Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
Not starting the new year off strong...the fact that this is billed as a mystery/thriller is what made me so excited to read it, but that categorization and the description of the book as something "Black Swan" esque is WILDLY inaccurate. While the setting and characters of the ballet are interesting, the book comes off as an overtly feminist critique on SOMETHING that I just couldn't specify even by the time I was done. I appreciated the themes, but readers should not expect the plot to resemble a thriller or a mystery by any stretch.
This story definitely has some unexpected twists I did not see coming.
Told from two different points in time, the story doesn’t give anything big away until close to the end and builds well. It has a women’s fiction feel for most of the novel. You get a real feel into the pressures young dancers go through and how cut throat it can be in the industry.
The characters themselves are very different and alike all at the same time. Delphine is one of those people that cares about others a lot but also can’t see when she’s only putting herself first over others. While Margaux acts tough and won’t let anyone push her around. And last Lindsay q naturally talented dancer who is willing to do what it takes to get where she needs to be in her career no matter who it hurts. The personalities are done so well that it helps build an intense tale of the pressures in youth and adulthood alike.
The Ballerinas is an interesting read full of drama and intrigue. I recommend this one if your looking for something a little more women’s fiction.
NARRATION REVIEW
I really liked the audiobook version as well as the novel format. Ell Potter’s voice really brought the characters to life for me and it really suited the main character well. It was a slower paced audiobook though with a lot of slow spread out reading. This is the one thing I didn’t enjoy as much until I sped up the track.
Overall it was a well done narration and I would recommend it as much as the novel format.
I received an advanced digital and audiobook copy through netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Told from two different points in time, the story doesn’t give anything big away until close to the end and builds well. It has a women’s fiction feel for most of the novel. You get a real feel into the pressures young dancers go through and how cut throat it can be in the industry.
The characters themselves are very different and alike all at the same time. Delphine is one of those people that cares about others a lot but also can’t see when she’s only putting herself first over others. While Margaux acts tough and won’t let anyone push her around. And last Lindsay q naturally talented dancer who is willing to do what it takes to get where she needs to be in her career no matter who it hurts. The personalities are done so well that it helps build an intense tale of the pressures in youth and adulthood alike.
The Ballerinas is an interesting read full of drama and intrigue. I recommend this one if your looking for something a little more women’s fiction.
NARRATION REVIEW
I really liked the audiobook version as well as the novel format. Ell Potter’s voice really brought the characters to life for me and it really suited the main character well. It was a slower paced audiobook though with a lot of slow spread out reading. This is the one thing I didn’t enjoy as much until I sped up the track.
Overall it was a well done narration and I would recommend it as much as the novel format.
I received an advanced digital and audiobook copy through netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
What in the world was the ending of this book? Did not like. Do not recommend.
a slow start, but it certainly picked up in the end. while there were some beautiful and thought provoking passages, i highly doubt i'll remember much about this in a few months.
The Ballerinas is about a dancer named Delphine. The story unfolds in two timelines, one in the past, one in the present. The past is her career as a ballerina, the present is her career as a choreographer for the ballet. She goes back to Paris from St. Petersburg, reuniting with people from her adolescence, mainly Margaux and Lindsay.
The cast of characters were layered, each one coming to life off the page. They each had their own personality and were very different, which I appreciate. I enjoyed reading about the highs and lows of Delphine's life, especially her relationships with Margaux and Lindsay. There was a lot of complexity in the characters and the story.
The twist really did catch me off guard and I really, really liked that! I've gotten better at seeing things coming in books but I really didn't see *that* coming at all.
This was almost a 4 star read but the whole time I was reading, as much as I enjoyed myself, I was waiting for SOMETHING. I don't know what. And then there's this:
The cast of characters were layered, each one coming to life off the page. They each had their own personality and were very different, which I appreciate. I enjoyed reading about the highs and lows of Delphine's life, especially her relationships with Margaux and Lindsay. There was a lot of complexity in the characters and the story.
The twist really did catch me off guard and I really, really liked that! I've gotten better at seeing things coming in books but I really didn't see *that* coming at all.
This was almost a 4 star read but the whole time I was reading, as much as I enjoyed myself, I was waiting for SOMETHING. I don't know what. And then there's this:
Spoiler
the "big" secret that Delphine and Margaux kept from Lindsay all those years was resolved so, so simply. I understand that it was explained that Lindsay knew the whole time and that she forgave them but it felt underwhelming as a reader.
it’s giving everything but the kitchen sink. it seemed like every trigger and plot line was crammed into this story unnecessarily. nothing really seemed and felt seamless tbh. plus, it was so slow in the beginning and just took too long to take off.
this book also suffers from not being marketed correctly. the “mystery” and “thrilling” aspects were neither mysterious or thrilling. this could just be slotted into the fiction genre.
this book also suffers from not being marketed correctly. the “mystery” and “thrilling” aspects were neither mysterious or thrilling. this could just be slotted into the fiction genre.
It was good, but a bit more drawn out than I think it needed to be.
Delphine has recently returned to the Paris Opera Ballet, eager to begin work on the new production she is choreographing. While Delphine is no longer a professional ballerina, she is still immersed in the world of dance. In Rachel Kapelke-Dale’s debut novel, The Ballerinas, we are taken deep into a world that makes up the childhood dreams of so many. “When I grow up, I want to be a ballerina.” While the world of professional ballet is full of beauty, grace, style, and intrigue, it surely has a dark side, as well.
Through the main character, Delphine, as well as her dear friends Stella, Lindsay, and Margaux, Kapelke-Dale makes an incredibly powerful statement about how women are treated - not just in the world of dance, but in the world - period. Not afraid to tackle some tough situations, she wrote a beautiful story while sending a vital message.
I thought the book was excellent. Well-written and thoroughly-researched, Kapelke-Dale also knows how to create characters with depth and personality. No one in this novel is perfect, but Delphine and her friends are women I want to go to brunch with, intelligent women who know who they are and what they want.
This one comes out December 7, 2021. I highly recommend you pick it up, especially if you’re a woman in your 30s or 40s who may be realizing that life isn’t quite panning out the way we hoped it would. This book is a great reminder to never lose sight of who you are and what you’re capable of. Also a good reminder of the importance of brunch. Don’t ever go too long without going to brunch with your crew.
Thanks to Rachel Kapelke-Dale, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.
Through the main character, Delphine, as well as her dear friends Stella, Lindsay, and Margaux, Kapelke-Dale makes an incredibly powerful statement about how women are treated - not just in the world of dance, but in the world - period. Not afraid to tackle some tough situations, she wrote a beautiful story while sending a vital message.
I thought the book was excellent. Well-written and thoroughly-researched, Kapelke-Dale also knows how to create characters with depth and personality. No one in this novel is perfect, but Delphine and her friends are women I want to go to brunch with, intelligent women who know who they are and what they want.
This one comes out December 7, 2021. I highly recommend you pick it up, especially if you’re a woman in your 30s or 40s who may be realizing that life isn’t quite panning out the way we hoped it would. This book is a great reminder to never lose sight of who you are and what you’re capable of. Also a good reminder of the importance of brunch. Don’t ever go too long without going to brunch with your crew.
Thanks to Rachel Kapelke-Dale, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.
This book explores the damage done to women in the world of ballet and it does it well. With similar ambitions but very different paths, Delphine, Lindsay and Margeaux were complex, interesting and flawed characters that I couldn’t get enough of. I wouldn’t say that I truly liked any of them though which shows how well they were written. Kapelke-Dale does an excellent job of showing the up and downs of female friendships. Jumping between timelines was very effective and it allowed Delphine’s story to be peeled back slowly without revealing too much at once. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a mystery/psychological thriller but more of a emotional, character-driven story with small elements of a thrill. Overall, I highly recommend for anyone fascinated by ballet.
An interesting book. I hated the main character for about half of the novel, but she did grow on me. Phenomenally twisted ending.