Thank you for letting me read this arc! It was a good start up to how a dancer became a prisoner and now a pawn in a game of chess. I unfortunately had to DNF this book at 45% becuase it wasnt going anywhere. It kept going back and forth with the main character and the king having conflict. I did love the subtle romance coming from her and copelan but I kept getting side tracked because the dialogue wasnt doing justice.

In the future i will be coming back again to reread becuase this story did intrigue me however, i just couldnt get myself to read it at this moment of my life.

thank you, again.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow!
The fact that this is a debut novel is astonishing.

The characters are a 10/10, plot is unique, political aspect is incredible and don’t even get me started on the romance.
Without giving away who the love interests are, the dialogue between them is honestly my favourite part of the book.
It’s a pet peeve of mine to read unrealistic dialogue, something people would just never say in real life and there is none of that in A Dance of Lies.
The representation in this book is also amazing, references to disabilities and LGBTQI+.

Loved this book SO much and definite 5 stars for me.
I could not put this book down.

📚 Book Review 📚
A Dance of Lies | Brittney Arena
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Themes:
🖤Chronic Illness Rep
✨Prophecies
🛡️Political Scheming
🔥 Slow Burn and Tension for Days
👑 Rival Kingdoms
🥀 Who is the Love Interest 😂

Urm WOW! My new Fantasy obsession 😍
Vasalie is the kings dancer who was imprisoned for supposedly murdering someone. After 2 years the king offers her a deal, turn spy at some upcoming festivities and he’ll pardon her.

I found our FMC so relatable especially as I deal with chronic pain daily myself. Her tenacity and creativity was inspiring and I loved her emotional journey through this book. This was one of those books that I was hooked from the first page and it never let up.

I spent a lot of the book wondering who the love interest was going to be and I was not disappointed 🖤 There’s little to no spice but please don’t let put you off because the slow burn and tension is exquisite.

This book gave me all the emotions, I was giggling, furious, heartbroken and as for that ending 🤯

Frothing at the mouth for the sequel already!


Overall: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Spice: 0/5

One of the most unique fantasy books I've read in recent years, this was a great debut and I'm so excited for everyone to read it. I was hooked immediately and I loved how it kept me guessing all the way until the end. Beautifully written, full of passion, art, and creativity.

Thank you Del Rey for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This story took my breath away! If you are looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, bring you hope and make you want more .. well this is for you.

The author wrote such a powerful story and I love that there’s a mystery aspect to it. Just feel so fresh and unique. I was super excited to find another fantasy book that featured a main character that has a chronic illness. As someone who lives with a chronic illness finding main character I can relate to can be really hard. I didn’t realize how powerful it can be to see yourself and what you struggle with in a character. It definitely brought me relief & hope. I really enjoyed getting to know every character and I though it was a great start to the story.

I really loved the authors writing and just had a really great time immersing myself in this world. The pacing felt just right and I found myself engaged with the story.

Overall, I had a great time reading this book and I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!

Okkkkkk ok ok. This one started out pretty slow.. intriguing but slow and so I put it on the back burner for awhile. But then right around the 30-40% mark all of a sudden I couldn’t put it down! Super fun different concept where the FMC is a dancer and is used in political scheming that way with performing! For sure for fans of a slower, atmospheric, political fantasy with a ✨sprinkling✨ of romance. Something about it reminded me of like the Bridge Kingdom and that kind of fantasy. Probably won’t hit for everyone but I was into it!

Definitely wasn’t expecting a cliffhanger?? So hopefully there’s a second one coming!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was my first ARC, and I liked the title and cover art. So I thought, “Why not?” I love fantasy! Dare I say, one of my favorite genres. I requested this book out of pure curiosity, knowing damn well I probably wasn’t going to get approved to read it. But here we are.

It was my fault for not choosing something that had at least SOME yearning, tension, angst, or romance. This book was a slow burn to say the least—not in a romantic way. DO NOT read this book if you’re looking for romance.

Anyhow, the protagonist, Vasalie, is disabled from being imprisoned by King Illian for a crime she had no part in. After being trapped for years, she’s given a taste of freedom—but on one condition. She must spy for Illian in return for her freedom. As truths, lies, and secrets untangle, Vasalie is forced to make the most of her situation as a former dancer, given her disability. She must prove herself to be useful if she wants to escape the clutches of Illian.

The mysterious elements behind this book were intriguing, but it didn’t necessarily live up to my expectations. I expected Vasalie to be a spitfire with a fiery personality after being caged up for years, but her resolve was slowing chipping away. In hindsight, it makes sense. But the character development and personality I expected was lacking. I love female MCs who are able to defend themselves without relying on anyone.

The best way to describe this book is that I fell into a slump after reading it, and not necessarily in a good way. I wanted a break from reading after completing this book. I liked the writing style, and the imagery was compelling. The plot… was underwhelming to say the least. I wasn’t captivating by any twists, and the character development was “mid” at best. This was my first ARC, and maybe my expectations were too high. Next time, I’ll definitely request books that are up to par with my genre palette.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for sending this e-book to me for an honest review! I appreciate it <3

We follow Vasalie through many hardships and one only-once-in-a-lifetime chance: be the spy of the same king who threw her in the depths of his prison and be free, or suffer a much worse fate. Her journey through the intriguing court politics, scheming, making allies and enemies add an exciting layer to the already dreamy setting! She soon realizes that her part in the bigger picture is already essential: she has much more work to do besides dancing and spying.

It has a slow burn romance, non-descriptive romance/spice scenes (altogether 2 of these, that I really appreciated and I think A Dance of Lies being marketed as a romantasy, this will definitely stand out in the genre!) The book mixes elements of mystery with a well-crafted world building, religion and lore, giving the reader a satisfying, exciting and swoony read! The twists are perfect and the ending definitely leaves the reader screaming, crying and desperately begging for the sequel!

✨ARC REVIEW✨

This book is relatively well-written and a pretty unique storyline. You can tell the author did put a lot of time into developing a more complex story and I give credit there. I was pretty intrigued once Vasalie got to the city and initially excited to keep reading. Once I hit around the 50% mark though it started to drag and it started feeling like this book was much longer than it needed to be. It seemed like there was just one negative thing happening after another with no real reprieve in between to make the book enjoyable. You also don’t really get enough time with side characters to develop love for them, and Vasalie is untrusting and lacking emotion so you also don’t really ever feel a ton of love for her POV, which you are in the entire book. This continued throughout the entire book, and even though romance does not need to be a main plot driver, the ending really requires you to be invested in the relationship that there wasn’t enough time developing within the book.

I know a lot of people are excited about the disability representation here, but honestly I think it was sort of half-thought out. She somehow has chronic pain that it eludes to never being able to be healed, but it was caused from her sitting in a cell where, it is said, that she had all basic necessities provided to her? To make it such a LARGE piece of the story that was referenced practically every couple pages, there needed to be more details hashed out in the beginning. It feels clear the author wanted an outlet to write about her own experience without really fully developing the story behind it.

I also think this book teeters on the edge of the dance hyperfixation being a bit too much for someone who doesn’t share a passion for dance. There are a lot of scenes where the dance the FMC is doing is described in a ton of detail and I do think it may be too much for someone who is reading this book because of the other parts of the description they found appealing.

I will say there were parts of the last 10%ish that I did find surprising, which I think is rare in new books now. The story could have gone a lot of different directions and the direction it did go wasn’t always predictable.

I was so excited for this ARC, I had heard so many good things about it and it did not disappoint! I fell in love with the characters and the world building. Especially the FMC, her backstory really made me connect with her and seeing her character development was really emotional for me. I am a romantasy girlie through and through, I think if you like romantasy you will love this book! The setting, the magic, the characters, all of it! Can’t wait to read more from this author.

What an absolutely incredible book. I was hooked from start to finish by this wonderful story of a woman fighting to survive the chains she had been locked into by corrupt men. With a mix of politics, fantasy, and romance we are introduced to a monarchy obsessed with gaining power. I was in awe of Vasalie and the strength she has. The descriptions of her dance were so beautiful I could picture it so clearly. The characters were well thought out and I was on the edge of my seat reading this and audibly gasping throughout. The storyline was easy to follow but kept you constantly hooked. What a brilliant debut novel and I am impatiently awaiting the next book…

Great debut novel! What an epic start Brittney has given us all! Also loved the representation of the disabled fmc. A dance who is favoured by the king is accused of a murder she did not commit and sentenced to rot in the dungeon only to be summoned by the king 2 years later to become an undercover dance spy.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this as an ARC, either way as an author you should be extremely proud of the fact you WROTE A WHOLE BOOK!

I will say I did not mind this book, was it anything new and never before seen? No, but it flowed relatively well and was easy to understand and envision. I’m glad we’re seeing more representation in disability, however I did almost feel as if her disability didn’t affect her in a way? Every issue she came across as long as she was ‘determine’ she suddently could do whatever and bypass the pain etc,, ofc this is a book so it’s not as if it’s going to be realistic but definitely something to keep in mind. The twists at the end of this book again while not completely unpredictable, still worked with the story. I will 100% be reaching out for the second book when the time comes 💌

Think I have to admit this one is going nowhere, and DNF it.

The premise is great, but the execution (and worldbuilding) didn’t live up to it. I was here to see a disabled dancer learn how to dance again after her disability; instead, we got a character who…mostly just pushes through her pain to do whatever she wants? She doesn’t have to relearn or change much? I liked the idea of her incorporating props into her performances, but the idea wasn’t very ground-breaking – and it didn’t help that the prose was shockingly plain: I was expecting very lush description, because how else do you describe dancing???

Well…very bluntly and mechanically, if you’re Arena, I guess. Which doesn’t at all convey the joy, pleasure, or wonder of dance as art. Doesn’t make it interesting or fun to read about, either.

I immediately had a problem with the worldbuilding when we discovered – very early on – that in the previous generation, a king divided his kingdom in three so each of his three sons (the current kings) could have their own kingdom. That…is so incredibly unbelievable. What monarch would do that? How would that be done? You would have so much work separating them into three new economies! Didn’t you have to invent new currencies? Tax areas? At least two whole new governments?! NO ONE WOULD DO THAT. Not without a war to necessitate it. Where would you find the PEOPLE to be the new departments of education or whatever – presumably most everyone who wanted to work at that already are, so did you split the existing departments in three??? WHAT???

It didn’t really get better from there. A lot of telling-not-showing, too many characters who made no sense to me, and just – generally not the aesthetic/vibe I was hoping for? Prettier prose would have papered over most of those issues for me, but as previously stated, the writing is very plain and not to my taste.

I really hope we get more stories with disabled MCs in the future, though! May this be the first of many!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I really enjoyed this book, the pace of the story development. The disability representation is so important and mostly done very well, I do sometimes feel like she wouldn't be able to overcome everytime with just sheer determination. The twists at the end of this book left me speechless! Definitely want to see what happens in book two 🫶

I was so excited going into this book. Books about dance, particularly in a historical-ish setting is one of my favorite subjects.

Unfortunately, this book failed to hook me. I made it 20% of the way, and I realized my eyes were glazing because I just didn’t care. I know forcing myself to continue is not the way to handle books like this, because if I don’t care, I don’t pay attention, and then I don’t understand.

I might pick it back up, and I’ll update my review if I do.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC.

I really loved this! I loved the disability/POTS rep, I loved the character of Vasalie — she felt so real and she was flawed definitely, that is what made her so likeable. I enjoyed so many elements to this story, from the romance to the actual world building and the plot, and the end was so unexpected! I can’t wait for book 2 to find out what’s going to happen. Highly recommend, 5 stars!!

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in June. Yes, we got to love a good YA with a disabled MC. I absolutely adored it. The small storyline about the difference between someone getting your disability and not was so good. The only downside for me was too much happening at the end which made it hard to follow. But otherwise very good.

Vasalie keeps secrets upon secrets and tells lies upon lies ; all for one thing - her freedom.
Falsely imprisoned for a crime she did not commit, she is thrown into a prison cell, pulled away from her gilded life of being the most revered dancer in King Illians court. Now, she is given a chance at freedom - but only in exchange for her spying on the other crowns.
Absolutely loved the book!! The cover is gorgeous and it’s well written, fast paced and the description of the performances was an exciting feature. I loved the dynamic between Anton and Vasalie and how it shifted through the book. The ending was so unexpected and heart-wrenching - but this made the book so much better!! Brittney Arena has woven a tale that stays in your heart long after you turn the last page.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a digital review copy for A Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, it played with my emotions as a reader. It is so well thought out and portrayed with incredible detailed descriptions. Reading it felt like I was trapped in a surrealistic world and watching a royal court and its events. The way the conflict and the main characters help the plot to tie everything together is marvellous work. Can’t wait to read the next one omg.