there's been some buzz about the author's comments about negative reviews on this book, and so i just want to say: hi kiana, if you're reading this, i swear this is not hate. in fact, i'm probably your intended audience! i'm chinese <i>and</i> a ballerina, what's not to like? but the fact remains that this book is just not a good book, and i want to share my thoughts.

it saddens me to see how writing can be so superficial sometimes. when you pick up a book, you expect to be transported into a world of fantasy. you're expecting to see a deeply thought-out plot, fleshed out characters, each and every word a true experience from the author's hands to yours. kiana krystle's dance of the starlit sea achieved none of that. it's not that i'm saying krystle didn't work hard and love this book- it may very well be that she thought it was her greatest work, and it's very evident that she loved creating it from her social media, but what it lacks is true substance. behind all this flowery prose, there's nothing that connects you to the characters.

frankly, i think it's astounding how this made it past editing at all. the problem is that krystle's writing is so painfully centred ONLY on the images and aesthetic she's invoking that all else falls to the backseat. plot coherency, character depth and reasonable development are tossed away in favour of invoking pretty images. sensations. the most important thing to her, in her view, is probably the aesthetic it comes across as. balletcore, cottagecore etc. girlhood. 'i'm just a girl', 'how i love being a woman' trends etc. i can guess why- because aesthetics are trending these days, with everything made into a ‘core’. it makes this book easily marketable. all those tiktoks about convincing you to read a book based on their aesthetic- that's the niche krystle wants to find. but the more she tries to focus on these aesthetics without being willing to fully commit and put substance in her writing behind all that glitter and confetti, the more the quality of the book degrades. it's all so ingenuine.

i guess it's not entirely her fault because part of writing is thinking about how to make your book appeal and marketable to readers, and she's just following the trends. but i can tell she genuinely does not care about girlhood beyond the things featured here, like makeup or dressing up, or at the very least, she doesn't try and show that she cares in her writing. she may have loved writing the book, but it doesn't seem like deep thought was put into any of the more challenging themes the book tries to tackle.

for a book that's marketed for girls, marketed exclusively for women and people who identify with being feminine, this book is woefully weak in both presenting and developing female characters. from the inherent misogyny of the 'i'm not like other girls' trope in the beginning of the book to the underlying condescending tone krystle uses whenever describing female characters other than lila (the lead), as well as the way ALL of this book follows the stereotypical structure of the one female best friend that's kind and every other girl apart from that is a bitch who needs to be 'shown kindness' by the female lead, this book is miles away from the girls' girl image it tries to project.

you cannot write a book you claim centres on the themes of girls supporting girls and girlhood and simultaneously utilise inherently misogynistic tropes to pit girls against one another. it just doesn't work that way. it's not 2014 wattpad anymore. it is even worse when you place your main character somehow on a pedestal, claiming her to be 'kind' and 'brave' enough to change the rest of the female cast when she has barely interacted with them beyond arguing with them. it does not make sense— both narratively and literally.

i've always had a problem with treating girlhood as a trend. it's all fun and games and saying things like 'i'm just a girl' (which, admittedly, i do partake in), but the thing is girlhood is more than that. it is an incredibly nuanced and complex time of life where we grow into ourselves. to reduce it to a trend and capitalise on it's momentary popularity is to reduce it to a fad, a passing fashion, when it's so much more. nothing about this book delves into the complexities of coming of age and the difficulties that accompany it. like i've said before, here girlhood is trivialised- everything tiktok presents to you and nothing more. a series of images of pretty little lace dresses and tea parties and high heels. traditional femininity. if you were to tap on the pages of this book it would sound hollow, because it is, and there is no deeper meaning to this likeness of girlhood at all.

what else is there to say? for a book that prioritises aesthetics over substance, it is exceedingly difficult for readers to connect with the characters. it's all too easy to get caught up in purple prose (which this book definitely has masses upon masses of) but it's equally easy to get so carried away the rest of your story falls short. and even in this regard, dance of the starlit sea lacks. you can tell krystle put a lot of work into her prose, but precisely because she tried so hard, it becomes repetitive. there is a limit to how much one can write before words and phrases start repeating. this book has a HUGE problem with repetitiveness, too. phrases concerning lila's 'stiletto nails' and her heart 'speeding up' float around every 5 pages. the descriptions of her dresses lose the wow factor once you realise many of these words are recycled.

dance of the starlit sea had a lot of potential with that premise. but unfortunately i do have to say i think that synopsis severely oversold the quality of the actual book. with a lot more work, perhaps this would be enjoyable. but even for me, someone who by all means should've had a much, much easier time connecting with the story, it's simply... not.

Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for this free copy.

DNF at page 26, or, the end of the first chapter. I was so so so so so looking forward to this book, for a sweet, aesthetically ‘no thoughts just vibes’ sort of low stakes beach side Ghibli-esque slice of life novel.

Here are my thoughts in order of appearances.

“A burst of florals hypnotizes me towards the cottage.” This sentence makes absolutely zero sense. It’s missing a verb. Hypnotizing is like, a passive verb? Hypnotizing leaves you vulnerable to other verbs but generally. . . if you are hypnotized, you just sit there waiting for direction. “A burst of floral (scents?) is hypnotizing, and leads me towards the cottage.”
OMG okay so the plot is wild. Her parents literally sent her to go live with an estranged aunt, who hasn’t spoken to the family in eighteen years. On her birthday? After just a few pages, it’s already extremely weirdly angsty? Like, this sounds so tremendously youthful. “My parents are not just mean that they sent me away, they sent me away ON MY BIRTHDAY” mean.
And then, still reeling from “I did something horrible and my parents sent me away” there’s a ball. Which only happens every seven years for some reason.

Luna Island rarely gets visitors, the aunt says. Yet Lila has a ferry ticket. Ferries. . . apparently visit? Often enough? To print tickets? To an island that’s mysterious and no one goes to? Yet, the island is literally within eyesight of the mainland. And no one goes to it? Even though later it apparently looks like a quaint little French village, I guess they imported everything with angel magic or something?

And then, Lila apparently talks about how comfortable she is going between “reality and the otherworld.” And it turns super weirdly suicidal? “ciff sides, the open ocean, coaxing me to follow.” And even though this hints towards something magical and supernatural about her, I’m getting a really deep uncomfortable feeling. She goes from wildly violent and abusive to self-hating and suicidal and I feel like the author (is the character a self-insert?) should go talk to someone about this because this isn’t healthy.

“She tosses back the beach waves fanning her neck.” What does this even mean?

Aunt Laina literally said this ball happens every seven years, then the following page “We usually have months to prepare but one town meeting and bam! Only a few days notice.”

How. . . do you have a tradition. . . that’s every seven years? And no one is prepared??? How does anyone have only a few days notice? Oh, it’s literally just “we are breaking tradition and having a ball RIGHT NOW right when our main character is sent to this weird island ON HER BIRTHDAY after something horrible.” Like. It’s so extremely obviously “I’m not like other girls” special.

I’m struggling to know how long after Lila arrives to the island and her aunt’s home is this present narration actually occurring. Did she just get there? The book opens with her flopping down at the shore, thinking about drowning herself, and then she’s going to sit and have a tea with her aunt. . . and then her aunt is like ‘here’s a fresh $100 go buy a dress btw there’s some pageant tonight it’s also your birthday but I’ve got to leave you alone after just telling you how horrible it is to be alone on your birthday it’s okay if it’s retail therapy oh there’s a boat leaving the dock at 8pm you’ll figure out where it is don’t be late k laters”

Also, apparently this island is trapped in some complete cottage core world because EVERYONE is “parading down cobblestone steps, wearing long pastel dresses and carrying bouquets of bright flowers tied with a bow.”

Oh my god, teenagers greet each other with ‘good tidings.’

The girl hatred here is just wild. I picked up this book because I wanted the sweet and cute aethestics. But the first girls we meet, they are dripping with the worst ‘mean jealous girl’ vibes. They put each other down while dress shopping. Lila is apparently better than them because she’s ‘seen the same girls in competitions.’ So. This book is going to seriously be a ‘cute, wonderful feminine aesthetic’ used to hate on girls and show girls in the worst, most sexist light??? No thanks.

The thing with the angels really kind of caught me off guard, too, because this ends up giving me some serious Christian vibes that give me a complete ick. Later, when Lila’s father basically accuses her of being a demon??? Ick.

Also, Lila goes dress shopping. . . at a ‘famous’ dress store whose dresses have literal /magic/ in them. And they are less than $100.

Also, for a girl who is taunted as a tourist, everyone seems very eager to spill about these angels being real, even though one character literally says “it’s out little secret on the island.” How can it be a secret if you tell everyone. . . especially someone you point out is a tourist??

There is a LOT of self-hatred, I mean really vile horrible self-hatred and constant suicidal ideation that really runs counter to the lush imagery and playfulness of a cottagecore-esque town. Honestly, this girl needs some serious help and it’s weird that the message is ‘suppress how evil you are’ and not like ‘omg I really need help.’

HOW can a ballerina literally do ballet moves THIGH deep in the ocean, with waves that are crashing into her? HOW does one pull of an arabesque?” A series of pirouettes. . . “ IN THIGH HIGH WATER as ‘the ocean plummets into me.’ HOW HOW HOW HOW

OMG and I had to DNF when the main character. . . literally rips out her mother’s throat. On page 25. In vivid descriptions of blood. “Digging into the delicate fruit and dividing its flesh, destroying its purity and all my mother’s collected love. I began clawing at my mother’s throat.” “My mother struggling for breath on the ground.”

“Maybe if I were a better ballerina, my parents would’ve wanted to keep me.”

UGH MAYBE IF YOU DIDN’T RIP OUT YOUR MOTHER’S THROAT WHEN YOU MADE A MISTAKE AT A BALLET AUDITION!?!?!?

Why is no one sending this girl to get therapy!? Something THIS violent happens ON STAGE and no one sees this girl needs serious intervention?!

“That night, I realized I would never be the person my parents wanted me to be. With my hands still covered in blood. . . I swore to keep my demons buried.”

UHHH WHAT?!

The violence described in the assault on her mother is just way too much for me. This was marketed as a sweet, cute love story surrounded in lace and flowers and beautiful, lush descriptions. The tone is all over the place. Literally one second the most visceral description of seafoam (seafoam is described at least seven times in this opening chapter), but then the second, gregariously violent imagery of blood pouring onto the ground as the main character ‘claws’ at her mother’s throat.

Instant pass. Wow. What a miss.

This book was very disappointing. The writing was "not it"... and the information going around about the author is problematic...

The atmosphere is definitely the star here. Dance of the Starlit Sea is like a cotton candy cloud landscape painting with a dark, swelling sea underneath. Krystle includes an abundance of imagery. She paints a vivid picture of the landscape, the scenery, and the magic. This book is full of descriptions of beautiful pastel gowns, food and tea, flowers, dancing, and more. You can feel Kyrstle's love for both imagery and dancing in her writing, which I enjoyed. I also liked the theme of grappling with wanting to be nice and feminine while dealing with feminine rage.

Unfortunately, everything else hides behind the atmosphere. I love a good atmospheric book, but the Dance of the Starlit Sea is lacking in character and plot. A lot of both ended up being repetitive. We constantly have Lila getting upset, running away, or running after another character, and then being told, "Don't be upset! You're special!" This scene happens nearly every chapter, but in a slightly different manner. The dialogue doesn't flow very well. And the main villain felt very out of place in this kind of story. Overall, this story had a lot of potential, but it didn't come together for me in the end.

Thank you to Krystle and the publisher for my ARC!

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★★★☆☆ - 3/5 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀
Warning: some mild spoilers ahead.

Thanks to Netgalley and PeachTree Teen for providing this free ARC digital copy in exchange of an honest review!

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱‧₊˚

Dance of the Starlit Sea is a vibrant fantasy romance debut novel, which deals with themes of girlhood, beauty and acceptance. It is specifically targeted to girls who feel very close to their femininity and appreciate the coquette/cottagecore/pastel aesthetic.

I picked up this book based on vibes alone. I happened to come across a self-promo post of the author on twitter, one of those posts with little arrows that point at a book and connect it to a few engaging characteristics.

But while someone may pick up a book based on its vibes only, the reason why said book sticks to the reader should be its story. I can read paragraphs, even pages of vivid and detailed descriptions, if it helps me achieve a full immersion into the story. In Dance of the Starlit Sea, I found this aspect kind of lacking.

But let's start with what I liked (and what you might like too) first!

1. Prose!
The prose is purple (a pastel purple, since pastel is the color code of this book), flowery and flowing like water. I could compare it to a neatly organized shelf with ornaments and a porcelain vase of lush flowers in the middle. A sight for the eyes.

The writing is very descriptive, in a colorful and vivid way that made me feel completely immersed in the world of Luna Island. It was overall very visual and sometimes it felt cinematic.
The sea as a metaphor of duality between beauty and danger was on point.

2. Deep Thoughts!
Reflections on the concepts of girlhood, anger, self acceptance, friendship, competition, beauty and innocence were very nuanced and it was evident the author deeply felt what she was writing. As the reader, perfectly part of the target audience, I felt a little understood.

3. Character Development
The main character, Lila Rose Li, blooms into a girl who's conscious of her worth and has accepted her flaws and good qualities as equal parts of herself at the end of the book.

4. A Few Other Things!
Plot twists were kind of predictable but they worked fine I guess.
And of course, being a romance and all, it has a HEA.

Overall, this book reads like a beautiful impressionist painting with a decorated frame. If you look at it from afar, you'll see its otherworldly beauty, its vibrant colors and the soothing sensations it evokes in you. But when you step forward to take a closer look, you'll actually notice how utterly vague it is; shapes blend into each other, messy and disorganized, the brushstrokes are chaotic and overlap each other.

That's pretty much it. Aside from aesthetics, this novel doesn't have much to offer.

Things that didn't convince me:

1. Lore? What Lore?
When I pick up a book marketed as fantasy, I expect its lore to be structurally sound and well thought out. But this book's lore is all over the place! Some elements are vaguely introduced and then never mentioned again. I've spotted a few striking contradictions, but most of all its magic system is inconsistent and it's never really clear how it works; not to mention the worldbuilding doesn't have any particular significance other than providing an aesthetic.

A group of fallen angels chose a humble fisherman's island in the middle of the Atlantic as their new abode after having lost their home in the sky, and that's why the island became... beautiful, like straight out of a fairytale? But they've  been saved by the angel Lucifer who's now stuck under the sea and became the devil? Also, they started a cult of beauty and every seven years they announce a pageant to choose the most beautiful and graceful girl, who shall become the high priestess of their cult to appease the goddess of the moon and then... disappear?? No questions asked. And we're in a contemporary setting, mind you.

An awfully beauty centered competition. Might as well have comped this to The Selection... it makes even more sense, when you reach the end and understand what the "pageant" really is about.

(Nobody is even using a phone!! Lila's mom has to send letters to contact her... in 2024. Are we for real right now?)

2. Do It For The Drama!
An awful lot of the events in this story happen... just because. No apparent real reasoning or logic behind them. It felt like they only existed to generate more drama and conflict, or to drag the story out for a few more pages.
Has Lila never questioned why, while all the other girls in that competition do just fine, all the craziest things only happen to her?

The last 12% of the story is also excessively chaotic & feverish and I couldn't grasp much about what happened. Only there were many pages of author cosiderations on girlhood and forgiveness spoke through Lila's stream of consciousness, and Lila became Over Powered for Reasons.

3. Insert Relatable Female Main Character Here
Our main character, Lila Rose Li, is a third generation Chinese ballerina whose dreams were shattered by a bad fall on stage. And the fact she choked her mother in a fit of rage, which got her sent on a weird island to an aunt she barely knows, instead of therapy.
This act of wrath is the source of most of her psychological turmoil, imposter syndrome and guiltiness. Too bad it's not properly resolved nor used in a satisfying way.

Despite growing as a character, for a good 80% of the book she was pretty much insufferable. I mainly remember her for self deprecating at any given moment, being obsessed with beauty and perfection, running and screaming at any minor inconvenience, constantly interrupting narration with her stream of consciousness that probably aimed at making her struggles sound relatable, and her stiletto nails. Which for some reason hold a position of importance to her character.

She gives chosen one, but for all the strangest reasons. She randomly wields the magic of a goddess because she was born on a very "special" day or something. Heck she even destroys the whole island in a fit of rage at some point!
Might as well call you Achilles because girl, you sure are wrathful!

Oh right! I also remember her for being distrusting towards any other girl. Seeing them as competition and always judging and allat. It was justified as an internalized habit from the ballet industry or whatever.
So much for girlhood and sisterhood, I guess. Maybe girlhood is only cool when it's about baking biscuits, sipping tea and doing each other's makeover?
Fortunately it doesn't last forever, she heals from this during the last 20% of the book. A good 12% of which is a total fever dream.

4. Help I Accidentally Forgot To Fill My Characters With Purpose Now They Taste Bland!
When I said Lila, the main character, bloomed beautifully at the end of the book. I meant ONLY Lila.
Aside from her, all the other characters can be separated in two categories: those who support Lila and those who don't. Yeah, they're that simple. Those in the former category (which includes all the major side characters by the way!) find their main purpose in helping, praising, validating and enabling her; they never once contradict her or reprimand her, mostly putting up with her outbursts and wondering where the hell she ran off to this time. The latter, on the other hand, have the important task of showing how much better the protagonist is than them by antagonizing her with either cheap tricks or straight up psychological warfare. But she's a bad bitch! Go girl, show em! Kick their ass with kindness! And similar.

One creepy thing I've noticed is that two specific characters, Roisin and Lila's aunt Laina, quite literally stop existing the moment Lila is not in the picture.
Get this. Lila runs off to cope with her emotions; she stays away for a while, and when she comes back, until the moment these two characters see her, I kid you not, they're COMPLETELY UTTERLY STILL. Either sitting on the sofa or on the bench swing, they don't move nor talk until the main character is there.
I hope I wasn't the only one who noticed.

In short, every other characters revolves around the protagonist to actually have an importance. They don't feel real.
Needless to say, similarly to the MC in Shatter me, she's the only one who goes through a little change from beginning to end. She definitely whines less, I'll give her that.

5. Cardboard Cutout Love Interest
In a romance, there should be two main characters. In this case, we should've had a FMC and a MMC.
But this MMC... man... uh...
Who is he again??

His name is Damien, he's an angel (why is an angel named after the antichrist...?), his response to any minor inconvenience  is running away (something he has in common with the FMC) and he has daddy issues. That's kinda it.

He and Lila have an insta love dynamic. (god help me)
He saves her from drowning, they dance, they fall for each other. The End. Oh right, he drugs her to make her forget. And lies to her about a life and death matter which did, in fact, concern her.

He felt more like a side character than the MMC. Only appeared when it was convenient and was always there to support her, and I mean like ONLY to support her. Conflict and banter were forced and arose from miscommunication, or lack thereof.
No discernible personality. Their relationship happens just because, and he's never really present. It all read very random and there is no actual chemistry between the two.
It never feels real.

This guy can go join Adam Kent!

If you really wanna know, Lila definitely had better chemistry with

6. Her Best Friend!
Roisin Kelly was the only side character who somehow stood out, because she had a purpose other than living for Lila! Shocker! Basically she lost her girlfriend to the pageant and now participates again to know what actually happened to her. That was pretty cool, considering she's the only sapphic character in sight.

But I'm not kidding when I tell you Lila had better chemistry with this girl than with her legit love interest. Because they actually do something together and Roisin has an actual presence! They have an adorable girl night when Lila feels down and Roisin often succeeds at encouraging her and helping her regulate her emotions. They're both very attached to each other for right, concrete reasons. Did I mention Lila reminds Roisin of her lost girlfriend? The heartbreak! The comfort! It was all there and never used! What a WASTE!!

Lila even says the CHEESIEST stuff about her and you wanna tell me she's in love with Cardboard Angel Guy??

"I don't want them to know how much she means to me. They can take anything else, just not her."

HELLO???
They would have definitely made a better, more interesting couple. At least they'd have a REAL dynamic!

7. Lila's Stiletto Nails
I feel like I should mention them because for some reason they always pop up in the descriptions about Lila, even at the wrongest times, and they survive a literal natural disaster. At this point, they've become a character of their own. A round of applause, please!

Conclusions: I am not as harsh with debut novels as I am with other books, and I didn't hate this one. I'm a snarky lil brat, but definitely not a hater, and one-starring a debut novel can be the ruin of a career before it even starts.
The only real problem, to sum it all up, is that it feels like the author prioritized vibe over plot & character. It reads juvenile and immature, other than plain random, difficult to follow and even self-insertish at times. There was an imbalance between narrative sequences, dialogues, descriptions and thoughts. I get it, 1st person limited can be tough. I should also mention repetitions in the prose. But these are all things that can happen in a debut novel, and I'm sure there is plenty of room for improvement!

One more small thing: the comp titles are all wrong. There is not much of the myth of Persephone (other than something at the end), and even less of the Phantom of the Opera. It's misleading.

As always, excuse me for any weirdness in my writing! English is not my first language 😭

The prose in this book are beautiful. You are swept away to the most stunning, sea side town and are met with some of the most intriguing characters. The romance in this book is swoony worthy.

"I may be beautiful, but I'm not honest, and I've never been good."

DNF at 45% basically, but I skimmed to the end and read a blow-by-blow summary from a friend. The writing was quite good at times, especially the descriptions (when they didn't get lost in meandering metaphors), but unfortunately, everything else fell short. The characters' motivations and actions were so confusing that I often literally couldn't tell why they were doing what they were doing, I was just staring at the page with a math lady face trying to come up with any conceivable reason for their behavior. The MC drew so many unbelievable conclusions about how she had been rejected, how her parents hated her and thought she was a failure, how her angel boyfriend was trying to sabotage her; she had NO BASIS for any of those beliefs. The dialogue was in dire need of another round of editing, too. (I mean, everything was in need of more editing, but the dialogue was especially egregious.)

I hope whatever situation happened with this author/editor doesn't repeat itself, because I think Kiana Krystle has some potential and it was sadly squandered in this case.

The writing style in this book was just not for me. It's mostly world building and little dialogue. Everything is described beautifully but you learn so little each page about this story. I felt like I was reading the opening sequence to a shojo anime. This is a young adult novel, so for a younger reader who had this same fancy pink aesthetic they would enjoy getting lost in the world. I just favor more plot and dialogue in the book I read.

Where to begin. Let's start with Pinterest. Who doesn't love a Pinterest aesthetic? Who hasn't been sold a book based on its aesthetics? I'm pretty sure this is all of us, and Kiana Krystle knows that. This is why Dance of the Starlit Sea exists. Lila is sent to Luna Island by her parents after a nebulous terrible thing occurred to get her shipped off to her aunt. Lila is filled with self-loathing, but she's given a hundred bucks and told to get a dress for the upcoming ball celebrating the pageant select girls will be competing in for Angel of the Sea--a great honor! So her journey begins into Luna Island--a cottagecore Pinterest aesthetic come to life. The scents, the sights, the feels. It's all very rose-heavy, with breezy chiffon dresses with poof sleeves and make up tutorials and tea parties. Whatever. That's all fine, even if it's so heavy it all just slides off the page because eventually we have to get to the meat of the story, which is buried somewhere under all of these flowers and dresses, it's just hard to see and when you finally see it...it is incomprehensible.

The best way to describe this book is that it reads like a first draft. The plot is very start and stop and nonsensical, the conversations do read like NPCs in a video game and often do not connect or make any type of sense, motivations are confusing or lacking entirely, and Lila and Damien's whole relationship is repetitive conversations and reactions. Lila swings wildly from morose to enraged during every chapter. Damien, the love interest, is a one-dimensional character with one-note he can play over and over again. The worldbuilding is very Christian-coded, but feels halfway built to try to convince readers it's not. It just doesn't work on multiple levels.

Several people have mentioned the purple prose in the vein of Laini Taylor, and that does somewhat fit, but here even the prose is confusing. It manages to make what should be easily describable events impossible to understand. On top of which, the author uses certain words in ways that make no sense all the time, which is distracting and makes one wonder if she had a copyeditor or if she simply ignored whoever was gently telling her that's not how exorcisms work.

I do want to say it's not the girly girl cottagecore aesthetic that is the downfall of this novel. It's that it takes precedent to the things that make a book work: character motivation, dialogue, plot, cohesive storytelling. It's just not there. On top of which, there are interesting themes about girlhood and overbearing parental expectations that get lost in all in the roses. The author focuses on how people are worthy of love even if their parents make their love unachievable or conditional, which is nice, and somewhat works, but there's so much repetition of Lila learning this lesson and seemingly forgetting it at every turn that it becomes background. I was also disappointed in her discussion of girlhood and her refusal to interrogate surface-level beauty even when the set up is right there--the devil loves pretty things, but why? We never know. It doesn't connect to anything. Meanwhile girls are given this pinterest aesthetic to achieve and can never break free of it, so what is girlhood in the end?

End verdict: this book doesn't make any sense. I hope the author takes some of the critique this book is getting and applies it to her craft, because I don't think she's a bad author. I just don't think the book went through the development it needed.

The two stars are for some nice descriptive passages (as a gothic/sweet lolita I am all about the bows and pearls!) and interesting themes (let down by poor execution).

This reads like it hasn't been edited, developmentally or copy-wise. Character motivations and through lines jump around, words are used just incorrectly enough to make what are clearly meant to be effervescent descriptions confusing to get through, and the choice to withhold information from the audience about Lila's past and the island until it's convenient prevents the reader from forming a deep connection with anything happening. The dialogue in particular is wooden and reads like NPCs in a video game dumping quest line information. Young YA readers or big fans of angel/devil paranormal books may enjoy this as a quick read and not mind the flaws.

Four shimmering, flowery, sea-dusted stars for this atmospheric fantasy that packs some surprising punches!

When this book begins, our main character is in a very bad place. Caught between self-loathing and anger, she is unmoored after being cast to the island for a mysterious offence. But things aren't quite as they seem on this perfectly pastel paradise...

I've seen a lot of negative reviews for this one, and I hope that I can encourage someone to pick this up—because this book does have an audience, and it absolutely deserves all the love. It does carry liiight tones of Hades and Persephone, but I'd trend more toward House of Salt and Sorrows or The Belles. This book lingers in the beauty of elegant writing and endless imagery, just as the island trends toward the overly saccharine. I think the other did a great job of including undertones toward the objectification of women in our society and the over-purification of beauty. We follow a girl who is, at her core, an incredibly messy and turbulent character, and I think that's beneficial to know from the beginning. But following her on her long, hard journey of accepting herself for who she was and allowing herself to partake in love and gentleness was very beautiful. There was just enough of the island's eerie devotion to the angels to make it clear that this is more than just a romance. This is a novel of friendship and self-acceptance, of the complicated ties we have for our family, of the impossible pressure women are placed under, and even some hints of racism in the ballet world. I thought Kiana was incredibly wise and insightful with all the things she was trying to execute.

I do have a few complaints. Lila, the main character, was difficult to follow because she had such constant mood swings. She was very mercurial and this made her motivations difficult to pinpoint, but I almost wonder if that was the author's intention and an even more fascinating layer to add to the conflict of the book. The love interest, Damien, was also very difficult to love because he seemed very one-dimensional to me and I just couldn't find myself getting close to him. Despite this, I absolutely loved Lila and all the lessons she learned, and I really do think that there are some beautifully-done themes in this book. If you're looking for something a bit strange, almost feverish in its beauty, with a powerful message at its heart, I urge you to pick this up when it comes out!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I was provided an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree Teen. Opinions are my own.

"Dance of the Starlit Sea" promises things that readers of romantasy these days would enjoy—everything from balletcore to coquette, French-esque town, glittery summer, and Barbie magic. But rather than a book with pleasing aesthetics, it's more like pleasing aesthetics in a form of a book.

First thing first, shoutout to the illustrator for the manhwa/Webtoon-like dreamy cover.

I enjoy reading no-plot-just-vibe novels that—while it doesn't take you to a rollercoaster ride—serves you a 3-d experience of being in someone else's shoes. I got to understand their wants, needs, desire, fear, likes, dislikes, their world, people they love, lesson they learn. From the premise, I conclude that "Dance" would be that kind of book, but I notice there are two things missing (plus one additional note) that hinders that experience to take place.

1. Willingness to open up

By reading fiction, I believe we readers have privilege to access character's (that maybe also author's) inner thoughts and "communicate" with them. Through Lila's story, we only chat about how beautiful a world can be and that's it. Lila does share her struggle about being a third generation Chinese American and how her dreams clash with her parents', also how she can be such a wild child ("ocean of a girl" in her own words), but not with intention to connect with readers. Like there should be something deeper but she isn't willing to be fully bare. She hides behind her beautiful face, beautiful dance, beautiful dresses. I need to see her blistered feet and heart if she wants me to feel for her too.

2. Contrasting colors

The universe of Luna Island is depicted as enchanting, mysterious, and straight out of Pinterest board. Some of my favorite flowers, scents, pastries, and hues are painted in a way they are prepared for princesses to get cozy; it reminds me of Korean or Japanese comfort/healing novels where the characters are chilling and solving really low stake mystery. If "Dance" stops just when we learned Lila was trying to adjust to her new life, then continues to where her healing journey begins by meeting the locals and revealing the secret of Luna Island's beauty (love, acceptance, just pure wholesomeness), I wouldn't mind being surrounded by floral fragrance and sunset seaside colors until the last chapter.

Turns out there are sirens and sacrifice, dark-winged angel and underwater devil, battle of the heavens, pageantry—even though this one is too mild to be considered competitive, and overall cult-ish atmosphere. However, the colors present when bad things happen are too pretty to set the horror tone. The reds are not bloody or rusty or blackish but vermillion, scarlet, ruby. The greens are seafoam and jade and emerald. I didn't recall any browns other than tea or coffee? The lack of contrast is further reflected not only in colors but also in characters' tone and personality (they sound nearly the same and their conversation feels not coming from their personality and motivation), making it jarring and often taking me out of the story.

+ mystery side
In the beginning Roisin and Lila make a deal to investigate what happens to Nadine, but when Lila knows the answer, she doesn't tell her but dwells on another adventure. I was kind of confused, because I thought that plan is one of important plot points.

This book is heavily visual, moodboard-y, and niche. Unfortunately it isn't for me, the renowned pastel emo girl among my peers (LOL sorry for the cheesy nickname blame it on my friends) but maybe if you're currently looking for something much lighter than Shea Ernshaw's "The Wicked Deep" in which there are moon-inspired island and magical shops and lush writing style but minus the eerie plot twist, this could be your next fictional escape.

This is such a gorgeous book, and the shimmering pastel vibes of the island town, the glittering dresses, and the hidden sharpness underneath Lila. It truly had me wanting swallow the book whole.

Though, I just found that there were a few things that just weren't for me. The pacing felt a bit fast and the writing style wasn't my favorite. This doesn't mean that the book is bad, not at all, I just found that it wasn't to my tastes! But, it has so much going for it, and I'm positive others will be absolutely entranced by its beauty.

As a Chinese former ballerina with anxiety who loves the ocean and was born in San Francisco, I already felt very much personally targeted by this book, in the best possible way.

This book is for the girlies who love Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, who wear LoveShackFancy, who commit to the aesthetic at all costs. It feels like stepping inside a Hozier song. The lush descriptions leave you dying to immerse yourself in the world of Luna Island- there’s nothing I wouldn’t give to shop at Luna’s Love Shack, pick out a signature scent from Heaven Divine, or sip tea at Petals Tea Shop. Even for those who don’t identify with Lila quite as extremely specifically as I do, her fear that she’s secretly a monster is a theme I feel most women can connect with. She’s an anxiety-ridden mess caught up in being good and likable and beloved, all of which feels intensely relatable. It’s a perfect depiction of girlhood, of beauty and ugliness and how the two are so tied together they become inseparable. Lila’s journey to healing isn’t linear the way you see in most stories- she struggles and heals and struggles again, which is tied beautifully to the themes of the ocean and water and tides throughout the story. She’s an incredibly interesting protagonist, wrapped in a cottagecore fantasy world that I’d kill to visit, with the type of best friend we all wish we had and the mysterious boy we’ve all wondered about. It’s a gorgeous debut novel, and I cannot recommend this story enough!

I can see why many people don’t like this. It’s got some interesting ideas, but it was a slog to get through. I loved the idea of Luna island and enjoyed the MC, even though she seems younger than her actual age. However, reading this felt like going through molasses; the writing was overly descriptive purple prose that was completely distracting to the emotions and actions done by the MC and around the MC. This is marketed for readers who love Lani Taylor, whom I love (I mean Daughter of Smoke and Bone is one of my favorite YA fantasies), and what Taylor does right is the balance between flowery language and the bare bones of a book, which every story needs. Not even talking about the plot, but a story needs a proper setting and characters who feel real, not just something set up for aesthetics.

I originally was very excited to read this, especially since it seemed like my type of vibe. I did love the aesthetics of the pink not-so-wonderland inspired by Barbie with a much darker twist, but there was not much depth to it, or even the love interest and side characters.

However, I will say, just going off of vibes, if you just let yourself be carried by the plot and not worry about anything else, this book can be enjoyable. I saw other arc reviewers say that this book is just vibes, and I have to agree with them. It’s a fun time, but don’t expect much depth in it. Save it for a summer day. Three stars.

This book was just meh. I finished it. But as an adult I'd prefer an openly bipolar character over this woe-is-me prima ballerina pick me girl. There is way too much repetitive dialogue happening. And it's the same drama/resolution/denial cycle over and over again. If it was marketed to younger teens, it might do well. It would resonate with some of them, but not all. There are some good bones in this book, but some major rewrites would be necessary to help them stand out.

This story definitely has potential! The premise was interesting and the lore was unique, but unfortunately there were a lot of places where the action felt like it had holes in it and honestly it was kind of hard to follow. It was also hard to get a solid grasp on a few of the characters’ personalities and motivations and that took me out of it.

the author cares more about aesthetics than the actual story. the characters are flat, the romance is rushed and boring, the issues with lila and her parents should have been fleshed out more and instead there was a half assed resolution, and the "fight" at the end was boring. the author prioritized the appearance of the story so much that literally everything else that should have been equally or more important was thrown away. and the writing wasn't that good either. i'm not sure if there was an editor for this, but if there wasn't then i'm not surprised (and if there was then that's very concerning). trust me, i tried VERY hard to find at least one thing i liked from this book, and i couldn't.

Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree for the early copy!

I don't know where I land with this book. Many people are torn between a 1 star and a 5 star. It is because it has elements of both.

The 5 star things:
It exudes feminine and whimsical charm. Bows and chiffon and lip gloss and stiletto nails made Lila pleasantly girly.
The lyrical, poetic prose. Each sentence was saturated with vivid imagery and aesthetics. The book's strongest suit lies in its aesthetic vision.
It embraces whimsy for the sheer joy of it. I want to go to Luna Island for the vibes so much.
This is the kind of read that needs a leisurely pace. Think reading it in a hammock with waves crashing in the background, warm breezes, pink highlighters, and eating something sweet. (Publishing in August is actually perfect.)


The 1 star things:
Despite its aesthetic allure, the book majorly falls short in a few ways-
Repetitive inner dialogues bog down the narrative. I didn't need the repetition without any progress. it slowed down the pace, made Lila feel insufferable, and tested my patience. I can understand that she did something bad in her past without having the same thought over and over. Teasing with what it was went on too long. It would be better to just tell us.
Lila's lack of a clear motive or goal further muddles the plot, leaving a sense of aimlessness that detracts from the overall experience. I often found myself distracted and bored, as the story never seemed to go anywhere. I was just turning pages to finish, not because I was excited or curious as to what happened next.
None of the characters were developed. I didn't really care about any one of them.
The predictability of the storyline resembled late 2000s YA paranormal romance. Special girl with powers! Angels! Generic love interest!
The prose veered off confusingly sometimes and it was suddenly hard to figure out what she was talking about. The imagery shined, but the narrative faltered as it delved towards surrealism.


Why it is a 3 star from me:
Dance of the Starlit Sea feels reminiscent of those creative writing projects from high school, where storytelling was pure fun, even though it lacked in refined technique. There's a certain charm in its innocence and the sheer aesthetics and vibes. The softness and simplicity of the characters add to what makes it sweet, although it made me wonder if it served more as a therapeutic escape for the author than a literary journey for readers.
I have to admit I was barely following the story at some points and was just there for the balletcore/angelcore/seafoam vibes. It's hard to ignore that the story takes a backseat to the vibes.


final thoughts:
This would have thrived as an aesthetic tiktok or even a ballet performance itself, where visuals could carry the narrative weight. The vague "angels" and "the devil" could be excused because it's primarily a dance performance.
While its aesthetic charm and whimsical atmosphere give some delightful scenes, they can't mask the shortcomings in plot and character development. This book is here for the vibes rather than any narrative depth.

This book was very sweet and some of these reviews feel very malicious in nature, something worth checking on given the review disasters that keep happening. The world was very simple and cozy and something I think will grab a certain audience well.