“Three Muses” started off well but lost me 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through.

It’s the story of two people: Kathryn, or Katya, who loses her mother at an early age but finds her passion in the ballet where she falls under the thrall, romantically and otherwise, of her choreographer; and Janko, or John, a Jewish psychiatrist who, as a child, escaped death in one of the Nazi concentration camps by singing for the commandant and his SS underlings and is now emotionally crippled by survivor’s guilt.

Unfortunately, despite their complex backgrounds, I didn’t find the characters all that interesting, much less compelling. I had trouble seeing what each offered the other; and therefore, had a lot of difficulty believing the love story between them. Indeed, both seemed so self-absorbed and caught up in their own problems that it was tough to see how either had any time or energy left for being in love. Also, some of the dialogue between them seemed so commonplace and ho-hum that I wondered how it got past the editor.

And while I thought that scenes involving and depicting the ballet, and Katya’s passion for it, were well described, other areas lacked the specificity necessary to sweep me up and keep me glued to the story. For example, the description of the concentration camp and what went on was cursory and not at all absorbing, almost as if the author thought it was such common knowledge that further description was unneeded. (In fact, neither the camp nor its commandant is ever specifically identified). I was never frightened for Janko. Nor did I feel any real sympathy or empathy for him—which is odd considering the circumstances in which he’s placed by the author.

As other reviewers have mentioned, some of the writing is pleasing, even impressive, from a literary point of view. But the characters and their story left me non-plussed.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing with an ARC. The foregoing is my independent opinion.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genre. The premise of this book appealed to me greatly because I deeply love ballet, I admire its delicate grace and stunning constumes. This is a love story that also touches on various aspects of class struggle, and the horrors of having lived through a devastating tragedy. I really got emotional with the writing, the prose just touches my heart profoundly. Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book!

Thank you net galley for sending me an arc of this!



The book was beautifully written and the traumas of both main characters really well explored. The characters were also extremely well writen, and the connection between them through music was absolutely intriguing to read.


This book can be considered as a quick yet heavy read,and if it weren't for the insta love and lack of relationship development that I would like to see between John and Katryn I would give this at least 4 stars.

Three Muses by Martha Anne Toll is a beautiful tale of a prima ballerina and a psychiatrist, both with crushed spirits and a defeated attitude. Yes, they find refuge in each other's company, but that's not what the story is about. Three Muses forces the audience to face the trauma and find a way to heal. Its dialogues are the music in themselves and the story is absolutely magnetic. This is one of those tales that will remain with you forever and ever!

There is a mysterious vibe about the book, right from its title to its characters. As each character is obsessed with one thing or the other, the readers, too, find themselves mystified by everything about Three Muses. There are so many questions that bog its audience. Is the book called Three Muses because that's where John and Katya meet for the first time? Or, the title implies that the three main characters of the story are the three muses of the author? Then, there is the question of whether John should have forgiven Katya? Did Katya even wish to be forgiven? Even amidst these questions, the audience looks at the plot unfold, almost spellbound by the magic of it all. John's tragic past places the readers back in the holocaust days. They feel his pain and understand his anger, guilt, and grief. And then, we have Katya. Our beautiful and vulnerable Katya. We look at her and wonder why can't she rely on her talent alone. Why doesn't she give love a chance? Still, we cannot hold anything against her. Her backstory doesn't exactly justify her actions, but it definitely evokes empathy for her. Although Boris Yanakov, the choreographer, is the source of many woes, there is a strange pull about him that one cannot deny or ignore.

Three Muses by Martha Anne Toll is a remarkable piece of fiction that will let its presence known in the literary world for ages to come.

Three Muses is a love story that enthralls: a tale of Holocaust survival venturing through memory, trauma, and identity, while raising the curtain on the unforgiving discipline of ballet. In post-WWII New York, John Curtin suffers lasting damage from having been forced to sing for the concentration camp kommandant who murdered his family. John trains to be a psychiatrist, struggling to wrest his life from his terror of music and his past. Katya Symanova climbs the arduous path to Prima Ballerina of the New York State Ballet, becoming enmeshed in an abusive relationship with her choreographer, who makes Katya a star but controls her life. When John receives a ticket to attend a ballet featuring Katya Symanova, a spell is cast. As John and Katya follow circuitous paths to one another, fear and promise rise in equal measure. Song, Discipline, and Memory weave their way through love and loss, heartbreak and triumph. This is definitely one of those special books that I will keep on my shelves to go back to and reread. It says a lot that I am still thinking about this book a few days after finishing it!

A man who survived the Holocaust, and that only because he sang for a German general, now turns away from music. Learning of his families' death, the sound of music evokes horrible memories that are painful and filled with guilt. A ballerina whose very life is on stage and working hard towards that goal is her world. Two people who have to go beyond the past and be brave enough face the future together. This is a very emotional story as most are about those who survive the camps. Thankfully (for me) it was not a long story, short enough to get through, but don't mistake that fact, the emotions were all there. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for giving eARC of this book.
I wanted to read book because of the cover. The book is set in WWII world.
Katya is ballerina and john is holocaust survivor who is becoming a psychiatrist.
I loved their love. The book opened so much of my emotions. Book lead me through such a emotional journey.
Sorry for my language. English is not my 1st language.

This was an emotional read for me- I kept putting down to take a break in between. I found the writing captivating and I couldn't help but binge this. Overall I'm glad to have read this. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for this ARC.

This book is a lyrical work of grief and loss. The duality in the narrative and the characters and their expression of emotions is heart touching.

The duality in the narrative makes it sound like poetry - one of the most lyrical books I've read in a while! The character development is excellent and the writer does a great job of bringing out emotions as the characters and stories interact with each other, So glad I got to read it - and will be on my mind for days to come.

Sadly this book didn’t live up to my expectations, for such a harrowing concept the characterisation seemed lacking. It was difficult to form an emotional connection to either of the main characters, therefore the impact of their narrative arcs was largely lost. An intriguing concept and premise, the descriptions were lyrical and immersive, but fell short in terms of the impact of the plot.

this was really gooood.
John and Katya, the main characters have something in common. Music. but the meaning of it for each of them is worlds apart. Katya thrives in music, it means life and happiness to her, but to John music is pain, sorrow and loss. Katya is an ballerina and all she knew her hole life was stage , dancing and practicing. since her mother has died she's been practicing and trying to be the best of the bests. but one night, after performing on one of the New York stages she receives a bouquet of white roses and she feels that's the only time someone has seen "her". it's John who has sent the flowers. as a survivor of the WWII and a jew, he's had his own share of devastating moment. moments that was woven with music. he's only survived the Holocaust because of his good voice and his beautiful way of singing. but when he was finally free and found out hid mother, father and brother have been killed, he refused to sing ever again.
Until he met Katya and her stunning way of dancing. until he felt a flicker of light in his heart.
during the story both John and Katya face their past and their memories.
very amazing. a beautiful and emotional read. defiantly recommend it .

this review will be published on NetGallery and Goodreads.

thanks to NetGallery for providing my copy.

Three Muses swirls between the narrative of a man and a woman who struggle with their difficult pasts and their identity. I was initially attracted to this book for its depictions of ballet and its footing in historical fiction, two of my favorite things! This book was captivating, however, I found myself torn about how I felt about the writing style.

It was paced so that the two stories of John—a psychiatrist—and Katya—a ballerina—weaved together at an increasing crescendo, crashing together towards the end of the novel. In the beginning, I was a little unsure of how I felt about the writing style—the author often told us exactly what was happening in curt sentences. Sometimes, this style made for dramatic gut-punches—and makes sense when a character is recounting trauma—but in some cases, it felt choppy and took me out of the story entirely. But just as I found myself getting frustrated by the style, I would find myself reading a beautifully crafted—almost lyrical—sentence and I would fall in love with the story all over again and wonder why I ever was frustrated in the first place.

My favorite part of this book was actually the "before" — I know this was intended to be a romance, but I found John and Katya much more compelling before their narratives weaved together — when they did finally meet, something felt missing (or perhaps that was the point?). I never really felt invested in their relationship, and wish there had been more consistent character development for both John and Katya—I did feel the beginnings of shifts as John found himself but struggled to arrive there for Katya, and where John did develop, it felt forced and rushed at times (but again — perhaps that was the point? Two lives, two separate outcomes?).

Overall, I'm very glad I read this novel. It stuck with me until the end, and I find myself still thinking through the aspects of this novel I had issues with and wondering — was that intentional? What was the author trying to tell us?

The Three Muses is a beautifully crafted story about life in a post WWII world. John, whose family was killed, is forced to sing in the concentration camps for the man who killed them. He is now a psychiatrist trying to escape his tortured past. John receives a ticket to attend the ballet, where he is mesmerized by Katya, a prima ballerina. Katya is in a disparaging and belittling relationship with her choreographer.
Three Muses is told in paralleling perspectives. It is a beautifully written, heart wrenching tale of love, discipline, and the wonder of the human spirit. I loved reading about the backstories of the ballet, and the historical fiction was beautifully crafted.

Thank you to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I could write an essay on this book and that makes me extremely happy.

Look, this book is a postmodern masterpiece. However, I absolutely think it is extremely mismarketed. This is not just a piece of historical fiction or a romance. Mind you, I’m not trying to degrade the romance genre. I’m just saying Three Muses should not be condensed into the (very amazing) romance between the main characters. Now, let me guide you through each beautiful aspect of this novel.

First off, the characters. Katya, John and even Yanakov. They are all so deep, three-dimensional that at some point, reading this, I was convinced this was nonfiction. All of them have struggles, their own distinct personalities. They are not detached from reality.

Talking about the characters, let us touch on the most perfect thing: the dual identities of each significant character. Katherine and Katya, J and John, Boris and Yanakov. John erased his initial identity himself, while Katya was stripped bare from it. John is running away from his old identity, while Katya is trying to find pieces of it in herself. But both of them, in their heads, switch back and forth in the most perfect times. Catching glimpses of Katya seeing herself as her young self and John’s disoriented wandering in his memories. In the same way, we see Yanakov’s dual identity in Katya’s perspective. Their distance, bond and profession all shape the name Katya refers to him with. And that brings us to the next point:

Character relationships and power dynamics. John’s contrasting family relationships with his adoptive and biological family. The contrasting dynamics between Katya and Yanakov vs Katherine and her father. The contrasting relationship of Katya and Yanakov vs Katya and John, especially where these two couples end up in the end.

THE PHILOSOPHY IN THIS BOOK. OH MY GOD. What shapes your identity? Can you run away from parts of your identity inherited from your parents, race, culture? Does changing your name erase your past life? Can you possess both identities at the same time, in peace? Love and career? Love or career? Types of love? Do you have to be together to love? WHAT IS LOVE?

The writing is so powerful. Simple in words, dense as fuck in meaning. Differences in the two main POVs like diction, use of according metaphors, syntax and thought process.

The symbolism! Music, dance, the rose petal, the muses, song. Oh god. so fucking gorgeous.

The allusions. The allusion to three muses arranged perfectly to fit the story’s plot and philosophy was just… wow. Allusions to songs from John’s cruel childhood.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published September 20, 2022. aka my birthmonth.

Stunning, simultaneously heartwrenching and heartwarming debut from Toll. Consider me perfervid for her next story.


What’s Going On?

John is a Holocaust survivor dedicated to becoming a psychiatrist. Katya is a prima ballerina dedicated to her art but entangled with her choreographer, who groomed her since childhood and now essentially controls her life purpose. She stars as ‘Discipline’ in the Company’s Paris production of Three Muses. In it, Song and Discipline are united until torn apart by Memory, crafting a story from the Greek mythology the muses originated from. John, on a conference in Paris, attends the ballet. Katya utterly bewitches John. The story goes on to show how their lives weave toward each other.


What Works?

• My ballerina soul is happy. The healing power of dance ... the beauty of someone understanding your art ... 🤍

• The ballerina in me also loves the ballets, obviously. They are unique and purposeful. Even though the author isn’t a dancer herself, she’s a dance appreciator and explains the movements succinctly yet not oversimplifying them — in such a way that I’m sure non-dancers can still craft the picture, so no worries!

• lovely lyrical writing

• you would think that since I cry a lot, I would cry while reading, but nope. Rarely. In this book though, I Almost Cried a record six times.

• I adore them both. I connected to and rooted for these characters. John’s depressed stream-of-consciousness regarding his trauma and the world (esp a post WWII one) is so well-done.

• Their. Relationship. I want to cry at the gentleness between them. Come on: “Maybe he did want to cry in front of her.” LOVE
Honestly, THE WAY HE LOVES HER IS HOW I WANT AND NEED TO BE LOVE. (Does that make me a primadonna? I don’t care. I already am) I debated putting an excerpt of their first kiss for an example, but it would be sacrilegious to put it out of context. Read it. The very picture of devotion.

• Even though it’s in the mid 20th century, the story is not woven with racist ideologies and attitudes. Of course racism exists, it’s not like the book is “color-blind,” but the book itself is not discriminatory. Thank you, Martha Anne Toll. She mentions in her author bio how committed she is to BIPOC social justice, and she delivers. (Could she have had more diversity? Definitely. BIPOC aren’t numerically represented here, but they are qualitatively. I’m sure (and hoping) she will feature more in her future works.)
Many authors don’t understand that just because it’s a period piece doesn’t mean you have to write it as if we’re in that time and perpetuate discriminatory practices. (Unless that’s the point of the book and they’re actively calling it out and deconstructing it.) Toll acknowledges black characters as black and writes them as humans. As people. Not caricatures. BIPOC don’t need to be portrayed negatively or in oppressed situations bc they are not their oppression. Portray them as if they’re real. Because we are.

• Three muses are interwoven throughout. Song. Discipline. Memory. They form central themes for the story.

• Discipline & Song, bound yet controlled by memory...healed through each other. To master Memory, they must reshape their relation to Memory.

• Another theme I love? NAMING. Their original names, Janko and Katherine, embody their traumatic, unaccessible past. John had the privilege of renaming himself, but Katya’s name was chosen for her. She grew into it, yes, but it can’t be ignored that it was imposed on her — and ultimately binds her. John’s frees him. Though their new names represent unequal positions, their original names go from curses to gifts for them as they exchange them with each other. It’s together they can name themselves...and name each other, which also further names themselves. Yup.

• Bonus content, for personal reasons:
“‘C’mon, Dad, you’re not old.’ He was younger than Mr. Yanakov.” LMAO GFKLDEL. Not to romanticize it but I ✨felt that✨


What Needs Work?

• A few consistency errors (ie: sitting but the next second standing in a scene)

• Character development was rough for Katherine at start. John and Katya have distinct voices, but at times it felt hers wasn’t developed enough. I’m content with how it ultimately turned out, though.

• My other ones involve slight spoilers and will be discussed in the second bullet point in the “Slight Spoiler Section” at the end.


Who Should Read This?

Historical fiction & romance lovers are great reader candidates for this one. Also, art (especially dance) lovers. Creative souls unite.


Slight Spoilers Section
• Why, oh, why, couldn’t they master Memory? :(

• The ending man. This isn’t even a criticism because I get it, I really do. It hurts a lot though, and maybe that’s when I rarely cry at books because when something that personally hits me like that I mask it with anger and rage. Anywho. I was going to rate it 4.5 and round it up to 5, but now it’s a 4 because that ending kicked me and had me crawling to comfort read scenes in Pride & Prejudice. In all honesty, it’s still a 4.5, just with a different feel. Authors don’t owe us happy endings :) and mad respect to Martha Anne Toll for not giving me one, when I thought it was guaranteed

• When I realized the hidden meaning, I gasped. I suppose it could be easy (but no less effective) to figure out, but I didn’t until it was revealed. Lol. Simple, yet everything.

I read this sad and beautiful book in one sitting. It is a love story that explores grief and loss in such a thoughtful and low key way that I was quite heartbroken by the end,

Three Muses takes you on a journey through time. It’s also a journey through the lives of Katya Symanova and John Curtin, both broken, both haunted, seeking to find their place and purpose in their worlds.

This book starts out as two separate stories. We meet Janko, later known as John, a small boy given up by his mother to the Nazis hoping his talent for singing saves his life. As he sings for those who killed his family, a chasm forms deep in his heart separating him from his love for song. Upon rescue, he travels to America where he is placed in the care of a family who recently lost their son in the war. They become his replacement family and he becomes their replacement son. He adopts the name of John Curtin and becomes a psychiatrist.

John was my favorite character in this story. I loved how his first patient really was himself. He’s shy and courageous and respectful and so kind and he’s all these things while dealing with PTSD from WWII. I love how we get to see his transition from a scared little boy to a young man trying to please his new American family and finally, into an adult. John struggles to understand the meaning of love in all its selfless facets until he meets Katya, who helps him understand that to love is to sacrifice.

The other story is Katherine Sillman who is gifted with ballet lessons after her mother’s death. As she grows into a proper ballerina, she catches the eye of the choreographer/composer, Boris Yanakov, who changes her name to Katya Symanova, putting the curtain up between her and everyone else in her life but him. As he grooms her, she becomes entranced with him and by him.

Katya is probably my least favorite character in this story. While we do see a beautiful character arc and wonderful development, I cringe at the idea of any woman losing herself in a man to the degree Katya did. She allowed him to rob her of everything, her friends, her family (in a way) and finally, her relationship with John. He literally chains her to him for the duration of her life. It was sad to me to see her disregard warnings from her friend, Maya, and completely forget she even had a father. She only remembers him when he gets hurt and needs help.

I also found her to be a little self-serving in her relationship with John. He said she gave him a lot when he said she gave him back his Papa. However, I can’t really see where she gave more than he did. The deception of it all was upsetting also in light of her relationship with Boris. John was too sweet to hurt that way.

I will always always love when authors take their time telling a story. It’s a gift to be able to do this without making the book too long or causing it to lag in places. I didn't have any fault with the pace of this book. It picks you up and takes you on this lovely, very visual, highly emotional yet gentle ride. I felt all the feels. And the language, the imagery was simply stunning.

I loved how the two stories converged and then disconnected with only the very smallest tether left at the end. Wonderfully written.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-book. I enjoy it so much.

The beautiful artistic ballerina cover gives you an idea of what’s the book about. I have to admit that the covers caught my eyes.

Three Muses is the love story between the holocaust survivor and the prima ballerina. I love the way Martha weaving their present and past lives naturally. Separate yet intersecting. Family, childhood, abusive relationship, supporting friendship and memories create different us. I remember a friend of mine told me that people are attracted each other by similarity. For them are music and art.

This book also inspires me, "What does your name mean to you?"

Identity? Or personality?

Interestingly both characters have changed their names for different reasons - A fresh start of live when arrives to a new place to live and a more conspicuous stage name. But when they are with their parents, they will use their original names unconsciously.

This book is written in various expressive elegant sentences. It may be challenging for non-native English speakers.

Parallel stories: learning ballet (which I know almost nothing about) and surviving a Nazi death camp (which I know almost nothing about).. Both major characters begin as children; you can see where it's going – but will it go there? I found the book well enough put together, and was particularly engaged by the jewish boy's story. Shades of The Boy in Striped Pyjamas. I might buy this in hard copy.