When Lila reacts violently to her apparent failure on the ballet stage, she is sent away to the idyllic Luna Island. Haunted by her actions, Lila feels out of place surrounded by the island’s perfection. In an attempt to prove her worth Lila enters the renowned Angel of the Sea pageant, where beautiful girls compete to to become the High Priestess of the angels who inhabited Luna Island. However, as Lila becomes close with one particular angel, she begins to expect that Luna Island may not be quite as it seems.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book, and was excited to receive the ARC. Unfortunately, it really did not live up to my expectations. I will say that Krystle certainly has a talent for describing things beautifully, and she made a good effort to include important themes. However, it fell very short of having the impact that I think it set out to have for me. The internal conflict of Lila was very repetitive, and she made little effort to seek out true help. She often came across as a classic ‘not like other girls’ YA lead which doesn’t sit well with me. Her actions were often truly unforgivable and had very little repercussions. As for the romance, the ‘Hades and Persephone meets Phantom of the Opera’ which we were promised is not really evident until the end. I didn’t buy the connection between Lila and Damien, particularly on her end as she treated him very poorly yet he always stuck around. Overall, despite some beautiful writing, this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm just going to DNF this one. I've read four chapters, and I'm not having a good time, so it's better to just move on to something else.

A big part of this book is aesthetic, which is fine, but the writing isn't quite hitting the mark. From what I've read so far, I think this could be a good horror plot, but the author is not taking it that way.

Lila is a teenage ballet dancer whose parents are mad at her for doing something bad, so she's been shipped off to live with her aunt on Luna Island. Located just off the East Coast (I've already forgotten which state, probably something like New York or Connecticut), Luna Island is a picturesque island that apparently tourists get too creeped out to even get on the boat. Its main street looks like the candy coated, floofy, saccharine town that you imagine the entirety of Europe to be if you've only watched pretty, girly movies where an American goes to Paris and becomes the belle of the ball. Having studied in Paris, that cotton candy comparison of Luna Island to Paris annoyed me. As did Lila going into a dress shop with only $100 and walking out with the ✨ prettiest girly dress ever ✨ with lace and ribbons literally made by angels. As a sewist and fashion fan, I can promise you that you could not buy the dress described for $100. Only in fast fashion and unethical labor practices.

Anyway, Lila meets some girls at the dress shop who tell her about how tonight's ball (oh yeah, also Lila has arrived on the day of the major ball which only happens every 7 years but for some reason is 6 years early) will have the major pageant that all the girls want to compete in. She is ~haunted~ by something bad she did as a ballerina but somehow ends up going to the ball and becoming friends with the prettiest pageant girl who also wants her to compete?

The story seems to be that Luna Island participates in cult worship of this specific group of angels, and Lila is being haunted by ~something deadly and mysterious as the sea~. It could be a good horror novel, but the writing is too focused on the cotton candy aesthetic. I wish that the writing were different because this really has potential.

This is a modern-day American, first person POV with a very loquacious MC, and that is not what I was looking for. Maybe it will work for someone else.

Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for saving me money and giving me an arc because no one should be spending money on this🫶

Hello… 🧍🏻‍♀️
I’ve read another book…
And it was bad :(

There is only so much I can speak upon because so much of this shit is flowery ass purple—excuse me lilac✨✨—prose that means nothing and is such a slog to get through.
If you love ugly descriptions of dresses, the overuse of words like iridescent, viridescent, or pearlescent, victim-blaming, parental abuse AND domestic violence, not like other girls main characters that are actually so special and so kind and beautiful and so really perfect and cool this could be the book for you🥰✨✨

This book follows our super gorlboss Lila Rose Li who was the best ballet dancer🩰 to ever live until she fell for the first time ever in her whole career (one singular time) and was LAUGHED🧙🏻‍♀️ off the stage and BANISHED🤴🏻 by her parents to the most beautiful and coquette slay beach island ever like even better Barbie lands most beautiful world. This island is called Luna Island because it’s watched over by a goddess named Luna🌝 who you guessed it is the goddess of the moon😌✨ wow so creative creativity bouncing off the walls🤭
On Luna island lives Lila’s aunt who runs a tea shop and is Lila’s own personal therapist and support squad and has no personality aside from loving and supporting Lila especially after the super traumatic event of CHOKING OUT HER OWN LIFE-GIVING MOTHER🥺

yes dear reader, Lila’s super horrific traumatic event that got her sent to this paradise of an island🏝️ —I mean prison—was that Lila with her stiletto acrylic nails that she never lets us forget strangled her mother and literally drew blood to the point that it was caked under Lila’s stiletto nails💅 You may be asking why would she do that?? Surely something extreme must have happened for such a punishment?? Well it’s because Lila’s mother brought her a lovingly grown pear that she had cut into a flower just for Lila, her only child. That doesn’t seem unkind you might think, but you don’t get it😩 Lila’s parents never ever actually said “I love you”😞 and instead only paid for all of her ballet lessons, and picked and grew fruit for her, and gave her gifts, and worked really to give her a perfect life, and only really wanted her to be the best she could be. you know kind of like all parents aspire to for their children to be??? Clearly they actually hated her and Lila was so right for trying to murder her mother in a fit of rage. 😡

Wow isn’t Lila just a wonderful character that you really want to root for? 😍 I love when my main characters have random emotional and violent outbursts over nothing when the plot requires it.
Lila is totally so emotionally stable, and so wonderful and kind and brave and such a good friend according to her defense squad of girls on the island that she participates in the pageant with even though they don’t actually know her and she only really spends time with one girl from the island. 💕✨

That one girl is Roisin, a lesbian who wears pink, and girlbosses all over the place I guess. Roisin’s girlfriend won the pageant last year and was taken by the angels to be their high priestess.

Every seven years Luna Island has a pageant 😇 wow! Except this year an emergency pageant is being thrown because the last pageant winner has gone missing! The winner of the pageant gets to be the angels’ high priestess whatever that means!! Yes there are angels👼 that are totally not anything like biblical angels just transplanted over to this new goddess Luna.

Lila and Roisin participate in this pageant! Roisin wants to find out what happened to her girlfriend while Lila wants to win so that she can be worshipped and adored forever by angels. One of these motivations is not like the other!🤭✨

Despite this massive gap in motivation Roisin and Lila become besties🥰✨ and their relationship totally is platonic nothing more and they are definitely not super in love with each other👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩!! They only spend a couple of chapters lamenting how the other person is the greatest thing to ever happen in their entire lives and that if one of them gets picked they’ll think of them forever and ever and they totally do not run their nails through the other’s hair and whisper sweet nothings into their ear and omg is that Chappell Roan playing in the background?? No it’s totally platonic guys and actually Lila has a male love interest 🙋‍♂️💘

Lila really really loves her male love interest who is a magical angel! of course he’s the most special angel. His name is Damien. He’s like super special and has black wings🪽. And he and Lila totally do not spend to whole book arguing with each other every time they’re on page until Damien?? Apologizes?? For her actions against him crazy I know🧍🏻‍♀️ isn’t this romance??
In fact Damien is so great that he tries so hard to protect Lila that his father literally whips him in front of her. Good thing that now she knows that his father is physically abusive towards him and would never ever emulate that in a burst of rage that would be insane.

Anyway Lila is being hunted by the Devil😈. He’s technically not the Devil from the Bible however he would be if you swapped in the Christian god for Luna. wow what ✨🌎world building🌎✨
Also plot twist the angels worship the Devil and you might think that has huge complications for this island of really cult-y people who devote their lives to making sure the angels are happy but it doesn’t really matter.

The Devil wants Lila because she was born under a blood moon and has magical ballet powers. She can just fucking manifest things with seemingly no limits and she never really utilizes this. Or is even interested in it. At all. Okay 👍
Basically any girl that wins the pageant is sent to the Devil. The Devil’s motivation for taking these girls is that he likes pretty things. The Devil is trapped under the sea 🌊 but the angels are scared he’s going to come up and destroy the island but he is trapped under the sea and has to steal power from human girls so idk how he would do that but whatever sure. He wants Lila because she’s like blessed by Luna to have infinite powers so she could make things beautiful forever.

Anyway Lila obviously wins the pageant and at the ball where they name the winner Damien is exposed to be the Angel of the Night. You may be asking wtf is that? I don’t know it was randomly thrown in but I guess he picks the winner and delivers her to the Devil <s>from the Bible.</s>
Lila is pissed that Damien would lie to her🥺 (granted he has been working his ass off to get her to leave the pageant and keeps telling her it’s not what she thinks it is) and as punishment she uses the ocean (salt water) to WHIP him.
You know like she saw his father do to him??
That moment that was deeply traumatic and disturbing?
Yeah she then did the same exact thing to him TWO DAYS after she watched his ABUSIVE father do it to him.
In fact, it was only his screams that manage to soothe her. All of this because she was mad at him. And then she forgives him like 12 hours later because she thinks about for like five seconds but you know she’s already WHIPPED HIM.
After she whips her boyfriend and summons a hurricane that destroys the island in a fit of rage she then willingly goes under the sea to the Devil. Where the author goes on to have her pity him, make him out to be a soft boy that was just never loved🥺, fantasizes about fixing him, and making his house pretty to make him happy and then makes him the most nothing burger antagonist the world has ever seen. His “fight” with Lila is a conversation where she declares herself the queen of hell and simply tells him no. Then she tells him to go wait in their bedroom.
Then Damien appears but omg where did his wings go??? HE RIPPED THEM OFF FOR LILA TO FREE HIMSELF FROM HIS FAMILY CURSE THAT FORCES HIM TO BE THE ANGEL OF THE NIGHT. He doesn’t even have a choice. And he ripped off his own wings for the woman that whipped him.
Isn’t that romantic😍✨
Then he apologizes to her. She whipped him and he apologizes to her. And she’s so sweet and kind and accepts it🥰✨
Then they fucking dance together💃🏻🕺🏻 and kill the Devil 👹and return all the girls to Luna island and magically fixes it after she definitely killed people with the hurricane she summoned to destroy the island but no one talks about that and they clap and cheer and call her queen and then she gets into a really good ballet school in Paris🩰 and they live happily ever after!!
And she never really feels bad about choking out her mother or whipping her boyfriend because no one is their worst moments😘🫶

The worst part about this book is that it could have been really cool. A coquette pageant that was secretly a front for a devil worshiping cult and ballet magic?? That’s sounds so fun?? But no? Instead I was given an emotionally unstable and abusive protagonist that is constantly being praised and applauded for doing nothing spectacular outside of merely existing.
This book desperately needed an editor and just someone to be honest with the author and tell her that all this purple prose and description was fucking mind numbing to read. This is not an enjoyable read and very very far from an enjoyable experience.
I don’t want to be mean to a debut author but she seriously needs to go back to the drawing board and get better people around her to be honest about the state of her book.

'Dance of the Starlit Sea,' is one of those stories that I would love to see the finished novel. While I enjoyed many things, there were a few things I didn’t. I wasn’t quite swept away by the romance, but reading is subjective, the story itself is good. I think if you enjoy ballet, you will love the story.

Thank you, NetGalley, Author, and Peachtree, for allowing me to read this ARC!

Dance of the starlit sea is a contemporary fantasy novel with magical pageants, angels, and ballerinas.

The only thing interesting about this book was the aesthetics. Because I'll be real with you, the aesthetics were what compelled me to read this book. The author has done a great job in evoking the coquette vibe in this book.
But aside from that, this book feels very reminiscent of 2014 YA paranormal romance, complete with all the clichés. I hated those novels then, and this novel just....didn't work out fir me. It felt repetitive and tiring to get through tbh.If you liked those novels, you'll love this one.

In conclusion, you thought you could dress up a typical YA paranormal angel romance from the early 2000s with coquette aesthetics and thought we wouldn't notice.

I'm so sad because the description was so hard up my alley, but the writing style just made it a big miss for me personally. Its just too flowery, too aesthetically pleasing and not enough actual substance.

I have also read the author is harrassing people who make negative reviews? That in itself should deserve a negative review, IMO.

It had good bones but unfortunately did not deliver. The writing was all over the place in my opinion but not in a good way. It made it difficult to get into the story and I really struggled to finish.

I was expecting to love Dance of The Starlit Sea. I had quite high expectations - based on the summary I expected a story similar to Laini Taylor’s and based on the cover and vibes, I expected a magical, romantic adventure in the vein of Stephanie Garber’s books. Dance of The Starlit Sea doesn’t hold up to either comparisons, however. As other reviewers have mentioned, the writing is a mess. It’s not entirely unbearable to read, but it’s over the top to where it takes you out of the story. I’m not a fan, but I don’t usually mind books with detailed writing or a strong emphasis on aesthetics, but that was not the case here. The entire story — from the characters to the themes — felt too superficial. Kiana Krystle lays the groundwork for a captivating story but doesn’t quite reach it. I believe with a bit more polishing, this story could be much more engaging and reach its ideal audience. While that audience unfortunately doesn’t include me, I’m sure younger YA readers or those looking for an escapist read will find this more enjoyable than I did.

This wasn't up my alley, I'm afraid. The writing felt too oversaturated in metaphors and flowery and lost any sense of depth or emotion. The main character came across about 13 years old, to the point of literally stamping her foot at one point. It's with a heavy heart I say this because the book has a perfect recipe for a fun, interesting fantasy book! It also tries to explore some really deep, fantastic themes of guilt, pressure and the power of loving your whole, messy self. But it just doesn't follow a consistent tone at all.

"Dance of the Starlit Sea" by Kiana Krystle is an enchanting debut that immerses readers in a world of forbidden romance, dark secrets, and mystical intrigue.

Set on Luna Island, the story follows Lila Rose Li, a troubled ballerina exiled to her aunt's cottage after a violent outburst on stage. As Lila navigates her new surroundings, she becomes entangled in the island's mysterious lore surrounding the Angel of the Sea pageant. With rumours of haunting and imbalance plaguing the island, Lila is drawn deeper into the secrets lurking beneath the surface.

Krystle's prose is sensually rendered, painting a vivid picture of Luna Island with its sparkling blue waters and rose-covered boutiques. As Lila delves into the island's history and traditions, she uncovers dark truths that challenge her understanding of herself and her place in the world.

At its core, "Dance of the Starlit Sea" is a tale of self-discovery and acceptance, as Lila learns to embrace every part of herself, even the parts she considers monstrous. Krystle deftly weaves together elements of paranormal mystery and mythology, creating a lush and sinister narrative that captivates from beginning to end.

With its blend of romance, mystery, and fairy tale elements, "Dance of the Starlit Sea" is a mesmerising read that will leave readers eagerly awaiting Krystle's next literary offering.

i can't fathom this book honestly. the writing was mediocre at best. i truly wanted to like this but AAAA i just couldn't!! thank you to NetGalley still and the author for trying their best<3

Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dance of the Starlit Sea is for those who have found solace in friendships when it was harder to breathe properly in the world where too much pressure was put on them at a very young age. Girlhood is perfectly described in the novel and how girls need to depend on one another instead of fighting each other.

But the plot lacks uniqueness. The focus was on describing the aesthetics instead of the plot or characters. The details of every single thing they eat and wear was just unnecessary. At first, it was fine. But soon it became repetitive.

Also feminine rage was mentioned in the author's post but as I finished the book I can't tell there was this feminine rage. The fml was just a teenager with anger issues and that's not feminine rage. I was really dissappointed ngl.

And I really wished we could see more about Lila's relationship with her parents.

The ending was better than I was expecting after reading half portion of the book. But maybe if the Devil told his side of the story it could've been much better because I, personally, wanted to know his backstory. What turned him into what he has become?

Overall, it was not bad for a debut novel. I just think it could've been even better.

I have been waiting so long for this book and I wanted to love it so bad but it really fell flat for me. There was 0 story it was all just flowery prose with no depth and I totally get the aesthetic the author was going for but the execution didn't work. I didn't connect with any of the characters, they had no spark at all and were very one dimensional. I also found it really strange how this is marketed as being for girls, femininity, etc, which is what pulled me in the most so props for the marketing, but then there are tones of internalized misogyny throughout? Just extremely superficial all around unfortunately

I have heard the author is harassing people for negative reviews and that's really not okay. These should be safe spaces for readers to review and discuss the books they've read

I got an ARC for this one on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, so here it is!

Something about me is that I read this book right after one of the most stressful periods of my life. This is the first book I read in months (maybe even in a couple of years, actually), because it had been sitting in my "Want to Read" list ever since the deal was announced and, later, in my "DESPERATELY Want to Read" once the cover was revealed. It's gorgeous, really.

So, I immediately applied for an ARC (Thank you NetGalley!) and got it.

And, after weeks of stress and anxiety and problem after problem after problem, diving into this book felt like soaking into a warm bath full of rose petals and littered with sweet-scented candles. I was lured in by the pastel setting and the delicate prose, which was a delight to read sentence after sentence. Each description of a dress, I could feel the organza under my fingers, skirts flowing and soft fabric, and each description of a pastry, I could feel the sugar beads melting upon my tongue.

Although sometimes I couldn't condone Lila's reactions, I'll admit that made me feel for her a little more. She's deeply hurt, imperfect, flawed, and she knows it. She tries to navigate a world in which her emotions are too much to fit into the mold that's made for her - perfect ballerina, perfect daughter, perfect girl. Her anger, her fury, her frustration at the unfairness of her failures (and the reactions to her failures as well) spill over the edges of the mold, making it shatter. Her relation to it was both satisfying and devastating to read - she tries and lashes out, which does make her relatable, especially regarding her parents and their expectations of her, and yet sometimes she does so unfairly, which only hurts others (and herself) in the end.

I liked the contrast between dashing, pastel-pink Luna Island and the darker themes underneath. I felt they showed a dark glimpse at girlhood shifting into womanhood quite skillfully. Girlhood, feminine stuff, with everything pink, with ruffles and sugar and glitter and fluff - that is what Luna Island is. But isn't it also what the male gaze expects of women, as perfect little brides? Luna Island raises girls into candidates for a pageant meant to elect the most perfect of them all, the High Priestess. Yet, the winner will only be wed to the Devil, her feminine beauty not for her own but meant to please men, to be his to own and show off. I think that raises quite an interesting question, in the fact that women are told to strive for beauty, not for themselves but for men instead, to catch the attention of a prospective husband. Of course, this is only a sliver of girlhood/womanhood, but I found it quite an interesting theme to show through the such a setting/plot.

Overral, I had a blast diving into this world and I didn't want to leave it when turning the last page.

Okay, this is my first time giving an official review for an ARC. I'm not an expert, but I'll do my best.

First, the cover is gorgeous, that's the main reason I requested an ARC of this. It's really gorge!!!

Second, I'll describe this book more of like a Barbie meets the Black Swan (The Movie). Like, it has this beautiful and colorful writing blended with something dark and sad. There's a lot of instances were you'll be able to feel the connection to the main character because of how realistic the emotion is... And the vibe!!! I really like the vibe in this one, Girlhood, finding purpose, understanding oneself, and battling your own demons. It really hits the spot most of the time.

Third, I really wish that there could be more of like another way to describe the ballet steps. 'Cause not all readers are like experts in this one. I don't know if this book could be for certain people to read, for example ballet dancers, but it would be such a good thing if others can also understand and visualize it easily. But I don't think there's easy when it comes to ballet.

Lastly, I hate to say this but the plot is kinda messy. There's this thing and there's another thing going on that messes the first one. You know, like it doesn't quite fit. And when it's finally going smoothly there's another thing that's gonna change the road inti bumpy. (I can't actually explain it clearly)

And because of that, my rating will be between 2.75 to 3 stars.

I really thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for such an honor 🙇🏻‍♀️

This book was lyrical while familiar like sinking into a steaming hot bath after a long day surrounded by exotically-scented candles. At the core of the story is one of learning how to both forgive yourself for the mistakes that you've made and forgive others for the mistakes that they have made. It is a long, hard journey for Lila to learn that lesson and to embrace herself with all of her flaws as well as realize that the people she loves and struggles to please are imperfect as well.

I will admit that, at the beginning of the book, I was rather tired of hearing about her big mistake and how secret it was. Honestly, it seems pretty obvious to me what that mistake had ended up being, and once the layers were unpacked around it, I ended up being correct. Where this book shines however is with the characters' connections with one another. There are genuine connections there, ones that are forced to endure some pretty crazy things, yet manage to endure beyond that.

The writing was beautiful. It really added to the magical realism vibe that the story had going while not extending its visit past the point that most readers would enjoy. It is also obvious that Krystle blended together the stories of both of her cultures while building this world, and it works really well, adding yet another dimension to the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree for the ARC of this book. Opinions are my own, and spoilers have been avoided but may be hinted at!

“Ballet makes me feel like the ocean—silently unfurling with all the rage I’ve buried deep down, yet still manifesting in something beautiful. For those few moments, with all eyes on me, I’m heard. Ballet tells stories, and this is how I tell mine.”

If you’ve ever wanted to read something that feels like “Never Let Me Go” by Florence and the Machine, but sung with the teenage girl rawness of Olivia Rodrigo (wearing a glittery lilac dress and angel wings), with a dash of Black Swan, this may just be your new favorite book. If you’re saying “I’ve never even considered that very specific combination of things BUT NOW I MUST HAVE IT,” then… you’re welcome!

Much of Dance of the Starlit Sea feels very unique (an angel cult leading a pageant! Hell at the bottom of the ocean! Ballet magic!), but it also feels joyfully nostalgic in a way I can’t quite place—maybe for the “Let Me Be Your Wings” scene in Thumbelina, maybe for the hopefulness of playing princess that Lila feels when she peruses angel-spun dresses, maybe for the paranormal romance books I grew up with.

That said, while the book is described as paranormal, it feels more like fabulism, with magic that’s not so much systematized as it is a living, breathing part of the setting. Luna Island is all whimsy and marvel. The angels are reminiscent of folktale characters, living both separate from and among humans, with secrets and mysterious agendas of their own.

This book is a sensory experience, with all the frills (and ruffles!). It’s rose-tinted, campy, shimmers like the sea, and drips gold starlight. The ideal reading experience would be under a soft pink sunset, illuminated by twinkling fairy lights, surrounded by jasmine and seashells, listening to the waves crash. The lush, lyrical prose is evocative and immersive, transporting you to Luna Island to experience all its enchantments—Petals Tea Shop for afternoon tea, Luna’s Love Shack for angel-silk dresses, Heaven Divine for enchanted perfumes—and being lured into the mystery of the angel cult at the heart of the island.

Lila’s raw, emotional narration and inner conflict make her a compelling protagonist—one who, at times, breaks our hearts with how undeserving she feels of love, happiness, and gentleness. She is an “ocean of a girl” who believes she is as dangerous and violent as the sea, and much of the book serves as a metaphor for her conflicted emotional state: the tumultuous yet gentle sea (which she sees as friend and also enemy), her dancing that she both despises and loves, the glittering angels and the darkness that calls to her. She carries deep shame for a traumatic past action, which is one reason she feels unworthy of love. Because her trauma is tied to ballet, her dancing is an act capable of breaking her, but also healing her—a unique and authentic portrayal of trauma.

The book touches on important themes of representation. One reason that Lila needed to be perfect as a ballerina was because she didn’t see other Asian American lead dancers while growing up: “Girls like me don’t show up in fairytales.” As Lila investigates the mysteries of Luna Island, she also uncovers more about her family’s background as immigrants. Some of the most beautiful moments come when Lila struggles with how her complex ideas about being unlovable have been informed by her parents’ own unhealed generational trauma: “In my culture, mothers show their love with a plate of fresh cut fruit—grown with love, selected with care, washed until pure, perfectly sliced, and arranged into a flower. I destroyed the love she offered because to me, her American daughter, a plate of fruit was never enough.”

The relationships in the book all serve Lila’s growth in different ways. The comps to Phantom of the Opera and Hades/Persephone manifest through the Devil calling Lila to be his bride in Hell, at the bottom of the sea. Damien has a sweet romance with Lila (and serves as a kind of Raoul to the Devil’s Phantom). Their relationship is that of two people finding safety in each other’s arms, learning how to trust again, and supporting each other to follow their dreams even when challenging or painful. Admittedly, my favorite relationship is between Lila and Roisin, who are in many ways each other’s true love, fighting for each other in their darkest moments.

On Luna Island, there’s a persistent undercurrent of horror, especially surrounding the treatment of women and girls. Beyond the cult of angels is the island’s pervasive cult of beauty. While the pageant defines girls through a set of essentialized qualities (beauty, faith, grace), the book ultimately contests that definition by suggesting that, whether you’re a beauty queen or a Queen of Hell, shared experiences of girlhood are capable of binding people together. Without getting into too many spoilers, some of the themes this book grapples with are the sacrifice of women’s bodies, the instrumentalizing of beauty as a natural resource, the objectification of women as beautiful possessions/ornaments, and the possibility of becoming free through collective healing from patriarchal woundings.

I would highly recommend Dance of the Starlit Sea for YA readers looking for lyrical fabulism that employs a lush oceanside setting, angels, and ballet magic to explore themes of generational trauma, patriarchal norms of how girls and women should behave and appear, and how those wounds can manifest in a teenage girl and her ability to feel worthy of love. Sometimes, like Lila, we all need a reminder that we deserve love, and this book just might be that for you.

Coquette Core or all the cores?

I got the aesthetic(s) right away. The cover is also so beautiful, it drew me in and then the description had me diving in.

The first few chapters caught my attention quickly, keeping me engaged but then I realized everything was really surface level. The characters were more description than personality. It needed more depth outside the aesthetic vibes.

I quickly started to not like the FMC who was woah is me I did something terrible and will continue to bring it up. Instead of being sent to therapy our FMC gets sent to a cult like island. I mean honestly this jarred me.

Anywhoooo there are a lot of odd things in this book. It kind of felt like a simulation where everyone is an NPC. Lots of dancing around but never landing.

I think with depth and substance this could be good. This is really just a vibe read and not for me.

the cover is very pretty and that’s what attracted me to the book. but dnf , not what was advertised, writing leaves much to be desired.

Depressingly, this did not work for me. I LOVE lyrical writing, but it was backed up by zero character development, world building or plot, and hence....it was bad.