A review by chellseed
The Chalice and the Crown by Kassandra Flamouri

5.0

*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Wow. This book took me on a wild ride. I went into this book not knowing what to expect.

The Chalice and the Crown is a book that gets very dark at times. Our main character is Sasha Nikolayeva, a ballerina following in her Mother, and Grandmothers footsteps. She has been chosen to be the lead in Swan Lake, and as pressure builds we see a bit of Black Swan style psychological pressure, as Sasha’s mind starts to unravel she struggles with memory loss and understanding what is real and what isn’t. She finds herself in a whole other world where she, and others like her are no more than slaves., or “Thralls” mindless, and obedient, these slaves exist solely to do the bidding of those that own them. The people in the City of Roses have no idea that underneath, these slaves are real people.

I really had a lot of feelings reading this book. First, I need to praise the author for a job well done, while reading this I really felt that fear, and terror while Sasha was breaking down. The tension felt so heavy. Throughout the book I felt like I was holding my breath through moments of suspense. I also want to mention that although this book started out by having subtle similarities of some of the themes found in Black Swan, it quickly transformed into something beautifully original. I would love to see more in this world!!