists and turns. At times, the writing pulled me in and I could visualize the scene and the city. Other times, I felt myself plodding through the book and it took me awhile to finish it because I would lose interest along the way. Part of the reason for this is not only are all the male characters extremely unlikeable and/or abusive, I realized I did not really care for any of the women characters either. So sometimes I was pulled in with empathy, identifying with the characters but in the end felt I did not really care what happens to them. There were many points in the book where the suspense builds for a big unveil but then I wasn't certain if that was supposed to be the big twist or if there were others -- in the end, I was not fully satisfied but do want to say there were beautiful passages within the book even if it did not all hang together for me.

At first, I was not sure exactly what I was reading but I was willing to give it a try. Boy did this book bring a surprise as I continued to read it. This is a story about a woman and how she moves through her life that includes family drama and some mental abuse from teachers, peers, and the ballet world. With all this, the story shows the depth of friendship and how in the end it all comes together. Even though it at times is a little slow give this story a chance especially if you are looking for a women’s fiction story.

Thank you @stmartinspress, @netgalley, @booksparks and @rachelkapelkedale for this gifted book for an honest review. My reading buddy and I both enjoyed the book.

Review of The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was a really interesting read for me. I am fascinated by the dance world so I’m always willing to check out books related to it. The characters in this one were borderline toxic (with a few crossing the one past borderline) and the drama was booming. It was not as suspenseful as I was hoping and I wouldn’t classify is as a thriller.

Quick synopsis: Delphine has grown up in Paris and danced with her two best friends Margaux and Lindsay. The dance school is extremely competitive but they make it through and become company members together. Then the competition gets even more serious. Delphine has a secret she is struggling with and decides to move to a Russia with her lover, a choreographer who came to Paris. There she takes up choreography herself and in the present day has returned to Paris to choreograph a new show but also to renew her friendships. But she finds everything snd everyone much changed since her departure.

We had a great buddy read discussion about this one yesterday. This looks book is another in #theyearofnetgalley challenge for me! Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the copy of this one.