This book was difficult for me. I didn’t find it to be really a thriller but more of a character driven drama. I didn’t connect with the characters and after the last ballet thriller type story I read this felt very familiar.

I thought the premise seemed great- Paris, ballet and friendship. I was feeling a Black Swan kind of vibe but ultimately it was not my cup of tea. I think that many folks would enjoy this especially if they like twisty psychological stories.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this.

I found the concept of this book to be exciting. The athleticism and competitive nature of ballerinas is a fascinating backdrop for a novel. I enjoyed the mysterious aspects of the book. It is a very character-driven novel, and I thought the development of Delphine was very realistic. We see her rise and fall and her inadequacies and flaws. At times, it makes it difficult to cheer for her throughout the book, but I'm not sure if the author wrote Delphine with the idea of being lovable. It seems to me that she is a natural person who makes mistakes.

I would have loved to read more about the world of ballerinas and not as much about the behind-the-scenes drama. I also thought the book would have had better pacing if told chronologically.

Last year, I decided for December I would read books focusing on Ballet because, well, silly as it is, December is for The Nutcracker, so why not? I'm so happy to have been given advanced access to The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale. It was by far the best of the ballet books I read. The characters were dynamic and interesting and the plotline and writing were fresh and as twisty as the ribbons sewn on those daily new pointe shoes. This is an author who I will look forward to reading again.

Thank you to both author and publisher for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of The Ballerinas!!

i really liked this book and although it took me a while to get through i thought the story was amazing and it was nearly impossible to put down!

The Ballerinas is a look at the world of international professional ballet. I would call this book a psychological thriller. It is a character driven book. Honestly, I really struggled to even like the Delphine for most of the book. She was self-centered, conniving, and a terrible friend to so many.

The book is a dual timeline book based about three girls: Delphine, Margo and Lindsey. The story flips between when the girls were younger and starting out in the ballet and 2018 when three were women in the mid-thirties. Honestly, I really struggled to even like the Delphine for most of the book. She was self-centered, conniving, and a terrible friend to so many. She did redeem herself at the very end of the book but it was almost a little too late for me.

This book shows, all too realistically, the pressure and attention these girls felt for how they looked, how they performed, and how they progressed up the ranks where there was little friendship due to the competition.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

"We are all stuck in our own stories and it is so easy to see someone through only one lens, the role they play in yours"

I had anticipated this would be exclusively about three ballerinas and their friendship set in the ballet company. It was so much more than that.

Written with a dual timeline, you are transported between the early 2000s when Delphine, Margaux and Lindsay are starting out at the Paris Opera Ballet and in the twilight of their careers at age 36. The relationships between the three women as well as a critical mother-daughter relationship, a dancer and a kind neighbor (Stella), the women's significant others, the dance company and the world in general are all explored in this novel. I grew to care about each of the characters and hurt for them as they had gut-wrenching choices to make.

Rachel brought these characters and the world of ballet to life. The meaning behind the dances Delphine chooses to choreograph was brilliant and brought the story together in a beautiful way. I felt for characters I later despised. Absolutely loved that I did not predict the ending.

I look forward to reading more of Rachel Kapelke-Dale's works in the future!

This is the first book I read from this author. Although it was well written I wouldn’t classify it as a thriller, as it’s more a relationship drama. The true story of the price women have to pay to carve out their own place in the brutal world of ballet. It was interesting, but it didn’t kept me hooked to the story and I didn’t engage with the characters either.

I guess I am not a ballerina type of girl but the story had a good plot along with some wonderful information about relationships and loyalty. Delphine's leaves the ballet only to return at the age of 36 in order to start the next phase of her career.

I found the book slow moving, but interesting in a artistic way. I am still not a fan of the ballet but enjoyed the story behind the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I requested this book because the title and the cover went really well for me and I have always been into ballet...for whatever reason. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed with my choice...I was able to easily get into the storyline and learn who the main characters were and what made them that way...for the most part, I liked all of the characters minus the ones you weren't supposed to like...I liked the settings, I liked the bits of drama and suspense thrown in and I loved the growth that the three main characters went through...all in all, a really good book and I would recommend it to anyone who is good with a book that is not TOO much of anything.

A fantastic look into the beauty and hardship of the world of the ballet dancer. Recommended for those who want to read ballet books that are more about the gritty realities of the dance world.

Delphine, Lindsay, and Margaux became friends years ago. Delphine and Margaux when they were eight and Lindsay a few years later. Over the years, as they made the cut, the girls' friendship endured. At the age of twenty-two, Delphine left behind her soloist spot at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in Russia, as an assistant and lover to an older man. Now Delphine is back in Paris, fourteen years later, as a choreographer.

Margaux and Delphine have a secret, something they did to Lindsay over fourteen years ago. Delphine has no plans to reveal the secret but Margaux feels differently. Can the friendship of this trio survive the truth?

This book is a solid, character-driven, well-researched book. It's a great insight into the ballerinas' disciplined, cutthroat and excruciating lifestyle.

I enjoyed reading about it. My biggest grouse was that this book was marketed as a thriller but this is not one. It's more women's fiction. I might have liked it way more if I had not gone in with a different set of expectations.

I will want to read the author's next book because she is a talented writer.

I really wanted to like this book, but had a hard time getting into it or even caring very much about any of the characters. It also felt a lot like "Big Little Lies" with ballerinas instead of something original.

I recently watched a movie all about the competitive world of ballet which prepped me for this story. The strain and demands a dancer must put on their bodies is extraordinary, then add in the steep competition and you have a recipe for success....or a disaster. Written almost like a screenplay I was picturing the story coming alive with all its drama and suspense. Any time you mix female friendships, competition,and careers on the line you've got yourself a good story.
Delphine left her career at the Paris Opera Ballet long ago, secrets and all. She has had to keep what happened to her hidden from her friends and fellow dancers as to not ruin their lives. She has suffered enough and wouldn't wish that pain on her worst enemy. Now Delphine is back to choreograph a ballet and sees things have changed since she's left, but some things will never change.
I enjoyed parts of the book but it seemed a little stretched out.

It was drama/soap opera, not thriller or suspense, and I wouldn’t have requested it if I’d known that!

This was the second book I’ve read recently set in Paris, and this was by far the inferior of the two. I started listening to the audiobook, but five chapters in switched to my e-ARC, because I read faster than an audio narrator speaks, and just wanted to get this read, since I was finding it hard-going, and my mind kept wandering.

The writing was exceptional but the plot wasn’t anything to write home about. It took a lot of effort for me to even stay focused, there was just so much information that wasn’t required for the story, and the unlikeable characters weren’t unlikeable in a good way, if that makes sense? They were bland as.

These three friends (and I use the term loosely) were in a very toxic friendship, and these characters had no respect for themselves or each other. I wouldn’t even call them frenemies as their relationship appeared solely based on hate, one-upmanship and jealousy, and don’t get me started on the men in this book who were equally atrocious. And, to be blunt, it was tedious to read about. Also, I’d be surprised if this was an accurate portrayal of a prestigious ballet company as these prima ballerinas seemed very unprofessionalI, lacked focus and were self-centred. I know ballet has an ugly side but I wouldn’t have thought the artistic directors and choreographers would stand for it as it’s their reputation on the line? Maybe I’m over thinking it, as it was fictional after all. Learning about the cut-throat world of ballet was initially interesting, but since there was so much of it, it quickly got old.

I wish it had of been marketed better, as I clearly wasn’t the right audience for this book.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Rachel Kapelke-Dale, for the e-ARC.

Available now!

P.S. The cover art is absolutely gorgeous.

I had really hoped that I would enjoy this book. A story about ballerinas where we hear about something that happened in the past and the consequences of it in the present. There's got to be intrigue, right? This book needed some editing because the interest is few and far between. The narrator was so unsure of herself for so long that it got to be annoying. She kept teasing the reader about what happened all those years ago but giving nothing away for far too long. There was a point where I just couldn't care at all anymore. I began to skim after a while and that didn't really help. This story suffers the most from uninspiring characters and lack of editing.

As a former dancer, I loved the glimpse into what it takes to become a professional ballerina. I was hoping this book would be similar to The Black Swan but this book really wasn't a thriller. While things were added for shock value there wasn't a strong sense of building suspense throughout the story. I also felt like the author tried too hard to cram in many topics like murder, sexual abuse, abortion, etc. but all of the drama was unnecessary and became a bit over the top by the end.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Love the cover!

Billed as a <b>"Dare Me meets Black Swan and Luckiest Girl Alive in a captivating, voice-driven debut novel about a trio of ballerinas who meet as students at the Paris Opera Ballet School.",</b> I was excited to dive into this one, and I wasn't disappointed. I mean, I really didn't see the "Black Swan" tie in, but that wasn't a big deal. The story itself was engaging. Told in a dual timeline fashion. It was well written and well paced. This is a story driven by its characters (none of them particularly likable.) A friendship between three flawed dancers. Their secrets. Their struggles. Their hopes and dreams. The only niggle I had was that I wanted a certain situation wrapped up with a tighter "this is what happened" bow, but otherwise I thought this book (especially as this is the author's debut) was a really solid read.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Rachel Kapelke-Dale's The Ballerinas moves back and forth in time to follow the relationships, successes and failures, of a trio of ballerinas (Delphine, Lindsay and Margaux) who came up through the ranks of the Paris Opera Ballet together. As in many such novels, dark secrets at the heart of the story are very gradually revealed.

The puzzle of what happened in the past (what was done to and by Delphine) pulls reader interest through the story, along with the atmosphere and intricacies of the world of ballet. It's the center of these young women's lives - and ambitions - taking precedence over all else.

The Ballerinas is ultimately about all aspects of female friendship, but also about men who abuse their power over women. It's well worth the read.

This is about a trio of ballerinas who meet as students at the Paris Opera Ballet School. Delphine abandons the school for a new life in St. Petersburg and carries a secret. This follows the ballerinas throughout the years.

This is categorized as a thriller and I would disagree with this and think this is more contemporary. The book started off strong with the characters, but as the story progressed, I just felt bored and didn’t care for the characters. I only kept reading because I want to know the secret. The secret was okay with how it was executed when it comes out. It’s definitely we should talk about when it comes to the topic. For me this book was not my favorite and I had higher hopes for this book.

So this isn’t a cozy (not even close) but the event that precipitates the action in the book is the return of the prodigal daughter to Paris and the place she grew up (not her mother’s apartment or even her neighbor-who-is-like-a-mother) but the Paris Opera Ballet. Delphine left for St. Petersburg 13 years ago and is returning to choreograph a new ballet for the POB’s anniversary season hoping to begin the next phase of her career.

Near the beginning of the book she riffs on the phrase “Paris is always a good idea” because, well, maybe it isn’t, maybe there are things from the past that she doesn’t want to face. But she hopes to reconnect with her two best friends, Margaux and Lindsey.

As another author once said, you can’t go home again. Things change, people change, and maybe the secret from the past you thought was so awful isn’t the worst thing that could happen to someone.

I studied ballet for over 10 years and can't say no to a ballet book. Earlier this year I read The Turn Out by Megan Abbot and was disappointed. There wasn’t much ballet in it, and the story itself was styled as a thriller with a twisty plot and I guess it was but I just didn’t like it very much.

Is there a twist here? YES, a gut wrenching one but this is not a thriller. Kapelke-Dale gives instead what it means to be a female dancer, a female dancer whose only friends are other dancers, who strives and wants only one thing, to be a star but lives in a world where men have the power and even the men who appear to be nice might be something else altogether. There is also a lot here about how growing up in a place that twists and manipulates your body (and let’s be honest, sometimes your mind) might not be growing up at all. And yes, lots and lots of dancing.

In some ways, this reminded me of Megan Collins’ The Winter Sister (which I also did not think of as a traditional thriller). Highly recommend, and the audio performance by Ell Potter serves to enrich and elevate the book. Thank you Netgalley and McMillan Audio for a copy in exchange for my honest review.