I wanted to like this more than I did. I did enjoy the ballet parts, and the Paris setting, but it was slow at times and I wanted to smack Delphine upside the head more than once. I also don't understand how people are tagging this as a thriller. It's contemporary fiction, about what it means to be a friend and feminism.

Title: The Ballerinas
Author: Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Genre: Adult Contempary
Format: library hardback book
Series: N/A
Star Rating: 3 stars

tw: assault, underage drug and alcohol abuse, grooming of a minor, infidelity, cancer, disordered eating, alcoholism, murder, abortion, miscarriage, recording without consent, sexual assault of underage women, revenge porn

If there is anything to know about me, I love the world of ballet. I am not a dancer by any stretch of the imagination but I just love the world. Everything about it to me is just magical. I love dancing and music. Classical music is so soothing to me. Just everything is great to me, so I should have liked this book right? But alas, I didn’t. This book was alright. It was kind of annoying, to be honest.

The main character was just a mess. Delphine was so selfish and horrible. Lindsay and Margaux, her best friends, were equally terrible. It felt like they didn’t like each other at all. Even when the chapters were of them at school, they still acted like they secretly didn’t like each other. Reminds me of my high school time. I had friends that I’m pretty sure didn’t like me. They often ruined a lot of relationships for me. I almost got beat up once because someone thought I was my friend. Needless to say, I am not friends with them anymore.

This book has been compared to the Black Swan, a movie. Well, at least that’s what I saw on the Goodreads page. That movie was way more grittier and intense than this book. I recommend you all watch that movie. I personally think it’s Mila Kunis’ best performance. Anyway. Sure, there was some tension involving a secret. But honestly, the secret wasn’t even that horrible. It was awful, sure, but not as bad as they made it seem. Once the secret was revealed, the plot kind of lost its way.

Overall, this book was okay. One of the positive things, that I forgot to mention in my annoyance with the main characters, that it had going for it was it certainly is a feminist book. There was an awesome message about how women need to fight back and not put up with men’s crap. Other than that, it was okay. They talked a lot about different music, dances, and performances. I didn’t really know what most of them were. So that was annoying. Overall, just a mediocre book at best.

The Ballerinas

by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

There is something to be said for a book that takes a reader through a whole gamut of emotions and reactions. The Ballerinas was that book for me. I have loved ballet since I was in second grade and started taking dance lessons. I grew up reading dancer biographies and as an adult watching the TV show Fame and various dance movies. I thought I knew how difficult being truly dedicated to becoming a dancer is. The Ballerinas reinforced my beliefs about dancer education but also took my understanding to a whole new level.

I didn’t really like the way the author told the story going back and forth between the younger versions of Delfine, Lindsay, and Margaux, the main characters, and the same dancers as adults. Although the month and year are spelled out for each part of the narration, the storyline jumps back and forth. I imagine this was partly done because of some secrets the author was holding back to create tension and chose to gradually reveal them. Nevertheless, I found this style somewhat distracting and confusing.

I did not like the characters in the first part of the book. I came to like them more as their motivations were gradually revealed, but I never really empathized with any of them. Delphine is the narrator. The story is told from her point of view, and the reader learns most about her. She does grow and change, but it is a difficult and uncomfortable journey for Delphine and for the reader.

As the story is told, it is obvious that something happened that changed the dynamic between the friends. The hints become stronger as the book progresses. Other areas of conflict rise to the surface towards the end of the book and burst through in tense scenes of dramatic confrontation.

The themes of the book also ebb and flow. Some are strictly focused on ballet. Others examine the power struggle between men and women and how people use each other with their focus on themselves. Trust, reliability, friendship, and striving to reach goals are among the themes. I ponder the handling of forgiveness in this novel. There are some major events and issues that should have been addressed. They were not explored by the characters as much as would have been necessary for actual forgiveness to occur; that glossing over and moving on did not seem realistic to me. I wanted to like this book more than I did; I admit I was fascinated by the storyline towards the end of the book and the resolution was surprising.

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

Rating: 3/5

Category: General Fiction, Women’s Fiction

Notes: The text is replete with “f… bombs.”

Publication: December 7, 2021—St. Martin’s Press

Memorable Lines:

I’d thought that I’d escaped our shared history by moving to Russia. I thought that I’d separated myself from the ghosts of my past. And yet here we were, pulling apart and coming back together in infinite variations, like a kaleidoscope, a courtly dance that never ended.

“I love you,” I whispered to him on the banks of the sparkling Neva, as we stared up at the gold domes of the city. And he kissed me fiercely, hungrily, until I could almost forget he didn’t say it too.

“Everything good is risky,” she said. “The thing that you have to remember is that if you don’t risk anything, you risk everything.”

Thank you for this arc copy of The Ballerinas. It wasn't; my type of book but others may like it. I did enjoy the cover picture though.

Despite not enjoying the characters in the novel, the author was able to keep me engaged. After a slow start, I found the second half a fast paced read.

Women’s themes were woven through the story and was timely for me - after having watched women in sports documentaries. Women go through so much pain, blood, and tears in the industry. Unfortunately, so many victims of violence, and this story was no exception.

My critique would be the lack of likeable characters as I’m a character driven reader. However, great writing as I wanted to see the story play out - regardless of the characters!

I recommend for book clubs to discuss the varying points of view this book would have.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and author for providing me an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a review.

The Ballerinas is one of those stories that starts with promise but just tries to do too much. I was very entertained, but the plot for a bit harried towards the end. This one is a solidly middle of the road read for me.

My daughter took ballet lessons when she was little. I loved seeing her in her leotard, practicing at the bar. She was graceful and elegant, and stunning. Ballet brought her so much joy, for a few years. I would have supported her, if she had chosen to continue to dance in her teens. But I’m glad she didn’t. I know what it can do to some young ladies, and I didn’t want to see that happen to my girl.
In this book, The Ballerinas, you get to see all the good and the bad of ballet. There is the friendships that last a life time, the determination and drive that creates strong women, but also the competitive maliciousness that can happen. Not to mention body image issues and permanent physical damage to their feet. It’s a cruel art, that we only see the glamour part of. Rachel Kapelke- Dale tells the horrible truth of it all through a trip of ballerinas that bonded in their youth and struggled in their adolescence. It’s a story about expectations set one women, their bodies and roles in motherhood and life.
Without being too blunt, the story makes its point through a scandal that has rocked the ballet for years. It shows the fragility of a dancers image, and how easily it can be damaged and how quickly it can be erased. It’s heartbreaking and raw, and told through from a blood bound ballerina that was born to dance.
I really enjoyed this book. It is a great conversation starter, and would be a very good book club choice. And for those of us that used to be dance moms, it’s a deep dive into what could have been.

I am a sucker for a ballet book, so I was super excited for this. It started off well, establishing both a trio of three teenage elite dancers in Paris and a second timeline, when one returns as a choreographer after over a decade in Russia and the friendship has clearly been badly strained. But things came apart in the second half, with several plotlines resolving rather too neatly.

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book. I dnf this title. I just couldn’t get into it. I felt like the story had promise but it was just lacking the special hook in the beginning to compel me to continue.

I would say that the first half of the book was pretty boring, but the second half started to shape up. The story focuses on three women, the ballerinas, who all grew up together. I think this book was a fair effort by the author, but not one of my all time favorites.

Being a dancer, I quite enjoyed books about ballerinas, especially mysteries. I enjoyed this and liked the timeline aspect where we could read from the main character’s pov as a teen, and then as a retired dancer turned choreographer as an adult. Quite enjoyed this

I received this one from Netgalley last summer, finished it in August and then never reviewed it.

Oops.

I remember requesting it for a couple reasons. First, that beautiful cover. Second, because during my teenage years, a certain movie really shaped a lot of who I was at fifteen, and made me really interested in the, dare I say, ugliness behind one of the most beautiful art forms in world. I think anyone who was alive in the early 2000s remembers that movie.

However, I must say that going into this, I was really expecting a thriller set against the backdrop of ballet. And although there was some darkness and depth in here that elevated it past typical book club fiction, it was no thriller. It was mostly a deeper and darker version of Center Stage and not, like I was led to believe through marketing, more akin to this other popular ballet drama.

And I'm not going to lie, I was a little taken aback at first, but once I got going with this story, I really enjoyed it. It really delved deep into the nitty gritty of a ballerina's life, which is definitely not the glamorous one like we are led to believe. Most ballerinas will spend their entire careers sacrificing and studying and acting under a huge amount of self-discipline to not ever rise above a mere soloist position with a prestigious company. The Prima Ballerinas that are the stars of the show are a one in a million shot in the dark, and though skill and talent are present, that one in a million shot has just as much to do with luck and kissing ass and connections in the biz as anything else.

Dephine, Margaux, and Lindsay are best friends and dancers at the Paris Opera Ballet. they live and breathe dance and each have aspirations of rising in the company, each hoping to be a prima ballerina. Delphine's mother was a legendary one with the company, but she hasn't been able to get higher than a soloist, despite her hard work. Margaux, the snarkiest and most self-aware of the trio (and my personal favorite character) has aspirations also, but seems to lack the drive that Delphine has. Lindsay, an American dancer who has been with the ballet since her teenage years, is the one with all the talent, that "can't tear your eyes from her" thing that cannot be taught and all the self-confidence (bordering on arrogance) along with it. She is also impulsive and driven and doesn't always see the big picture. As young adults in the company, something happens to Lindsay that is brought on by the other two that will change all three of their lives irrevocably.

Flash forward in time and the three are in the mid thirties. Delphine left the company and Paris over a decade before for Russia to pursue choreography (and a famous Russian choreographer named Dimitri). After the dissolution of her relationship with Dimitri, Delphine comes back to the Paris Opera ballet to introduce a ballet she has written and wishes to make Lindsay the star. However, the self-confident and fearless Lindsay of the past has been replaced with a self-conscious and timid one and although she still has the talent, something about her is broken. Delphine also reconnects with the boy who got away, Jock, a dancer who started off has her pas-de-deaux partner in school and who, in her absence, has danced his way to the top of the feeding chain. At first I thought Jock was introduced as a little romantic side-story, but I couldn't have been more wrong about that. His storyline collided with the principle story with about the ease and grace of a freight train.

This novel was a little bit of a slow burn at first, especially when I was expecting a thriller, but I really enjoyed the care and craft in which Rachel Kapelke-Dale told this story which is, at its core, about ballerinas. It really extrapolates on a lot of the issues that pervade the art form.
It explores that tangle of passion, self-sacrifice, ambition, and denial of worldly pleasures that each dancer uses to drive them toward perfection. It raises awareness to the insidious realization that even in a world that is dominated by women, the few men in that world still hold 90% of the power. Female dancers work harder, study more, deny themselves everything that the male dancers usually just take easily and without abandon. It delves into the nitty gritty of a ballerina's life: the sacrifices that make marriages and relationships hard to maintain, the rigid schedule that makes planning or vacations or even just little amusements difficult, and the ever-present cutthroat competition that exists between even the best of friends. It was in this everyday life drama that was so much more intriguing and interesting than the main storyline for me. I read this over a year ago and these little background social issues and commentary still ring true and still stick with me. And the ending of this novel packed a real punch that I didn't see coming and that left a huge impression on me.

So even though this was far from a thriller, I still really enjoyed it and would be interesting in getting this one in hard copy (even if only to stare at that beautiful cover). The ending alone of this one added half a star, and I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

I was under the impression this was a thriller but I don't feel this was very thriller like. Kinda like a coming of age/womens fiction. Only until the last 20% did something happen and it picked up. I kind of had a hard time staying immersed in this story. It is interesting to hear the behind the scenes of dance and ballerinas but I hoped for more thriller.

In this truly engaging story, three friends face challenges, joy and heartbreak in their tutelage at the Paris Opera Ballet.
After spending 13 years living outside Paris, Delphine returns as a choreographer to her first home, the Paris Opera Ballet. The place that saw her grow as a ballerina, and the place that gave her the best friends she ever had: Lindsay and Margaux.
In the competitive world of ballet, friendships are, at best, temporary, but Delphine knows that what she went through with Lindsay and Margaux was an experience that shaped their lives and pushed to the limits. As Delphine reflects in the past and her years if training in Paris, secrets are revealed, and the friendship she thought could survive everything faces the biggest challenge of all: jealousy.

I truly enjoyed this story, and it gave me a real understanding about the challenges that ballerinas face during their prime years. Delphine is, at best, an unreliable narrator but her POV is also extremely detailed and unique as she reveals how her friendship with Lindsay and Margaux was affected by their career choice. I enjoyed learning the behind the scenes of the ballet world and understanding what it takes to become the best. I truly enjoyed the story!

I love reading books about ballerinas, because I did ballet for 15 years. I found this book very interesting. I loved hearing about the past, and the present of these characters.

Delphine, Lindsay, and Margaux had such a great friendship when they were younger. I enjoyed seeing how their lives played out. I love how the story centered around friendship, and how complex it is.

I feel like people would enjoy this, even if they did not have a background in ballet. It’s pretty straightforward and mainly about the complexities of friendships throughout the years.

I started out thinking this was going a certain way but was I surprised! Rachel Kapelke-Dale gave life to these artist and made them real. The Ballerinas were in a journey which became their lives which developed as they grew. Thank you NetGalley tor this wonderful read.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This review is my voluntary and unbiased opinion.

This story is told in alternate timelines.
Margaux is a 13 year old ballerina admitted to the infamous Paris Opera Ballet. It is quite an honor to be chosen at such a young age. She immediately feels pressure from new student Linsey Price who is beautiful and very talented. Both girls arrive at the prestigious institution hoping to leave behind troubled, dysfunctional family lives.

It is a rather dark and competitive world amongst the ballerinas who are always working hard to vie for key roles. The artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet, Nathalie Dorival, becomes fixated on portraying the story of Romanov and the country’s last tsarina. The tumultuous relationships that develop and eventually reunite years later is convoluted and unexpected.

What a wild dance this story was! Not just a story about a ballerina who ran away from her career, it is the story of lost friendships and regained chances.

This one wasn't what I was expecting, and that's not a bad thing. I enjoyed the backstage look at the lives of professional ballerinas and the multi-faceted pressure of such a career choice. I enjoyed the exploration of complex female friendships, though I was not always sympathetic to the choices of any of the main characters. The dual timeline kept me engaged, and was surprised by some of the dark twists the story took. Definitely an enjoyable read.

This book was a tough one for me to read. I ended up dnfing halfway through. It's a VERY slow burn about ballerinas and women that are competing for everything. It jumps to the past and present a lot which made the book interesting but not enough to make me want to continue it. I didn't care for any of the characters and the writing style just didn't jive for me. I really thought I might like it but I guess not.