Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.
The Ballerinas features main character Delphine throughout about 20 years of her life, and showcases her friendships, relationships, and the character changes she goes through as she works to find a career that will showcase her talent.
There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about this book. I loved the ballet and European culture that was featured throughout, and I loved reading about Delphine's relationship with her friends Margot and Lindsay. It was interesting to me to see how their relationship changed throughout the years but how it pulled through even in really difficult times. There were times where I disliked all of the characters, but for me that just shows the character is flawed and makes them more realistic, so that definitely isn't a negative.
This story was definitely different from what I was expecting going into it, but it was still enjoyable for sure, especially if you enjoy reading about ballet culture like I do. I loved reading about the determination of the characters, and their competitiveness, and their connection to the music. This book definitely wasn't a thriller in my opinion, and I feel like there will be some individuals going into it expecting that who may be disappointed. However, if you aren't expecting a thriller and go into this with an open mind for the story, it's definitely enjoyable for what it is. I will say there are times where I felt like there were a few too many things going on with the plot, and I wanted the story to kind of come back together. However, I can say that it does in the end, and it makes sense why so much was going on because it adds to the character growth for sure. That's all I'll say to avoid spoilers.
TLDR: Recommend for anyone looking for a book about intense female friendships, ballet culture, and competitiveness, with a shine on great character growth and development as well.

This one started off pretty strong and I was intrigued by the mystery but then it veered a little off course for me to truly enjoy. I did like the writing style.

The second title by this author is a great pick for book clubs and anyone interested in dance or the complexities of friendships. A perfect alternative for anyone who enjoys the holiday tradition of watching The Nutcracker.

The world of ballet is authentically represented in this novel’s plot about three women whose friendship spans decades. Delphine, a soloist with the Paris Opera Ballet, leaves her position at POB and follows her boyfriend to St. Petersburg to become a choreographer under his tutelage. She leaves behind her two best friends, Lindsay and Margaux, and a secret that binds them all together. Upon her return after years apart, the three are reunited but has their friendship survived the secrets and distance.?

The detailed descriptions of the characters and their relationships with each other portray an accurate depiction of female friendships, the struggles facing women and the enduring bonds between friends. The author portrays the ever present desire for perfection in the world of ballet and the struggle between passion and pain.

I loved reading about the world of ballet, however, this novel transcends the setting to create a story of female perseverance, friendships and struggles to achieve our dreams.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this novel.

My Review:⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/ 5 stars

This is a story about Delphine and her two best friends Lindsay and Margaux. They are ballerinas at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School. The timeline shifts back between when the girls are just starting out at the company, competitively growing up the ranks to hopefully one day be a Principal to when Delphine eventually comes back to POB as a choreographer. Delphine mysteriously leaves her position as a soloist and goes to St. Petersburg. The story eventually unfolds why she suddenly leaves her friends and why she is trying to mend the relationships of her past in the present.

This is a slow burn and takes a while to get into the story coming from someone that loves everything Ballet (and Paris for that matter). This is a cross between a more serious Centerstage meets Black Swan. My favorite part is the relationship and the evolution of Delphine’s relationship with Stella, her neighbor. Delphine is not supposed to be likable, she has many different facets and flaws to her personality that make her very self-involved and ignorant. She gets called out for it a few times - and it is very satisfying to watch her character’s growth. The ending surprised me - it definitely took a turn I wasn’t expecting and then I had to re-read it to make sure that’s what really happened. A very strong debut from Kapelke-Dale and definitely recommended for any ballet lovers.

Thank you to St. Martins Press & Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I'd like to thank Netgalley and St. Martins Press for gifting this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I loved the cover and it was the reason I picked it up.

This story is about three ballerina's, Delphine, Lindsey, and Margaux who grow up together in the Paris Opera Ballet. This is a book about friendship, rivalry, heartbreak and the competitive nature of ballet. I really liked the story and especially how the three girls stuck together and were there and not there for each other throughout the years - there are just some friends that will always just be even if you don't talk every day. At the end of the day friendship and loyalty to each other is most important in their relationship.

What I had a hard time with is that it just seemed to progress really slowly. I felt that I read for ever and never seemed to progress in the book. It did pick up in the end and I was sucked in. I know it's marked as a thriller but I don't feel it's that at all. There were really no twists and turns and you just really see a lot of the dark side of ballet companies. It brought up a lot of the trauma and dysfunctional relationships that these girls have with family, lovers, other dancers and even each other at times.

“Ballerinas are like pointe shoes: you have to break them down before they’re of any use.”

To begin…THIS COVER 😍. I really enjoyed this one! These ballerinas are so cutthroat and their dance instructors are merciless and, at times, vicious. It is the perfect storm of heart, determination, drama, and sheer grit.

“What are you supposed to do when you still have a teenager’s dreams but you somehow got old?” 🥺

The first half of the book this was a strong 5 stars for me. I found myself frequenting YouTube watching ballerinas doing fouettés and such. They are so graceful and simply beautiful! But then it turned a bit, focusing more on the friendships between these three girls and less on their ballet careers, which was the best part in my opinion. I was so engrossed in their training and the inside peek at these prima ballerinas. By the end, though, it was really not even about ballet at all. You had jilted families and angry husbands and infertility struggles and it was just kind of a mish mosh of too many things.

Thank you to Netgalley, St Martins Press, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of the few books this year that I stayed up late at night to read.

Delphine, Margaux, and Lindsay have been friends since they were young - three ballerinas who have both supported each other and competed in the grueling world of professional ballet. Mainly seen through the life of Delphine, they have struggles with both their work and outside lives, which are hard to disentangle. As they reunite after Delphine has been away for several years, we are brought into their world and the past that they are challenged to both accept and admit, all while they grow into more mature adults.

Excellent writing and a captivating story, even if you are not particularly interested in ballet.

The ending seemed a bit abrupt, but that is really my only criticism.

I recommend highly as a book club pick as it gives SO much to talk about - especially about how women view themselves and their bodies, how they handle the stress in their lives, several "Wow, what would I do in that situation?" moments!

"The thing that you have to remember is that if you don't risk anything, you risk everything."

"The Ballerinas" by Rachel Kapelke-Dale is one terrific debut novel! It's perfect for readers who are looking for a book that packs a serious punch of girl power. Though the ballerinas in this story may be delicate and fragile looking, these women are anything but!

The story follows three ballerinas from childhood to adulthood. It allows us a sneak peak into the sometimes-ugly world hiding behind the beauty of ballet. Under the frilly tutus and graceful moves lie secrets, pain, addiction, jealousy, and rampant sexism.

The plot, told through dual timelines, unfolds slowly, but I was absolutely riveted. The characters, though not completely likeable to be honest, came alive to me and danced from the pages. It's not actioned-packed, but filled with entertaining and realistic drama. I'm not sure why this book is marketed as a mystery/thriller, but it's a great read nonetheless.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading this complex novel in exchange for my honest review.

Competitive ballet, like gymnastics, begins early for girls and requires a consuming passion usually fed by stagemothers that control their daughters lives. THE BALLERINAS describes both adult and childhood results of this phenomenon with a trio of ballerinas, who compete, befriend and tolerate one another for years. At times fascinating, at others less so, the book creates a sense of the suffocating world the girls must inhabit just to get on stage and be adored. Their time there is exceedingly short. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

BOOK REVIEW: The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

T.I.M.E. Favorite Books To Read
T.I.M.E. Best Book Club Books
Most Anticipated Books of 2021

T.I.M.E. Jalapeno Rating: 🌶 (Mild)

Pages: 304
Genre: Literary Fiction
Sub-Genre: Women's Friendship
Time Period: 1995 | Present Day
Location: Paris (France) | St. Petersburg (Russia)

IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK THEN TRY…
Book: The Turnout by Megan Abbott
Movie: The Turning Point

--------------------

All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I never took any dance classes growing up but this seemed like it would be an interesting read. Sadly I didn't find any of the characters very likable, I thought that this was going to be more of a thriller which I love sadly it wasn't. The cover of the book was beautiful, and helped to pull me in. I know not everyone enjoy the same type of books, and with this one the reviews are all over the board. Having said that I always suggest others read the book and make their own opinion on the book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press, and am under no obligation to leave a favorable review all opinions here are my own.

This book started out interesting to me. Delphine is returning to Paris after 13 years to choreograph a production for the Paris Opera Ballet. She grew up training and performing for POB. Since she is a young child she is BFF’s with Margaux and Lindsay. It gave a rare glimpse into the life of preparing and hoping to be an elite ballerina. One hopes to be an étoile 🌟 as Delphine’s mother had been before. There is relentless practice, never ending pressure for perfection, pain, and still you are being molded into someone else’s idea of beauty for your body.

Delphine is leaving Russia and plans to reconnect with Margaux and Lindsay. They have not kept in close contact, so it is a bit hard to accept that these women would mean everything to her after 13 years. Yet, each knows the other since a young girl and knows this unique world. It does not seem possible to have much other life then living for ballet. This was more then enough material to explore some interesting themes such as the importance of female friendship, jealousy, needing to always please others at your own expense, women’s body issues, and how doing this under such intense scrutiny for so long could cause women to break, relationships to fracture, and anger and resentments to form.

So, the ideas were there, but I felt the execution was not. The book has too much going on, it was all over the place, both with timelines, and constant character developments. I could never really connect to anyone or keep track of what was going on. This is not a Thriller. I think it is marketed as one, but only one unexpected event happens at the end of the book. At that point I just could not relate to anyone’s actions. So, really wish this book had focused on some core issues in a way that didn’t leave my head spinning at the end.

I had the e-book and also the 🎧 audio to listen to. That did work well.

Thank you, NetGalley, Rachel Kapelke-Dale, and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC.

I love stories set in the ballet world that highlight the truth behind the perfection. The Ballerinas emphasizes the complete self-sacrifice that’s needed to succeed in an incredibly competitive and political environment where talent can only take you so far. A recurring theme is anger that women’s bodies are viewed as objects to be used… while the ballet is a fitting way to amplify this message the book’s statement on the topic transcends the dance world.

You need to enjoy reading flawed characters and at times I struggled with Delphine’s choices and opinions. The story features complicated friendships mixed with jealousy and secrets. This book is largely character driven and does not have the feel of a mystery or thriller but in its second sentence we learn that someone is eventually killed. I enjoyed wondering how this would shake out as well as the foreshadowed mystery of what Delphine did years ago that made her feel like she owed her old friend Lindsay.

I found the book engaging primarily due to the peek behind the curtain of the professional ballet world. The setting was the standout to me. I found it atmospheric and absorbing. I also enjoyed the mystery and wanting to see Delphine’s ballet succeed with Lindsay as the star. However, the plot was fairly slow and anticlimactic, I didn’t really care about the characters, and the writing, while fine, didn’t excite me.

"...we're scared of things that we might break. So much of our focus goes there..."
"Well what should we be afraid of instead?"
"Why the things that might break us, of course."

In The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale we see how three friends are broken trying to keep their youthful dreams alive despite the pain, physical and emotional, it costs them.

Told in alternating chapters of the past and present, Delphine is our narrator and it's more her story than her two childhood best friends Margeaux and Lindsey. They share a love of ballet that takes them to the Paris Opera Ballet. Of course, they all can't be the prima ballerina. So when Delphine reaches the ultimate pinnacle of her career and chooses to leave to live in Russia with an older man everyone is dumbfounded and and a bit betrayed by her.

She returns 14 years later as a choreographer and the secrets she left with can't hide anywhere and maybe they shouldn't be hidden anymore.

The details about the struggles of being a ballerina left me wondering how much is too much suffering for your art. Besides destroying their bodies there is the destruction of relationships. Your friends are your rivals who can derail your dreams and often they do so intentionally and cruelly.

I don't feel this story is a thriller or even a mystery. It was a drama about women dealing with tense friendships, the misogynistic attitude of women in ballet compared to their male counterparts, choices women make about career versus family and the sacrifices that often cost them everything.

All that being said I never felt sympathetic toward these characters. They were often just mean and selfish. Despite this lack of compassion for them the author's ability to make their stories compelling and mesmerizing is a testament to her writing talent. It is worth your time.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A daunting book about the inside story of ballerinas’ lives. The author has deeply researched not only the workings of ballet companies, the various venues (Paris and St. Petersburg) and their surroundings but also the lifestyle and what strength of body and desire of aspiring ballerinas.
The storyline left me distracted by the various timelines. While I enjoy reading books which switch from one time period to another, I was too often trying to place the events in their proper order.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book.

It's taking me a little time to parse my thoughts about The Ballerinas, partially due to what I expected versus what I got. But let me be clear from the beginning: I really enjoyed the book. It's a great debut novel and, while there are some shortcomings to the story, Kapelke-Dale's is a voice I will keep on my radar.

The story centers on Delphine, a young Parisian growing up in the Paris Opera Ballet School. It's told in two times: first, as a coming-of-age novel set in the prestigious and cut-throat ballet school and second, with Delphine's turn as a prodigal daughter returning to the Ballet as a choreographer. core to the story are the relationships between girls/women, particularly that between Delphine and her two best friends, Margoux and Lindsay.

Woven throughout are different facets of betrayal, ambition, fame, the pursuit of perfection, and love. More than any plot point, however, The Ballerinas is a novel driven on character and the effects of the Ballet world on those in Delphine's life.

The Ballerinas is currently being marketed as a thriller, which is a bit of a stretch and a bit of an injustice. In truth, the novel is a domestic drama among found--Delphine and her friends--as well as constructed--the FOB--family.. Centered within is a question about the role and treatment of women in ballet, one of the bastions of traditional femininity. What does it take to pursue perfection, to become the next star dancer? And how does this pursuit frame the way the world treats you, in return?

While the pacing and framework of the novel could have used some fine-tuning, I still devoured this title in mostly one sitting. I loved its thoughts on society's failures toward women, even if some of these points came across with a heavier hand.. With the holidays coming up, The Ballerinas would be a great downtime read.

Okay, so I will start with the positives. Kapelke-Dale is a good writer. She is able to place a story into your minds at a nice pace and with a good amount of imagery. The concept of the book was nice, but the overall story and the lack of well written and enjoyable characters, was a massive let down. The was a total cover request for me. But still it was an okay read. Delphine who is the main character of the story is irritating and frankly, dull and annoying. She is selfish and quite narcissistic is I do say so. She cares for no one but herself unless she is in need of something or the relationship will benefit herself. I am not sure if Kapelke-Dale is a new age feminist where all they do is hate men, but that is the feeling you get from this book. Each and every male character in this book is played out as a, lack for a better word, jack@ss.

I've always been drawn to ballet, even though I don't dance it myself, but I love hearing stories about it and generally watching it because it's so graceful! And that was my favourtie part of this book, the ballet that was an important aspect to the characters that was in connection with their friendship. I'm also a fan of Black Swan and this book was a perfect embodiment of what that film achieved and it was very interesting to read about it!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the earc in return for an honest review.

The Ballerinas started slowly for me but drew me into this very competitive world. It centers on three girls who grew up together at the Paris Opera Ballet and switches between their younger years and present day. At the heart of it are the complexities of these friendships. An intriguing read.

‘What is the ballet, after all, if not the ballerinas?’

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Ballerinas: A Novel’ by Rachel Kapelke-Dale in exchange for an honest review.

Thirteen years ago, Delphine was considered one of the best dancers in the world. Yet she had abandoned her position as a soloist at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg. She took with her a secret that could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and Margaux.

Now aged 36, Delphine has returned to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House to embark upon the next phase of her career as a choreographer. Yet, as any reader of suspense fiction knows, secrets rarely stay buried.

‘The Ballerinas’ is at its heart a novel about the world of ballet from the inside: about the demands placed upon dancers, internally and externally, in the quest for artistic perfection and the ambition required to become a principal ballerina in the short window available. It also explores the complexities of friendship between women in this highly competitive field. There are also themes of exploitation and the #MeToo movement.

The novel moves between the trio's adolescent years and their time with the prestigious ballet company through to the events of 2004 that led to Delphine leaving Paris and 2018, the novel’s present day. However, this non-linear format didn’t quite work for me and interfered with my sense of engagement with the narrative.

As a young girl I lived for ballet, yet I didn’t gain the height to continue, though I did retain a love for dance of all kinds. As a result, I had approached ‘The Ballerinas’ primarily as a novel about the rarified world of ballet. While it contain elements of suspense, this clearly was not its main focus despite the marketing.

My general practice is to not over rely on the publishers’ summary in advance of reading and so I wasn’t disappointed when the novel proved thriller-lite. In addition, while I did find the first half a bit slow and the constant time switching confusing, I felt that the narrative picked up considerably in its second half and overall came together for me.

While I know that twisty psychological thrillers are extremely popular, my feeling is that ‘The Ballerinas’ didn’t need to be promoted as such and that its strength lies in the depiction of this insular and fascinating world. It is undoubtedly an ambitious novel and I admired that aspiration.

On a side note, the cover art was stunning in its simple depiction of two ballerinas.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.