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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
🩰 female friendships
🩰 ambition v sacrifice
🩰 systemic sexism
🩰 ambition v sacrifice
🩰 systemic sexism
I enjoyed learning about the world of ballet while reading this book. I have never danced but I feel like this is exactly how it would be. This book has powerful female friendships, complicated relationships, a little LGTBQ+, and a lot of dancing!
My only complaint about this book is that it was a little slow. There was a secret that happened when the girls were young but you don't find out what it is until pretty far into the book.
My only complaint about this book is that it was a little slow. There was a secret that happened when the girls were young but you don't find out what it is until pretty far into the book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
No suspense, no mystery, no thrill - just bland from start to finish. The characters are all unlikeable and the story is slow to start, but even once it does get going it’s kind of all over the place. I guess I’m just not really into ballet, but this book didn’t do anything at all to challenge my disinterest.
This book was fine, but the synopsis will make a lot of people dislike it. It is billed as a thriller, which it is not. The many mentions of what Delphine did are revealed and it is like hmm? That's it? After the build up?
Critiques aside it is not a bad read but should probably be described differently.
Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review
Critiques aside it is not a bad read but should probably be described differently.
Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review
I love anything to do with ballet, so I was excited to get this novel marketed as a thriller starring ballerinas. Sadly, there wasn't much thrill to it. The first half of the book was sluggish. When things picked up in the second half, I felt like the book couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be.
I think this is the best book I ever read. The writing is so incredible I post it notes so many pages. It’s such a beautiful book about life, death, friendship, love, passion, success and failure. I would recommend it to anyone.
This one took a while to get into, but the second half was pretty engaging. Alternating between the late 90's/early 2000's and the year 2018, this book tells the story of Delphine, a former Paris Opera Ballet (POB) ballerina turned choreographer who is returning to Paris the age of 36 after living and working in Russia for a decade. With her return comes a chance to reunite with her two best friends, Margaux and Lindsay.
Delphine has returned with a contract to choreograph a ballet in hopes of making a name for herself. More than that, she hopes to right some wrongs from her past, to make up for secrets she has carried with her. But in a world where perfection is expected, ballerinas with the same ambitions are bound to a competition in which others don't always play fair.
I really appreciated some of the facets of female friendship that this book explored. That being said, I feel like I had no idea where the plot was going for the first 100 pages or so. I don't know if that was strategic or not. It was interesting to learn that the author currently lives in Paris and was trained in ballet for many years, so she certainly knew what she was writing about!!
Delphine has returned with a contract to choreograph a ballet in hopes of making a name for herself. More than that, she hopes to right some wrongs from her past, to make up for secrets she has carried with her. But in a world where perfection is expected, ballerinas with the same ambitions are bound to a competition in which others don't always play fair.
I really appreciated some of the facets of female friendship that this book explored. That being said, I feel like I had no idea where the plot was going for the first 100 pages or so. I don't know if that was strategic or not. It was interesting to learn that the author currently lives in Paris and was trained in ballet for many years, so she certainly knew what she was writing about!!
A lot of movement in this book means something for everyone, but could also deter those who want to settle in for a particular genre (ie drama, female friendships, thriller, etc)
Another very powerful tale of women and the obstacles they face in their professional and personal lives. However, this particular story takes us into the Paris Opera Ballet and spans decades of how the world of ballet can create both opportunities and obstacles for those "lucky" ballerinas.
I really enjoyed this. The alternating timelines created a yearning for more--I was always left wanting more info. Kapelke-Dale's writing is BEAUTIFUL. Not only was the story compelling, but the writing was gorgeous and amazingly insightful.
Highly, highly recommend.
I really enjoyed this. The alternating timelines created a yearning for more--I was always left wanting more info. Kapelke-Dale's writing is BEAUTIFUL. Not only was the story compelling, but the writing was gorgeous and amazingly insightful.
Highly, highly recommend.