DNF at 18%. I really tried to get into this book and just couldn't. I felt the beginning was confusng with the changing of the timelines as well as English to French. I wish it had been different. I appreciate the opportunity to review.

A great read that kept me on my toes the whole time. I was so overjoyed to read this the whole time!

Ahhh, I'm a little conflicted on this one! On the one hand, I went in expecting a fast paced thriller, and that isn't what I got. On the other, this is a book about ballerinas - some of the most precise and intentional dancers in the world; I feel like the precise, intentional tone and pacing of this book fits that quite well, even if it wasn't exactly what I was expecting and hoping for.

Definitely go into this knowing it's not a big twisty thriller - it's much tamer and more quiet than that, but still good!

A wonderful read that drew me right in to the world of ballet.The friendship the cut throat world of life in the ballet studio,the competitiveness between the young ballerinas .This is an absorbing read a really well written book.I will be recommending the book and the author.#netgalley#st.martins

I wanted to love this book. The synopsis sounded great and it was compared to Dare Me and Luckiest Girl Alive, which I loved both. However, I think I built it up too much in my mind. The characters were strongly written, but the plot just didn't go the way I had thought it would.

Delphine has returned from Russia to choreograph for the Paris Opera Ballet. As a child and young adult, Delphine, along with Lindsay and Margaux, where ballet dancers, competing for a limited number of spots in the company. The story begins with Delphine wanted to make amends to Lindsay, for something that she and Margaux did in their youth.

I did not enjoy this story. Delphine was not very likeable and was completely unsympathetic. She was self centered and her growth felt artificial. Almost every chapter referred to the mystery of what Delphine and Margaux did to Lindsay, not in a suspenseful way, but in a cheap bid to keep the reader interested. Overall, not a book I would reread or recommend.

This review will appear on my blog and other social media sites on November 7, 2021.

Introduction

Told in dual timelines, The Ballerinas is a story about three girls-- ballerinas Delphine, Margaux, and Lindsay--and the people they were as students in the fictional Paris Opera Ballet, and the women they have become, without even realizing they were becoming them.

"You start out as potential energy and then you fall."

"You start out as perfect and you become something else."

Cover

This cover is stunning. Every time I look at it I can't help but think about how beautiful it is.

Writing

I loved the writing. It flowed beautifully for me and I could see the scenes that the author was painting vividly in my head. It's been a long time since I felt like I could see a book and all its scenes play like a movie in my mind but from beginning to end, this one unfolded so easily in my mind like a film.

I also want to say that I did not see the plot twists coming, I only just barely realized what was going to happen in the end a few pages before it really happened, so I'd say that the twists thrown in to surprise the reader were very successful.

Dual Timeline

I think the dual timeline between the past and the present was executed perfectly. It was the perfect way to see a great deal of character development in all three of the ballerinas without having to trudge fully through all the events that shaped them, which I sometimes feel bogs down the flow of books. I think the author did a great job of knowing when to switch back to the past/present to keep the reader interested in both of the timelines all the time. Neither of the timelines ever ran dry or felt forced or boring to read.

Characters

I loved all the characters so much. They were so fleshed out and developed and so deeply flawed in all the right ways. I couldn't get enough of them.

Conclusion

I loved this book so much. The writing, the characters, the plot, it was all phenomenal. It has been a long time since I've been as engrossed in a book as much as I was with this one, and I can confidentially say that this has been my favourite read of 2021. I haven't read any other works of this author but if they're anywhere near as enchanting as this, I'm ready to devour anything that she's ever written.

As the official Goodreads synopsis says, fans Dare Me, Black Swan, and Luckiest Girl Alive will most likely enjoy this book. I also think that if you enjoyed Tiny Pretty Things, this could be the book for you.

I thought this was a super well written book and had such an intriguing story! I loved the look behind the curtain and how the ballerina world works. The character development was great and didn't feel stagnate at any point.

This book was provided to me by netgalley in exhange for a honest review.

I am going to be honest, I didn't think I would finish this book. It started of as slow and all i could do was long for it to end, but im happy I continued it.

The story follows Delphine, who is a ballerina. We follow her first as a child and a teenager and later on as a adult and a middle aged woman. The story starts off with her returning to Paris after being gone to Russia for 13 years. In Paris she reunites with her friends from 13 years ago, Margaux and Lindsey. She has decided to repair her relationship with them while returning home and working at the Paris Opera Ballet school, where she and Margaux and Lindsey met. But she realizes that everything isn't as it seems and that there is something more sinister at play....

This was pitched as a black swan thing, and as soon as I heard that I was on board! However, I was dissapointed to find out that the thriller part didn't take up as much space as I wanted it to. But I did like the overrall story and the pacing and the timejumps, even if it was slow in certain places and i found myself confused. I loved the writing! it was very clever and describtive and i felt like I was part of the story. As a whole I did enjoy the story, It went places I never thought it would and i found myself shocked on multiple occasions. I enjoyed it even with the lack of thriller.

If you are looking for a story about 3 ballerinas, torn apart by time ,together with pinch of black swan and gone girl and loads of feminism, that will make you scream " good for her !" AND will make you feel empowered then THIS is the book for you!

3.5 stars. Three teenage girls meet at ballet school in Paris in the late '90s, and are best friends and competitors until a terrible secret tears them apart. Nearly twenty years later, they're reunited when one returns to choreograph a new work for the Paris company where the other two now dance professionally.

Delphine, the choreographer, is a complicated, selfish narrator, but I still wanted to see her succeed. American Lindsay is a once-brilliant dancer who now struggles to work with a partner. Margaux is brittle and bitter. I almost DNF'd about halfway through this book, when Delphine did something incredibly thoughtless and hurtful to someone who did not deserve it. But I decided to keep going and I'm glad I did, because the conclusion felt very earned.

Not all the pieces of this story came together for me, but the author shows promise and it was compelling reading.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

This is a book that I was very excited about, but it fell flat for me.

There is a dual timeline going back and forth between the present and the past. I was getting confused as to which timeline I was reading whether it was really the past or the present. I had to reread many passages twice.

The ballerinas is marketed as a thriller (compared to Black Swan). I did not think this was a fair comparison. There were some events that were thrown in to be somewhat shocking, but they all fell flat.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martins' Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an intriguing book. I liked the concept and there was enough to keep me interested. I'd refer a friend to read this. Kept me guessing and was a great ride! Female friendship, competition and the dark side of both.

I expected this book to be a dark brooding thriller centered around a ballet school, and that's not what I got. It's definitely more of a drama, though there are dark themes. That being said, I couldn't put it down! I loved the cast of characters, especially when we got to follow them in an dual timeline from when they're in school to the present. This is a female-focused book, specifically on how a friendship can evolve over time and on the strength of relationships.I just wish that it hadn't been marketed as Black Swan meets Dare Me, as it skewed my expectations of the book.

*Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Really interesting plot that was engaging for the most part. It was more like Pretty Little Liars or something of that equivalent than black swan.

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Source: NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press
Rating: 4/5 stars

The Bottom Line: What a wonderful train wreck this story turned out to be! I have long been drawn to stories about dancers and especially ballerinas and this one did not disappoint. I was in just the right frame of mind for this dark, spiraling story of three friends linked over the years by friendship, secrets, lies, betrayals, and loyalty. The Ballerinas traces the lives of three friends from their youth to the present when each must deal with the past, face the hard truths of the past and present, and survive the storm they are all embroiled in. The Ballerinas is not a happy or hopeful story, but a dark and winding tail of three women who have lived lives only a handful can ever truly understand or appreciate. Though there isn’t much to root for in this book, it was, nevertheless a fascinating dance into the darkness with three women facing some significant demons. As always, I enjoyed the mixing of the past and the present and how the past has so significantly impacted the present. The author’s writing style is suitably low-key for the overall tone of the book, and I found I really didn’t want to stop reading this one. I certainly wouldn’t recommend this one if you’re looking for a sweet, light-hearted read, but if you’re in the mood for dark, angsty, and somewhat sinister then this is the book you are looking for.

Great book that kept me going! It is so much more than a ballet book - it is a book about women, their power, lack thereof, and taking it back!
Throw in friendships, some romantic entanglements and the personal growth arcs and this makes for a very solid read. I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend.

DNF

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I only made it to 15% before I had to DNF this book. I loved the cover and the synopsis drew me in but the book was boring! I don’t know who is who. Are we past, present or both. It was just disappointing. I would not recommend this one.

I just love this book so much!

It had so much to offer being a twisty psychological thriller that was fast paced, full of secrets, lies, twists and turns. It hooked me within the first few pages!

Such a creepy and fantastic read!

Big thanks to NetGalley and especially to the publisher for the arc for an honest review.

A great read! It reminded me of my childhood, when me and my cousin were taking ballet lessons and had aspirations of being ballerinas.

While this book was a good read, it took on the typical "ballet school" plot that you see in all the movies and the books. Friends competing for the roles, friends not supporting others and how ballet school does single people out. Scandal was in the book and I was proud to see how it was taken care of.