An interesting take on Swan Lake, intertwining fairy tale, ballet and the modern day. It was an enjoyable read but not quite the ballet fantasy novel I was hoping for. I suspect I’m a bit outside the target audience age wise as well so no doubt that didn’t help. Recommended for fans of the Dance and fairy tales in general though.

This bored me so much, unfortunately. I liked the friendship between the two main characters, but I almost fell asleep while reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Finnstar Publishing, and Zara Mills for giving me the opportunity to read this book!!!

I was surprised at finding a book that was based on one of my favourite ballet. It's was a fun and interesting story, especially sinceI saw both protagonists viewpoints and could imagine being in Paris. On the other hand, I had a hard time connecting with their motivations and wished to see more of the dancing. I would 100% reccomend it to girls that dance or enjoy ballet

This was a fascinating book, in that I love books about dancing and mysterious elements, and yet I feel as though maybe I just wasn’t the right age for this book. It was weird. Good weird but weird. I loved the opening chapters, the dark atmospheric setting and the curse upon the girls that turn into swans. I don’t feel as though that’s spoilers, so apologies if it is. It’s literally right in the opening couple of chapters.

I haven’t read much dancing books. I think that the first book that had dance in it was Twilight lol. Remember Bella with the ballet studio in book one? For those that know, you know exactly what I am talking about. I think that was my first exposure to dance in fiction. I’ve since read a decent amount of books that will have dancing mentioned. I’ve watched both first films of Step Up (I think that was the title!) And I adore ballet but after watching a documentary about the hospital bills and how painful ballet really is? No thanks, definitely not for me!

That said, I am not an expert on dancing. I don’t dance, my balance is crap. So reading books about it is the best way to go. This was a good book. Descriptive but not over the top. Fun, but not a challenging read. But it is YA so maybe I shouldn’t have thought otherwise oopsie.

What’s this story about? It’s about a curse. It’s about romance. About dancing, and healing and figuring out what one wants. It’s a fast paced read; I easily managed to finish this in a few hours. I’m trying to be vague about this as I don’t want to spoil anyone! And as I don’t know much about Swan Lake, all I can say is that this was quite good and definitely worth reading! If you like curses, dancing, and darkly atmospheric books, then do check this one out!

When I first began reading this book I had no idea what to expect....

Lucie and Madeleine are swans by day and humans by night entrapped by Henri a man who only allows them to be human to dance ballet.

For centuries Lucie has been doomed a life of immortality and she has given up all hope to ever escape Henri’s wrath once she has Madeleine in her life it becomes a bit easier to live, what Madeleine doesn’t know is that Lucie isn’t telling her everything.

When Madeleine meets a boy who could solve all her problems she finally has hope, could her enchantment truly be broken with true love?


Thank you to NetGalley, Finnstar Publishing, and Zara Mills for giving me the opportunity to read this book!!!

A nice take on the world of dancing and ballet. It’s rare to find nice books about this topic, but this one didn’t disappoint.
Nice read!

Interesting plot/concept, and I liked the descriptions of dancing but ultimately this book was a DNF for me. Not sure why, just had trouble getting into it.

I feel like dancing is something hardly written well, and I really enjoyed the way the author wrote the dancing scenes.

A fast-paced, betrayal and friendship, ballet-filled YA fairytale retelling. If you loved the animation "The Swan Princess" as a child, leap and twirl and latch onto that one. Set in modern-day Paris, the fate of those two swan girls will not leave you indifferent and you will be rooting for both as you read the dual-voiced novel.
I was afraid that as a none-ballet fan this would not talk to me (I'm a modern dance girl, in love with butoh and folklore dances), I was even more nervous when I saw it was set in Paris, which I know like my back pocket - but this is all about emotions and getting your heart beating faster and even though it did only draw on the touristy spots, it did it fantastically well, letting you know that those where just backdrops to a much more rich city.
A very good YA, simple but efficient, which will keep your eyes open late into the night as you hope for a miracle.

This is the second book I’ve read in a week with main characters who are ballerinas, and I’m loving that! As a former dancer myself, I can never get enough ballet books.

I loved the way dance was incorporated into this story. It felt really authentic and definitely kept me envisioning moments in the Swan Lake ballet. I really enjoyed the complex relationship between Lucie and Madeleine (the black and white swans), too. The idea to retell the story of Swan Lake and center it around the characters Odette and Odile is an incredible one, and for the most part, I loved how that played out.

There were really only two things that I struggled with in the story. One was the backstory of the characters. So Henri, the sorcerer who cursed the girls to be swans by night and dancers by day, has this dark magic ability, but it’s never really explored how that happened. Is he the only one like that? Are there others out in the world somewhere? I know in the original story, it’s a thing we take for granted, so I was willing to let it pass in the book, too. But then we get some of the history of the girls, which just raised a lot of questions for me.

I think because it’s set in a contemporary world, I wanted more information so that I understood how the characters really fit within the setting. That part wasn’t that big of a deal, just left me with questions I wished were answered in the story.

The other thing that tripped me up a bit was the last two chapters. I don’t want to include spoilers, so I’ll try to be really careful here. Things happened really fast in those last two chapters, the last one especially. I wasn’t opposed to the events– in fact some of the things were really cool– but I wish all of that had been built up to just a little bit more. And I wish it had played out over four or six chapters so that things felt more resolved, and I had more time to enjoy those moments. There’s also one part of the story that kind of gets shrugged off, and I found that not very satisfying. It’s a more minor plot, so it wasn’t that big of a deal, I just wished it had a more conclusive ending.

On the whole, I’m still glad I read this one. I loved the ballet components and the friendship between Lucie and Madeleine. Also, I read the book pretty quickly. I think readers who enjoy fairy tale inspired stories set in a contemporary world will love this one.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

I can’t recall ever having read a Swan Lake retelling, so I’m glad this was my (likely) first one. I loved the animated movie as a kid and having never seen a variation in my adult life, it is such an interesting story though and there’s so much to play with that I didn’t realize was there before. This adaptation is intriguing, the main characters both have long histories, one longer than the other, but that is nothing to speak of the Dance Masters incredibly long life. Lucie’s story is so intricate and nothing is black and white for her. Whereas Madeline really just wants two simple things: love and freedom.

I've received this book as an ARC and I must say I've been pleasantly surprised!

This book is a retelling of the classical Swan Lake and we meet the enchanted ballet dancers, Lucie and Madeleine. They are under the spell of the evil sorcerer Henry and they both desperately want to escape his hold over them.

This story kept my interest peeked and I wanted to read till the end. I'd come to care about the characters and rooted for them all the way. The relationships between the two girls was interesting and fresh and I loved how it all played out.

If you are looking for a sweet, enchanting story, I can definitely recommend Dance of twilight and tears. I've enjoyed it very much

Book Review
Dance of Twilight and Tears by Zara Mills
⭐⭐⭐⭐⚡ 4.5/5

This was a retelling of Swan Lake and it was delicious.
I'm so drawn to books centered around Ballet. I'm so familiar with the music that I thought I knew the story of Swan Lake
...but I discovered I didn't know the story at all ...

I loved this magical retelling starring Lucie and Madeline who've been enchanted by the evil Henri, his spell means the girls are the Bois de Boulogne’s famous black and white swans by day and only become girls at night when then are dancers at the Paris Opera Ballet.

I was captivated from the first page. So many enchanting elements, the ballet, Paris, the magic and an engrossing storyline following Madeline desperate to fall in love and break the curse yet Lucie desperate for Madeline to stay with her. Henri has total control over both and he'll stop at nothing to make Lucie love him.

A story of love and friendship all wrapped up in a magical enchantment.

This was a 5⭐ read all the way for me ....but the ending was a bit rushed and sudden, I kept tapping my kindle in the hope an epilogue would pop up..but no.... So for that I had to knock off half a star

Thanks to @netgalley @zaramillsauthor and @xpressobooktours for the ARC of this book

#bookreview #balletbook #danceoftwilightandtears #zaramills #parisoperaballet #paris #swanlake #swanlakeretelling #bookwormoakeyreviews #letsreview #bookstagrammer #booklovers

"Swans—like best friends—stay together for life."

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not the biggest fan of retailings, but I think this book was great! There is such a powerful plot and one that carries the reader's attention throughout. I didn't grow bored or feel like anything was too "cliche". This book truly was a gem and definitely was told perfectly the way it was. Everyone needs to check this out!

I was honored to receive an ARC digital copy to give an honest review!

Zara Mills’ <Dance of Twilight and Tears</i> is a beautiful and haunting retelling of the story of the Swan Lake Ballet. It tells the story of two girls whose friendship has spanned several lifetimes as they are cursed to spend their lives partly as Parisian ballet dancers and partly as literal swans. The writing was beautiful and the story between Lucie and Madeline was absolutely devastating and brilliant. The fantasy and modern blended together so well in this adaptation and the story was so original, I am excited to introduce it to my friends!

I enjoyed the premise of Dance of Twilight and Tears and what it was trying to do. I love the idea of the Swan Lake retelling even though I am not as familiar with the original as I probably should be. The Swan Princess movie makes up most of my knowledge. That being said, my feelings about this book are mixed. None of the protagonists felt relatable, and I found myself confused about their motivations. One second Lucie doesn’t believe in the enchantment’s solution, the next she is convinced she needs to sabotage Madeleine. Madeleine knows she is a fantastic dancer, but the next page she is convinced Henri is right in saying she is an elephant. No one felt consistent to me. And Henri. I don’t even know what to do about him. He “loves” Lucie and thinks that the “only way” to keep her forever is to turn her into a swan during the day? I don’t see his reasoning. I guess I just don’t understand the reasoning behind most of the actions in this book.

On the other hand, I enjoyed the flashbacks a lot! Also, I found Zig (mostly) charming, besides the dozens of texts he sends and his clichés. That would drive me crazy. But you get the idea that he is head over heels for this girl and doesn’t mind showing his feelings. I just wish I also understood his motivations in isolating himself from his peers and I wish he had more closure at the end.

Dance of Twilight and Tears has made me super intrigued by the idea of Swan Lake retelling. Comment any recommendations!

Thank you NetGalley and for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Dance of Twilight and Tears is very surprising story that I stumbled upon. It’s a modern retelling of the famous ballet performance The Swan Lake set in Paris, France, wherein two teenagers have been enchanted to immortal life wherein they are swans at day and humans at night, and they have cycled through many lifetimes as ballerinas. It’s an ongoing tale of both girls trying to free themselves from the curse while navigating through the rigid expectations in a ballet company with a very manipulative and controlling ballet master. I have not yet encountered any The Swan Lake retellings in books before, so this was a really refreshing thing to read when the fantasy retelling space is overwhelmed by more popular stories. Even readers who are not familiar with the original story would not have a hard time following through this book’s events.

This book’s world was the perfect mix of magical and contemporary. I appreciate that the author took the great effort to research on the topics, especially regarding the ballet aspects, because it really was the huge chunk of the book, and the descriptions of it was so wonderful to read that any reader could immediately imagine the scenes happening. Even though I’m not familiar with the technicalities of ballet, it wasn’t overwhelming and I found myself enjoying those moments. Since the setting was based entirely on modern-day Paris, it wasn’t that hard to put yourself into it, and every bit of Parisian detail was added to the story to give it a more authentic feel. The author did a a great job in providing both the elegant and gritty side of the famous city into her story.

The plot itself was pretty straightforward with a great ode to the original story, but had taken its liberties. It was very engaging from the very start until it ended, and I just found myself captivated by the story the entire time. I was actually surprised that I flew through this book easily, and enjoyed the entire experience. Things got intense as the story moved forward, and even though the climax was brief, it was still oddly satisfying. While I could have wanted a more detailed explanation regarding the magic in this book, it was more than enough to satisfy my questions about it. There are also trigger warnings in this book that other readers may be wary about, such as gaslighting, manipulation, abuse, and suicide.

The main selling point of this book is definitely the characters. Since this book was a dual POV between the two main characters, a reader can get a clear picture about their lives and how intertwined they are with each other. I was really surprised that this book had a very well-rounded and developed set of characters, and that they had depth to them! I also really enjoyed how it presented two different sides of the same story, and how both of them approached their lifelong dilemmas.

Everything about this book was just so gorgeous yet so devastating. I’m really glad that I’ve come across this book, and I want other readers to give it a chance as well.

I would like to thank the author, FinnStar Publishing, and XPresso Tours for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Dance of Twilight is currently out this January 20, 2022 in retail stores.

I'm going to preface this review in saying that I'm not the most familiar with the story of swan lake and so I can't express an opinion on whether they followed the accuracy of the story of not. However, from an outside perspective, I thought this was book was beautifully written. The setting of Paris was magically done and I felt the overall cultural change to be sophisticated enough to match the writing style. The narrative switched between the two main characters, Lucie and Madeleine, two characters stuck in the same situation but who had different perspectives on it. I enjoyed reading about the sisterly love that occurred between these two, and I also enjoyed how the author didn't put a focus on any romantic relationships that stemmed from these sisters. I would have appreciated a little more backstory and flashbacks just to build the characters a little more, but overall I thought this modern retelling of swan lake was intricate, complex, and kept me engaged the entire time.