I’d heard amazing things about this book, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. And like a lot of the books I read, I really didn’t read the synopsis of it before diving in. I took one look at the cover, listened to a few friends rave about it, and said say less.

I’m always down for a protagonist who has to fight for everything they ever want, and Vasalie not only does that, she finds ways to make herself utterly unforgettable. When her body doesn’t want to work the way it used to, when literally everything seems to be against her, she perseveres. And maybe people shouldn’t have to, but it is often commendable when they do – especially in Vasalie’s case.

The way she creates a method to highlight her strengths, regardless of any weaknesses, and how that method captivates and delights. I loved it. And the way Arena wrote it – absolutely stunning. I had zero problems picturing the dances, the movements – the artistry. It truly played like a movie in my head.

I've been following Brittney for a long while, and I was so excited to hear she sold a book. Now that her debut is here, I can say it very much lived up to the hype. First and foremost, I must say that I absolutely addore the disability and chronic illness representation. It was so thoughtfully done and always warmed my heart to see. I'm a HUGE fan of court intrigue, and this absolutely delivered. The politics were so twisty and delicious. The worldbuilding is very well structured, which can sometimes miss for me, so big props. I loved Vasalie and her whole arc throughout the book, she was a very intriguing head to hop into, and her being a dancer was a nice twist from the typical fantasy fare for MCs, as well as her experiences with chronic illness. The romance is sufficiently slow burn enough to keep me invested, but not so slow where it feels like it needs to pick up the paced. The end is making me not-so-patiently await the sequel, and I'm so very excited to see where it goes! I was so happy to be apart of Brittney's street team, and to champion this book!!!

Thank you Brittney Arena and Del Rey Publishing for a copy of this book!

Truthfully, I put this off a lot longer than I should have and I’m so sad I did! I really loved this story! The first few chapters had me nervous with the pace, but after that I was hooked and couldn’t get enough! This story has competitions, royalty, romance, dark pasts, spying, and chronic illness representation. We follow our FMC, Vasalie, as she pushes through her illness to try and save herself in the midst of precarious political instability that has been amplified by a competition bringing all kingdoms to one island. The characters we meet along the way are some of the most wonderful and most unlikable and completely made took the story to another level.

My only complaint is that I didn’t do enough research and thought this was a standalone…. And then that ending?!?! Need book 2 ASAP!!! An excellent debut and I absolutely trust that she will deliver in the sequel!

A Dance of Lies plunges you into a world of betrayal, survival, and dangerously tangled loyalties—and I devoured every twisty, blood-stained, slow-burn second of it. Vasalie Moran is not your soft, gentle heroine. She’s cunning, angry, emotionally bruised, and slowly burning with a hunger for freedom. After two brutal years in the dungeons (framed for a murder she didn’t commit), she’s given an impossible choice: spy for the very king who betrayed her, or rot.

What follows is six weeks of sharp politics, veiled threats, double agents, and a slow spiral into chaos where every smile hides a dagger—and every alliance feels like a trap. Vasalie is forced to harm people, lie to herself, and face truths she never asked for. And when the infamous King of the East steps in? Oh boy. Let’s just say I’m eating up the “enemies on opposite ends of a war, but maybe also soulmates?” energy.

Arena writes with cinematic flair—every room, every mask, every whispered conversation feels tense and loaded. But it’s Vasalie’s inner voice that holds this together: broken but unyielding, slowly redefining what strength, vengeance, and love mean to her.

If you love:
💀 morally gray heroines
👑 rival kings & dangerous politics
💔 a slow-burn romance with real bite
🩸 betrayals that physically hurt to read
Then this one needs to be on your TBR.

This isn’t just a dance of lies—it’s a full-blown war in a ballroom. And Vasalie? She leads.

I feel duped and confused. The cover is GORGEOUS, the premise sounded so good, and yet what I got instead was a boring and wallowing MC that horribly clashes with a beautiful world and a cast of interesting side characters. Like how: how did it all go so wrong and yet so right at the same time??? 😵‍💫

The story follows Vasalie, a former favored dancer of the king who finds herself set up for murder. After the two years imprisoned in the dungeons have permanently disabled her, she was rightfully vengeful and angry towards the king that stood by and let this happen to her, but then at the same time, she also complains endlessly about her new leash (which she stupidly agreed to), and doesn’t really do anything to try and relieve her pain save have others do it for her? While I do not suffer from any of the disabilities that the MC is said to have nor that of what the author suffers through in her everyday life, I just felt like Vasalie could’ve been a bit more proactive in speaking up for herself and her condition instead of letting others just take the reins and baby her. 🙄

The other thing that really didn’t make sense to me is that she vows to never let a man control and manipulate her ever again, and yet she consistently falls for any guy that happens to lend her a listening ear and an arm to lean on. Like, how have you not learned your damn lesson girl? That and what was the reason for Copelan other than to be a weird rebound for both Ilian AND Anton??? Giiiiirllll, get that love square fixed for heaven’s sake because it be MESSY. Also, NONE of the love interests felt like they had any chemistry other than just lust for the other. 😒

Oh, and her “spying” capabilities? How is anyone in that world not dead yet because of how QUICK they are to accept that another person is so quick to help/like them? I just didn’t get why Vasalie fretted over doing anything Ilian wanted her to do when all she had to do was blink and it was done for her. 🤨

The other thing that just completely baffled me is that there felt like there were so many plot holes at the end of the book. Like, how is the sea glass made into a substance that can be used for weaponry? What ever happened to Marian? Did Esmeé ever reunite with Copelan or did she just conveniently disappear? And what is the whole point of Copelan now other than just being there to fill a needed body count in the scene??? The cherry on top for me of all this confusion: IS THERE A SEQUEL TO THIS MADNESS??? Why end it on a cliffhanger and then promote this book like it’s a standalone??? 😩

I’m just confused and don’t really know what to think anymore about this. I despised the MC by the end of the book because of her shenanigans and desire to wallow at any given moment, and yet I was more attached to the side characters and two main love interests. Hell, Copelan and Anton had more chemistry with each other than Vasalie did with EITHER of them. Give me a book about those two getting together instead!! 😡

A thank you goes to Del Rey and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review. I wish I had liked it way more than I did. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go play some Baldur’s Gate 3 where some actual character development takes place. 😔

Publication Date: June 10

Overall: 2/5 ⭐️

i’m impressed! a dance of lies is an incredible debut. brittney arena is evidently a beautiful writer. you can feel the love and passion that went into writing this book and it paid off. the world building is immersive and layered, the characters have depth and the plot kept me guessing until the very end.

if you’re looking for a read that will keep you on your toes, this will definitely deliver. it’s full of suspense, political intrigue, betrayal and espionage. it isn’t as heavy on the romance but i actually enjoyed this. i was constantly guessing who was even going to be the love interest. you really get a good sense of who the characters are before any developing feelings begin. this allowed relationships to develop organically and without any sense of urgency.

despite my enjoyment of this book, i did have a few issues that affected my overall enjoyment and prevented me from rating it higher. first issue being the flowery prose. overall, it really is a beautifully written book but the very start of the book was too flowery for my liking. it felt exhausting to read at times. this eased up as the book went on and by the end, it wasn’t an issue for me.

i’m also not sure how to feel about the disability representation. the beginning of the book established vasalie’s symptoms and limitations however, i felt like her chronic illness wasn’t given the some attention towards the end of the book. this felt a little inconsistent to me. the best example i can think of right now is vasalie frequency fainting in the start, but i don’t recall her fainting once at the gathering. those suffering with chronic illnesses aren’t usually afforded the opportunity of picking when and how their symptoms flare. the crux of chronic illness is that it’s relatively uncontrollable and ongoing.

i can’t wait till the next book! i’m excited to see more from brittney arena.

This was a slow start for me, but by the end I was honestly obsessed. It was such a unique fantasy story, like nothing I’ve read before. I loved the disability rep, and that the FMC was a dancer within this world. It felt so different from other fantasy books that I have read. I felt like the story was really well developed by the end and I was enthralled for the entire second half of the book. I really enjoyed all of the background characters and felt so obsessed with the FMC and her love interest once I realized who it was actually going to be. Like I said, it took me a second in the beginning to get invested and connect with the story but I promise it’s worth it. I had a great time reading this and am really looking forward to the next book.

A Dance of Lies is a poetically written novel centered on a dancer who becomes a spy at a rival court. The author’s writing style is lush and lyrical, often beautifully immersive—though at times, it dives too deeply into detail, which can slow the pacing. This book is ideal for romantasy fans who enjoy stories of intrigue, court politics, and especially dance as a central theme. While the love triangle didn’t fully capture my interest, I still appreciated the tension and emotional stakes it brought to the story.

This was a great debut by the author and was a unique read for me with the dancing elements. I struggled to get immersed in the story at the beginning but eventually got hooked! I appreciated seeing disability rep within the novel but felt like the exploration of Vasalie's struggle with her disabilities lessened as the novel went on (I say this as someone who does not struggle with a disability). This may have been due to her gaining strength and agility back as she trained, however at times it felt slightly....off?... that after a grueling day or experience one of the male characters would carry her to her room/safety and there wasn't much commentary on the ramifications or consequences.

I loved the political intrigue with the various Kings, their rivalries and histories. This is another book where a lot of the characters are super unlikeable, but color me intrigued by one in particular. The ending left me gasping and eager for the release of book 2!

Thank you to the publisher Del Ray for providing me with an advanced readers copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Vasalie Moran was a dancer for Illian, the King of the West. She was his Jewel before he framed her for the murder of one of his ministers. Yes, he purposely put her in the dark prison. Until two years later, he gets her out and sends her to dance in the royal Gathering to spy on his brother, the King of the East.

Her mission is simple: report to him about what the King of the East is doing and planning, then Illian will give her freedom. But then, everything escalates quickly when she suddenly also needs to be an assassin as well. How would she survive and get her freedom if all the three kingdoms were ruled by evil and wicked kings like them?

A Dance of Lies starts with mysterious storytelling and the FMC, Vasalie life tragedy. The tension between her and Illian is very strong. The political affairs are also really strong and mysterious that I have never found it in another story.

I feel it is presented like a variation of a puzzle piece on a picture of a puzzle. There is also a mysterious lore which is presented in an abstract way. As for the vibe, this book is paranormal mixed with fantasy in approach semi-medieval gothic.

I never imagined a dancer could become a spy and an assassin. I mean, Vasalie is in a vulnerable state. She is malnutrition and ill, became one of the most important people in history according to this story. She is a very strong female and has become one of my favorite female main characters now.

In the beginning, the villain starts to be introduced in an abstract way and makes the reader wonder who the true villain is. It is lovely mysterious and I adore it! Also, you must be prepared when you read this book because the more chapters you read, the deeper tension you feel.

Plus, suddenly you dance in a ballroom and the next someone tries to kill you. Wow!

The political and war strategy is very great, and also the propaganda is meticulously smooth. Plot twist plus deep sharp betrayal adding this book richer in flavor. I love this book so much, but I warn you, this book has a super-high level of emotional damage and will still haunt you even though you have already finished reading this book a long time ago.

4.5-5⭐️

Okay, I loved this one! It had me completely captivated from beginning to end. It is full of secrets, lies, manipulation, betrayals, scheming, and lots of twists that you don’t see coming! (Okay, I did predict ONE twist/reveal, BUT even that didn’t play out how I had expected it to lol). There are hidden identities, fates and prophecies, court politics, romance, espionage, and suspense! It also is super immersive with beautiful imagery and descriptions that really bring the world and dancing scenes to life.

We have a FMC who was once a King’s prized and pampered dancer before being framed for a murder and thrown in prison for two years. As a result of the treatment received during her imprisonment, she ends up with chronic pain and disability that she has to live with daily. This is particularly a challenge when the King pulls her out of prison to be a dancer at a political summit where she makes a bargain to spy for him to in exchange for her freedom. She is so strong and resilient in overcoming her traumatic past, her wrongful imprisonment, and her resulting disability. She is very resourceful and shows a lot of grit in overcoming her barriers. She is a bit of a morally gray character—there are many moments where she is put in the position of having to betray or hurt others she has come to care for in order to ensure her own survival, even then, she continues to surprise us! It’ll keep you on your toes! When the king’s demands become increasingly dangerous and discordant with her morals, she finds an unlikely ally in his brother.

There is a love triangle (quadrangle? lol)—we have an angsty dance partner full of passion, a charismatic, mysterious, and rakish King who loves to flirt , and another King who is secretive, possessive, and entirely obsessed with her. The story will have you questioning who the main love interest is for a while which is so fun! There is definitely some fun flirting and banter and some steamy chemistry and slow-burn tension.

I think fans of Throne of Glass, particularly the first book, will really enjoy this one as definitely it has some similarities! (Though, this FMC feels very different from Celaena).

I thought the disability/chronic pain representation was done well as far as the internal narrative about it as she adjusts to and has to come to accept and work with her new limitations and overcome barriers. I appreciated her resilience, grit, and resourcefulness! I also loved the beautiful author’s note at the beginning!! (I do feel like the toll on her body and the required recovery between tasks/performances after pushing her body to the limits could’ve perhaps been explored a bit more though).

I thought whole twist with the prophecy towards the end was brilliant. Emotionally devastating in the best way. I’m definitely excited to see where things go in the next book!!

Also, the cover is SOOO gorgeous! 😍
________

The only small (somewhat nitpicky) complaints I had that would make me consider bringing it down from 5⭐️ to 4.5⭐️ were:

-I felt like there were some uncommon word choices (eg. “fettering me in place”, “snarled” hair—like snarled as an adjective rather than a verb, “after the ablutions”) especially in the beginning that felt a little off-putting as far as the writing went (like it just felt like she definitely had a thesaurus handy when she wrote that part lol), but I felt like this got better as it went on and it did not continue to bother me throughout the book.

-I felt like there was opportunity for Illian to have been a bit more of a complex villain—I could see that she tried to add some complexity and have us sympathize with him a little, but then toward the end, she just made him completely unlikable/irredeemable and he just went full villain. I think I would’ve liked to have seen more of a softer side to him… more of a push and pull where you start to think he might be redeemable or question how much we hate him, rather than having him just consistently suck lol. I just feel like that would’ve made his character just a bit more compelling. 🤷‍♀️

-I wasn’t quite as swept away by the romance as I would’ve liked. It felt like there was an abrupt shift in who I felt like I was supposed to be rooting for a little over halfway through the book. For love triangles, I generally prefer to really be torn between who I want her to choose and have them both be pretty compelling love interests for most of the book, rather than focusing on one then pivoting to the other about halfway through. But that’s just a personal preference with that trope. 🤷‍♀️

- I don’t really understand why he picked the nickname “minnow”—that was never explained unless I missed something. It’s it because she’s a little fish in big water or something? Or is it a nod to her resilience since minnows are generally considered resilient and adaptable? (My guess is the latter). 🤷‍♀️


Thank you so much to Del Ray, Random House, NetGalley, and Brittney Arena for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

this almost made me not want to touch another romantasy book for a good while. imo, this didn’t fully deliver as much as i had hoped. our fmc lacked dimension and didn’t really fit well with what the author was trying to seemingly portray.

vasalie is disabled after two years of confinement for a crime she has been wrongly accused of. and while i commend arena for the disability representation, it doesn’t translate well through the fmc. she seems to kind of just go through the motions, no tension, no rightful anger towards her king, nothing. i’m given flowery prose that gets me nowhere.

sometimes i wish we got a good, solid plot with a SOME romance and not the other way around. the premise had so much to work with but it lost my attention with the lack of dialogue and a feeling of telling versus showing me. i’m sure there are other readers which this will definitely cater to but it’s not gonna be me today.

𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 -

This took me longer than I expected to get into but once the twists and turns started coming I was hooked. The authors writing and the lies and deception from all of the characters kept me on the edge of my seat for a good majority of this book. I absolutely devoured the last 15% of this book and am looking forward to the next one after the cliffhanger book one leaves us on

While I'm still not sold on the love interest just yet I'm holding out hope that the second book will add a little more depth to the romance aspect of this story.

In 'A Dance of Lies,' Vasalie was framed for a murder and imprisoned for two years. She is released by the king who framed her if she will be his spy. Vasalie suffers from chronic pain from her imprisonment. Having a MC with a disability was refreshing. As she gets further into the political intrigue, she must decide who to trust. I really enjoyed Arena's writing style and might continue the series. 4 stars.

✨Review✨ A Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena

Brittney Arena’s debut delivers everything I love in a fantasy—high stakes, a heroine with grit, and a world dripping in danger and secrets.

Vasalie Moran is fierce. Once a court dancer, now a shadow forged in survival, she’s pulled into a deadly game of espionage and power. Her strength doesn’t just come from physical survival—it’s her unbreakable will, her sharp mind, and the way she fights for freedom on her own terms.

Arena weaves a world filled with political intrigue, ancient grudges, slow burn romance and chilling revelations. The writing is rich and immersive, with tension that builds. It’s emotional. It’s fierce. And it’s impossible to put down.

–S x

Thank you for sharing a piece of your heart with the world Brittney, I will treasure it 💗

I wish I loved this book.
I really think that my mindset when reading it was the issue for me and not the story it's self. I loved the premise but my attention was not holding. I plan to try a re-read in a few months. I will update my review based on that.
I did love the idea of dividing the counties rulership up by 3 children

I took some issue with the disability rep in this book and it really affected my ability to like it. The writing improved throughout the book but even then, not so great.

⭐️ Rating: 3.75/5
📚 Tropes: disability rep, betrayal & secrets, dancer turned spy, rival kings, court intrigue, low spice but heat & tension
💌 Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!
(I also have the Fairyloot version, which is absolutely stunning)

I struggled to rate this one. There were a lot of things I loved, the banter, the world, the disability rep. But there were also things that made the experience less enjoyable for me: the pacing and the lyrical writing.

Vasalie, as the main character, was interesting. Her resilience is admirable, and her having ups and downs make her more relatable. Especially how she uses dancing as her creative outlet and comes up with ideas was interesting to read.

I mostly struggled with the pacing and writing. Multiple times the lyrical writing just confused me and took away from the overall flow of the book.
" A discordant melody winds around me, low and vibrating. Textured, like the brush of snakeskin. Like the hum of chapel bells during a storm, and there’s no set tune ."
I'm still not sure what this actually means. :(

The book hints at multiple love interests, but it wasn't as annoying as one might think.
I usually hate love triangles, etc., but I didn't mind it here. I just wish we had gotten to know the final love interest more. There were a lot of teasers for a backstory, but we never really learned all of it-just bits and pieces, which made me care less about him.

There wasn't any spice in the book but lots of tension and banter, which I really enjoyed.
" He kissed me like it was inevitable. I suppose we had been dancing around each other all this time, and yet we moved like it was a challenge. "

Overall, I enjoyed the book and will definitely read the second book. I just hope we get less of the lyrical writing in that one.

I sort of panicked when I realised I'd requested a romantasy book, because I have not the greatest track record of enjoying them. This one did surprise me, however.
In particular I really loved how this was written. Arena does such a great job at choosing the right words for whichever description she's trying to, well, describe, and it always evokes just the right emotions. I could clearly picture everything she was trying to show and it was a super easy read as well.
I was entirely behind the plot for the first 50% or so, perhaps a bit further than that. I was intrigued about our main characters circumstances, and she wasn't starting to irritate me just yet. When she starts jumping to conclusions and making very strange decisions that she randomly makes up in her head is when I started to lose her. Everyone is also very obsessed with her, despite the fact that she is merely one dancer amongst many. There was some cool world building elements as well, such as the focus on one particular deity with a very cool twist to her, but it doesn't dive much deeper than that into the world and religious elements.
I think there were simply too many men in this book. I really yearned for our main character to make some more female friends, because the ones she talks about are either left behind or dead, and there really were too many men to keep track of. It didn't help that I didn't care for many of them, and the ones I did like were sidelined for the love interest that I really did not like at all.
The writing was on the wall for which love interest she would choose; there really was not a compelling love triangle here at all. I found it very obvious who she would prefer and, unfortunately, I was correct. He did a lot of talking and not much doing, and as soon as he came out with a cringey nickname for her I was so over him. There's some good side characters here that I would've loved to have explored more in this almost 450 page book.
The plot was interesting when we were being drip-fed information, but I did find it fairly easy to guess plot twists and subversions in the narrative. Absolutely nowhere near the worst romantasy plot holes galore that I've seen before.

I have tried to read this 3 times over the course of a few months and I keep soft DNFing.

I can’t explain HOW excited I was for this book. I have POTS and other chronic illnesses and was soooo excited to see myself in the FMC.

The first chapter - obsessed. I love a good prison/ surviving vibe. However; the writing was really hard for me to get into. It was very flowery and just too much for my brain to process. I also found the plot, mentions of the past and symptoms to be repetitive and confusing. I also don’t understand the need to throw flour while dancing …

It was great to see her push through her struggles with chronic illnesses for her freedom, but overall the plot could not hold me interested enough to watch it play out.