This fell flat for me. It felt like the characters were being held at arms distance—I never got close enough to be attached or care about their lives. The main plot was sprung too early, which made feel forced into a place of attachment that I wasn’t ready to be in. The world didn’t quite feel fleshed out enough to be solid. I love retellings—this one was just too weak.

After assisting with a dance recital at a local performing arts high school, I have a new found appreciation for the amount of work and dedication it takes to be a ballerina. Often times we just think of the fluffy tutus and pointe shoes, forgetting that there are hours spent practicing holds and routines, mangled toes, and physical (and sometimes emotional) fatigue.

The Midnight Dance did a fair job of showing those elements of the art form while maintaining the mystery behind the fairytale retelling.

The setting was especially great. Grande Teatro was just the right combination of eerie and elegant. The descriptions of life inside of the finishing school maintained the mysterious nature of Master and lives of the girls. There were plenty of beautiful descriptions mixed in as well that really helped my active imagination set the stage for this story.

It took a bit to work through some of the plot elements, though. For me, some parts seemed rushed and not really fleshed out. I did like the twists that were thrown in, even if they were a bit predictable.

Overall, it was an original take on one of my favorite fairytales, and I think it's worth a read.

I was intrigued by the cover and the premise of the book but the actual book itself was kind of disappointing. I didn’t really grow to care about any of the characters in the book which was a shame as I then didn’t really care if they got out of their predicament or not. I also felt like this story progressed very slowly and it took me a while to get through. I left the book being just as confused as I started this book as a lot of things didn’t really make sense to me.

I give this book a 1 out of 5 stars.

This book is a perfect historically set contemporary fantasy novel. The elements of the 1800s Italy were beautiful. The characters were rich and the romance stunning.

Ah, Swoon Reads, here we are, doing this dance once again. You have a beautiful cover and promising premise and I know better, but oh I just cannot resist your allure. I cannot quit you, Swoon Reads, but sometimes I want to. The Midnight Dance is Dollhouse meets the Chemical Garden trilogy, and it’s okay but it’s not great.


Early on, I actually found myself oddly captivated by The Midnight Dance. I found the writing pleasant and easy to consume, and something about it made me want to keep reading, despite not being especially into the characters or story. So that’s good, because it means I might try more Katz in the future.

First warning, don’t come for the ballet, because there’s actually not much ballet in here. And the MC hates ballet, so it’s really not about that. It’s basically like if the dolls from Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse were only tasked to be ballerinas. Which is kind of cool, except I have so many questions. Why does this dude have so much money to spend on this? Because this is a costly operation and putting on the occasional ballet just cannot bring in that much dough. His evil plan is a harem of ballerinas, which is creepy af, but we’re not exactly talking world domination here and also why ballerinas? I know why he’s obsessed with tech but I do not get the ballet connection at all.

Romance-wise, this is so completely Chemical Garden. Penny (it’s not weird for me to have to look her name up bc my memory but I actually don’t even recognize her name two weeks later, so yeah not the most memorable book tbh) is realizing that something’s weird, because she’s starting to have memories that don’t fit her life. She’s basically been trained to be into stockholm syndrome creep dude, but she’s got ~feelings~ for the cute house boy, Cricket. There is no chemistry any which way, and I really didn’t care about this.

The Midnight Dance really just needed more: more characterization, more pizzazz, more dancing, and way more world building. I kind of enjoyed reading it, but I forgot it again almost immediately after. By no means the worst Swoon Reads has offered, but not particularly satisfying.

Not compelling or satisfying reading, lacks good characters and suspense.

I wish I hadn't had such high hopes for this book! It seemed like it was going to have everything I could want in a book; ballet, mystery, dark romance... but it fell so flat.

I saw another person who reviewed this book ( if I find their review, I'll link it here) who said that what made this book so not good for them is they had to keep asking "why." Why ballet, why with one of the love stories, why Italy, why in the mid 1800's??? And that is exactly how I feel! It's like the author had this amazing concept/idea for a story, but did not know how to flesh it out properly.

I just found myself frustrated with so many aspects of this book. Firstly with Penelope, the MC. Her voice was irritating and I wish we weren't reading from her POV. She had horrible decision making skills, to the point of being completely unbelievable. And I just know that the only reason she made the choices she did was to make the plot move forward. Which is just... no. I was also frustrated with the ending. So many parts of it were just WAY too convenient. Again, to the point of being unbelievable.

I just don't think everything about this book was thought through. I forgot characters' names as soon as they left, some of Penelope and Cricket's choices were just stupid, and the flashbacks weren't a necessary way to make us understand the back story.

Cricket was the only thing I liked about this book. Boy was a-freaking-dorable.

Overall I just wanted the book to be over, after about 60% through the book I found myself basically skim reading to minimize the amount of eye-rolling.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, I have lost interest in the title, partly due to trusted reviews, and will not be reviewing the title. I have, however, promoed the title through my weekly recap with links to Amazon. Thank you again, and I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

I wasn't able to finish the book because I just couldn't get past the fourth chapter. It felt so bland, and the thrill and suspense I was looking forward to wasn't there. Master didn't seem too mysterious for me.

I really love thrillers so I think I can be really picky, but I had a hard time with following the narrative. It wasn't as visual as most thrillers are so it was a little hard to figure out what was going on.

So many NetGalley books that I read and forgot to log here. Huge fail.... I know. Anyway, moving on. I have seen that there is hardly anyone that is just meh about this book. Everyone either loves it or hates it. I feel like one of the only ones that doesn't hate it but doesn't love it.

The writing isn't bad but sometimes it felt confusing to me.... like I'd have to go back and read something twice to make sure I understood it. The story was a thriller and that I was not expecting. I didn't love that fact but it was alright I guess. The main problem I have with this book is the characters... they are just... not well written. I think had they been written stronger I would have really loved this book.


Will go live on my blog 1/11/2018
http://sweetcherry69.blogspot.com/

Love!! Love!! Love!! Can't wait to read more from this author!!

That was so not what I was expecting this book to be about, but I still really enjoyed it??

(Also, keep in mind, I honestly added this to my TBR because I loved the cover.)

I've always liked books about dancers and I guess this qualifies a little bit under that category... but really it's about a dancer and a super dark, creepy human mind control experiment in 19th century Italy.

As soon as I read the prologue I was so morbidly fascinated by this crazy plot.
It wasn't the strongest plot arc--I was often reading not knowing what we were actually moving toward, just that things were happening and everyone was confused.
But, I think it was overall interesting enough to keep me invested, even when things got a little muddled.

The characters and romance were not super strong.
I could see the potential, but it fell into a hole of a lot of YA cliches.
I don't think the predictability or blandness of some of the characters is a deal breaker, though, if you're interested in the book. Give it a try! It was better than I thought it would be :D

Comparable Titles:
Mechanica
Vicious
Cruel Beauty

***I received an e-ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: The cover is just so pretty but the book itself was just to confusing.

Check out author's other books or related books? Maybe but not really sure

Recommend this book? No way to confusing

Notes and Opinions: I was so excited for this book, the cover is just so breathtaking! But, unfortunately it was very confusing and well just didn't work out for me at all. I love thrillers but with this one I had so many issues keeping track of what was going on. I felt very confused with the narrative and I didn't really connect with any of the characters which had me so disappointed.


Go Into This One Knowing: Way confusing

I am absolutely not in the mood for a story about a boy being teased by one woman growing up and deciding that he must control women.

DNF'd quickly because it wasn't pulling me in. May give this book another try in the future. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and the premise is intriguing. 2.5 stars because star rating is required and I cannot adequately judge the book.

Note: Unbiased review provided in exchange for an ARC from NetGalley.

I'm between a 3 and a 3.5 on this one.

"Midnight Dance" is a YA-and-up level book that owes more than a bit to Gregory Maguire, who has dedicated decades to rewriting fairytales. I just can't decide *what* fairytale, classic or new, is being reworked here, as I can see so many of them in the bones of the story--the 12 Dancing Princesses, the Phantom of the Opera, the kitchen boy story (of Tsarevich Alexei), Coppelia, the Night Circus, and so on.

So what is this book? It's a vaguely historical thriller dosed with a lot of magical realism and a spot of steampunk thrown in. At the end of the 1800s, a man runs a ballet boarding school in Italy. All of the girls in the school are orphans or impoverished by family background (that is, far lower in power than him). One of the girls, Penny, begins to see a discrepancy between the world around her and her memories (and often, lack thereof). What if the world she knows is built on a lie?

What's good about the book is that it is fun, atmospheric, and it sells the scary in the form of the Master. It certainly makes the reader believe Penny's confusion, as we're often left confused, too.

What's in need of help is the back half of the book. The ending is rushed and the need for the famous midnight dance isn't made clear for the reader--it just seems like a flourish thrown in by the author for a fun time. And the framing of the dance world needs more meat to it; for a "ballet book," the dancing seems to do little beyond giving us tutus and first position.

All in all, it was a fast read and one I enjoyed--I just wish there'd been more in this world to explore.

Any book that has anything about dancing in it I am going to pick it up. This one fell a little flat for me but it wasn't bad. I feel very neutral on this one. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it either.

Nikki Katz’s Midnight Dance: the book is every bit as good as the cover...

If a book were truly judged by its cover, The Midnight Dance, by Nikki Katz, would win a gold medal. But books are more than just their covers, and luckily for readers, The Midnight Dance lives up to its jacket.

The Midnight Dance has a Gothic, Jane Eyre weightiness to it that also calls to mind The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Author Nikki Katz does an excellent job setting the mood — there were times when I had a physical reaction of chills or dread while reading it. Katz amps up the mystery with bursts of magical realism.

While The Midnight Dance is a ballet book, it’s also not a ballet book. For those who love the art form, there’s a lot to love, but for those who don’t, never fear. The ballet elements serve as a framework for a much larger and more intense story.

I read The Midnight Dance in one day, stopping and starting whenever I could find a chance. It’s fast paced and compelling. My only gripe is with the secondary characters, who could have been better developed for a more fleshed out story.

Thanks to Swoon Reads and Netgalley for the advance copy of this ebook (even though I didn’t read it until after it was already released - oops). Al opinions are my own.

In 1879 Italy, an estate in the middle of the countryside serves as a ballet boarding school. Everything revolves around Master’s needs. Penny, one of the dancers, begins to wonder where her real family is though; surely they are out there somewhere. As she starts asking too many questions, she realizes her life and the lives of her fellow dancers may be in jeopardy.

I liked the concept of this, but the execution fell a little flat for me. I needed more background on the Master to fully understand his motivations. Nevertheless, I think young adult readers will enjoy this thriller. 3.5/5 Stars.

Going along the vein of "The Phantom of the Opera", The Midnight Dance follows an ingenue ballerina in pursuit of her dreams in the reclusive and exclusive Grande Teatro, under the watchful eye of the Master.
Jumping right into the plot with little set-up or character development, the story dives into a psychological-thriller kind of tale, but lacks the necessary plot twists or suspense to fully qualify for the category.
Based on the publisher, one might think that romance would feature heavily in this plot, but the author instead tries to set up a weak love triangle between the heroine, the Master, and a boy named Cricket, in ways that never feel organic or real.
Elegant writing and a promising premise make this an interesting find, but an ultimately unsatisfying product.