Have you ever tried to write a review for a book for which you just don't have much, good or bad, to say? The Midnight Dance is that book.

Penny goes to a school that specializes in ballet. She is part of twelve elite dancers that have the privilege of attending this prestigious school, compliments of their mysterious Master. They are never allowed to leave and must perform as the Master wishes.

Weird things begin to happen to Penny. She realizes she is forgetting periods of time. She starts to have memories that don't mesh with what she has been told was her life. When she touches the handsome kitchen boy, Cricket, her memories come back, and they are horrific. She realizes that Master has been manipulating their minds, but how?

She and Cricket are out to discover the truth and figure out a way not only for Penny, but for all of the dancers, to escape.

The Midnight Dance is an enjoyable, creepy read. However, I never really connected with the characters. I felt like an observer rather than a participant that was fully invested in the story. I'm not sure what makes a story resonate with a reader -- I'm not a writer. This is one that I appreciated while reading, but it won't stick with me for long. The writing is fine; the pacing seemed okay. I didn't really buy all the technical stuff and the Master's ability to create such a hold on these girls. There are flashbacks of the Master and his past, which were effective. I just didn't feel the drama or pulse-pounding trepidation that I was supposed to feel.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend The Midnight Dance to teens. Others may have a different reaction than I did.

Penelope has been getting intense headaches and forgetting time, unsure as to why or what is going on. At least she can count on her Grandfather to give her medical care while she is at the elite boarding school ran by the Master. Penelope is so lucky to have been one of the chosen pupils at the school, spending her time perfecting her dancing and learning useful information to make her a good conversationalist to the upper class. But is she really lucky? When she starts having strange flashes of her past, and her memories are not matching up, Penelope enlists the help of Cricket, the ever helpful (and cute) servant to try and find the truth.

I was so excited to get my hands on this book, seriously it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I am a cover lover, so when I set eyes on the gorgeousness that is the cover of the Midnight Dance, I was entranced. Add in the fact it is about dancing, a boarding school and mysterious, I knew I was going to have to read this story. The imagery was spectacular, transporting me to the time and setting as well as getting me caught up in the plot, trying to decipher what was real. This was a great balance or creepy, mysterious, dangerous, compelling and romantic.

When I first started the story I was a little uncertain because I had NO IDEA what was going on. One minute I felt I knew what was going on and got a grasp on Penny, and then the next thing I knew I was super confused and had no idea who Penny was. I was concerned that maybe my expectations had been too high and I was going to be disappointed. But then the pieces started coming together, and it made perfect since as to why I was confused, it was 100% necessary to the plot. I slowly read the first half(ish) if the book, trying to piece things together and ponder the story, but the second half of the book I flew through in one sitting, enjoying the action and twists and turn that Penny faces. It was almost as if it was two books put together, but overall I enjoyed the pacing and direction of the story.

The book starts out 20 years in the past learning about Cirillo and Beppe, two boys who have been experimenting of medical science, potentially to better mankind. I had no idea how that​ played a role in Penelope's life, but sporadically more chapters were thrown in that led up to the conclusion and explained a lot of motivations in the story. Is it bad that I felt for Cirillo, or a mark of a really talented author, that makes you question the motives of the villain and maybe empathize (ok, I will admit that I am a sucker for a well crafted bad guy, maybe it's a character flaw of mine)? It was a really great way of revealing the mystery aspect of the book that kept the reader guessing while giving motive as well.

This was my first book by Nikki and I really enjoyed her writing style as well as the uniqueness of the plot. This is a complete story so no sequel but I will definitely be looking forward to whatever else Nikki wants to create! This is a great choice for anyone looking for a creepy mystery with a romantic flair.

I received this title for reviewing purposes. Visit https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ for a chance to win some prizes.

2.5 stars (I am the person that always rounds up) - I so desperately wanted to love this book! Like many others, I saw the previous reviews and tried to tell myself that it really couldn't be as rough as they were saying, but alas, it was. While the telling of the story was nothing short of breathtaking, the overall plot just was not there for me. If you are someone that just wants to read for the pleasure of artful verbiage and not the storyline, then this is the book for you. I still hold true to the fact that this is one of the most beautiful covers I have seen in this year. Based on the cover alone, this book will garner a group of devoted readers.

They are all beautiful talented dancers, but Penelope is Master’s favorite. She thinks she loves to dance and is drawn to Master but unexplained memories are starting to creep into her mind. Where are they coming from and why does Cricket trigger them?
As Penny’s memories become more frequent, so do her headaches. Her behavior starts to change too. She becomes defiant and goes against Master’s will. Living with Master is a privilege and all of the girls vie for his attention, but he scares her sometimes and makes her feel resentful.
Penny needs to find out what is causing her memories to falter and then return. She needs to figure out which set of memories are the truth and to do that, she must leave Master’s estate.
I am really torn by this book. I liked the characters but couldn’t connect with them. I didn’t feel like there was much depth to them. They were a part of the story, but too simple. I was intrigued by the storyline, but there was still something missing. Maybe it was that Penny had too much freedom in the story to figure things out. Maybe it was because I couldn’t figure out the significance of some parts of the story. The storytelling itself was gorgeous, but the story was just off.
2.5/5 stars

3.5 stars

In the Grande Teatro, a finishing ballet school in Italy, Penny and eleven others train to be the finest ballerinas in Italy.

The school is tucked away and almost isolated completely, and it's the only life Penny's really known. But this life is more than she thought as flashes of a different life begin to plague her. Penny's confused and lost, and she begins to question her life under Master Cirillo, turning to kitchen boy Cricket for help.

What she uncovers is far greater than she could have imagined, and Penny needs to escape the confines of the school that plays tricks with her minds and holds her in tight bonds before she loses herself.

There were parts that I liked and parts that I didn't like about this book.

It was unexpected as it was a lot darker than I thought it would be. I really should have known so before I started it, but it's actually almost a conspiracy-type book.

The narrative is very untrustworthy as it's from Penny's limited third person point of view, and as we know, her memories are faulty. Master is tampering with them, and so reality and fiction blend together for Penny.

Likewise, reality and fiction blend together for the reader and it can get somewhat confusing.

Penny seems like a nice girl, but I didn't really connect well with her because I had no idea who she was. Does she like pink or blue? Polenta or gnocci? Dance or no dance?

Because of all the memory tampering, I couldn't really connect well with her.

As this confuses her character, it also confuses the plot a little as Penny's idea of what's going on differs from what's actually happen. This made foreshadowing a lot harder for the reader, which meant that when I was reading, it was more "follow along with the plot and see what happens!" rather than "guess what's going to happen now?"

To emphasize this point better, reading it for me was like watching The Flash, there's nothing you can really do except wait for the producers to throw another villain at you, rather than watching Bones where you guess who the killer halfway through.

There wasn't much I could do except wait for Penny to make a discovery and hope she doesn't mess up. This might seem a little unclear, but it made me feel like I wasn't standing next to Penny as I read but rather that I was actually reading a book. It's a lot more detached.

The narrative switches from short events from the past involving Master to events a few decades later involving Penny, and it can be somewhat confusing at first, but not overly so.

The plot was interesting and I thought it was paced nicely (this book is pretty short, shy of 300 pages) for the length. It just fell a little flat for me as it was a lot of Penny trying to figure out what she's doing.

Her romance with Cricket was kind of a negative for me. I'm still not sure why this is so (there's an inkling, but I'm not entirely certain why), but Cricket helps her get her memories back with his touch. I found this a little iffy for me, I know this is fiction, but it made me think a lot of those plots where mental illnesses are "fixed through the power of love." Sorry, but no.

It was a little instalove at times and seemed too close to romanticizing mental illnesses, even if Penny doesn't actually have a mental illness, just an externalized issue.

After this list of negatives, you're probably thinking this is some horrible book, but I still enjoyed reading it.
The writing is beautiful while still remaining simplistic and not overly-flowery.

I initially requested this book because of its historical setting and ballet aspect, which was fun to read about. The premise was really cool, and the darkness was fun to read about. It's just those few blips about the way Katz chose to write the novel and the romance aspect that kind of messed some things up for me.

Untrustworthy narrators are difficult to write, and although I don't think Katz butchered it, I also don't think it was done to the fullest extent it could have been.

I would recommend The Midnight Dance to anyone looking for a unique historical novel with dark twists and turns.

The writing style is very beautiful and engaging; however, the plot was lacking. Penny is a ballerina at a highly selective private school where all the girls are hand selected by the 'Master'. The story starts with Penny quickly learning that her memories have been altered for years and the 'Master" is still actively changing all the ballerinas' memories. Penny and the kitchen boy, Cricket, go on a crazy adventure to correct her altered memories and set her free.

There were some interesting plot twists but the ultimate question Penny and I had, "why were they being controlled", was never really answered.

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

The Midnight Dance by Nikki Katz
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: October 17, 2017
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

Seventeen-year-old Penny is a lead dancer at the Grande Teatro, a finishing school where she and eleven other young women are training to become the finest ballerinas in Italy. Tucked deep into the woods, the school is overseen by the mysterious and handsome young Master who keeps the girls ensconced in the estate – and in the only life Penny has never known.

But when flashes of memories, memories of a life very different from the one she thinks she’s been leading, start to appear, Penny begins to question the Grand Teatro and the motivations of the Master. With a kind and attractive kitchen boy, Cricket, at her side, Penny vows to escape the confines of her school and the strict rules that dictate every step she takes. But at every turn, the Master finds a way to stop her, and Penny must find a way to escape the school and uncover the secrets of her past before it’s too late.

What I Liked:

I've read a number of books published by Swoon Reads, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing. This imprint is unique because it is crowd-sourced in terms of the work, and there are always a ton of manuscripts available to read and explore on the website. The Midnight Dance is one of many that has been picked up for publication by Swoon Reads. I've had mixed results with the Swoon Reads books I've read so far, but this one is among my favorites. I adore Cindy Anstey's books, but I think those will share the spotlight with this book. The Midnight Dance was haunting and mysterious, yet swoony and seductive. It was an interesting book to read, and while I could definitely see the author developing her writing and craft, I have a good feeling about her future work.

Penny is one of the lead dancers of the Grande Teatro, a coveted dance school that is selective about its students. There are only a handful of students at any given time, with rare new faces on occasion. The girls are educated in many subjects, but their focus is dance, as they all strive to be the best ballerina in Italy. The school is overseen by Master, who is shrouded in mystery and handsome looks. Every girl has a crush on him... except for Penny, who can't shake the creepy feeling she has started to feel when he is near. What's more, her memory is starting to jumble, and she isn't sure what is real and what isn't. Somehow, Master is messing with her mind. With the help of the charming kitchen steward, Penny is determined to find out what happened in her past that will determine her future at the school.

I love how this story is set up. At first, I was just as confused as Penny; what is happening to her memories? Why is she starting to remember this or that? And then - why did she suddenly forget what she started to remember? Usually I hate being enveloped in this kind of confusion, especially so early on, but I found that this only intrigued me even more. From start, we know that there is something wrong with Penny's memories. And soon after, Penny finds out that Master might have something to do with it, and Cricket seems to have an idea as to what is happening to her. But these realizations are only the tip of the iceberg. Master is a lot worse than she expected. and Cricket is so much more than a kitchen steward.

I liked Penny just fine, though I didn't love her, nor did I hate her. I really felt for her, as she tried to navigate her life while realizing that she had no idea who she really was. She had no idea what her life before the school was like. She didn't even know what her favorite food was. It was easy to root for her, because she was so clearly wronged. But I also liked her persistence, even when she was throwing herself into obvious danger. She wanted nothing more than to understand what was happening to her, stop Master, and save the other girls.

Cricket is such a sweetheart! He is the kitchen steward which basically means that he brings everyone their meals and clears tables. There is a lot more to him than meets the eye, but Master keeps him on a tight leash. Cricket is smart, loyal, protective, and stubborn, and he never stops trying to help Penny regain her true memories. He is one of the constants of the story that is inherently good and kind. But he also has a protective streak that shows up every now and then, which I loved.

I was hooked soon after the story began, and I didn't want to stop reading. It's too bad I started reading the book on the Metro to work, because I really wanted to keep reading. Hate or love this book, you have to say that it is engaging (well, hopefully). There are so many revelations dropped, as the story goes on. Some might be obvious, but the placement and timing are really good.

I love the Italian influence and setting. There are so many Italian food references - it was impossible not to get hungry, after reading this book. I really want some antipasto or ciabatta or something now (it's nearly midnight at the moment!). The author references a lot of Italian food, but also sprinkles in the occasional term or phrase in Italian. You can't not know that the story is set in Italy!

The story is also a historical one, set in the 1800s. I love this time period and it definitely worked well for this story. The types of things that Master was doing were very advanced, yet the author made them fit into the story.

There is some sci-fi to this book! I don't want to say anything specific, but it's pretty cool. Terrible, but cool. I love that we get to see Master's backstory and how he came to work on the sci-fi stuff. Again, it is terrible stuff (what he is doing), but it is also fascinating. You kind of feel bad for him? At least initially.

There is a romance and it is swoony! And very non-love-triangle-y. I promise there is no triangle or square or anything of the sort. Cricket and Penny are adorable together, even if they aren't actually a couple for most of the book. There is obvious but subtle chemistry between them, and I couldn't wait for them to finally acknowledge their feelings, or kiss! See my 09/28 Swoon Thursday post.

Overall, this book worked for me. I enjoyed it, especially for the entertaining and mysterious story. The adorable romance definitely didn't hurt, and the fact that this book is a standalone makes it a great choice.

What I Did Not Like:

I acknowledge the fact that there definitely could have been more plot and character development. The author's writing and craft seems new and unpracticed. It's hard to describe what I'm talking about without sharing whole pages or talking about specifics, but basically, we know this is a debut. I fully believe that the author will get better as a writer the more she writes. This story felt juvenile on occasion, which I noticed several times, but it wasn't too distracting. I see the author's potential!

Would I Recommend It:

If you like historical fiction novels with romance and some slightly creepy sci-fi elements, check out this book! It has an air of mystery to it, and it's a fast read. The ending is really good and it is perfect as the ending of a standalone. And the romance was definitely swoony! Swoon Reads is living up to the name.

Rating:

4 stars. I am glad this book is a standalone, but I definitely want to read more by this author! I'll be looking out for her 2018 book. I'm sure her next book will be even better!

Opening line:
"The boy clutched a marionette to his chest and shuffled into the barn."

Intriguing plot of a prestigious school for dancers, a mysterious "master" and revenge. The writing is great! The darkness of the world drew me in from the first page. Penny is a strong character who just wants to know and understand the truth. After an innocent conversation with friends about their mothers, Penny realizes there is something wrong with their memories. When her real memories start to surface, she is scared of the truth.

I'm not sure what to think about this story. I thought maybe it would be something like 12 dancing princesses. Then maybe a fairy tale retelling. But then maybe phantom of the dancers? I'm not sure. I enjoyed half of it. I skimmed half of it. I read a little more. The master was creepy to me and I could not figure out the lengths he was going to to get his revenge. I didn't understand the experiments or what he was trying to accomplish.


Thanks to netgalley for the early read!

This book was disappointing. Like many others, I was attracted to the book based on the cover, but that was the only good thing I have to recommend about the book. The cover is beautiful; the book is awful and full of misogynistic, outdated tropes.

"The Midnight Dance" by Nikki Katz is set in 19th century Italy. It follows the story of Penny, a ballet dancer, at a dance boarding school, as they are gearing up for the big dance of the year. The Master of the boarding school, is a mysterious man who exerts control over the dancers, including what they wear, how much they eat, and what classes they take. Penny does not remember much of her time before the boarding school, but when she does start remembering, the memories do not match her other memories from after being at the boarding school. When Cricket, the kitchen boy, begins talking to Penny, she realizes his touch brings back more memories of her previous life. Why does Penny have conflicting memories? What does Cricket have to do with them? And why does Master seem so insistent that Penny's alternative memories are wrong?

The premise of the book is promising, but the delivery falls flat. While the pace of the book is adequate for a thriller, the story twists and turns with no clear direction. The mysteries and motives of the boarding school are never explained. The romance between Cricket and Penny is forced, while the romance between Master and Penny is disturbing. In the age of demanding books with strong female characters, this book goes the opposite direction: Penny is helpless without the strong men in her life to give her direction. Even the kitchen boy, Cricket, who is portrayed as a weak boy, is stronger than Penny, and gives her guidance as she begins to remember more and more of her past.

In summary, I would not recommend this book to anyone. The stereotypical characters are harmful, especially to impressionistic teens.

Thank you to Macmillan for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Midnight Dance probably has one of my most favorite covers of 2017. It is just stunning! This is a YA historical fiction; and though I had heard it was inspired by “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” I found it doesn’t seem to have much in common with the German fairytale at all. I liked the story and didn’t struggle with the writing – the plot itself is still intriguing: twelve young ballerinas in a creepy boarding house under the rule of the nefarious “Master” – but this book also didn’t blow me away like the beautiful cover did, either. And I think I know why.

First, I want to discuss the things that I really did enjoy: There are young adult books that push the boundaries of young adult. This book does not. It is exactly what I think of when I think of a young teen reading, and I would absolutely put this into the hands of a young reader. It is clean; it has a sweet butterfly-spawning romance without overdoing it or going too far. The story lends itself to a bit of excitement but nothing that would be too scary or intense. Just the right amount of dark for its target audience. The young heroine Penny is brave; and not once does she give up, even when all hope seems lost. Her admirer Cricket is courageous and devoted. These two are incredibly sweet together, as well.

So, what was it that didn’t work? Me. The reader. I honestly can find no fault with the story or the writing. I haven’t been a young adult for a very long time; and while I do enjoy some YA, it is usually those that push the boundaries I mention above. I am also a lover and reader of adult thrillers and mysteries so my mind hatched huge dastardly plots, abundantly deceitful characters, and unforeseen twists… and those things didn’t come to pass for me.

All in all, I’m giving this book a solid three stars. It reminds me of the books I loved when I was a young girl. I couldn’t help but fall for Penny and Cricket. Their relationship is extremely endearing. Though I wish there had been more dancing and that the story was a tad more thrilling, I can still wholeheartedly recommend this for its target audience. And you know what? I’m buying a copy for my personal library anyway, not only because the cover is stunning but because this is a great addition to my YA section and I’ll be able to lend it out to several fellow readers that I know will love it.

The Midnight Dance is a creepy romantic thriller with a dash of historical fiction. For fans of Gothic stories such as A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. Sadly, despite the promising premise the book falls flat due to a predictable and rather bizarre love triangle, a nonsensical plot, poor pacing and an inept protagonist. Look to Cat Winter's book The Cure for Dreaming for another historical romance with elements of the supernatural.

Katz, Nikki The Midnight Dance, 320 pages. Swoon Reads, 2017. $18. Language: G (3 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (innuendos only); Violence: PG (some blood and fighting).

Penny loves the dance. She works so hard at her boarding school to excel and be the prim ballerina for the Master’s midnight dance in front of the important people. Cricket is the waiter, a part of the furniture of the boarding school, despite how handsome he is. Then Penny’s memories start changing. Does she really love to dance? And she hears an odd conversation between Master and her Grandfather, who works on the estate. And then a touch from Cricket causes even more strange memories to surface. What is this place? Who is Master and what does he want from Penny and the other girls? Is there any possible way she can escape? Something is very wrong all around Penny and only if she is bold and trusting does she have a chance to regain her real self and perhaps save the others.

While I see the need for a little bit of backstory in Katz’s take on the Phantom of the Opera, this is not quite enough to build a strong purpose for the Master’s cruelty and manipulations. Penny’s story is thankfully the star here and is intriguing enough to compensate for the backstory’s weaknesses. And the cover is brilliant! It is sure to beguile enough readers to pick this up.

MS, HS – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher

A slightly "steampunk"* historical mystery that quickly switches away from the ballet hook. After the first 1/3, there's not much boarding-school girl interaction, it becomes more about one woman's quest for the truth. A few Mary Sue elements, but I'd recommend to young mystery readers who want something a little different

An interesting tale with a haunting premise, The Midnight Dance follows the tale of Penelope, a dancer locked away in an isolated mansion with the elusive Master and her sorellas, sisters in dance. When Penelope notices inconsistencies in her memory and her perspective of her life in the mansion change, she scrambles to find the truth of her own identity and of the people around her.

Katz weaves an intricate tale that left me on the edge of my seat and craving more.

Brava.

I tried so hard to like this...I really did. Because ballet! and because fantasy! and because thrillers!

No. No. and No.

I quit after 40%, because I knew if I made it to the halfway point my OCD brain would justify making me finish it, and I just can't do that to myself.

Here are my major issues with it:

1) The constant use of italics. Like, I get it. You do that for foreign words. But like, it's all the time. Even on words that we all know what they are like crostini and spaghetti.

2) Not unrelated to #1 -- the ballet terminology. Jesus. It's like the author really wanted us to know that she had taken a few years of ballet and knew what different movements were called. As someone who has been dancing for 25+ years, it annoyed the hell out of me. Seriously. The movie Center Stage doesn't say the name of dance terminology as much as Katz did. Major eyeroll. And don't get me started on the inaccuracies of the time period. The pointe shoe descriptions alone were 100% wrong based on the era when this book takes place.

3) And piggybacking off of #2, why was ballet in here in the first place? At least the part I read, it served no real purpose to advance the plot, other than to allow the author to continue to overuse italicized fancy words.

4) WTF was even happening in this book. The whole "Master" thing was just bizarre and I found myself not caring at all why he was doing what he was doing (and after reading other reviews, it doesn't seem like he had a good reason anyway). The other characters were boring, and I found myself coming up with 100 other options that the characters could have tried to use to escape rather than giving up and going back to bed hoping to try again tomorrow before their memories were erased. Maybe it gets better in the last 60% of the book, but I doubt it.

5) The jumping around between the "current" events and Master's upbringing is disjointed. It should make me more intrigued, but it really just makes me say "huh?"

This book to me feels like it doesn't know what it wants to be. I've seen it described as a YA fantasy, a YA thriller, and contemporary YA, and it is none of those to me. It's not thrilling (as is evident by the fact that it took me nearly a month to read less than half of it, and it's not particularly long), and the sci-fi/fantasy elements are not well thought out.

Hard pass.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

2,5+

OK SO, I'm really mad this wasn't what I expected. I was really excited to get to this book, and I don't even think it was the hype that ruined it, because I haven't seen that many people talking about it (or am I just blind?). 

I was expecting ballet. Like, I know the plot isn't about ballet itself, but the story is SET in a ballet school. And while we did get a few glimpses of dancing and classes, it didn't satisfy me. I feel the story could be set in a completely different environment and still make sense. The ballet doesn't add much, to be honest. I found the idea of the main character not being fond of ballet interesting, at least, but it just kept going against what I expected.

The main character, Penny, quickly bored me as well. At first, she was extremely sarcastic, and came up with a couple of very funny lines; and then, she ended up losing all those traits along the plot. I enjoyed reading from her perspective in the early chapters, but eventually, she became kinda hollow and it seemed she was being dragged by the story instead of taking charge. I also couldn't put up with how oblivious she could get, having in comparison how she had behaved in the beginning.
Cricket, as the love interest, didn't interest me much. I mostly found the romance and the dialogues between these two characters cringy.
And finally, I thought the other girls in the ballet school all fit in some kind of stereotype.

I probably would have enjoyed this book a lot more had the idea been better delivered. There are few plot holes, things left unexplained, and too many unnecessary scenes. I've heard that this book is meant to be a standalone, but honestly, it left a lot of stuff behind. Also, I feel that the writing tells us too much about the plot, I figured most of what would happen with no difficulties, and things seemed to be solved too easily?? AND the pace of the story is ridiculously slow!

Something that's quite unrelated to the current topic, but that also annoyed me: why did everyone keep saying "you can't miss it!" while giving directions? I've never said that before when people have asked me for directions, and yet at least three people mentioned it here?? 

Back to the point, the chapters here are alternated between Penny's POV and someone else's, who's obviously our villain, and honestly, I enjoyed those second ones so much more. They were way more interesting to read about, and I think a story based on them, instead of a story about Penny, would have been a safer option.

I will gravitate towards any book with ballet, so I admit that I was a little disappointed at how little it mattered to the plot. The story and writing seemed a bit disjointed early on, rushing some parts of the plot, though it got better as the book progressed. The (non-evil) characters were generally likeable and by the end, I wanted to see how their stories finished. Overall, I enjoyed the book, though it didn't stand out much in comparison to others.

The Midnight Dance follows Penny a young ballerina who lives in a castle with 12 other young women all under the care of Grand Teatro and Master. Who control pretty much every part of their lives. (multiple ridiculous rules that don't make sense until later on in the book.)
Penny and the other ballerina's can't remember much of anything from their old lives and seem to be in an almost dream-like world most of the time. That is until Cricket touches her hand and she suddenly has a memory. After that, she is freaked out and starts questioning everything about the world she has grown used to.
With the help of Cricket, she is able to get over some of her fears and start having memories again of her family.

Overall I really loved this story. It wasn't at all what I was expecting considering it is published by swoonreads I was expecting romance to be the main part of this book, instead it was always in the background like it should have been for a change! Penny is one of my new favorite characters. Even though she had a lot to be afraid of she kept pushing through it to find out the truth. She knew something wasn't right and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her no matter how hard they tried. (looking at you 'master') Master is one of those characters that simultaneously terrified me and held my interest. I needed to know why he was doing this to them. (still a little confused on this part.)

Also, how was he even able to do this? It was partially explained but I need more understanding considering the Grand Teatro ended up being helpful I was really expecting some explanations and was a little disappointed when I didn't get them. As for Cricket and Penny, I really liked them and was so happy to see Cricket not take out his frustrations about 'master' on her. He knew she couldn't help it and he did his best all while letting her slowly come to terms with what was happening. They make such a good team together and I wouldn't mind getting a novel with both of them helping the other girls come to terms with what happened to them as well.
The side characters I absolutely adored as well, the last 25% of the book I couldn't get enough of and I wish there had been more! (Don't I always when I love a book. I can't help it I'm greedy for good friendships.)

This book is about Penny, a 17 year old ballerina who lives at a finishing school with 11 others girls. The girls eat, sleep, and breathe dance. The school is run by a man who the girls call Master and the social event of the year known as The Midnight Dance is fast approaching. But life is not all that it appears. Penny soon finds herself question what she thought was the truth and with the help of a boy named Cricket she will soon discover the dark secrete surrounding Master and his school.

I loved this book! It pulled me in from right at the beginning and I found myself trying to figure out what was going on right along with Penny. Katz does a wonderful job of creating an atmosphere of mystery and intrigue. Her description of the school and Master helped to set the stage. The flow of the book was perfect and didn't drag. It kept you guessing and rooting for Penny and Cricket. I highly recommend this book!

This book kept me guessing until the end. Great story, just enough suspense, just enough interesting plot twists to keep you coming back for more. Kudos!