I really enjoyed reading this book, I found it to be immersive and I feel like it had a lot of depth and interest to it.

it’s dark, intense, and full of intrigue. Vasalie is such a compelling protagonist; I loved that she refuses to be a helpless damsel, even when everything in her life seems stacked against her. Her journey from betrayed court dancer to cunning spy is thrilling, and the tension never lets up. I found myself constantly guessing who she could trust and what would happen next, which made it impossible to put the book down. The stakes feel real, and the political and personal betrayals are gripping and often shocking. I also appreciated how the story explores moral ambiguity—Vasalie has to make impossible choices, and you feel the weight of each one. The world-building is rich, the characters are complex, and the twists are truly satisfying. Overall, it’s a clever, intense fantasy that keeps you on edge from start to finish.

2⭐️1.5🌶️

Romantasy
Dancer FMC
Disability rep
Chronic pain rep
Political intrigue
Betrayal
Prophacy
Fates


Tw: emotional abuse, physical, abuse, alcoholism, PTSD, panic attack, trama, violence against children, sexual themes, graphic death, chronic illness, disability, and sexism.


The premise of A Dance of Lies, the first book in this story, is really good. A traumatized and wrongly convicted dancer who suffered considerable nerve damage in prison for two years is brought out to become a spy for the very man who put her there.

The execution just didn’t live up to the possibility. It was too character driven for my taste. There was so much potential for the plot to take off, but it seemed to crawl instead.

The dance movements are overwritten and use French ballet terms… in a world where there is no France. Also, non dancers wouldn’t know what those terms were and would have to look them up in order to visualize the dance/movement. But the dance scenes were written very well.

The info dumps for world-building happen only when it seems like the author has written herself into a corner. This is definitely fantasy light. The fantasy elements were barely explored, making them seem like an after thought.

The characters were… alright. The FMC didn’t come as fully into her confidence as fully as I had hoped with a spy plot until the final pages.

The main couple was missing the chemistry until the big reveals.

In summary I found it overwritten and under developed.

Thank you Random House, Del Rey and NetGalley for the gifted eARC. All opinions are my own.

Star rating: 3.25 stars
Review: This took me forever to read. I started reading the arc a while back and found myself not being connected at around 35% of the way. I waited until the release of the audiobook and found myself being able to read it a lot better. I understand the message behind having disabilities and the outcomes of having this, but I couldn't really connect with the story based on the fact that it doesn't personally connect to me. I felt that the ending had ended on a good note and can see where the story can/could go next, but it won't be my go-to read whenever the sequel comes out.

3.5⭐️
i didn't write this review straightaway and ngl i already forget the plot lol help. but i'l try to at least write a short review

Vasalie was a dancer in King Illian’s court, falsely accused of murder then thrown into the dungeon for 2 years, then suddenly summoned by the king to be his spy at the upcoming royal gathering.

I don’t know how to feel about this tbh. It’s just enough to keep me reading but not enough to get me invested, proved by the fact that I’ve forgotten the story just a couple of weeks after finished it. But one thing for sure, the chronic illness rep is on point.

Some things from this book reminded me of Arcana Academy though they’re nothing alike. Following Vasalie felt tiring sometimes, like she knew sh’s being used but she kept fulfilling King Illian’s order, even though he’s clearly a manipulative man. But okay at least I could see where her decision’s coming from. And she’s trying her best given her physical body’s circumstances. And the plot twist caught me off guard, i didn’t expect it at all! The ending left me with so many questions, but i still don’t know whether i’d read the sequel… so yeah.

Oh my the book is totally fantastic

One word captivating. I felt I was lost in this world for a while .I still think about the story now . The writing the plot .the characters perfect.

I definitely give the book high fantasy 5 stars 🌟

First of all, this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I might have expected too much from it, which definitely played into my rating.

The beginning was a bit slow but still intriguing. I liked Vasilie, and the author did a good job of making us feel both sadness and sympathy for her. She’s relatable in many ways at first, and it’s easy to understand her emotions. She’s portrayed as hurt and broken, but still strong, which I appreciated. We have a believable and interesting focus on her chronic pain and "disability" for the first 15-20 % of the book... but I'll talk more about that later.

She also had great chemistry with Copelan, her dance partner, but the author made their dynamic far too obvious, which caused me to lose interest. I didn’t like any of the choices she made concerning him, and there was no reason for him to be a love interest in this love triangle. The author should have spent more time crafting the main characters and their interactions rather than doing this, as well as the plot and main topics like the disability representation. Honestly, more focus on the FMC relationship with the side-characters would have made more sense (and I would have been much happier lmao)

By the end, King Anton was the only character I truly liked and cared about. He’s well crafted, though not mysterious enough. His development makes sense overall, and it’s easy to grow attached to him. Even though it’s clear he’s playing a game and acting, he’s not always easy to read (when it matters), which I enjoyed. There’s more to him than meets the eye, and his backstory, especially his escape from death, was both interesting and intriguing. I would have loved to know more about this BEFORE the last 2 chapters. Actually, having his POV would have made this book 200% more interesting.

The love triangle trope was awful. There was absolutely no need for it. A love triangle only works if the reader can actually believe the main character could or should end up with either choice. Here, that wasn’t the case at all. Maybe it’s just me, but is the author really planning to make us forgive Copelan?

As for the disability representation, where was it? The book focuses a lot on Vasilie’s pain and losses at the beginning, maybe for the first 20 percent, but then it feels brushed aside. She mentions being in pain occasionally, but it never truly holds her back the way we’re told it should. Vasilie is supposedly “disabled” yet she can still dance and do almost everything else. I respect the author for trying, but it didn’t quite work. Half the time she moves around like she doesn’t have chronic pain at all, and it only resurfaces when she finishes a performance. Honestly, I felt misled on this aspect, especially since it was one of the main reasons I wanted to read the book in the first place.

And finally, this is marketed as a romantasy, but where’s the fantasy? At times I completely forgot it was supposed to be in that genre. Maybe it’s meant to be low fantasy, which would make more sense given how the book is written, but if that wasn’t the intention, then something feels missing. Either way, I think readers expecting a typical romantasy should be warned about the lack of fantasy elements compared to what we usually see in the genre.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this beautiful story, all thoughts are my own.
I loved this book. It's been a while since I read it, but there was something so achingly beautiful about our FMC and her growth.
I don't want to spoil too much but if you live for atmospheric reads with romance, this one is for you. I will say this book is definitely more character driven than plot focused but I wasn't complaining. To think that this was written by a debut author is truly baffling to me, this read pretty smoothly even though I did not really like the ending (I expected this book to be a standalone).
If you're looking for fantasy that is not your classical mainstream tropes and plot you should pick this up, the magic system is unique and the plot twists are good. But overall for me it was the Beautiful descriptions of the settings that really made this a five star read for me. Will definitely be picking up future books by the author and you should too!

this book sets the stage for an intriguing mix of political scheming, slow-burn romance and a heroine scarred by betrayal and by her family. Brittney Arena’s writing shines in moments ( like the dance sequences that feel vivid, symbolic and incredibly sexy) and the courtly setting is dripping with tension and secrecy Vasalie Moran, once the jewel of the king’s court, is a fascinating lead: a survivor navigating a dangerous bargain as a spy. Her resilience and vulnerability make her easy to root for andd the slow-burn romance with the hinted ove triangle does add emotional weight without completely overshadowing the intrigue, making this more fantasy than romance.
That said, the execution didn’t fully land for me. The pacing is inconsistent especially i9n the first part, and some of the tropes felt a little too familiar (like the bad guy that is, indeed, not very bad at all) and the story’s unique sparks occasionally got buried under them. While the prose is undeniably lush, it sometimes leaned toward overwriting, but overall it is a very solid debut. Readers who love romantasy with political twists may still enjoy it, but for me, it was more of a “liked it, didn’t love it” experience, but I will be back for more.

I quite enjoyed it. I read it while traveling, so there was lots of starting and stopping which kept pausing all the built up plot tension. I think I would have liked it even better if I had been able to read it all in one go.

What I liked:
- The FMC. I thought she was well done. Her story was filled with guilt, apprehension, anger, fear, cautious confidence, and determination. All of those emotions could have really been overdone, but I found her emotions to be quite nuance and natural. She is clearly advertised in the blurb as having a chronic pain issue, and she does for about half of the book, then it kind of disappears. This didn't really bother me, but I can see why others would notice and be bothered.

- The plot. I really enjoyed the court political intrigue and maneuverings in this one. Things were constantly moving, and the reader was always learning new information. The way it was written reminded me a little of a play. I loved the dancing scenes. I can imagine how difficult those were to write. I found I could pretty clearly imagine the scenes as they are described.

- The world and its rulers was explained very clearly. And the world we saw in the story was well described and quite lush.

My Gripes:
- I am very confused about the fantasy aspect of the plot. Maybe its just me, but I don't fully get it. There were many mentions of the legends and myths that build to the fantasy aspect, but I still found myself not really understanding everything in the end. Maybe some clearer explanations on that would have been nice. I'll be hoping book 2, goes into more detail.

- The MCC. Its not that I didn't like him, but more we just didn't spend a lot of time with him. I like the concept of him, and enjoyed all of his scenes. I just wish we got more.

This was very enjoyable. The end was intriguing, so I'll definitely be reading book 2.

This book is a banger. It’s been a while where I’m this obsessed with the characters and the story! Can’t wait for the sequel!! 5⭐️

I really struggled to make it through this book which is such a shame because I loved the disability rep! I found it to be a bit to expected.

We can add this to the list of books I accidentally finished in one sitting. I started it this morning and the next thing I know, it was dinner time and the book was ending…oops?
I definitely liked Vasalie as an FMC. She’s unique in her disability and the way it is portrayed throughout the book. She’s also a mix of morally grey and desperate that I think was really intriguing.
What I think really made this book shine for me, though, is the supporting characters. Laurent is one of my favorites and I want to get more of him and maybe his history as we go. I also really like Anton. He’s a bit of an enigma and you know there is a lot more to him than you get at first glance.
I will say the beginning felt a little slow for me. I think it had to do in part with the writing style being flowery for my tastes especially for any dancing related scenes. I also think it just dragged a little until we really started getting more dialogue from other characters, and less internal monologue from Vasalie. That said, it picks up very quickly and I was never bored.
All in all, it was a great debut and I am really looking forward to what will come next after that ending!

I’m so disappointed with this book.

I loved Anton, him and Basille were prolly the only things I really enjoyed about this book to be honest.

You had me in the first half don’t get me wrong, but the ending just felt like such a cop out. It felt like unnecessary plot points were being added to make the book longer. I just felt like it was all so unnecessary.

Also, don’t get me wrong, I love that this book has chronic illness rep, but I hate how it was presented. There is no way after everything she goes through that she can do a day of rehearsals and intense dance recitals etc. I get pushing through and overcoming challenges etc, but it was such bad representation in my opinion, and there were times where I felt like this rep was only there when convenient for the plot.

Finally, the ending just felt like a rip off iron flame / mockingjay part 1.

Awwwwwwww that was so awesome! 4 stars and I generally give 5 stars to Dostoyevsky so it is high on my scale.

First things first, thank you Del Rey, Netgalley and Brittney Arena for a free electronic ARC. Reviews are mine.

The romance books do not make my heart go silly easily. Yet, here I am, giggling, shipping the characters, turning the pages wildly and screaming Nooooo every single page. A Dance of Lies was the novel take me out of reading slump, feel joy, love and hate at the same time. Fantasy or romance was not too heavy which made the novel readable. The politic atmosphere make the novel closer to The Will of The Many, and the dance, the costume details made it like a dream for ballet lover Artemis(me). Grateful to read a romantasy that is written this beautifully.

Thanks again! Most probably I will read anything Brittney Arena writes from now on and if Brittney Arena needs an alpha beta or ARC reader, Artemis is here and ready!

I really enjoyed A Dance Of Lies by @reverieandink . I felt that Arena’s writing style was extremely beautiful, and exceptionally descriptive. Like reading poetry. The amount of detail in her writing was captivating and encouraged me to slow down to savour every word on the pages.

Looking forward to more from this Author.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a good read, the book had blackmail, secrets and a multitude of lies. Throwing you into a spin on who to trust.

I wish the book had a lot more fantasy elements to it, we eventually get that but wished we had more elements sooner. I will be reading book two and cannot wait to see more from the author.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this! The main character, Vasalie, is smart, brave and strong. She is forced to become a spy (or die) by a horrible dude who also happens to be a king (ugh). There were a lot of things that surprised me in this book, so I don't want to give away too much. I will say that this book ends on a cliffhanger!! I thought it was a standalone and can't believe I now have to wait until some unknown future date to read the sequel. 😩

A lot of great elements here, including court intrigue, a love triangle that quickly gives way to the superior couple (IMO), and a snowballing (complimentary) plot that sets up a pretty exciting sequel, particularly where the main romance is concerned. Overall, I was really impressed by this debut, so I’ll be looking for more from this author in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really fun read, there is politics, blackmail, secrets and lies. You don’t know who the main character can trust and there are two/three potential love interests that kept me guessing for a little while.

I enjoyed the artful dance and stained glass imagery throughout the book, it added some beauty to a dark story. Reading the POV of a character fighting through health issues was a refreshing change to the classic heroine usually depicted in fantasy novels.

A small thing that bothered me about this book was the fantasy elements. When I read a fantasy book, I like there to be fantasy elements throughout the story and world. This world could have been an alternate world to our own (set at a different time) until the end of the book when finally a fantasy element was introduced. My guess is the next book will have more fantasy elements, and I do plan to continue reading the series, but that was just something to note if you like a higher fantasy story.