This fell flat for me. I was super interested in the premise but quickly got bored and disengaged.

This started with there being a time jump really early on in the book (must have been before the first 5 or 10%). Which is crucial time for getting to know the character/s.
A main draw initially was the disability and the MC working around this to still dance. I felt like it was touched on at the beginning but then quickly not mentioned, or only briefly. I would have liked to see how for each dance she adapted it for herself.

Unfortunately, the MC fell victim to a lack of personality but still had characters instantly friends/interested romantically with her (a bit of a love triangle as well). Which I just left me confused with why they were suddenly so relaxed and open with her.

I hated the love triangle angle. I didn’t know who I should be rooting for and honestly, didn’t really like either of them. Both of them at certain points also weren’t interested in her, so that just left me confused. And then the ending - your ‘relationship’ didn’t feel that meaningful for it too be that tragic with the plot point that happens.

The most interesting thing was the plot, I was intrigued by the court politics and that is what kept me reading. As well, the world building did feel fleshed out and loved the detail with things like sea glass and the millen etc.

I don’t think I am that interested in following up and reading a sequel. Especially as this took me what felt like ages to finish unfortunately.
But I am sure some people will love this and it does have a gorgeous cover.

Thank you Netgalley and DelRay for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eArc!

I absolutely loved this book! If I could reread it for the first time again I would definitely be doing that right now! The tropes and plot were everything i needed! It drew me in from the start.

DNF at 26%.

I came to the reviews looking to see if the issues I was having with the story were just me, or if others had similar issues. Multiple potential love interests and a overly descriptive story does not an enjoyable reading experience make. This is not going to be a book for me.

I just have to be more choosy with my romantasy Netgalley requests moving forward!

It's been a long time since I've read a book this immersive. It captured me and kept me on my tiptoes from the beginning. Court intrigue, assassins, dance and romantic tension. This is everything I loved in a high fantasy as a teen, finding just as thrilling with an ADULT female main character living with a physical disability.

It's dark, it's sweet, it's filled with plot twists and it is an emotional roller-coaster.

This book is solid for its genre. To imagine this is a debut!

For fans of Posion Study, The Remnant Chronicles and Red Queen.

I was initially drawn in by the beautiful cover, and the story didn’t disappoint, it was a fun, gripping read from the very first page. Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

3.5 ⭐

Personal Strength. Vasalie endures so much with dignity, resilience and bravery. . There were moments where my heart physically ached in sympathy.

Character motivations occasionally felt murky, and at times it leaned heavily on tropes without much subversion. The writing had moments of truly lovely prose, but also clunky phrasing and repetitive internal monologues that may be fixed upon final editing.

There’s a lot to like here: court politics, mysterious backstories, forbidden love, and a setting dripping with masked balls and deception. Follows a narrative that while familiar for anyone who regularly reads fantasy, is comforting in the way. Sometimes the well trodden path is exactly what we need.

A Dance of Lies may not rewrite the genre, but it offers a solid, emotionally rich fantasy romance with a lot of heart. While it leaned a little too far into classic YA territory for my personal taste, fans of the genre will find much to enjoy here.

Fans of: Leliana from Dragon Age Origins, Poison Study

I absolutely enjoyed this. Loved the world-building, the romance and I love how a quick read and engaging this was. And honestly I'm on the edge of my seat for the second book.

Thank you netgalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for the chance to read this in advance! And thank you Brittney Arena @reverieandink for the masterpiece!

So the story follows Vasalie, who was a dancer but was imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit. She spent time in prison then King Illian takes her out of it and makes her his spy. Mind you that guy is the one who put her in there. At that point she’s suffering from chronic illness and pains, her dancing is not the same as before, and yet she’s sent to her new mission. I love her creativity to work around her pain and still gives her audience a show with her dancing!

Following her journey, we see her grow back into the person she’s been and I’d say even stronger. Her determination and her strength to overcome her fears and pain are amazing too. Vasalie is a great character in my eyes, because her conflicts, her thoughts, it felt realistic, and she felt somebody the reader could relate to.

We meet different but very interesting characters in this book, there are good plot twists, political and court intrigues, and the writing is absolutely gorgeous! I haven’t read a book this beautifully written in a while and it just grabbed me and didn’t let me go until the end. I can’t wait for the next book and this one still hasn’t come out! Talk about obsession. I loved the world as well, the fates, the magic, the stories, and with the descriptions everything feels even more beautiful, colorful, and like part of a fairytale!

I will continue following the series! I think it’ll turn out to be an absolute favorite of mine, and I can’t wait to see what will happen next.

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for providing me this ARC!!

I lovedddd this book!!! I can't believe this is the author's debut novel. Brittney's prose was whimsical and immersive. I felt alive while reading this book. Her lyrical prose shines through when she describes the art. I was amazed at that.
The worldbuilding is beautiful and had a unique touch to itself. The lore??? Oh my words! I wanted to more about this world.

The FMC with a disability, a dancer turned spy, despite her being physically weak due to her disability she still chose to be strong😩✋🏻. Vasalie shines through this book wonderfully.

I love that all the things I look for in a book are in this one. The characters, love, betrayal, political intrigue,banter, plot...except in times i felt like the pace wasn't pacing much.

Anton? I'm a fan now. The ending of this book has me in its shackles and now I'm in need of a the sequel asap!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book has an interesting premise, but the execution falls flat for me. The book is very repetitive, the main character's backstory is brought up constantly and is said in full to multiple characters, I get that they all need to know this, but I am not sure we had to read it over and over again. There are also a lot of different plot points that do not always pay off, involving everything from repeated mythology to repeated political intrigue.

I really struggled to want to read this book until I got to the last section, which definitely was the best part, finally starting what I believe will be the main story. This book felt like a prequel to a story we haven't gotten yet, and I am mildly curious to see where it will go, but I am not sure if I will continue with this series or not.

Thank you so much for offering me a change to read this in advance! It is a grippling narrative about a girl who is trying to find herself in the midst of her run for survival, and escape the shackles of fate that hold her. I was continuously wondering what would happen next, and was surprised multiple times by the plot twists. I do hope that a sequel is in the works!

3.75/5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC. I enjoyed this book throughly however some points made it miss out just on a 4 star.

The highlight of this book is Arena’s prose. It shines when depicting the dance scenes—her lyrical writing makes each performance feel alive and emotionally charged. These moments were some of the strongest in the book.

That said, the pacing was a bit uneven. The middle third dragged and I found myself skipping ahead at times. The narrative became repetitive when focusing on Vasalie’s stepmother and her illness, which lost some emotional impact with repetition.

The romantic relationships didn’t quite land for me. The love interests felt slightly off and lacked the chemistry needed to make their arcs feel believable. On the other hand, the side characters were engaging and well-developed—I honestly wanted more of them!

Despite these points, the writing itself is strong and immersive. However, the ending felt rushed and a bit jarring, like it came out of nowhere without enough buildup.

A Dance of Lies is well-written with strong world-building and emotional moments, especially through its dance sequences. While the pacing and romance could use refining, there’s a solid foundation here for future books in the series.

Was a fantastic book that i thoroughly recommend and will be buying as I need a trophy version lol. I enjoying the different dynamics at play between the main characters especially towards the end.

Quotes to come after publishing date!


Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, this review is my own opinions!

Im in fact so mentally unwell after this book it’s crazy.

Im not sure how to structure this review so I just wanna jump in-
The writing style? Literally chefs kiss✨ it gives Ava Reid vibes, (which I mean as the absolute utmost compliment) it’s so poetic while not dragging the plot or stalling. Vas’s inner monologue is pretty similar style while also still being realistic.

SPEAKING OF MY ABSOLUTE BABY VASSSSSS. Top 5 FMC ever. The representation of a chronic illness that there is no cure, explanation, or even treatment for, while the FMC dosnt victimize herself or have it be a reason to be “saved” by a man is just phenomenal. Vas does what she needs to do, just while in pain. Chronically ill people have good and bad days. There isn’t a choice in when it happens and life dosnt stop on the bad days. Vas is clearly impacted by her bad days but finds a way around it (and HUGE props on not making her “tough it out”).

This world is so interesting to me it’s wild. I want to know more about the political stances and relationships. There’s just so many characters sometimes it was tough to keep straight (this is a me issue I can’t remember names to save my LIFE).

Anton.
My baby.
My sweet boy.
That’s all.

I think it’s actually criminal to have this book not be published till June, and not to give me book 2 IMMEDIATELY.

4.5⭐

A Dance of Lies is a debut book that has everything that I love in a fantasy romance. Firstly the writing is exceptional, the way it flows across the pages is done so well and the start especially grabs your attention and keeps it throughout as we meet Vasalie and learn her heartbreaking story.

Vasalie is a compelling main character, she has been beaten, used, betrayed and broken down but this just makes her all that more stronger and determined, sometimes her decisions and the way she constantly weighs the survival against mortality doesn't make her perfect but for me makes her all that more relatable in the way she handles those certain moments and the impossible choices she has been given.

The world building is exquisite and I loved how everything is so easy to understand the descriptions are vivid in detail and just helps bring the story to life, the chronic pain rep is amazing and I loved the passion behind how dance was used throughout the story, the romance was swoon worthy at times with all the tension and angst that I love to read about.

The cast of characters with the court politics, morally grey love interests and mystical fates with the twists and turns made A Dance of Lies such an enjoyable read and though the ending took a different turn than I was expecting, I'm excited to see what comes next.

Thank you so much to publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book before publication, these are my honest thoughts and opinions.

This is a tough one to review. I was intrigued by the plot but just didn't feel connected to the characters. All of the relationships and character development felt surface-level; by the end of the story I just didn't care. Based on the ending, I assume there's going to be a second book and I just can't see myself reading it.

What I liked
The storyline was super interesting and I did enjoy the spy aspect of the plot

What I didn't like
The overly sinister villains - I am not a fan of books where the main characters never stand a chance against the villain
The lack of character depth and development - I didn't connect with a single character and none of the side characters felt fully developed

I'm bummed I didn't like this one because it sounded so interesting and I saw so many reviews raving about it. Unfortunately, it just wasn't right for me.

A Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena is a compelling read that blends court intrigue, romance, and rebellion in a richly imagined world. The main character is both fierce and vulnerable, and her internal struggles felt authentic and relatable! The author does a great job building tension, and there are several twists that genuinely caught me off guard. I would say that the pacing is strong overall, though a few emotional beats and political developments could’ve used a bit more build up to really land and pack a bunch. That said, the writing is engaging, and I couldn't put it down! A solid debut and I really can't wait to read more from Brittney!

DNF @ 27%

There was nothing wrong with this book! It mostly had to do with me accepting too many ARCs at one time, and getting stressed at the time limit 😭 I had to DNF it where I was at because I wasn't quite in the mood to complete it, but the plot was very promising, and I am looking forward to picking up this book once it's published in the future :)

To begin with, I'd just like to say that Brittney Arena's prose is so beautiful! There's such a careful elegance weaved into each sentence. I could really resonate with the main character's emotions, and I also appreciate the disability representation in this novel, highlighted through the main character's struggles but still her stubborn resilience and determination. I felt myself roped into the world of 'A Dance of Lies', and can't wait to explore it further in the future when I'm in the mood, and to see how everything unfolded!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore, for granting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review 💗

4.5⭐️

I loved this so much!
The writing style was beautiful and just amazing in every way!!
The concept of this reminded me a lot about Throne of Glass = FMC is in a prison and someone of the royal family calls her to do something for him - and in this book, being his dancer to gather intel.
The pacing was an 8/10, it was fast - but not too fast! - and there wasn’t really any parts where it slowed.

ALSO, great thanks to Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!

First of all, I want to thank the publishers and Netgalley for this eARC, it was a great read. Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down - every free moment I had I was drawn back into this world. It was soo refreshing to read about a gentle female character with a profession that isn't often in fantasy books - a dancer.

This story has everything I love: betrayal, secrets, political drama, morally grey love interests, high emotional stakes, strong heroine, slow burn, amazing tension, family issues, complex characters and is a real rollercoaster of emotions. Highly recommend!

I read somewhere in the reviews that Brittney Arena tells her story so well that she vividly brings what's written on the page to life, the same way Vasalie does with her dancing - and I can only agree with that. It is beautifully written, with interesting world building, and a gripping plot.

Although I enjoyed reading it, I still have to admit that some things happened to me too quickly, so they didn't seem convincing to me. But overall, I liked the story, and can't wait for the sequel.