Unfortunately I did not finish this one. I just could not get into it. I read a little over 30% and that took a month and a half. I had to finally give up. I was hoping it would get better for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Unfortunately had to DNF after 55-60% :(

After hearing it was similiar to My Dark Vanessa, I had high hopes for The Ingenue. After struggling for a week or two to keep picking up, I had to give up. It was slowwwww and nothing was happening.

Evie is a talented writer who transforms fairy tales into power stories for young feminists. Mike is a professional cellist, and young Saskia is a piano prodigy. How does growing up amidst so much talent shape s childhood? Can a child forge their own identity or are they enslaved by their performance schedule? Teenage Saskia has found true love & recognition beyond the piano. Is her beau too good to be true? As Saskia connects dots she begins to uncover the truth and races to secure her legacy before time runs out. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for thé ARC. This is my honest review.

I overall enjoyed this one and I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it! It was a fun read and I think most people will as well. I enjoyed the characters and enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next!

I loved the Ballerinas and this just further shows Kaplke-Dales talents for slow burning simmering tension fiction.. Thank you to SMP for the ARC.

As much as I wanted to love this title, it's didn't resonate with me. The main character was suspicious, and there wasn't much that made me want to like her.

Brief summary: Saskia Kreis, former youth piano player extraordinaire, returns home to her family compound after her mother's death to find the family estate (her supposed inheritance) has been given away. Digging into the who and why, Saskia unearths more about her own complicated past than she plans.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free e-reader copy of “The Ingenue” in exchange for an honest review.

Following up on her excellent novel “The Ballerinas,” author Rachel Kapelke-Dale tells the story of piano prodigy Saskia in alternating time lines from her early adolescence to the present day. Saskia’s artist / author mother Evie is the inheritor of a mansion called the Elf House that Saskia expects to inherit one day but following Evie’s untimely death, learns that she has promised it instead to a man from Saskia’s past. Solving the mystery of why Evie has done so is part of the fun of this well crafted novel. An element I wish the author would have fleshed out more is that of the child concert pianist. And I would truly like to read the fiction-within-a-fiction “Fairy Tales for Little Feminists,” written by Evie and from which snippets begin each chapter.

While not at the truly excellent level of “The Ballerinas,” I give “The Ingenue” a solid four stars, and look forward to what this author has next for us.

The Ingenue, by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, is a dark coming-of-age tale of youthful talent, family relationships and the lasting effects of trauma, as a prodigal daughter returns home after her mother’s death.
Set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the story features Saskia, the protagonist, and her parents, as she grows up in their historic family mansion, the Elf House.
In the beginning, Saskia is a 9 year old piano prodigy whose quiet father Mike is a symphony cellist and mother Evelyn (Evie) a writer and university faculty member. Evie is famous for her series of children’s books, “Fairy Tales for Feminists.” Saskia is raised with Evie’s code, threaded through the books: “Have many adventures …don’t look for a knight—look for a sword …and be who you are!” But her mother, while enlightened, does not help her as Saskia grows into a teenage ingénue and is “groomed” by one of her mother’s erudite colleagues, Patrick, which subsequently derails her focus and aspirations.
The story is told from Saskia’s POV, and each chapter cleverly begin with a pithy excerpt from Evie’s fairy tales, and then features a vignette from Saskia’s childhood, followed by current actions as Saskia deals with her surviving father and her mother’s estate.
This is such a well-told tale, with incisive insights and excellent character development, especially Saskia and Evie. There are wonderfully poignant moments from Saskia’s formative years and her relationship with her parents. The Elf House features as a character also, as it informs Saskia’s motivation to capture her lost happiness, and her mother’s ultimate gift to her daughter.
Bonus: For readers who live or have lived in Milwaukee (I grew up there), there are endearing and accurate references to the neighborhoods of the east side, and Milwaukee landmarks and history.
This is more of a novel of contemporary fiction than suspense, although there is a surprising, impactful conclusion! I enjoyed the author’s previous novel, The Ballerinas, and I believe she is honing her craft more skillfully with each work!!

Thanks you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

:Heavy, haunting read that I couldn’t put down. There are many moving pieces to this story. There’s the piece of a young piano prodigy named Saskia, who’s parents simply don’t know how to handle their gifted child.
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Then there’s the matter of the house Saskia grew up believing would be passed down to her as it had all the generations before, but instead is left to Patrick.
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Speaking of Patrick, that’s the last piece of the story. Much older than Saskia she is intricately connected to him for better or worse, quite frankly for worse:
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This is a story of healing, fighting back and finding your voice
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Thank you #stmartinspress and #netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

The Ingenue is the story of a pianist prodigy, Saskia, told in alternating timelines- current day at age 38, as well as her adolescence. The first half of the novel builds the plot and characters; the second half moves more quickly and the reader has a better understanding as to why Saskia has made certain choices in her life. It is interesting to be a part of Saskia’s journey as she looks back on her past and realizes certain things about it. I enjoyed how each chapter started with a snippet of a re-imagined fairy tale, told with a feminist twist.
Overall, this was a worthwhile read, especially if you like to dive deep into a character’s essence. The ending was very satisfying!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read the digital ARC.

I had to force myself to finish this book. It was unnecessarily drawn out, and the ending was over-the-top. All of Saskia's internal struggles ended in nothing; she just walked away, and nothing changed.

AFter the death of her mother she is expecting to inherit everything she including her estate. She is shocked to learn a man whom she has a very complicated and mysterious past with and she now has to reevaluate her revenge and future. Very edge of your seat exciting read.

“𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑦𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠? 𝐴 𝑔ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒.”

This one has SO much potential but kind of fell flat for me. The chapters started with feminist retelling of fairytales and based on that I thought this would immediately be 5 stars. It was extremely slow, I flipped between physical book and audio to push through. I have read a lot of ~grooming~ books in the past year, so I think I have been either bored of them or more critical. Either way, not exactly for me but may be for you!

Ty for the ARC!

3⭐️

I loved the author’s Ballerinas, and I was blown away by the Ingenue. This is an author I now have on my automatic buy list. Her writing is tight and the story lines are amazing. Set in the “Me Too” time, this book explores what it’s like for Saskia and others who have fallen victim to an older man’s attentions. It’s also a book about the relationship between daughters and mothers. I was shocked by the ending… in a good way? I guess. It’s a fierce and startling look at what happpens to women as they cope with their past. This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Having loved The Ballerinas I was looking forward to this read. It did take me a few chapters to get into the spell of the storyline but then it was full speed ahead. There are so many thoughts racing around in my head now that I have finished it. Not sure I liked the ending, seems a bit incredulous to me, but the outcome -YES!
Saskia is a child prodigy pianist. So loved the way Rachel Kapelke-Dale told the story in dual timelines from her early childhood to the present day. Also loved the inclusion of her mother’s feminist takes on fairy tales, which I quite enjoyed. Her “chance” meeting with Patrick definitely threw her train off course. Saskia was so lonely, nothing in her life but piano and practice. Her relationship with both parents seemed completely tied into her talent as a pianist. I found myself feeling so sorry for her as she never was allowed to be a child, with all the light hearted fun and interactions with peers that help you grow into an adult. She was prime for Patrick’s grooming, and willing to live inside his regimented plastic bubble.
This read certainly crystallized my firm belief that the way a childhood is lived has major implications for the person as an adult. Saskia never fit in with her peers and felt awkward with them. She was never able to enjoy another relationship after Patrick left her at the tender age of 18. She clearly felt she had to punish herself, thus the boxing that would ruin her amazing skills as a pianist. Her unfulfilled childhood led to an unfulfilled adulthood.
My feelings about her mother changed when I learned her reasoning for gifting Elf House, signifying that she did love Saskia.
Many many thanks to Rachel Kapelke-Dale for touching my heart once again, St. Martin’s Press for publishing this gem, and NetGalley for providing me with an arc that made me feel so many emotions.

5 stars! This is my second book by this author and she writes conflicting, sometimes painful stories that always pull me in. I really got this one! Several days of reading this had me re-remembering my past. There is definitely a #metoo trigger and I was ready.
The story was complicated and I can imagine many will not understand the spell she was under. I thought it was well done and I had a nervousness I hadn’t felt in awhile. It’s dark and troubling in a way that had a resolution.
If you liked (can I say that?) Dark Vanessa then you like this.
I read and listened to this. Both were intriguing. The audiobook gave me a chilling front row seat. The narrator was excellent.
Thanks St. Martin’s Press, McMillan Audio via NetGalley.

Saskia Kreis, former child piano prodigy, returns home to Wisconsin following the death of her mother. Her childhood home, Elf House, has been in the family for a long time and Saskia fully expects to inherit it. She is devastated when she finds out her mother has left it to a former colleague, Peter, with whom Saskia shares a complicated history.

Each chapter begins with a snippet of "Fairy Tales for Little Feminists", a retelling of fairy tales by Evelyn Kreis, Saskia's mother, followed by a section of the story of Saskia's childhood beginning in 1991 when she was 9, followed by Saskia's current story beginning in January 2020, until the timelines merge. Although I was unable to fully immerse myself in the story, I enjoyed it much more than the author's previous novel, The Ballerinas. The ending was a bit of a shock but not totally surprising. I was very impressed by the writing and found the book to be a smooth read. I'd give it 3.5 stars but I'm rounding up since there's not a lot wrong with the book and I think most people would enjoy it more than I did.

TW: Like My Dark Vanessa to which The Ingenue is compared, there is an inappropriate relationship between a young Saskia and an older man.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel which was published December 6, 2022. All opinions expressed are my own.

While I enjoyed the story woven in Kapelke-Dale’s second book, I struggled to finish “The Ingenue.” I found the middle part of the book lethargic & drawn out. I wanted to see how the author brought the story to a close, so I pushed through and am glad I did, because the ending was quite satisfying. I just felt like a good chunk of the middle could have been shortened to speed the pace of the book & enhance the thriller aspect at its heart.

Once again Rachel takes into the world of the performing arts, this time classical piano performance, and sets the stage for what is ultimately a twisty, turny, #MeToo, revenge plot convoluted piece of literature that leaves you saying "Wow" at the end. I really enjoyed this one and think that it would be a good recommendation for those looking for a darker thriller type novel. Very reminiscent of My Dark Vanessa.

njoyed Rachel Kapelke-Dale's previous novel, The Ballerinas. So I didn't hesitate to grab this one, intrigued to see how her writing style might've grown. And indeed, it has. Once again she's used dual timelines to tell this story of a once-promising piano prodigy whose career was derailed by incidents revealed over the course of the book. In her first book it was sometimes difficult to tell when the timeline had shifted - especially when listening vs reading with eyes on page. This time she signals the shift not just with dates, but also with quotes from the series of books the main character's mother had authored. The writing is a bit tighter and less repetitive, but the story is just as compelling as the story in The Ballerinas.
Saskia Kreis returns home after her mother's death, expecting to inherit the family home, an imposing house known as Elf House. Instead, she finds that the Elf House was left to a man that Saskia knows all too well, but she's baffled as to the reason for the change in the family tradition of leaving the house to a blood relative. Over the course of the book we learn just what derailed her career as a pianist, what shaped her mother's decision, and how many of the things she thought she knew to be true turned out to be not quite what they seemed. It was an interesting look at the things we do for love, for family, and for retribution.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.