I'm not sure I can honestly say what I was expecting from this book. In fact I'm still on the fence about it.
I wouldn't really call this a thriller, but it was a very eye opening book about the word of ballet.

It took me a while to really get into the book and even once I did, it was still a little hard for me to follow. I think that took away from the enjoyment of the book.

I did like the characters and finding out about their world though.

Thank you #Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC

My daughter has been in dance for several years, so the premise of this book was very intriguing to me. The book is marketed as a thriller, but I found that part of the story to be pretty weak. The timeline was written confusingly in that even when we are in the past, it is written with present day perspective so it takes you out of the story. The first half of the book is slow, but the second half picked up and was a fast paced read, but while the synopsis was interesting, the actual reveal fell flat to me. .Overall , I did enjoy the book and I loved learning more about ballet life, but it was a three start read for me.

Ballerinas was interesting for someone who really understands and loves ballet. With an enormous amount of melodrama, sometimes it slipped over the edge and was hard to follow. Generally speaking, I did enjoy this a d felt the characters were well developed. If you’re a devoteé of the ballet you’ll find this enjoyable. It’s a cross between Black Swan and The Turning Point !Thank you net galley for the chance to review this book before publication.

The Ballerinas is the surprising debut novel by Rachel Kapelke-Dale ... surprising because it's so good! I loved the characters. They're so complex, neither all good nor all bad, but a mix of both, exactly like we all are.

This novel sucked me in from the first page and gave me many a sleepless night as I stayed up far too late reading.

The Ballerinas is extremely timely in today's social climate of Me Too and female empowerment. I loved everything about this book and can hardly wait for the author's second novel.

I am appreciative to Net Galley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book honestly makes me thankful that I didn’t continue a dance career after injuring my knee at 16. I’ve always loved dance (jazz & lyrical) and now that I’m older, a fascination and love for ballet. So naturally, I was very excited to see a ballet book to read! But man, being a ballerina is hard. Constantly worrying about body image and taking down the competition no matter who it is, would be exhausting. But ballet is beautiful with its lyrical movement and costumes; it takes sacrifice to do beautiful things.

Kapelke-Dale writes realistic characters given their life situations. She makes you want to root for Delphine to figure herself out and succeed in anything she wants to do. There is definitely a feminist tone to the whole book where women take back their control from not very likable male characters. But that’s pretty much the point. Struggling, failing, and then succeeding. So is life. It’s a book you want to keep reading and find it hard to put down! Also, everyone needs a Stella in their life.

*I do think there should be a trigger warning for abortion. Baby loss is so significant these days that it’s only fair to the readers to know upfront.*

As a dancer, I was interested in the title and premise of this book. I loved Black Swan and The Luckiest Girl Alive so I was curious how this was compared to the two. Although it took awhile to determine where the story was going, by the second half I enjoyed reading about all the drama associated with the ballerinas and the dance company. A lot of scandal and covering up to keep up with appearances as can be expected in an industry such as this one. There were several characters to keep track of and the jumping back and forth between time lines was a little confusing. I liked how at first we didn't know exactly what happened between the girls years ago and how history repeated itself at the end. I did not expect the final scenes at all, but I feel like it definitely says a lot about the pressures on women especially when it comes to choosing between family and career.

Some books leave you speechless. This is one of them.

Of all the compliments I'm about to give this book, one rises above the rest: the writing is impeccable. Kapelke-Dale's writing style is so captivating and compelling that any qualms about reading a story about ballerinas will disappear after the first chapter. I made a note to myself halfway through to check out Kapelke-Dale's previous works and was stunned to find out this is her debut novel! With writing this smooth and vivid, I would've guessed she's a few books in already.

These characters are well-rounded and so hauntingly real that they transcend the page. Admittedly, I had issues with the main character's choices in the beginning but was relieved to see her transformation by the end. There was no obvious orchestrating/foreshadowing/blueprint/whatever you want to call it - every character's decision was their own, not the author's.

Big issues over gender inequality, freedom particularly over one's body and decisions, the Me Too movement/sexual assault are all covered beautifully here. The blurb compares this to "Dare Me", "Luckiest Girl Alive" and the film Black Swan and I'll offer another title/media to the mix - "Big Little Lies" by Liana Moriarty, particularly for the last half of the book for its emphasis on female empowerment and strong female bonds/friendships. (And for the twist at the end regarding a death.)

All the critiques I had while reading were addressed and smoothed out as the story progress, except for one - the pacing in the beginning. Personally, I could do without quite a bit of the flashbacks in the first half because most felt distracting and at times, it felt like there were two stories fighting for attention and it was confusing. The book really comes alive after the 45-50% mark where the pacing kicks up to a sprint and it's hard to put down.

The cover art is simple but gorgeous and subtly symbolic. It would make for a great eye-catching conversation piece for window displays.

This book is gritty, captivating and heart wrenching, and is an absolute winner. I can sense this being a big hit once it's released and I think it will fare very well if it's adapted into a limited series/mini series.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me an ARC to review. I'm about to pre-order a copy and can't wait for the release in late December this year!

Thank you to the publisher @stmartinspress , the author @rachelkapelkedale and NetGalley for my copy!
Ballet is the most grueling art form, and this novel explores the damage women face in the quest to be a star as opposed to their male counterparts.
Delphine, now 36 and a choreographer has returned to the Paris Opera Ballet after 14 years in St Petersburg and has to come to terms with the fact the people she left behind (mostly her two best friends Lindsay and Margaux) have changed.
I thought that "Black Swan and Luckiest Girl Alive meets Dare Me" really hit the nail on the head, though it's less of the former and more of the latter. The alternating story lines got a bit hard to follow for me, and I wish we saw a bit more of the school age years so I could understand the girl's friendship. I didn't really understand how Lindsay became part of the group.
The author is clearly knowledgeable about ballet and the book is very well researched, but that may have caused it to be a slower read. I'd really encourage people to follow it through. I didn't see the end coming at all!
4/5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I enjoyed this book but it did not live up to the expectations I had from the blurb and the comparison of Black Swan. There was no big thrill mystery genre in it for me, it felt more like a high drama and informative ballet.

You’re introduced to 3 ballerinas who all are different but fighting for the same thing when young, being a star in Paris Opera Ballet. Delphine moves to Russia at age 23 and eventually comes back as a choreographer. Margueax is still in the company trying to figure out her life with her biting attitude and Lindsey the American is still fighting for her chance to be that star. It’s a slow take at first and the true “thrill” picks up when you’re 80% in.

I enjoyed reading the details of what happens in the background of ballets and studios and the politics of it all. The character build was really strong and you connect with all of them well but ultimately it’s about the fight for these women and how everyone has problems and overcoming them. I was disappointed to have the synopsis sound more exciting than the book itself. Regardless, it is a well done novel with a good end and feel good sisterhood kind of friendship shown through.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

i loved reading this book it was a great friendship story... i really dont know that much about serious ballet, but i found the ballet parts very interesting.. the friends are all ballerinas and have been friends since their youth... 2 of them have a secret that colors all the years following...... its interesting to see how this unfolds.... i will def be interested to see other books by this author!! thanks for letting me read this book!!

A gorgeous and captivating affair of a novel, focusing on three aspiring ballerinas and the lengths they would go to in order to bring their artistic dreams come true. The beautiful and descriptive setting made me feel as though I was present there... But underneath all that beauty, there is always a streak of evil present...

Labeled as a mystery/thriller...it wasn't. There was a slow beginning, the story of three dancers, friends bonded through the years enduring the demanding lifestyle of a dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet. Delphine is the dancer who tells most of the story of her life and friendship with Margeaux and Lindsay and the storyline is presented through alternate timelines, going back and forth over a twenty year span. There's a lot of back story about their trials, their friendships, their lovers, their decisions, and their quest for stardom. I did enjoy the "behind the scenes" glimpse into the life of a professional ballerina; it was interesting.

In the second half of the book, there was some edginess to it, but it felt out of place. Overall, I felt this book was just depressing.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Wow, this is a really powerful book, and as I wipe away some tears I'm shocked this is a debut novel! I know next to nothing about the world of dance (now I do), but I know a little about female friendships and how they can be extremely strong but also emotionally toxic when things take a turn for the worse. Delphine, Margaux, and Lindsay are all ballerinas when we first meet them at the age of 13; they must compete for places in order to succeed and will stop at nothing to ensure their own progress, even if it means stopping someone else (even a friend). Alternating between their childhood and their 30's when Delphine is a choreographer, and Lindsay is cast in the lead spot, we see the turmoil, the adulation, the missed chances, but above all, the ties that bind female friendships. Kapelke-Dale speaks to so many relevant issues; love, betrayal, jealousy, blackmail, marriage, pregnancy, and parenting; overall it's just a lovely story about how we choose to live our lives in the face of adversity and the challenges we must overcome to find our own truths and live the life we were meant to appreciate.

One of my favorite types of book: books about ballerinas. Even better, ballerinas in PARIS. I love books about the hard, grueling side of ballet because I don’t think most people realize what a difficult industry the ballet industry is. In fact, it’s just as bad as the modeling industry. It’s cutthroat, brutal, full of fake friends who will backstab you to come out on top, people who pick apart your body, at least 5 hours a day of dancing, pushing your body and feet past what it should ever handle on a daily basis. You put yourself through all of this, just for a teeny tiny minuscule chance of success (fewer than half of them make it to company and even then, most dancers end up as one of many ballerinas in the background. The chances of stardom are really against you). Ballerinas know of all this and they know their odds. Therefore, no one does ballet unless they genuinely, truly love it. It’s cutthroat unlike any other sport. I love books like this which show how ballet isn’t just glitz and glamor. You’d be surprised how many people don’t know this. In fact, I myself didn’t know it until I read a similar YA book about ballerinas several years ago. Since then, I’ve never seen ballet the same way, and this is the reality of it.

My main issue was when I got to about 50% of this book, I was like, where is this going lol. Halfway through is plenty of time to set the groundwork for where the story is going, yet at that mark, I still had no idea what this book was even about or what the point even is. It was just day to day life of ballerinas and friend drama and such. I could not even tell you what the central conflict of the book or what the point was. This book just didn’t seem to be going in any direction and it made me want to quit early on because I had no urgency to find out what was going to happen at the end because there was NO REAL PLOT. I also found the too frequent skipping timelines confusing. I would be reading it and forget which timeline I was on, past or present.

This book just didn’t have enough urgency to make me want to continue reading. To be honest, if this wasn’t an arc I probably would’ve dnf’d it. All in all, it wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t interesting enough to be enjoyable for me. Not enough happened plot wise and too much of it lacked direction.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley for. giving me the ARC of this wonderful book.

I can not say enough good things about this book! It is a tale of three ballerinas who became friends in a very competitive field. Being in the Arts I could totally appreciate the competitiveness in this field as well as trying to find some form of normalcy in their lives.

Very interesting and extremely worth reading. Will look forward to reading more books by this author.

Three young girls become best friends in ballet classes and stay in touch. Delphine moves back to Paris from Russia 13 years later as choreographer and 3 friends work together again. Explores friendship, choice of love or career,, difficulty of career in ballet. Too much foul language not needed. Slow book but good ending

The book was so bad I couldn’t finish it completely. I feel like it has no story line. It also had many complicated names that I couldn’t pronounce. I read 22 percent of the book and all it talked about was Delphine writing a play.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale is a gripping, emotional thriller about three ballerinas in the vein of Netflix's Tiny Pretty Things. Delphine is a 36 year-old choreographer who recently moved back St. Petersburg back to her home city of Paris, where she grew up and attended the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet. She is moving back to choreograph a piece starring one of her best friends, Lindsay. But moving back to her childhood city and seeing her old friends brings back painful memories - of first loves, betrayals, and unforgivable sins.

Here is an excerpt from the Preface of the book from Delphine's point of view: (This isn't a spoiler because it's from the first pages of the book.)

"Before Nathalie emailed and offered to take me back, before I killed anyone, I saw variations of the same quotation everywhere: Paris is always a good idea... At the time, they seemed like a sign that I should do it. I should go home. When I'd lived in Paris, I'd never had starry-eyed notions about what the city was, but I was perfectly ready to buy into them if they meant I could come back. Paris is always a good idea? Great. Bring on the macarons, the endless wine, the strolls along the Seine.
...
Always a good idea? Paris is nothing more than an empty stage. It's only as good or bad as the people in it, and the willful naivete of that statement turns my stomach. I don't see what it does to mythologize a city. Sure, it's pretty. But how much is pretty worth?"

The book alternates between the past, when the three main characters were teenagers, and the present, when they are in their mid-thirties. While this book is thrilling and there are some scary scenes, it is more than a thriller. It's an in-depth look into the mindset of ballerinas and what they will do and give up to achieve their dreams. I was reminded of another book that came out this year, The Girls Are So Nice Here. Both books speak to the darkness in memories of the past and how sins of the past can follow you into the future. In addition, both books are more than simply thrillers; they explore the psychology of women as they confront sexuality, growing up, and the darkness within themselves.

Overall, The Ballerinas is an intensely feminist thriller set in a top ballet school and company in Paris. If you're a fan of psychological thrillers or if you're intrigued by the description, you won't regret checking out The Ballerinas when it comes out in December!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so, I'm a little confused by The Ballerinas if I'm being completely honest here. The synopsis made this seem like it was going to be an addictive mystery thriller kind of book. So after reading that, I was super excited to dive into this one and yet... I was devastated after doing so.

It's not like I didn't try to find something likable about this book because I did. I just couldn't connect with any of the characters in this one. I feel like I learned a lot of ballet and friendship but that's basically it. It was interesting to see how their friendship developed throughout the years and what their reunion was looking like as well. That's it though.

As for the mystery and thriller? Well, I'm currently still looking for that because I didn't really get that vibe with this one. It had a few twists that were nice but they also felt a bit predictable. The one I didn't see until the last second was the ending. I honestly think that was the best part of the book because it brought them all closer.

In the end, it had potential to be a great book but I think I just had high expectations for this one.

I really enjoyed the second half of this book, but the first half I really had to push through. I considered this more a story about self-discovery, personal growth, and friendship than mystery/thriller, although the end was quite surprising. While the three female main characters (the narrator, Delphine, and her two best friends) appear to be quite complex, I found many of the characters (especially the males like Jock and Dmitri) to be pretty one-note and would have liked to see more depth there. Overall, a like but not a love.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for a honest review.