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maddiestar's review
4.0
Read this in one sitting. I love the premise, the plot, and THAT COVER! It contains all the elements I love. However, I was left wanting a bit more answers than I got. I recommend this, to anyone who loves a dark thriller behind a backdrop of ballet.
macmower's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
twinkletashi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
The Midnight Dance revolves around seventeen-year-old Penelope/Penny, a lead dancer at the Grand Teatro, where she and other eleven young women are training to become the finest ballerinas in Italy.
The plot is quite unique and enjoyable with the element of sci-fi despite the setting that takes place in 1800s. Nonetheless, I hope there are a few more details on the settings.
As for the characters, I don’t hate nor like Penny. She is the common YA character who’s strong and brave yet unremarkable. Then, there’s Master, who I found quite creepy despite being describes as mysterious and handsome young Master.
This book can be considered as fast paced yet there are certain parts that are quite boring, hence, I ended up skimming those pages.
Overall, this book is quite great as I couldn’t stop reading because there were a lot of questions revolving the main characters and the secrets behind the school.
The plot is quite unique and enjoyable with the element of sci-fi despite the setting that takes place in 1800s. Nonetheless, I hope there are a few more details on the settings.
As for the characters, I don’t hate nor like Penny. She is the common YA character who’s strong and brave yet unremarkable. Then, there’s Master, who I found quite creepy despite being describes as mysterious and handsome young Master.
This book can be considered as fast paced yet there are certain parts that are quite boring, hence, I ended up skimming those pages.
Overall, this book is quite great as I couldn’t stop reading because there were a lot of questions revolving the main characters and the secrets behind the school.
gracew's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
allisonhollingsworth's review
3.0
I was really excited when I found out I won this book in a giveaway, so thank you, Goodreads!
I saw this book lots of places and I have to admit, I was really drawn in by the cover and when I started the book I didn't know anything about it other than it involved dancers. Let me tell you that this book is not about dance at all. Instead, I was taken on a journey about this girl in the 1800s who doesn't know she's being brainwashed. It was all so very jarring, I tell you. The book was intriguing in that Penny is trying to figure out who she really is and finding herself. But at the end of the book, I still don't get a sense of who she is. I know that she doesn't like dance, and I know she loves her family and her sister - who we don't hear about until toward the end of the novel - but what else makes Penny, Penny? I felt that was lacking in the story and would have made her quest of finding herself that much more powerful. Instead, I found myself having a hard time feeling invested in her character. The relationship with Cricket helped. He brought out small pieces of her, and I'm always a sucker for old friends turned lovers trope. I needed more information about Master, too. I believe there's more to his past and to what he did than just being made fun of by his sister. I would have loved to explore more of that, but the writer did do a great job of making him creepy! But I have to say my favorite character in the whole book was Alidoro. I felt that he had the most personality and I would totally read a story about him:
Penny, to Alidoro: "You've proven yourself to be quite resourceful. What did you do now?"
Alidoro: "A better question might be, what didn't I do?"
I saw this book lots of places and I have to admit, I was really drawn in by the cover and when I started the book I didn't know anything about it other than it involved dancers. Let me tell you that this book is not about dance at all. Instead, I was taken on a journey about this girl in the 1800s who doesn't know she's being brainwashed. It was all so very jarring, I tell you. The book was intriguing in that Penny is trying to figure out who she really is and finding herself. But at the end of the book, I still don't get a sense of who she is. I know that she doesn't like dance, and I know she loves her family and her sister - who we don't hear about until toward the end of the novel - but what else makes Penny, Penny? I felt that was lacking in the story and would have made her quest of finding herself that much more powerful. Instead, I found myself having a hard time feeling invested in her character. The relationship with Cricket helped. He brought out small pieces of her, and I'm always a sucker for old friends turned lovers trope. I needed more information about Master, too. I believe there's more to his past and to what he did than just being made fun of by his sister. I would have loved to explore more of that, but the writer did do a great job of making him creepy! But I have to say my favorite character in the whole book was Alidoro. I felt that he had the most personality and I would totally read a story about him:
Penny, to Alidoro: "You've proven yourself to be quite resourceful. What did you do now?"
Alidoro: "A better question might be, what didn't I do?"
kez91's review against another edition
2.0
2.5* I was really interested in the premise of this book, and the promise of a "dark and twisted" narrative, but it didn't quite deliver. It started off straight into the story, in a way that almost felt like I started a few chapters in. The characters were all pretty flat, and the plot just didn't really make sense at times. So much didn't even and up, and seemed to just be there for drama or intrigue. It was never really explained why Master decided to take these girls and put them in a ballet school, the explanation for Beppe's involvement was weak, and it was weird the way Cricket just hung around and never really said anything about what was going on until Penny uncovered it herself. In terms of characterisation this book was pretty lacking, which is shame because it had an interesting premise. It was fairly entertaining as an easy read, but I wouldn't reread or rave about it.
always13lwwy's review
3.0
It’s about damn time I finished this lol. I’m upset because I expected so much from it. It’s gorgeous and I expected it to be more of a twelve dancing princesses twist and yeah it was sort of that but it wasn’t. And the actual plot was fantastic I just don’t think it was told we’ll enough to fully understand it all.
alli_the_bookaholic13's review
3.0
This one started out pretty slow for me, but I felt like I was more engaged in the second half. I don’t know if the plot picked up, or if I was just more interested because things felt like they were actually happening.
I thought it was a decent read, but I probably wouldn’t pick it up again. It felt a bit disconnected and fragmented at times, and part of that was because of the memories, but it also felt like it just wasn’t quite what it was trying to be. I thought the writing was good, but I couldn’t connect to any of the characters. It’s a pretty short book, but I wish that there had been more done with the characters and the plot because it had potential. I especially wish that Master’s motivations had been examined in more depth, and that Penny’s character felt a bit more solid and realistic. I admired Penny’s determination throughout the book. The romance was a cute subplot to follow, but it didn’t feel realistic for the time period and I kept forgetting this was supposed to be historical.
Overall, it was good but there were some issues.
I thought it was a decent read, but I probably wouldn’t pick it up again. It felt a bit disconnected and fragmented at times, and part of that was because of the memories, but it also felt like it just wasn’t quite what it was trying to be. I thought the writing was good, but I couldn’t connect to any of the characters. It’s a pretty short book, but I wish that there had been more done with the characters and the plot because it had potential. I especially wish that Master’s motivations had been examined in more depth, and that Penny’s character felt a bit more solid and realistic. I admired Penny’s determination throughout the book. The romance was a cute subplot to follow, but it didn’t feel realistic for the time period and I kept forgetting this was supposed to be historical.
Overall, it was good but there were some issues.
jaimien's review
4.0
I really loved this book. I say 4 stars, but really closer to 4 1/2.
It was fun to read a ballet book that didn't focus on the ballet (even though I do love ballet), and to discover it was really more about the dark undertones at the school and the strange experiments that "Master" has been doing. It had a wonderful gothic feel to it, and I enjoyed the flashback storyline interspersed throughout the book. I really enjoyed the main character and the lack of control she felt throughout the story. I also enjoyed the romance subplot, because while it happened fairly quickly, there was also an explanation for that. Overall I definitely would recommend this as it was a dark, unique story and just a fun read.
It was fun to read a ballet book that didn't focus on the ballet (even though I do love ballet), and to discover it was really more about the dark undertones at the school and the strange experiments that "Master" has been doing. It had a wonderful gothic feel to it, and I enjoyed the flashback storyline interspersed throughout the book. I really enjoyed the main character and the lack of control she felt throughout the story. I also enjoyed the romance subplot, because while it happened fairly quickly, there was also an explanation for that. Overall I definitely would recommend this as it was a dark, unique story and just a fun read.
ladykatiereads's review against another edition
4.0
*Actual Rating- 3.5
I was granted access to this title through NetGalley, but all opinions written here are my own. I was intrigued by The Midnight Dance because there's a ballerina on the cover, and I dance, so yeah I wanted to read it haha! I was not expecting this to be a super intense fantasy/steam punk standalone, so prepare yourselves for that if you pick this book up.
Read my full spoiler-free review here: https://ladykatiereads.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/lets-talk-about-the-midnight-dance-by-nikki-katz
I was granted access to this title through NetGalley, but all opinions written here are my own. I was intrigued by The Midnight Dance because there's a ballerina on the cover, and I dance, so yeah I wanted to read it haha! I was not expecting this to be a super intense fantasy/steam punk standalone, so prepare yourselves for that if you pick this book up.
Read my full spoiler-free review here: https://ladykatiereads.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/lets-talk-about-the-midnight-dance-by-nikki-katz