The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale is said to be a mix of My Dark Vanessa and The Queen's Gambit and while I haven't read either of those books, I can still imagine that is an accurate description. Saskia being a prodigy mixed with her prior relationship with an older man screams both of those books, and if you are going to read this you definitely need to be prepared for a #MeToo story. I hadn't read the synopsis going in since my desire to read The Ingenue was based solely on how much I loved Kapelke-Dale's The Ballerinas (of course the gorgeous cover helped too), and I have to admit that I ended up with a lot more than I bargained for. Parts of the book did drag a bit for me especially in the beginning to middle and I started to lose interest, but I am really glad I stuck with it because the climax was nothing less than explosive.

There are some serious triggers in this book, so I would highly recommend checking those out before picking it up. However, I thought the way Kapelke-Dale approached them was in such a sensitive way that they might not be a dealbreaker either. The audiobook for The Ingenue is narrated by the extremely talented Stephanie Willis and I was in awe of how well she adapted to voice this novel. Her performance felt different than in other books I’ve listened to her narrate and she really brought Saskia’s character alive. She made it a lot easier for me to get through the parts that felt slow, and I loved the audio. The ending really made this book for me, and it is important to know the storyline is fairly dark. I really felt for Saskia, and I enjoyed watching the way she transformed by the time the story was over. The Ingenue had a bit of a coming-of-age story vibe as well, and though it was a tough read at times, I appreciated where Kapelke-Dale decided to take the storyline.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved The Ballerinas so I was excited for this follow up novel & the synopsis sounded like another hit.

Sas is a childhood piano prodigy who is grappling with her mother’s death and the aftermath of the sickness that her mother kept from her in her final months. Being back in her childhood home forces her to reminisce her teenage years and brings troubling memories to light.

It took me a long time to fall into the groove of this book — there were dual timelines and many characters to keep track of so it took a bit to settle in. The last half of the book was gripping and compelling, but the story as whole felt a little sporadic and disorienting in a way I couldn’t fully connect to.

Kapelke-Dale’s second novel is another dark and moody thriller. It starts strong with the gothic drama which felt a little YA to me. But the subject matter is definitely not YA as it explores the abusive relationship between a young teen and an older man. Sensitive readers, be aware— I’d consider this a Read Alike for My Dark Vanessa. The plot and atmosphere kept me interested but it lacked character development and the ending is pretty over the top. This novel definitely had some strengths but overall didn’t quite work for me. Sarah (@sarahsbookshelves) loved this one and I usually have similar opinions which makes me wonder if it was just bad timing for me. I prefer Kapelke-Dale’s first novel, The Ballerinas.

I finished this book few weeks ago and needed time to think . This is the type of book you want to either hate or love it. When I had come to the end of the story, I wanted to throw the book across the room. I still have a lot of mixed feelings about this book as of tonight.
This story will take a while for to get into it. However, I have to warn the readers that it’s trigger warning. So consider yourself warned. It took me a while to finish where I normally finish 1-2 books a day. This book is very dark, desolate, and dismal.
This is about former talented piano player as child star dealing with the the death of her mother, her discovery of her being used by a sexual predator, the family’s home, the will and etc.
I found myself wanting to yell, scream and wanting to strangle this agnostic character for making wrong choices as an adult. The ending….not going to say anything more. Like I’ve stated before, I have conflicting views on this novel.
Three and a half stars for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.


From the publisher: When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother's will bequeathed the Elf House to a man that Saskia shares a complicated history with, she is forced to reexamine her own past––and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life––for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her?

Set against a post #MeToo landscape, Rachel Kapelke-Dale's The Ingenue delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you. Moving between Saskia's childhood and the present day, this dark, contemporary fairy tale pulses with desire, longing, and uncertainty, as it builds to its spectacular, shocking climax.

What I Thought

My last NetGalley review of 2022 (and my 184th read of the year) finds me with very turbulent emotions. For the majority of my reading experience, I was sitting on the passenger side of Rachel Kapelke-Dale's car following Saskia on her journey to acquire her family home while getting someone from her past to admit how they had manipulated her mind and her heart.

But then...... I felt the need to grab onto the door handle, free the lock, and tuck and roll and make it to the ditch safely.

I see a lot of glowing 5-star reviews and I guess the climax and resolution of this novel worked better for most readers. For myself, I think had I held a physical copy of the book in my hands instead of my Kindle, it would have hit the opposite wall so fast.

What exactly was my problem? On that, I wish I could say to anyone reading my review, that it is as clear to me as the day when I felt the author steered me off the tracks. The topic of sexual consent is an important one. I did grapple with liking the character as I felt she was a hard character to connect with. But even that I can push to the side in pursuit of seeing where the author will take the story. I liked the feminist retelling of fairy tales. Although a few did make me roll my eyes with the vocabulary, they were great. The Beauty and Beast one was awesome!

No, I think it's because I just don't buy into the author making this the way the novel ended. I DEMAND a rewrite of that ending! Haha! Just kidding!

Seriously, I shall have to concede that I may just be a very disgruntled reviewer. I think I shall "safely" place my review at a 3 star because I did like the majority of the novel.


Publication Date 06/12/22
Goodreads review 22/12/22

After reading The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale i was hoping this book was as good, and I wasn't disappointed. This book deals with a lot of hard issues and delivers a strong portrait of a young naive woman who has to deal with the death of her mother while trying to figure out who she is.
Saskia had always been told, since a little girl that she was a piano prodigy, and she was, until she grew up and had a self crisis where she deemed herself not a prodigy at all.
When her mother dies Saskia was sure she was going to inherit the Elf House, the house that has been in the hands of her family for generations, but that wasn't the case, her mother bequests the house to a family friend, an older man whom Saskia has a history with.
What follows is an account in two timelines of what happened between the two of them in the past and what Saskia and her father are doing to try to impede this man to inherit the house.
With themes of sexual abuse, mother-daughter relationship, young girl prodigy, this book at times is not an easy one to read, but it is so good that grabs you since the beginning until the very shocking and brilliant end.

Oh WOW! Just WOW! I love when I crawl out of my Domestic Thriller/Police Procedural box and read something different and am greatly rewarded! That was the case with this one. I read reviews comparing this to My Dark Vanessa, which is a favorite of mine. The two books have similar themes to a point, but different characterizations and ultimately different stories to tell. I stopped comparing and loved this one on its own. This story does begin a bit slow, and I was not really a fan of Saskia in the beginning. That changed fairly quickly though as the story picked up steam. This is a dark tale of revenge and girl-power, and I loved every minute of it!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Rachel Kapelke-Dale and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I found The Ingenue to be very well written, and although I liked it- there should be some serious TWs for potential readers (perhaps there are in the final draft, but I didn’t see any in my advance copy). Please read the synopsis carefully and perhaps some reviews, as this novel contains disturbing content (predatory behaviour - including grooming, SA). I flew through this book within a day, even though it was tough to get through (especially in the flashback scenes). Although this won’t be the top of my reads this year, I am glad I read it and will definitely look to read the next novel from this author.
Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Press for the chance to read and review this ARC!

This dark, multilayered novel follows Mike and Evie in the rearing of their prodigy daughter, Saskia as they groom her into success but, it seems they may have guided her into a much more troubled path. Their home, the Elf house, takes on a life of its own as a main character full of secrets, constantly drawing the family in.

I felt so much sorrow as this story began to unfold and somehow blooms into the very relatable vulnerability we can find ourselves in. Those moments you really open your eyes to find things weren’t as they seemed.

Beautifully written!

Immediately upon starting The Ingenue, it started giving me Verity/ My Dark Vanessa vibes. This part I did like - it kept me entertained, my mind wondering what was going to happen next, and also had me a bit disturbed. I will say this didn't resonate with me the way I was hoping but I can't exactly pinpoint why. I think it may have had something to do with the overdone "older man abuses a younger girl" storyline without adding anything groundbreaking to the storyline. I did find the ending pretty captivating but it wasn't enough to save this for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable, but heavy read, The Ingenue is reminiscent of The Paper Palace. While the plot and characters weren't especially impressive. The fluid writing made it incredibly difficult to put down despite its heavy topics. I haven't enjoyed a writing style this much in many years.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

"Maybe mothers are like fairy tales: the true story begins only after their deaths."

Ms. Kapelke-Dale clearly likes to write about the complexity of mother/daughter relationships. Her first novel centered around the world of ballet, and now, The Ingenue brings us to the world of a classical pianist prodigy.
Saskia has been playing piano since she was three, but flees Milwaukee, her parents, the infamous Elf House and her musical life as soon as she legally is able. As the book opens, she's now 37 and seems to be floating through life in NYC - no real job, relationships with married men and only one real friend. This life is interrupted when her mother dies from a debilitating illness, and Saskia didn't even know she was ill.
The Ingenue is a very structured book. Each chapter opens with an excerpt from Fairy Tales for Feminists, a series of books written by her mother, and then is followed by events and secrets from Saskia's history, and then present day.
I thought the fairy tales were unique (and often entertaining). The challenges for me were the pacing, which was slow at times, and some aspects (ie the tower) were unrealistic and distracting from the story. Saskia was not a likeable character, but through the course of the book, you will get an idea of why that is the case.
The Ingenue kept my attention and the overall story was interesting. I liked Ms. Kapelke-Dale's first book, which was compelling in a different way, and look forward to her next book!
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read The Ingenue in exchange for an honest review.

Despite a slow start, I ended up enjoying this book as a whole, but can very much see how this story would not be for everyone. A major storyline involves sexual abuse of a minor, so please heed the content warnings.

This is my first read from Rachel and I look forward to reading more of her work!

At first it took me some time to get into the story but the way it developed made me really enjoy it. The main character Saskia has to return home when her mother suddenly passes away. She thought her mothers house would be left to her but it was given to a man that Saskia has a difficult past with. The story goes between Saskia's childhood and present day to show the relationship she had with her mother and the secrets of her past.

Thank you Netgalley, Rachel and publishers for my ARC!

This book was very much an Oreo read for me: good at the beginning and end and just filling in the middle. Normally I would have given the book 3 stars; however, the snippets between chapters of supposed quotes from Fairy Tales for Little Feminists truly saved the book for me. Otherwise, I felt the book floundered around while Saskia came to terms with her mother's will and her own dark relationship with the beneficiary of the will. I liked how slowly and calmly the realization that she wasn't special and unique came to be. That was well played, but in order to fully develop that, the rest of the story seemed to suffer. I felt like the book was throwing several plot lines out in hopes that one of them would stick. But, like I said at the beginning, I do like where the book ended up. I wish that direction had come in to play sooner and had played a bigger role.

Another winner by Rachel Kapelke-Dale!

If you liked "The Ballerinas", you will love "The Ingenue". The story follows piano prodigy Saskia as she returns home for her mother's funeral. There are several surprises in store for her, and you will find yourself quickly immersed into her world and rooting for her!

The people in her life are not all who they seem. "Sas" must uncover what others have done as well as discover the truth of her own hidden past in this beautifully descriptive, sometimes dark, and yet at sometimes funny book.

My favorite parts were at the beginning of each chapter when we are treated to an excerpt from the "books" that Saskia's mother "wrote", "Fairy Tales for Little Feminists". I could not wait to see what story was next.

It would make an excellent book club pick!

Content warnings: some sex and abuse (not gratuitous; crucial to the story) and language

The main character, Saskie is a former piano prodigy. Unfortunately, she hit a wall when she was younger and her ability fell off. In addition, she has never really found a career that fits her. After a recent firing from her last job, Saskie was forced to take a job writing questions for testing exams for a set fee. It's barely enough for her to live on but she hasn't wanted for her family to know. When her mother dies, she returns to the family home. After her arrival there, she is slammed with multiple shocks.

This book was told in multiple time lines. It was a clever way to portion out the history of Saskia. Many of the mysteries in present day are tied to her past and what happened then. It's heartbreaking to read how Saskia viewed herself as a teenager growing up. She felt a good deal of pressure and didn't connect easily with her peers. It made her susceptible to people who wanted to take advantage of her.

I really enjoyed the gothic and creepiness of this novel at times. It was especially obvious when there were descriptions about how the house was built and the history of it. In addition, this author writes very descriptively, but not too much so. I felt as if I could really imagine my surroundings and the characters. In addition, the reader could easily feel Saskia's frustration as she's trying to uncover the present day "mystery."

AUDIOBOOK: In addition, I listened to the audiobook as well and found it to be quite good. The narration was a nice match for the characters and lent itself to my enjoyment of the story. 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC and ALC. I voluntarily chose to read/listen and review them and the opinions contained within are my own.

I absolutely loved this compulsive read - will be recommending it to other readers as a creative thriller.

Saskia Kreis is stunned by her mother's seemingly sudden death, until she learns her mother has been sick for some time. The shocks keep coming, though. The family estate she had expected to inherit is instead willed to Patrick, a man Saskia has known for most of her life.

As Saskia and her father negotiate the after effects of Evelyn's death, Saskia begins to reevaluate her past relationship with Patrick, realizing that what she thought of as romance as a very young teen has far darker undertones. But confronting Patrick doesn't get the results she wants. Or does it?

There are few things I enjoy more than Gothic novels, and with its intriguing Milwaukee setting, this one fulfills that. Saskia is a complex character, with a loving and lovable father. I found the "surprise" ending disappointingly trite, but the book is still well worth the investment of time. #TheIngenue #NetGalley

Looking for a book that’s purported to be a cross between 𝘔𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢 and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵? If so, don’t expect to get that with 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗨𝗘, Rachel Kapelke-Dale’s sophomore novel. While I loved her debut, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘴, this one just did not work for me. It’s a dual timeline story about a young piano prodigy who mysteriously gives up playing at 18. Nearly twenty years later she returns home to Wisconsin after her mother’s death. As the story moves back and forth her secrets are revealed.⁣
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My issues all center around difficult to believe plot points:⁣
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∙ In the post #MeToo era, not nearly as much would be swept under the rug.⁣
∙ The entire “tower” aspect (on which the story relies) was ridiculously implausible.⁣
∙ Many characters who should have fought back didn’t, both women 𝘢𝘯𝘥 men.⁣
∙ Absolutely no one was likable (except maybe the dog).⁣
∙ Fairy tales, cute at first, but then got old.⁣
∙ The ending.⁣
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Though I had no trouble getting through 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦, my frustration with it grew throughout! 2.5 stars (rounded up)
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Thanks to @stmartinspress for an electronic ARC of #TheIngenue.