The Rhythm of My Soul

Set in a (fictional) ballet school in England, this first book in a series alternates points of view between Taryn, an aroace ballerina, Teddy, her best friend and usual partner, and Jaidev, who's called from France to become Taryn's new partner when Teddy finds out he has a serious, career-ending illness.
Both Taryn and Jaidev have tragedy in their past, and there's a mysterious bully trying to ruin their present too so, with all that plus Teddy's illness, the general tone of the novel is quite dark, but I enjoyed it anyway. I particularly liked the fact it's not entirely centred on a ballerina (danseurs may be less numerous but they deserve to be treated as more than just those who are there to lift their partners or be used as a kind of barre), although Taryn is a great main character (especially as she's aroace and a good enough actor to fake the romance required for her roles but still worried that she wouldn't be trusted to do it right if people knew).
I really liked all three main characters (plus some others) and the whole ballet school/company setting, so I'll definitely read the next book too.

Wow. I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. And I absolutely LOVED it.
Such a fabulous well crafted story. With writing that had me flipping the pages quickly.
Such an extraordinary and surprising read. Absolutely adored this one.
The characters are utterly captivating and complex.
Overall, a compelling read that is beautifully put together as it is emotionally satisfying.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Ineja Press through NetGalley.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Rhythm of My Soul was unlike any other book I’ve read for Crumpled Bookshelf. Elin Dyer presents the cutthroat world of professional dancing with all its darkness and yet with a spirit of hope and perseverance.

Once I got past the first few chapters of the book, I was hooked. It took me some time to acclimate with the environment and the scenarios in the book, but the wait for the thrill to begin was worth it.

This book brought many first for me as a reader. As an LGBTQIA book, it offers a deep understanding of the spectrum of human personality and existence. The Rhythm of My Soul which is the first book in the Roseheart Ballet Academy series also brings into the light the burdens of success where vacancies are very few.

The book presented something so wide that I cannot even begin to comprehend the ability of the author to pull readers into a world that is as enticing as it is dangerous.

Before I go towards the plot, it should be mentioned that the book also has themes that may be triggers for many people. These include Eating Disorders, Mental Harassment, Physical Violence, Mentions of Sexual Violence, Death, Drug Addiction, Physical Trauma and severe health conditions.

Taryn, Teddy and Jaidev are at very different places in their individual lives but are connected through various similarities and Ballet. They have all seen death closely and have been affected by the situations, and changed forever.

The story focused on the dynamics of a dancer’s path to success with all the ups and downs of the physical and mental strains it puts on the dancer. The author has beautifully painted a wave of emotions in the book through words and dance.

I am in love with Dancing, but to read a book, where it is the focal point of so many lives and has the power to make or break them is very daunting. The book almost feels like a salute to all the dancers in the world who have made it far with their talent.

The book was pure beauty. Not a perfect one, but a beauty nonetheless. The story was hauntingly beautiful and engaging. The designers of the book cover deserve praise for being able to give us a glimpse of the Taryn brought alive by Elin Dyer.

Thank You Ineja Press for allowing me to read the book and presenting such a talented author to the world.

Happy Reading!

*The review is live on Crumpled Bookshelf (2nd January, 2022)

This was a compelling read about three ballet dancers at an elite (fictional) dance academy/ company, two of whom are AceAro.

When one of them, Teddy, collapses at their end of year performance, his dance partner Taryn must learn to perform with a new partner from a different school, Jaidev, if she wants to be accepted into the company. She must also deal with a mystery person who has made it clear they don't want her and Jaidev there.

The three main characters were well-fleshed out - each sharing a love of dance and a goal of dancing professionally, but for differing reasons.

One of my favourite parts about this book was that there were two AceAro main characters, on different parts of the spectrum, and this gave the story room to explore these differences in experiences.

Both Taryn & Jaidev have faced tragedy in the past, and their grief and survivor's guilt is explored with care and tact. The final letter to Jaidev regarding this hit me right in the feels - though I can't explain more without spoilers.

Teddy's POV could be frustrating to read at times, because his thought process and goals were obviously flawed from an outsider perspective. However, they are understandable and realistic for a 18 year old who has had his life & career goals entirely flipped over, and is struggling with a newly diagnosed health condition and an eating disorder.

Now, I can't speak for the accuracy of the portrayal of a ballet dancing academy/ company, but as someone with very little knowledge of the world, this book did a good job of portraying to me the intensity and passion in these circumstances, and how this can effect the health (both physical and mental) of those involved.

A small issue was I did slightly lose track sometimes of who was who amongst the other students etc. Particularly the ones who only played a small part in the story, but feel like this is somewhat unavoidable in a story in a school setting.

But overall, this was an enjoyable read that I'd recommend for anyone looking for a story in dance setting or with AceAro characters.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

Really a very nice story and start of the book series. I think the cover looks really beautiful and is a perfect fit for the story. The writing style is really nice and I enjoyed reading it a lot. What I really loved was the drama, tensions and twists and the way Taryn fights for her dream even though it's a hard way. I like that it's a little darker than I imagined it to be and I'm already
curious how the second book will be.

The Rhythm Of My Soul by Elin Dyer is the first in a planned series set in the fictional English ballet school of Roseheart. The story is told through the perspectives of three main characters. Taryn and Teddy have been dance partners for years, and their shared experiences, both as dancers and people on the Ace spectrum have made them close friends. As the best dancers in their year they are virtually guaranteed the coveted places in the professional troupe which are awarded at the end of the Graduation Class show. When an unfortunate accident happens during their final showcase dance, it looks like both their dreams may be over. Enter Jaidev Ngo, a talented French danseur who had turned his back on the stage in his home town but is reluctantly persuaded to give it another chance when his adoptive mother is involved in a terrible accident. Can Taryn and Jaidev learn to partner in just eight short weeks to a high enough standard? All three characters are dealing with their own struggles and secrets, some of which could endanger their health or even their lives, and the dynamics between the trio are often fraught with complications and misunderstandings.
This was a fascinating glimpse into the world of professional ballet and the dedication and determination that is required to make it to the top. The characters were sympathetic and believable, and I loved the fact that even though two of them were on the Aro/Ace spectrum their experiences and emotions were very different, showing just how wide that spectrum can be.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
CW: mild violence, mention of sexual assault (no description), multiple characters with eating disorders (goes pretty in depth into the thought processes of one character in particular, so I might caution people who struggle with disordered eating)

The Rhythm of my Soul is a book that centers on three ballet dancers. Best friends Taryn and Teddy are students at the prestigious Roseheart Ballet Academy. When Teddy becomes injured during a performance, Taryn suddenly needs to find a new dance partner to secure her dream job. Enter Jaidev, a talented outsider with a past that haunts him. Together, Taryn and Jaidev must go through grueling training to prove to Roseheart that they deserve spots in the company. Like Jaidev, Taryn also has a past tragedy in her life she has not fully recovered from, and she’s also hiding that she is aromatic and asexual, a fact that only Teddy (who is also aroace) knows. Ballet is more cutthroat than you might think, and there are several dancers who don’t want to see the pair succeed—at any cost. Meanwhile, Teddy is fighting his own battles with physical and mental illness, coming to grips with the fact that a new diagnosis means he will never dance again.
I could not put this book down! There were so many twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was balanced with really thoughtful musings on mental illness (especially disordered eating), friendship, guilt, and sexual/romantic orientation. These are some big, weighty topics, but the author does a fabulous job addressing them thoroughly and thoughtfully. The characters all felt fleshed out, and even if they were flawed, I could understand their motivations for doing what they did. They never felt like caricatures; every character was as complex as people are in real life. It can be really difficult to find books with protagonists on the asexual spectrum (it seems like the author may have a few other books with ace-spec protagonists, which I’m definitely going to check out!), and I loved that the author included three different ace-spec characters with good discussion on how they all differed from one another. I find that allo people really struggle to understand asexuality, and I appreciated how the author showed the diversity of the label and explained sexual attraction vs. desire for romance in a great way.

The only thing that’s keeping me from giving this book five stars is that sometimes it felt like there was too much action. It felt like there was just misfortune after misfortune. I started to get a bit weary of one life-threatening problem resolving and then another immediately occurring. Some of the incidents definitely had narrative purpose, so I didn’t mind much (and like I said, I loved the thriller aspects of the novel!), but others felt like tragedy for the sake of tragedy. Without going into too much spoiler-y detail, there was one subplot in particular that involved an “offscreen” sexual assault that probably could’ve been removed while still preserving the plot and the character development. To be fair, the author seemed self-aware about how much catastrophe there was; at one point, a character remarks that they just seem to keep returning the hospital over and over again. This very well may just be a matter of personal taste, though, and this minor detail did not detract from an otherwise engaging, compelling, and thoughtful novel. Highly recommend to people who are looking for a book with thriller/mystery aspects that doesn’t skimp on thoughtful character development and queer representation.

4/5 stars

The Rhythm of my soul takes place at the prestigious Roseheart Acadamy, a Ballett school specialising in pas de deux. It’s told from the perspective of three dancers there: Tamryn, Teddy and Jaidev, all three of them harbouring a secret of their own.
Tamryn and Teddy are dance partners ans aim for permanent spots in Rosehearts Company but then an accident seems to destroy that chance. In comes Jaidev and at least Tamryn has another shot.
While it focuses on those three, the reader also gets to know other students and family members of the main characters.

The story is pretty fast paced and a lot happened during that time. What I like a lot is that all three secrets are resolved in the end and while the book ends on a kind of cliffhanger, it’s not required to read the following books too (if I understood correctly the other books will be focusing on the other dancers).
There were quite a few ballett terms (duh) and while I love Ballett I don’t know the meaning of them. Nevertheless the terms weren’t explained which I quite liked. I always feel that an explanation disturbs the reading pace so if you need to have everything explained and don’t want to Google yourself, better skip this book.
Two of the three main characters are aroace which isn’t something I’m familiar with and while I missed a stereotypical romance it didn’t take away from the story.
There’s also quite a bit of eating disorders mentioned, so if you’re triggered by this, don’t read this book.
What I didn’t like was that so many of these people had to mourn a death. Maybe I was lucky to not have the people around me dying but it seemed like all the relatives of dead people were in that school.

All in all it was an entertaining read and if I can get my hands on the second book, I’ll read that too.

This was a gripping read that I just couldnt put down. It was suspenseful with good writing, good pacing, well developed characters and a good storyline. I really enjoyed it.