The Dance of the Dolls is a truly stunning debut novel from Lucy Ashe. A literary thriller, The Dance of the Dolls follows twin sisters, Clara and Olivia, as they live their lives around Sadler’s Wells Theatre and their upcoming performance of Coppélia. Olivia is a pedigree ballet dancer, where as Clara dances with a passion that others do not have. One works tirelessly, one couldn't care less. Alongside them we follow Samuel, a pointe shoe designer, and Nathan, a pianist for the theatre. Both men have obsessions with the girls, but will the obsessions get out of hand?

This was a gorgeous story to read, even with the thriller aspect. Ashe uses great detail to describe the dancers, their outfits, the settings, and the ballets they are performing. I loved the outfits, the glitz mixed in with the true nature of life at the time. The pretty pink against the grime. The old British language and timeframe makes for an eerie, but authentic setting. The timeframe allows for a different style of creepiness than the current times tied to everyone having access to everything on social media. In The Dance of the Dolls it is all right time, right place, the right collection of knowledge to allow you to know ones every move.

This book just wasn’t for me. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow and I never found myself eager to pick the book back up. It wasn’t the writing that I didn’t care for but the development of the story.

Unfortunately this book just took way too long to get going for me, especially considering it's length! I love a book about ballet and the sister dynamic in this was especially intriguing, but by 30% I had no indication of what the plot was actually going to be, so it lost me at that point and I never quite regained my excitement.

What a delicious book. This may be a debut but I love Lucy Ashe’s writing style. The whole time I was reading, I had a sense that something sinister was brewing under the surface.

The Dance of the Dolls is set in 1933 in London, at a time when English ballet was just coming into its own. While the author admits to taking liberties with time lines and some facts, the book features several historical figures and had me running off to google to find out more quite often.

I loved learning about how the ballet school operates and seeing just how hard the company works, even those in smaller roles or the corps de ballet.

There are four POV characters , the two twins Olivia and Clara are written in the first person and Samuel and Nathan, who are written in third person. At first, their lives seem somewhat disparate, even as they intersect, but they come to together in the finale. All four have their own stories playing out, and I really enjoyed their journeys (special shout-out to Samuel, who kinda realised he was being unintentionally creepy, and that a love from afar isn’t really love at all).

The only thing that kept me from giving this five stars is perhaps a matter of expectations. It was billed as a thriller, and while I did always feel like there was something brewing, I don’t think it quite deserves to be classified as such. The ending was dramatic but I don’t feel the story really hit the beats of a thriller. I would call it a drama.

I’m not going to lie – if you’ve been around awhile, you know I indeed judge a book by its cover. This cover is exquisitely graceful. It has hints of danger – the black tutu I believe shows mourning. The wind up on the ballerina shadow – which I feel represents manipulation.

Now, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. I love dual points of view (POV) and this one has it from both girls PLUS the male characters! The girls are identical twins in the same ballet company, 1933, London. Though they look alike, their personalities are completely different. The story starts with the horrific ending and we get to work our way through what actually happens. It grabs you by the throat and does little to help you regain composure. There are obviously ballet references throughout the book but I don’t think you need knowledge of it prior to reading.

This story is unbelievably amazing especially considering it’s a debut novel. I can’t wait to see what else the author has in store for us.

Slap a ballerina on the cover and I’m bound to want to read it. Sometimes it’s a blessing. Sometimes it’s a curse. This time, it was a blessing because I loved this book!

The Dance of the Dolls is a slow-burn psychological thriller that’s lovingly crafted by Lucy Ashe, who used to be a ballerina with the Royal Ballet. As such, she was not only more than capable of getting into the heads of Clara and Olivia, our two female protagonists (both ballerinas) but was also in possession of a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the inner workings of everything from how pointe shoes are made to what muscles are being used during each position a ballerina makes or what pose she holds. Her deep love and respect for ballet as an art form shows in the extensive research she did to set The Dance of the Dolls in a pivotal time for ballet in Western Europe, going so far as to insert as many real life heroes and heroines from the ballet world into the book almost seamlessly around the events of the book. If one didn’t know these people were real (as a ballet fan, I definitely recognized a great deal of the names), they’d just assume they were characters Ashe made up with a click-clack of her keyboard.

The worldbuilding of early 1930’s London is done impeccably, from the fashions of the time to the political upheaval happening all over. It was a dark time and it was about to get darker, and the British people invested their time and money in the arts just as Americans did, needing pretty diversions from their daily toils and troubles.

This is a psychological thriller, but it builds slowly. The ballet Coppelia, about a man falling in love with a perfect doll, is not only the name of the ballet Olivia and Clara are dancing in, but it’s also a metaphor for the two of them in different ways. Olivia is a perfect ballerina, the type to go all the way in the world of ballet and become a prima ballerina. As such, she captures the eye of the ballet’s pointe shoe maker and becomes his muse for designing costumes and tutus as he watches her from afar, fearing her perfection is not for him. Clara is wilder and more free, a stunning dancer but not as perfect as her twin. Olivia belongs to the ballet, and Clara doesn’t want to belong to anyone. But in the 1930s is it too much to ask for a woman to retain her freedom? Can she just be who she is and not belong to anyone but herself?

I’m not usually one for slow-building anything in books, but there was so much else going on in this book that I wasn’t bored for one second. It was entertaining, page-turning, interesting, informing, and engrossing. I highly recommend it.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, ideas, and views expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Historical Fiction/Historical Romance/Psychological Thriller/Women’s Fiction

Twin ballerinas heading in two different directions: Olivia wants to be Prima, and Clara wants more than just dancing and dating Nathan Howell, former child pianist. But both Olivia and Clara wish to be free of their abusive mentally-ill mother—and deep down, each other.

While the twins struggle with their desires, two men are set in making theirs come true. Samuel, the shoemaker, has decided to stop merely watching Olivia and finally declare his love for her. Nathan, Clara’s frustrated boyfriend, is ready to make her submit to his wishes no matter what it takes.
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You NEED to check this out on Netgalley while you still can!! The story of Olivia, Clara, Samuel, Nathan, and the Coppélia ballet is gothic literature at its finest. Ashe did an amazing job transporting me into the world of British ballet with her real-life experience as a ballerina and her knowledge of its history.

She also made the lives of Olivia and Clara so compelling that I could see their perspectives play in my head like a movie. The suspense built up really slowly, but reading about their upcoming performance of Coppélia was the perfect distraction. The climax and resolution were both executed rather well—no loose ends or stones unturned, which is a huge bonus. I absolutely recommend this. grab it while you can on Netgalley before it’s archived on Sept. 5th!

A story of twin ballerinas. The twins both deal with obsessive love and its negative consequences.

I think the juxtaposition of the twins here worked. It was a good foil for wanting what another has without it seeming too unrealistic. However, the writing style wasn't my favorite. That is a personal preference though so others might enjoy it more!

What I loved about "Dance of the Dolls" is the setting and the inside knowledge of the dance world. Lucy Ashe sets her thriller in 1933 London, the time at which British ballet was starting to come into its own. The catalyst for this is the escape of Nicholas Sergeyev from the new Soviet Union with a tin box of smuggled books with original choreography for famous ballets by the choreographers who personify Russian ballet. He lands with Ninette de Valois, the former Ballet Russes soloist who is launching the Vic-Wells ballet company and who has the genius, knowledge, skill, and guts to create an English ballet company that can bring original Russian choreography to the public.

Clara and Olivia are identical twin dancers in the company, both talented in different ways. Olivia is serious, hard-working,; Clara is more spirited, comic and playful. Clara has been seeing one of the accompanists, a moody former child prodigy while Olivia is focused on dance. She has caught the eye of a young man who makes ballet shoes but has no idea of his interest.

Lucy Ashe trained at the Royal Ballet School so she understands the workings of ballet--the physical pain and exhaustion, the joy of personifying beauty, the strict rules. This gives Clara and Olivia's story more grit, but the mystery side of the story is the weaker aspect of the book. There are inklings of an interesting narrative with richer characters but they never quite gel. The good news is that Lucy Ashe has the talent and ideas to build on what she's started. I look forward to her next book.

3.5 stars

One of my favorite sub genre is anything that takes place in the world of ballet. Especially the ballet worlds of the past. This psychological thrillery book fits the bill.
Written by a former ballet dancer with all the proper ballet terms and references. Loved the historical aspects as well as the psychological ones. Profanity not an issue in the book at all which is always a huge plus for me! #danceofthedolls #debut #lucyashe #loveballet #netgalley. Many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy.

As someone who grew up taking ballet, and who has recently restarted lessons as an adult, I was immediately intrigued by THE DANCE OF THE DOLLS, a historical ballet-themed thriller. Ultimately, I have mixed feelings. Let's break it down:

The good: A deep, lush, loving exploration of ballet as an art and obsession. The author immerses you in 1930s London, her prose describing the sights, smells, and sounds of the ballet theatre. Historical figures and events add realism. Plus, if you’re not familiar with ballet terms, there is a glossary at the front!

The not-so-good: For being labeled a thriller, there were few thrills to be had. Other than the occasional vague threat, there was no danger until 75% - and the danger that did arrive was not shocking nor twisty. This criticism is mostly due to misplaced expectations: I expected a thriller, and this was more of a historical novel.

If you are ballet-obsessed, pick this up. But if you're expecting a suspenseful thriller à la Black Swan, adjust your expectations.

Trigger/content warning: there is talk of eating disorders/pressure to be thin. I wish this wasn't such a prevalent theme in ballet media, and in this case, I didn't think it was especially relevant to the plot... but here we are.

This book was so good. It's about 2 twins in the Ballet and the men that love them, in an obsession type way. I absolutely could not put this book down! I was hooked from the very beginning and was gutted when it ended. Loved this!!
I just reviewed The Dance of the Dolls by Lucy Ashe. #NetGalley
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