When I saw this ARC compared to "Luckiest Girl Alive," I HAD to request it & I'm so glad I was granted a copy! Definitely a dark tale, but one that was completely unexpected with lots of twists and turns. It seemed early on that a secret was present amongst the three main characters, but Kapelke-Dale did a wonderful job weaving in several other story lines that all came together in the final chapters. I was blown away by the direction she went with Lindsay's story line especially - not only did she lose her husband, but she lost her career as a ballerina all within the same moment. It was definitely a wild finish that had me turning the pages, eager to see what happened next. A must-read if you were a dancer! So many vivid descriptions and events that will bring back memories of time spent in the studio.

Great story about the true meaning of friendship and how friendship changes over the years. It speaks to different kinds of friends and relationships and the lengths we go to protect not only those relationships, but ourselves. Also a story about finding oneself and finding out it’s ok if life sends you in a different direction.

The Ballerinas exposes the dark underside of professional ballet companies that we all know exists behind the pirouettes and high leaps. Following three ballerinas from their early years at a fictional Paris ballet company and going back and forth in time, the story shows in sometimes gruesome and often graphic detail the almost fight to the death competition for the rare few top of the heap roles for female dancers. At the same time, it’s the story of a remarkable friendship among the three ballerina protagonists - a friendship literally fractured over and over but one that is sustained over decades.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

An amazing book of the intricacies of being a ballerina, the complications of friendship and personal goals and the meaning of home. It’s a story of self-discovery and wanting to be really seen for the person we truly are. In the era of the Metoo movement this book also addresses the influence that men can have over our lives as they try to mood us and as we aim to please, losing ourselves in the process. There is so much to discuss in this book. And to add to that I loved the setting in Paris and the behind the scenes of the ballet. I thank Netgalley and Rachel Kapelke-Dale for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. 🩰🩰🩰🩰🩰

This book was categorized as mystery/thriller but I don't know if that's where I would have landed it. It strikes me more as a slow birn book about an unravelling friendship. There were some intriguing moments and an exciting premise but I didn't like any of the characters except for Stella, the non-dancer. I liked the moments of critique, where Delphine would step back and examine what it means to perform, but even she herself admits that she's now forcing other dancers to break down their bodies to execute her vision. It’s not my favorite kind of book, but if you like character driven stories with complex relationships, this one is for you!

The Ballerinas follows Delpine, a former ballerina and current choreographer, as she returns to Paris after spending over a decade in Russia. Fresh off a breakup, Delphine returns to her old ballet company to put on her first full length show and reunite with her two best friends, Lindsay and Margaux.

I enjoyed how the novel bounced back and forth between Delphine’s time as a student and later you professional ballerina in Paris and the present. The author reveals Delphine’s complex history with her friends slowly and I enjoyed the intrigue this built. However, I did feel like I would have enjoyed spending a bit more continuous time in each period rather than jumping back and forth so often with very short alternating chapters.
I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for an advanced reader copy of this book.

While I enjoyed the premise and set up, I had trouble connecting or sympathizing with the main character or really most of the side characters. Delphine can be incredibly self absorbed and it is frustrating to watch her continue making similar mistakes. For a book that is ultimately more about friendship than ballet, no one is a very good friend.

The words in this book are beautifully written just as dancers perform seamlessly on stage with artistic perfection. It draws us in with our visual imagination.

There are rules for women in ballet. They must be thin, beautiful, strong and indistinguishable. "You're not in charge of anything...except your body." However, there's one unwritten rule of not getting pregnant. Yet, this is what happened to the ballet star, Isabelle, who instantly became a single parent with her daughter, Delphine in Paris. Her birth was an accident. She took a year off and retired four years later.

Delphine from birth stepped into the world of dance watching her mother's enormous success. She followed her career and became best friends dancing with Lindsay and Margaux at a young age. The book has two timelines alternating between 1996 and 2018 when their careers on stage peaked. They supported each other with fierce competition as they focused tirelessly on reaching their goals at the Paris Opera Ballet as a soloist.

This isn't just a book about dancers. It revolves around the complexities of friendship at its core. It's about work and love relationships. It's how women are used as sexual objects. It gives us a glimpse behind the scenes in the world of ballet in Paris, NY and Russia.

I hope others enjoy this books much as I did. My thanks to Rachel Kapelle-Dale, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy to be released on December 7, 2021.

I received a copy of The Ballerinas from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

And, honestly? I loved this book, but it hit on some strong loves for me- Paris, ballet, and drama. I could understand if someone else only liked the book, instead of devouring it in a few days, staying up entirely too late, and becoming a coffee zombie.

Delphine, Margaux, and Lindsay grew up in a ballet academy together and were the best of friends. But life happens, and Delphine is returning to Paris for the first time in 23 years. She is eager to reunite their close friendships, but secrets and lies keep them from fully trusting one another again.

The writing was very good, I enjoyed how feminism as a concept was portrayed as many different things.

On the surface this is a fascinating look inside the elite world of professional ballet and a glimpse into the lives of the ballerinas who populate it. But this novel is so much more, delving into gender issues and what it means to identify as female in what is still, in so many ways, a patriarchal world.

The author deftly illuminates the myriad ways women are still subject to the whims, wills, and worries of the men in their lives. Yet she never shies away from showing the ugly side of the women in this story, revealing their humanity in ways that make
it impossible to ignore. In doing so she risks losing the reader’s empathy, but I feel that risk payed off as I was able to see true growth from the characters and find myself even more invested than I would have been had she only shown the pretty parts.

Relationships are also revealed in all their complexity, bringing up the question of how much we can ever truly know the people in our lives. Ultimately the author shows us that in order to form deep, real bonds we must confront the often transactional, selfish nature of our connections with others and be willing to embrace them for who they truly are, not who we need them to be.

This novel is bold, visceral, unafraid. The author clearly did her homework on the subject matter. I found myself drawn into the world the she created and have no doubt I will be thinking about it for quite some time.

Interesting story that unfortunately fell flat for me. I found the characters to be bland and didn't feel any connection to them. It took me out of the story and changed the reading experience for me. The dual timeline was confusing. In the present time, the characters would recall a memory from their past, making it a bit redundant to have both storylines. It would've benefited the novel to have one timeline. I think the past storyline was intriguing enough to be the main timeline.
Overall, The Ballerinas has an interesting plot. But, in my opinion, was not executed to its full potential.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC copy of The Ballerinas!

Love. Friendship. Betrayal. In the gorgeous setting of Paris, we become intimately connected to three women living in the world of ballet. They dance. They celebrate life, friendship, and milestones. They hide secrets - sometimes from each other. This book is not just about ballet; rather, the ballet provides the backdrop that allows Kapelke-Dale to dig deeply into the complexities of how women navigate life and find their true passions. This book was timely, gritty, surprising, and resonated deeply.

Fourteen years ago, Delphine left her place at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet for a chance at a new life in St. Petersburg - taking with her a secret that would change turn the lives of one of her friends upside down. After thirteen years in St. Petersburg, Delphine returns to the Paris Opera Ballet, in hopes of setting off her career in choreography. Though things have certainly changed, she works hard to fix her friendship with Lindsay and Margaux.

Okay, let’s start off with, how breathtaking is this cover? I was lucky enough to come across The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale during a 72 hour period where it was available to read now on @NetGalley and I’m thankful for the opportunity to read it! I LOVED this book! There are so many things I loved about this book - one being I’m a huge fan of anything Romanov’s so I loved the connection with Delphine trying to bring to life Tsarina. Told between adolescent years and present day, it really resonated with me how she realized she had to work hard to repair her most important relationships and that mostly, forgiveness had to be on the other persons terms. The adolescent years really brought me back and made me think of female friendships in high school and how catty girls can be! There were a few twists in here that I truly didn’t see coming, and they were brilliantly written into the story, and Delphine’s subsequent reactions to these were incredible and even empowering!
The Ballerinas was beautifully written, I truly can’t believe this was a debut novel! Make sure you add it to your TBR list because you won’t want to put this down when it hits shelves on December 7, 2021!

This was such a great story! Three friends who grow up as ballerinas, and all of the obstacles they face personally. I love how the story goes back in forth between the past and present. Very heartfelt!

The Ballerinas
by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

This book was very interesting. I love a book that can transport me into a new world, one that I know nothing about. It’s an intense, gritty look into the very competitive world of ballet.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

The book is written about three young ballerinas who begin as students and then rise through the ranks of the Paris Opera Ballet. It’s written in first person by the main character Delphine. She tells us about her life and the relationship with her two best friends, Lindsey and Margeaux. The book goes back and forth in time, starting from when they met as young teenage ballet students to modern time, when they are 36 years old.

The book covers their hopes, dreams, trial and tribulations as the three climb the ranks of the highly competitive ballet world.

I found the book to be full of interesting facts about the ballet world, and found it fascinating how these women were able to compete, dance, and remain friends through the years.

This book is not a romance, however it is a love story. A story of these women and their love and affection for each other. The story has a strong feminist outlook, which I liked very much.

I have a background in ballet, so I loved this book and could relate to the narrative in ways that felt both familiar and fresh. I think having some knowledge of ballet terms and the relentless discipline and competition of the ballet world is a plus but not essential, as the story is accessible and immersive, the prose smooth and well-written. At times I reread passages to soak up the author's descriptions, many of them masterful. The dialogue pulls you in, and the way the characters relate to one another gives the story an immediate dramatic and authentic feel. There are so many ballet tropes that can pull a novel into melodrama and overuse, but the power of the author's observation of human nature and her use of language manages to lift the story away from that abyss. I absolutely recommend this book. It's hard to put down.

A fictional story of three ballerinas from Paris. It shows the behind the scenes of the fictional Paris Opera Ballet and three dancers who strive to make it as a star. The backstory reads as we are reading about what is occurring now, so we can see what drove the characters to what they have done.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Delphine was a ballerina at the Paris opera ballet when she decided to leave her friends and moved to St Petersburg. Many years later she decided to move back to Paris and hopes to get reacquainted with her friends. This book was well written.

A unique and stunning novel. The author gave what I can only assume is an insider's view into the ruthless world of professional dance - one that I wasn't familiar with, but found wholly engaging. I don't think I'lll look at ballet the same after reading this! The characters were well drawn, the pacing impeccable, and the author insights into female friendship and ambition would give a bookclub much to discuss. I will be recommending this book widely.

I have always been fascinated by books about the ballet and I found this book to be riveting. With the intense emotions, flawlessly constructed characters and intense pacing, I was forced to read it straight through because I could not stand not knowing what would happen next! The author's exploration of sacrifice, friendship, and coming of age was poignant and thought provoking. An excellent read that I will enjoy recommending to library patrons when this book comes out in December. Thanks for allowing me to read this advance copy!

This isn't your average ballet inspired book. This story focuses on the relationship between three best friends who have spent their entire lives training in Paris to become the ballerinas that everyone hopes to be. Flipping back and forth between the their young training days and their current adult lives, we experience the complexities of the choices they have to make as women and dancers and how that impacts their relationships with each other. Sure it involves the jealousy and competition of the cutthroat ballet world, but there's something different in the way it incorporates the MeToo era and it comes off as a refreshing and female empowering read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for my ARC.