Thank you so much to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I find this book very entertaining, the writing was very fluid, and easy to stick to the history. The characters were very well constructed and I feel it was interesting also. I'm not related to some of the young disorders, except for the ones that involved food, but the ones about sexuality is a theme that has a big spectrum today, and I didn't know much about the aroace thing.
I know that some people great offense because all the books related to dancers are full of eating disorders and bullying, but I feel that all the young books and movies are too, so it's just a catching theme, like explosions in movies. It's ok for me. I enjoyed this book a lot.

I really enjoyed The Rhythm of My Soul by Elin Dyer! This book tells the story of a group of ballerinas and danseurs at a ballet academy and company in the UK. Told from three alternating perspectives, we see the drastic measures males and females go to in order to survive the stressful and competitive world of joining ballet companies.

The book begins with narration by Taryn, a 17 year old girl who is see as the obvious choice for a coveted spot in the Roseheart professional company with her dance partner Teddy. She and Teddy make the perfect dance couple because of their sexualities, Taryn is Aroace (Aromantic and Asexual), and Teddy is Asexual, therefore there is no pressure to date others because everyone wonders if they are secretly a couple. When Teddy is injured during their final academy performance, her fate is left uncertain because the two dancers were a package deal.

Soon we hear from Teddy as well. It turns out that the reason he was injured was because he blacked out in the middle of his dance. The doctors think the cause is a heart condition which may prevent him from ever dancing again. Secretly he hides an eating disorder from everyone including Taryn. Teddy is determined to get back to Roseheart and keep dancing with Taryn, whether he is officially diagnosed with a heart condition or not.

With Teddy out of the picture for at least the time being, Roseheart decides that there are no graduating male danseurs that would compliment Taryn, thus making it impossible to offer the position to her with no partner. They decide to try out a danseur from France named Jaidev, essentially giving Taryn a second chance at an opportunity she has been working towards for years. The other academy and company dancers do not love this sudden change in practice as it has always been two graduating students accepted into the company. Suddenly Jaidev and Taryn are the targets of rumours, hazing and threats. As their pasts begin to haunt them and with their position in the company at stake, Taryn and Jaidev are tested in more ways than just a company dance assessment!

This YA has the perfect amount of teen drama (lies, secrets, bullying, dating, parental divorce) and realistic problems like teen pregnancy and abortion, rape, being outed, eating disorders and trauma, while also adding elements specific to this setting, such as dance related injuries, threats and the physical and mental impact of the competitiveness the program requires. I think that YA readers will love this book, especially those who have read the Tiny Pretty Things series by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton. It is a fast moving, yet easy to follow story, with slow reveal of character backstories and motives, adding elements of thriller/surprise to the story. There are some scenes of violence (mainly threats with a knife, and a descriptive "swirlie"/toilet dunking scene), but nothing a YA reader couldn't handle. There's also no sex, alcohol or drug use (other than mention of date rape drugs) making it the perfect book for younger YA readers. I would definitely recommend this book to ballet and YA lovers and teens in the age 13-18 range. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

If it weren’t for the 2022 PopSugar Reading Challenge, I may not have ever found Elin Dyer’s first novel in the new Roseheart Ballet Academy series, The Rhythm of My Soul. Needing to read a story featuring a character on the ace spectrum, I especially liked the idea of The Rhythm of My Soul’s lead, ace ballerina Taryn, because I immensely enjoy ballet novels. Being independently published, I wasn’t sure what I was getting with The Rhythm of My Soul, but found myself pleasantly surprised with this novel’s content and characters.

The Rhythm of My Soul follows three dancers at the Roseheart Ballet Academy. Taryn and Teddy, partners, are hoping to make it into the school’s company after graduation, but when a terrible accident befalls Teddy, Taryn finds herself dancing into the arms of someone new - Jaidev. Taryn and Jaidev only have a matter of time to learn how to dance together as one before the decision is made about their fate with the company. Meanwhile, Teddy, being told he may never dance again, is determined to find himself back on stage despite the odds. To complicate matters, someone has it out for several of the dancers at Roseheart and is making threats to not only end their careers, but lives. Will anyone make it out unscathed?

To start with my reason for reading this book - it features aroace characters - I found Dyer’s portrayal of Taryn to be done extremely well. I knew nothing about what it means to be aroace, so this novel was not only entertaining, but informative, as well. Dyer writes about Taryn’s sexuality in such a way that you see her as a human and dancer first, and only as someone who does not develop sexual or romantic feelings for anyone as secondary. Dyer seamlessly works Taryn’s preferences into her personality, helping the reader to experience the world in the way that Taryn does, seeing it through an aroace lens. I appreciated Dyer’s tact in writing about Taryn’s sexuality and developing her story in a way that doesn’t get bogged down in labels or assumptions.

I found the most interesting parts of this book to be about Taryn herself, as well as her experiences as a dancer. The mystery of the novel wasn’t key for me, and I would have happily read this novel without it, as Taryn was such an intriguing character to me. However, I do wish that this book was a bit more on the technical side, featuring more detailed passages about dancing and performing. I do not know if Dyer has dance experience, but this novel almost feels as if it could have been written by someone who has never set foot on stage.

The Rhythm of My Soul is a beautiful, well-balanced love letter to anyone who has ever danced. It's real. gritty and I cannot wait to read more of the series.

There were a lot of things about this story that caught my attention right away--stories about dancers are always a soft spot for me, and this one even more so because it has aroace representation and morally gray characters with tragic backstories.

I really enjoyed the multiple POVs in this story; I think it was an excellent choice to give us a peek into Taryn, Teddy, and Jaidev's heads rather than having Taryn as the sole POV character (though Taryn's POV was my favorite).

The tension in the story was also done really well--I was frequently on the edge of my seat, eager to see what was coming next and who was behind the attacks against Taryn.

However, I think this book struggled with pacing and character relationships. The pacing was very quick, which made the book a quick and fun read, but I think it also worked against the story and caused some events to be blown past rather than given the full time and attention that they needed. As for character relationships, I felt that Taryn and Jaidev's friendship happened almost too quickly and easily, given how hesitant they initially were to trust each other, and I wish that had been fleshed out more before they instantly bonded and became close. Jaidev's backstory involves an accident with his previous partner that ended with her dying, and I think that being explored more between him and Taryn would've been fascinating.

Also, there were some really hurtful scenes between some of the characters, namely Taryn and Teddy, and Taryn forgives Teddy a bit too easily for my tastes, given how horribly he was treating her for a while.

All that said, I could see myself reading the sequel because I am curious to see what will happen with these characters next, and I really do have a soft spot for dance stories, but I would hesitate to recommend this book to others because there are several trigger warnings (which are listed below) to be aware of and this story was definitely not without its flaws.

TW: acephobia, racism, eating disorders, blood, assault, death, mentions of rape, bullying, abortion

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley to provided me with an advanced copy and its writter Elin Dyer.

Taryn Foster has her eyes set on becoming the first aro-ace ballerina in the academy’s company of professional dancers, and all she needs to do is graduate. But she’s haunted by the ghost of her dead sister—and now she’s living for the two of them.

Teddy Walker has a serious illness. But he’s determined to hide how ill he is and continue dancing—even if it kills him.

Jaidev Ngo was arrested the last time he danced. Now, he’s having a new start at Roseheart Academy, but someone here knows about his past—and that person wants revenge.

When i was reading this, i was lost till i found the story and it was not the same, it is too long for a short description above all this story. I liked it but that enormous pages innecesary, made this story mad bored

3.5

I had so many high expectations for this book but I don't think it was what i was expecting so I was a little dissapointed, BUT I really liked the aroace representation in this book, appreciated a lot! And the aesthetic of the book is so interestikng, another branch of the dark academia in my opinion.

At first glance, I definitely thought this was the book for me (I mean, a YA mystery/thriller about a ballet school? That sounds totally cool!), but I was just left feeling a little bit let down. I wanted to like it so bad, I just didn't feel like I could connect to the characters in any way, which really lessened my enjoyment of the writing. I will say that the exploration of eating disorders in this one was very real and well-portrayed, and it was a rather quick read, I just think that I was not the correct audience for this read.

During a performance Taryns partner collapses due to a possible heart condition.
She must learn to dance with a new partner in 8 weeks.
Don't act like this is just about dance. Of course there's drama with all the teenagers and there's past death and accidents that come to light.
Asexual chatacters

The Rhythm of My Soul was a book that's primary focus was ballet therefore I was very excited to dive into it! I did not really enjoy it, however. I did not like the character of Jaidev. I found the plot a bit slow and I had to push myself through it. Some of the themes that were reflected upon were quite important and I did like that. The aroace representation was amazing but other than that there wasn't anything memorable about this read. I didn't like how it ended and I will not be continuing with this series :(

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-arc!

This is the first instalment in the Roseheart Ballet Academy series.

<i>"Welcome to Roseheart Ballet Academy, where the best dancers have the biggest secrets..."</i>

My obsession with any elite academic setting and my yearning to learn more about the world of dance directed me here, and neither led me wrong. I enjoyed both featured equally and thought the author did a great job of crafting authenticity and believability with her setting and the scenarios that played out inside of it.

The characters, and the disparate issues they faced, were what really sold the book for me, however. So many heavy topics were confronted over the course of the book and I applaud Elin Dyer for such great inclusivity and for having the sensitivity to handle each with the correct response that it required.

Alongside these, were also multiple other mysteries and dramas, meaning this book became an easy one to fly through, which I did over the course of one day, and not a single chapter felt like it lagged or did not have a place inside this book. I'm highly anticipating the sequel and am hopeful for resolutions to many of the hard-hitting topics featured here.

I was granted eARC access to The Rhythm of My Soul by Elin Dyer by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the request approval! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

I'm going to start out by saying that I was hoping this would be a fast-paced teen drama full of beautiful dance and sassy teenage girls ala TV shows like Dance Academy. This book does have a lot of teen drama, it does highlight some very important issues kids around the world face like poverty and eating disorders, it kicks off with the classic dance story trope of an early end to a dance career thanks to serious injury or illness, and I absolutely love the aro-ace rep!

With all of that said, the right balance between teen drama and dance is not there. Too much death, near-death, and whining; not enough dancing or authentic personalities. Professional ballet training is high stakes and full of drama all on its own. Why is everyone either being murdered or accused of murder? Everyone! We already started with a career-ending medical emergency that also disrupts the partner dancer's plans and future. That's enough. Getting the remaining dancer through the training year would be enough. Especially since the other girls don't seem to like her and convince her that she's too fat for ballet (which, unfortunately, rings quite true for the academic ballet world.)

As for the dancing, too many little things from the way dances were described third person to the way POV characters thought about and used their own bodies in dance all felt like the author's knowledge of the ballet world comes entirely from reading and watching ballet fiction.

I normally don't comment on typos when reviewing ARCs, but "Ballantine" is not going to be caught by a spellchecker, nor will it be noticed by an editor who is not familiar with classical dance. The famous choreographer, whose style and influence are the core of many famous American ballet companies including the New York City Ballet, is Balanchine. This really didn't help the sense that the author doesn't come from the ballet world.

I really enjoyed this book! The setting was so vivid that, despite not being a dancer at all, I felt like I could understand Taryn's ballet school life. The suspense built wonderfully and I stayed guessing who the saboteur was until the end.

I appreciated the aro-ace representation, the acknowledgement of it as a spectrum, and the fact that it was an important aspect of the plot but certainly not the only defining characteristic of the characters or story.

Thank you to Natgalley and the publisher for providing me with a an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really don't know what to rate this book. I keep on going back and forth between a 1.5 and a 2. For me personally, it was disappointing but I also recognize that I really wanted very specific things from this book and it did not meet those standards. On the other hand there were a few very specific things that I do feel need to be noted that could have been horrible and weren't. I should also preface this with stating that I did grow up in the ballet world. While I never planned on going professional and therefore did not devote myself to the craft in the same way these characters do, I was trained in ballet until I was 18. The first chapter or so I was really impressed with how well the author used authentic language and scenario and I was super onboard and then very quickly, I felt like things went off the rails. The thing is, the world of professional dance is in and of itself super high pressure and high stakes- there is absolutely NO need to throw in every single dramatic story line and subplot that is conceivable. This book really lost it for me super quickly solely based on the fact that 10% of the way in there were already 10 different dramatic moments and reveals which created 10 different dramatic plotlines... and this overabundance of the dramatic and tragic did not get better as the book went on. I honestly find it fascinating how the author got somethings about the ballet world so right while getting the rest so wrong.. Another thing I'm not sure how I feel about it the partnering aspect of this book. On the one hand it is very true that

DNF at 30%

This is one of the books I simply couldn’t get into which is a damn shame because it has excellent writing and really good ace rep. I will definitely be buying a copy once this comes out but seeing how I have a few books going right now and that this expiring in 3 days, I simply won’t be able to finish this.

First, I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Ineja Press for granting me access to this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I didn't expect that I would enjoy this book as much as I do. This book is thick but I didn't find that hard to devour. The story is written really well, I find myself wanting to read non-stop and it kept me feeling curious which is good! It was also my first time reading a book with aro ace characters. It's not just one, but two. I learned good things about this spectrum here. And the diversity is in the right portion.

It felt like I'm watching a teen movie reading this. Maybe that was why I could enjoy this a lot. And I really want to read the next book.

Welcome to Roseheart Ballet Academy, where the best dancers have the biggest secrets… This is a very good quick enjoyable book! This author can somehow capture your attention from the first page and before you know it your at the end of an awesome book!.

I went into this one fully expecting to love it, and excited for the aro-ace representation - and I will say that aspect was done well for the most part. Unfortunately though, this book just wasn't for me and ended up being a struggle to finish. The main problem is that there was just too much drama going on, and it became too much to just be able to suspend disbelief, and I think that the story would have been stronger if there had been a bit less going on, so that the book focused on the most important ones. The other problem I had was that I had was that I really couldn't connect with the characters at all - perhaps because the characterisation was overshadowed by the drama and trauma.

This book was like Tiny Pretty things combined with the Black swan and Euphoria - it was amazing! Not only did it have LGBTQ & Disability representation, which is very rare for me as a gay disabled woman. Not only that that but the writing was rich and vibrant as well as rich and thrilling. A fantastic debut! I could see this being turned into an enjoyable Netflix series reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock. I just cannot wait for the next book!

“Kissing someone doesn’t mean you’re not ace or aro. It’s a spectrum- and labels and identities change anyway. It also doesn’t mean I’m not repulsed by kissing. It’s not up to you to tell someone what they are. You can’t just say all that and completely invalidate my identity. It’s not fair and it's damaging.”

3.5 ⭐

Let me introduce the two up and coming ballerinas from England’s Roseheart Ballet Academy. First, Taryn Foster, bursting with dreams to enter the Roseheart professional company but haunted by the ghost of her dead twin and feeling forced to hide her aro-ace life due to the company’s focus on romance and pairing. And consequently, her best friend and pair for their final graduation piece, Teddy Walker. When Teddy collapses on stage, Taryn’s long dreamt plans to enter the company with her best friend are shattered and the company won’t accept her at all without a pair. In walks Jaidev Ngo. Paris trained and well respected for his skill, Jaidev was about to leave the world of ballet, and his dark links to it, behind forever but a difficult turn of events thrusts him into the Roseheart spotlight. Now, Taryn and Jaidev have a matter of weeks to prove they belong with the company, that they have the chemistry and talent to have permanent contracts. Meanwhile, Teddy is determined to dance even if it kills him while rumours of murder, pregnancy and betrayal run riot in the halls and amongst it all our new pair can’t shake the feeling, someone is out to get them.

I loved the premise, the dark histories, the cutthroat setting of a ballet boarding school with both extreme competition and standards, alongside real friendships and shared connections all setting the stage for three diverse and complicated character’s I loved.

Yet, this book suffered from a few unfortunate setbacks. For the first 40% and then at odd points throughout, there was a lot of telling and not showing. So much more atmosphere and development could have been added by avoiding long paragraphs and blunt sentences about characters’ feelings and histories. For me, this generally means the rating should be a maximum of three stars due to this big red flag for poor writing but there are great well-written aspects as well. Including own voices ace-aro rep (with multiple characters), eating disorder rep, grief rep and much more, the author makes an effort to look at the impact of racism and race in a white centred setting and even the little things like having access to correct healthcare and the impact of that. All of this is well told and interwoven. I completely fell for the characters, especially the amount Taryn and Jaidev must go through so that when things got intense, I just couldn’t stop reading and when there were highs, my heart burst for them.

Unfortunately, there is also a lack of going anywhere. This is a hard one because when it got going at the end, I was captivated but we spend a lot of time just following three different perspectives with a vague threat hanging over them (again this isn’t helped by the showing not telling). Halfway through Taryn and Jaidev seem to almost decide this week’s long timeline to get what they want (and the build-up of the first half of the book) doesn’t really matter and they always have next year although they’re still determined to get in. This juxtaposition does not fit at all. Then the author throws in all the dark twisty bits of a thriller into a crazy engaging whirlwind of plot for the second half. I could sense the effort to create a sort of generic high school/college plot with mean girls and personal drama and likewise, the thriller aspect was great, but it didn’t quite mesh as well as intended, like a second of third draft. It meant the inclusion of flat and basic mean girls throughout and the disappearing of good plot arcs that started. It was frustrating. So much potential to be five stars.

I know all I’ve done a lot of moaning, I just have a pet peeve for lost potential, because honestly there was a lot to love as well. The ending in particular with the twists I didn’t see coming but still made sense and the danger and the drama, right up my street. I’ll definitely be reading the sequel, and, despite my grumbling, I would recommend but I’d take elements with a pinch of salt, the rep is fantastic, the setting interesting, the main characters engaging, and the ending is gripping. Hopefully, the amount of showing and not telling and the slightly confused plot arc will get improved with the next instalment.