I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For a debut fiction novel, The Ballerinas is a very impressive well written book. I wouldn't consider it a thriller or mystery by any means, but a thorough character driven book that emphasizes the friendships of 3 women over a large span of time.

Delphine Leger is a 35 or 36 year old choreographer of ballet after spending her childhood at a prestigious ballet school in Paris and 13 years in St. Petersburg Russia with ex lover Dmitri, a top choreographer. Of course there is sexism even in ballet, and the best or most successful choreographers are men. Delphine tracks her time in the past from age 13, 16 and older as a student at FOB in between chapters in the present with her return to Paris as a choreographer at the Opera.

Her connection with her two best friends, American Lindsay and fellow French Margaux ebbs and flows like most best friends over time, while they struggle with very real life difficulties like cancer, alcohol addiction, their ambitions to succeed in ballet, parenthood or the idea of it, relationships. There's also a secret Delphine is keeping from Lindsay, something she and Margaux did in the past that haunts them and they wrestle with telling Lindsay because it affected her success as a ballerina. This part wasn't quite as dramatic as the MeToo part of the story, which wasn't plot driven. (There's no sexual assault, but recording video without consent.) I'm not sure that it was the focal point of the story but the way Dephine handled it was written very well. The way women are expected to be 'nice' and hamdle things in a way that society approves but also makes them feel small and insignificant was a huge theme in this book. How men who may help someone with 1 thing but expect a quid quo pro- something in return and get nasty when things don't go their way. The connections women have with other women are the threads in this book.
4.25/5☆ release date 12/7/21 by St. Martin's Press

This is a beautifully written book that shines a light on the complexities of female friendships. I enjoyed learning more about the world of ballet, and the multiple timelines helped build the suspense.

Wow oh wow is this a fantastic book! I learned so much about the life of a ballerina and how dedicated to a fault they are in their craft.

A book full of friendship, dance, and complicated relationships sure to keep you up all night reading.

(Check trigger warnings before you read***)

<b>The Ballerinas</b> is the first novel I’ve read by this author. The story is told in the perspective of Delphine, a soloist ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet, who decides to leave her prestigious position to go to St Petersburg, Russia taking with her a secret that could upend her friendship with Margaux and Lindsay. Fourteen years later, she returns to the Paris Opera Ballet to debut her career as a ballet choreographer and rekindle her previous friendships.

The first third of the book starts off by easing the reader into the lifestyle of a dancer in ballet. There’s talk of common terms, daily life of school and practice, aspirations of ballerinas, etc. The reader is also immersed into the personalities, backgrounds, and relationships of the main characters.

The story is told at two points in time and works through Delphine’s early life as a ballerina up to present day allowing the reader to see her character progress and how past events have impacted the present.

I can definitely appreciate the practice, commitment, diligence and sacrifice required to become a “star” ballerina, and this novel really highlights the ups and downs that can impact a person psychologically, physically and emotionally through this journey. It also shows you how rare it is to become a star ballerina and how much effort is placed into attaining this elite goal. It also touches on the stress and pressure this lifestyle can place on friendships and other relationships where a level of perfection and high aspirations are implicated. This can take a toll on both the person and those surrounding them making it difficult to have the societal view of a ‘normal’ life (i.e. marriage, children). The author also really highlights the prevalence of misogyny in the ballet world.

Two things in particular that bothered me about this novel were, 1) the terrible secret Delphine is carrying around, and 2) the somewhat random dramatic event at the end of the novel involving Margaux, Lindsay, and Daniel. There’s a lot of reference to this terrible secret that Delphine has that could upend her friendships, but it takes until roughly the 60% mark (if not further) to learn what really this terrible secret is. To be frank, yes, the nature of the secret and root cause of the secret is terrible. The actions that occurred were rooted in jealousy and the desire to ‘even the playing field’, so to speak. So yes the result is awful, but I think the handling and reveal of this ‘secret’ could have been better handled.

The second issue I had with this novel was the ending portion of the novel where this ‘dramatic’ (for lack of a better descriptor) event occurs (I am being intentionally vague here to ensure I don’t reveal the plot). It seemed to me like a last ditch effort to add suspense to the novel. I found it to be a poor excuse for a plot twist and was not well-devised. The whole thing was thrown in and sloppily addressed before coming to a fast conclusion.

As the novel progresses, we see Delphine evolving as a person and learning how to navigate through her relationships at various points in her life. I thought this aspect was well done.

Overall, a decent read. 4/5 stars!

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St Martin’s Press, for this advanced digital copy and the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own. Upon publishing of this novel, I will also be posting my review to Amazon Canada.</i>

A fantastic and dark story. I lobed it and I'd did remind me in ways of Dare Me by Megan Abbot. Not quite a psychological thriller but a great story all the same xx

3.5 stars
This is a very immersive look at the harsher side of the world of ballet and what these people give up and endure to pursue their passion in life. It is a highly character driven story of three "friends" and their struggles. It is not necessarily dark, but there is some drama, a few twists, and some highly unlikeable characters.

I was definitely expecting a black swan type read when I first got this, but it's more of a woman's fiction situation, but that doesn't make it any less good! Lots of competition and a major secret that must be kept.

The story of 3 friends in a very small community.. Professional Ballerinas. Before they were professionals, they were students in an exclusive dance school.

This was enjoyable and what I feel is an accurate portrayal of societal norms in a small, exclusive, community. These three women were girls together, and over time and experience, they became adult women but the dynamic somehow never really changed. Each has their own flaws and issues.

This is a story about our changing lives and how we need to eventually see and accept the changes we all go through. It's easy, sometimes too much easier, to fall into old routines with old friends. This is a journey from childhood to adulthood. This shows the struggle of that journey both individually and together. This should serve as a reminder, in a fun way, that just as we grow and mature and our lives change, Others follow similar but different paths., and we need to make allowances for change and growth in our long term friendships for them to be beautiful.

This was such a captivating story, and so different from any other book I've read lately. Even as someone who knows very little about ballet, I easily fell into Rachel Kapelke-Dale's descriptions of the dancers' lives. I also loved the vivid imagery of Paris and how it was woven throughout the book. While the parallel timelines blurred together often for me, overall I really enjoyed this novel and the writing style.

This book was a beautiful read. It’s almost hard to put into words what this book made me feel. At its core, I believe this book is a love letter to the women in our lives.. The women who shape us, who support us, and who love us. Also, it’s a commentary on the role of women in society. The idea that we are objects for men to covet and attain. That our hopes and dreams are merely that – hopes and dreams. And once we settle down and get married, we no longer need to peruse those. And if we do, we are selfish. This book felt both soft and hard, addressing feminist topics that make us angry in a way that is beautiful.

I thought the writing in this book was superb. There was no point where I felt myself cringe at something that was written. There were many moments where I had to sit back and digest a sentence because it was so poignant. Additionally, this book. Was well paced, flowing in a way I enjoyed, I even liked the jumping timelines. I thought that aspect was really well done.

While I really liked the subject and writing in this book, I think my favorite part were the female friendships. Delphines lifelong friendship with both Lindsay and Margaux were so beautifully done. I felt that the progression of a childhood friendship transforming to an adult one, and all the changes that happen to not only the people in the friendship but also the friendship itself was so wonderfully explored. Additionally, I liked the exploration of Delphines relationship with Stella. To me, I felt like that relationship showed the way that our lives change in relation to our motherly figures. We saw Stella going from being a mother like figure to her friend (after some bumps) and I believe that is a very accurate representation of those relationships.

The one thing I didn’t love was the plot line with Daniel. I thought in the end, it could’ve gone without. I understand that it shows in a way how her anger had reached it’s breaking point, but I think it almost felt like once we got there, it was rushed.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and would recommend everyone read it.

A good story told in two timelines but not the psychological thriller the summary hinted at (or I read into it). More along the genre lines of Women's contemporary fiction, which is perfectly fine. Ballet life, cattiness and friendship bonds between women were very well done. Beautiful cover.

I love being submerged into the gritty backstage world of professional ballerinas and their never-ending drive for perfection. It is always so interesting to be exposed to a world you know so little about personally. The author did a wonderful job of making me feel like I was right there in the studio with all of the characters.

Delphine, Lyndsey and Margeaux are best friends who met through the POB (Paris Opera Ballet) as young girls, and the book follows their journey through different time frames starting when they are young, to each at 36 years old. The time frames don't follow a linear direction so it's a little confusing, but I was able to catch on pretty quickly. The character development is amazing. Each character was so flawed and not exactly likeable, but I was just enamored with their individual stories, their journeys and their lives outside of the ballet. There are many other important secondary characters, but these three are the central figures throughout. Delphine's mother was a very accomplished ballet dancer herself, so the pressure on Delphine started at a very early age. Lyndsey was the dancer who didn't have all of the polish, but had all of the emotion and probably worked the hardest to succeed. Margeaux seemed to always be the one a little behind the other two in terms of ballet success.

Their friendship scanned the extremes throughout the 25 years of the book. They were joined at the hip when they were young, yet at the same time, always judging and evaluating themselves against each other and scheming to get ahead themselves. When Delphine separates and moves, their friendship holds on by a string. As she returns to Paris, they try to pick up where they left off, but so much has changed. There is a secret between Delphine and Margeaux in regards to something they did to Lyndsey in the past that is alluded to throughout the book that doesn't get revealed until about 2/3 of the way through the story. It was a touch of a let down after all the build up. The ending was a total surprise. But don't go into this book thinking it is a thriller, it is much more of a character-driven drama that has a touch of mystery.

The themes of ambition, loyalty, misogyny, competition, abuse and perfectionism were central to the story. Women have little power even in an industry like ballet which seems on the outside to celebrate the female. The toll on their bodies (especially their toes), their lack of control over their own bodies, their "limited shelf-life" and their small window to succeed all contribute to this thought train. This book was so revealing and gave me such greater insight into the pressures, the competitiveness and the mental toughness inherent in the ballet industry. I really really liked this read and definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy to read and review. Pub Date: 12.07.21

Do not be fooled by the dainty cover and title of this dark mystery. Friendship, betrayal, competition are central themes to the story. Atmospheric and character driven, this novel offers alot of insights into the professional world of ballet, which I thought was very interesting. Evenly paced and well written. A solid read

I really wanted to like this book, and it started out fairly promising. However, at around the halfway mark we get hit with a couple unpleasant turns, and then a “big reveal” that was both premature and completely anticlimactic. Not only did I feel the plot and pacing left something to be desired, but I genuinely disliked pretty much every character which isn't much fun. I disagree with the comparisons to Black Swan or really anything else. Sure it gave a ton of info about ballet, but there was not much darkness or shock and after the too early and too lame mid-story reveal I had a hard time staying interested in how it would all resolve.

This is a story about friendship, secrets and competition in the ballet world with a touch of murder. The first chapter starts with Delphine receiving an invitation to return to Paris as she reminisces about her turbulent past.

Another novel with the feature on ballet and it's competitive and harsh world. When you are good at a something and you devote your entire life to it, your world is small. You eat, breathe and live in the world of practice and performance. A devastating event causes Delphine, Lindsey and Margaux to keep a secret which wuld upend thier lives and careers.

I enjoyed reading about the backstage world of ballet and would probably read more by this author.
Publication date December 7, 2021 by St. Martin's Press. Genre: Mystery, Thrillers and Women's Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

This book started off being an interesting, character driven look at the ballet world through the eyes of three women rising through its ranks, while navigating their complex friendship. Unfortunately, it quickly diverted into a raging feminist rant, where all men are evil oppressors whose one goal is to hold women down and shatter their dreams. The female characters needed to take some responsibility for their own choices and short-comings. This book just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this arc.

For some reason, I've always been interested in reading about stories involving gymnastics and dance. The Ballerinas did not disappoint. I felt very drawn to the character of Delphine and her friends. I zipped through this book is under one day. It was that much of a pageturner!

This is a wonderful book. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but it evolved into a rich portrait of the life and careers of ballerinas, but more importantly, it was a sneaky vehicle about how women live in constant threat of men. It's about ambition, female friendship and more. Using ballerinas to show how women can be viewed as disposable and not as fully formed people was inspired. I was so moved by Delphine thoughts and actions after the story's climax that I couldn't help but cry a bit. I think this book is going to get a lot of readers' attention.

I enjoyed this book. This is a well developed story about friendship, secrets and a drive for perfection. This is a new author for me which I enjoyed her attention to details that gave life to the story. Her characters pulled me into the story from the begining. This is an engaging story that I found to be fast paced. This is a story that is written with alot of emotion and really just kept me turning pages. There are a couple of twists and turns that I certainly did not see coming and neither will you. This is a great story and worth the pick up. I highly recommend this book.

When I requested this book, I anticipated a cute read about young ballerinas. About ten percent of this book met this expectation - the rest is a story chock full of intrigue and drama and a commentary on the evolution of friendship, on feminism, and on the choices that impact our growth… and I loved it.

The strength behind this book is that it is so honest about the characters’ flaws. All of the main characters grow so beautifully throughout the story - it doesn’t gloss over the difficulties of being a ballerina, of growing, of making bad choices, of becoming someone you don’t love, or of simply the difficulty of being a woman. It addresses all of these subjects dead on and doesn’t shy away from exposing the ugly truths behind the spotlight. It’s the first time I have read a book that made me feel like feminism is extremely important; necessary, even, without openly saying so… bravo!

I would say this book lost a star because it took such a long time to really capture my attention. It didn’t become a real page turner until later in the book. I’m really glad I finished it but I wished the beginning had been shortened.

I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.