Saskia Kreis was a child piano prodigy. She grows up in the huge family estate in Milwaukee, The Elf House. When she has to return to Milwaukee from New York due to her mother's unexpected death, she is hoping to inherit her beloved Elf House but she discovers that the house was gifted by her mother to a man from her teenage past that changed her life forever. It wasn't necessarily for the better either. As her father and her try to discover the truth behind the million dollar estate giveway, her secret past is trudged up and she has to decide if the truth is worth telling this many years later and how that will look for her future.

Honestly, what drew me to this ARC was the mention of it being a bit like My Dark Vanessa (one of my favorite books). Though it has some similarities, this book can easily stand all on its own without the popular books name drop.

The beginning of each chapter features an excert from her mother's fairy tales for little feminist's collection and I found them humourous and a great way to introduce each part. Each chapter is written from the perspective of her teen years and the present of her adult years. I loved this style.

I knocked a star off because it did take me awhile to get into the book but once it got going, it was great.

I enjoyed the start of each chapter as we read her mothers words on her take on fairytales with a feminist view of saving themselves and having choices. And all she wanted was the same for her daughter. Beautifully written allowing us to think on various topics of feminist views, sexual abuse, family, and innocence

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Ingenue.

I didn't read the author's first book so I went into The Ingenue with an open mind.

This is yet another book with a theme riding on the #MeToo movement.

First, what I liked:

The brief snippets of the feminist fairytales at the beginning of each chapter.

The origins of Elf House and how it must be bequeathed to a living descendant of the original owner.

The ending: I love when the bad guy gets his or her comeuppance.

What I didn't like:

Saskia. She's not a sympathetic character, and despite what happened to her when she was a young teenager, I didn't empathize with her.

She's selfish, bratty, and rude; it felt like she only wanted Elf House because she was entitled to it as her mother's daughter, not because she was proud of her family heritage and legacy.

The premise: it's getting old reading about young girls being taken advantage of by disgusting older men.

I read to be entertained and be amused; I don't want to be reminded of society and the world's problems.

The story had a decent start but then the narrative dragged, filled with legalese about Elf House, Saskia's ruminations about Patrick, searching for his other victims.

I generally dislike dual timelines, but I think it worked here because the past narrative was short.

Still, the past timeline took too much time to get to the point, though I knew exposition was necessary to detail how Saskia became a piano prodigy and when her path crossed with Patrick.

The writing was good, but dull characters and an unoriginal premise made this an underwhelming read for me.

I read the Ballerinas last year, so when I heard Rachel was coming up with a new novel I was so excited to get my hands on it, and when I got the ARC from NetGalley I just couldn’t be happier. This book has all the plot twist and the drama that I look for in a thriller. This is coming at the end of 2022, so I highly recommend you buy this as a Holiday gift for all your readers friends, you will not regret it!

I really enjoyed that this book was a slow burn and it rewards you for getting past the slower start. This isn't the first book I've read by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, I had read The Ballerinas and really enjoyed the style and the characters in it. It had a great suspenseful atmosphere and I was on the edge of my seat from the first page. I enjoyed the plot of the book and getting pulled into the world. The characters were what I was hoping for and enjoyed getting to know them. I can't wait to read more from Rachel Kapelke-Dale.

"The beast in Saskia rose, had been waiting for just this kind of fight. “What, Mom? Like the girls in your stories?” Evie looked at her, eyes flashing. “Yeah. Just like the goddamn fairy princesses.”The princesses. The princesses who would always beat her, the princesses who would always win. The princesses who weren’t real in such important ways; ways her mother had always refused to see.“But your princesses . . . they never have to give anything up, Mom! The old stories weren’t perfect, but they were realer—they were truer in a way."

The beginning is a little slow but man, when it does pick up you'll never put it down. I had heard The Intense being compared to My Dark Vanessa (which I loved) and while there are similarities, Rachel Kapelke-Dale has a way with words that far exceeded that of the aforementioned book. The characters are well written which helps you develop relationships with them and that is important to me as a reader, connecting with them. A well deserved five stars! I can't wait for more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a chance to read this advance copy. Grab yours because you will NOT be disappointed!

A perfect book club pick - Heavy but ethereal, “The Ingenue” is a fairytale for feminists that weaves trauma and growth as Saskia copes with her past and determines her own legacy.

3.5

I found this to be a pretty interesting read -- definitely reminded me of "My Dark Vanessa" but more compelling in a way. I really liked the musical elements of it, but the estate law handlings got a little tedious after a while. The little fairy tales at the beginning of each chapter were lovely. The constant time skipping could get tiring. All in all, I felt like there were multiple aspects I wanted more of (the finale, the characterizations) but the book still felt longer than it needed to, and by the time I got to the finale I was ready for it end.

I'm not sure I liked the way the ending was handled (though part of me wanted that to happen from the very beginning) but I also understand that it doesn't matter if I like it or not -- because it's the justice that Saskia wished to see.

Received a free copy from Netgalley.

This was my second outing with Rachel Kapelke-Dale, after reading her first novel, THE BALLERINAS, last year—and funny enough, this one had the exactly opposite problem. Whereas THE BALLERINAS gripped me from the start only to fade fast at the end, the first two-thirds of THE INGENUE were a bit of a slog—and the ending, in all its chaos, was fabulous.

Let's start with the positives: obviously I loved the "feminist fairytales" featured at the beginning of every chapter, and on the whole, I found Saskia to be a really dynamic, interesting character. I can totally see Kapelke-Dale's evolution as a novelist here, as she continued playing with and expanding upon themes she introduced in her first book, and that's always an awesome thing to be able to recognise as a reader.

That being said, this is the second book featuring dual timelines I've read so far this month, and I've decided that maybe I'm not a fan. Here, it functioned primarily to contextualise Saskia's relationship with Patrick and her mother, but the segments set in the past were so detailed and involved that they had the effect of really slowing down the action in the present timeline, which is ultimately the storyline I was more interested in. (The "My Dark Vanessa" comparisons were spot-on, though, so I can see where others might disagree.) And as much as I loved the ending, I have to acknowledge that it did come slightly out of nowhere; in every respect, it was pure gothic thriller, and the tone of the rest of the book was very subdued by comparison. I wish she had played up that element more consistently throughout, this would have been unbeatable.

Rachel Kapelke-Dale's new novel The Ingenue follows former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis as she's forced to revisit her traumatic past and the romantic teenage relationship that changed her life. Set against a post #MeToo environment, the author delves into the expectations of talent, mother-daughter relationships, and what happens when you lose the things that once made you exceptional.

A dark read, the story moves back and forth between present time and Saskia's childhood, divulging secrets along the way. I especially enjoyed the revamped feminist versions of fairytales attributed to her author-mother and how Saskia ultimately came to understand her mother's full legacy. Not a read for those wanting something light, I enjoyed this dark, contemporary fairytale and the depth of the character development. This one will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy. Four and half stars.

This book was not for me. After reading the authors previous book I was slightly intrigued to read this but the story was bland and the majority of it was just info dumping. i almost did not want to finish it.

I am Endlessly enthralled by Rachel Kapelke-Dales writing! This story is beautiful and dark and twisted and will keep you engaged through its entirety. Absolutely loved, auto-buy author for me!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fantastic - reminded me of My Dark Vanessa, but lighter. It felt hopeful for victims, and more palatable for the reader.

So good! It starts out like a tiny snowball that slowly starts to roll down a hill that goes faster and faster and becomes a giant unstoppable mass. Saskia’s story just grows with her realizing what happened to her when she was young. Perfect ending!

This was a quick and engaging read, with a structure that toggled between 2020 and the protagonist Saskia's adolescent years (9-18). Each chapter opens with an excerpt from one of Saskia's mother's feminist re-writings of classic fairytales, and each early section begins by stating Saskia's age, which is central to the plot in multiple ways. I did feel I was a step ahead of each reveal moment in the book, which took away some of the pleasure in discovery, but it was a solid fast read for anyone interested in coming of age/ingenue stories that focus around the arts.

I loved a lot about this book and was intrigued until about halfway.

While I enjoyed the book throughout, I also feel like this was a very subdued attempt at tackling something as big as “Me Too” Movement.

I just wish this book had more depth to the incredibly sensitive subject matter it tackled. Full review on my bookstagram @pinned_pages_!

This is a beautiful book about the complexities of relationships, the perception of relationships, and how our age and place in life effect those perceptions. Saskia’s realization of what actually happened to her as a teenager was written with such grace. It wasn’t a sudden realization, as it isn’t for most people, but a gradual realization. Then there was the acceptance of that realization, which like most, Saskia struggled with as well. The author used differing time periods in each chapter to highlight the polarity of Saskia’s view as a teenager and as an adult. There was also an err of mystery with the book – what happened to Saskia, what is she going to find, and how is it going to help her save her legacy? The ending was quite a surprise, and not the way that I thought the book was going to end. I would love to speak with the author to ask her if she had an alternative ending in mind, and why she chose this one.

Former piano portage Saskia Kreis returns to her childhood home upon the death of her mother. She and her mother had a complicated relationship and she hasn't been home for a number of years. In fact she didn't even know that her mother was dying. After the funeral Saskia and her father learn that her mother bequeathed the family home, The Elf House, to a colleague, the same man that Saskia had a relationship with years prior. Saskia spends the novel trying to figure out how to get this man who wronged her in the past to give up his claim on her family home. This was a really slow read and although I understand it is an important story to tell, I was having a really hard time getting into it. Part of the problem is that I didn't feel that the MC was a very likable character. The story goes between the MC’s childhood and present day when she returns home expecting to inherit the family home. Saskia is an extremely damaged adult who was preyed upon by a family friend during her teen years. Each chapter begins with a “short story paragraph” retelling of feminist princesses which were quite entertaining, but overall the story was very dark and bleak. I really did want the MC to take down her predator, but I didn't agree with how that portion played out. The story was all about empowering women and taking control of their lives, but I felt like the "resolution" cheapened the story. Just my opinion. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a little bit to really get into the book but once I did, I couldn't stop. Saskia, was not the most likeable character, but i believe that was purposeful in this case. I liked having the dual timelines. I liked how the realization of what happened to her as a teen only made sense to her once she realized she wasn't the only one.. I definitely did not expect the last 1/4 of the book. Completely took me by surprise. Overall I really did love the book.

As someone who adored My Dark Vanessa, I was curious how this book would be! It was definitely a bit slow in the beginning but don't let that deter you! It is an interesting read & I'm grateful to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC.