I feel like this one really fell flat for me especially because I had really high hopes for it honestly. I think that the characters just lacked the substance that I was looking for and some paragraphs were made to sound pretty rather adding to the story at hand.

I see the vision, but it was not executed well. I found the character motivations to be weak and the characters themselves to be flat. There were a few nice moments of descriptive prose throughout but altogether, this didn't work for me.

Thank you SO much to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for an advanced copy of this book,

Kiana's prose is insanely gorgeous, the best way I can describe is if she took Lana Del Rey, Chanel No. 5, and all things frilly wrapped them in a bow and sprinkled in some darkness within the seams of this book. I'm not usually a huge fan of purple prose but Kiana does it in such a masterful way, I am absolutely in awe!

Dance of the Starlit Sea by Kiana Krystle had all the makings of a book I would love, but unfortunately, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. The premise—a ballet-inspired, ethereal tale with a Hades and Persephone vibe—sounded captivating. However, the story felt more focused on creating a beautiful aesthetic than delivering a solid plot or well-developed characters.

The setting was lush and decadent, with descriptions that really brought the coquette aesthetic to life, but the characters felt one-dimensional, and the plot lacked cohesion. Lila's character, in particular, struggled to hold my interest, and the romance didn't quite resonate with me. The world-building also felt a bit underdeveloped, leaving me with more questions than answers.

DNF - I couldn't get past the tiktok trendy quotes and then when I looked up what other people were saying about the book, it looked as if the author paid for goodreads bots to regurgitate the same review over and over because of the overwhelming disappointment in this book.

This book was an anticipated release for me, so when I was granted access to the advanced copy, I was thrilled to get into it. Its marketing as an ethereal, ballet-focused Hades and Persephone meets Phantom of the Opera sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, in my opinion the book ultimately did not succeed in what it aimed to do.

Starting with what I thought was successful: It was clear from the start Krystle wanted to present a setting rooted firmly in the coquette aesthetic, and I think the descriptions of the island achieved that goal. I think there is something in this basic narrative that could appeal heartily to an early YA audience. It’s glamorous, it’s emotionally charged, it’s got romance and drama. The prose is flowery and descriptive and seeks to feel very decadent and lush

I think though, the emphasis on these things took too much priority over things like plot, cohesion, characterization, and believability. What didn’t work in these cases really didn’t work. I felt that many of the characters were one-dimensional, and the reader was told how to feel about them rather than the book allowing for discovery. Lila’s deep wound was a totally reasonable thing to feel self-loathing for, but I struggled to understand why it even came to pass and how she was going to heal and address it. It was simultaneously the most important thing about her and the most neglected thing by the plot. The rest of the cast of characters weren’t given enough depth or action on the things that were their primary traits to really justify their existence. I was often confused and irritated by the lack of depth in terms of worldbuilding; this ethereal island is…off the coast of Virginia? But somehow totally lacks any connection with the contemporary world. There is an attempt at an explanation, but the pseudo-mythology the book hinges on also feels deeply underdeveloped and too simple to hang a plot on. The main protagonist is simply ‘the Devil’ but it’s unclear if it’s the same devil we are familiar with, as he is beefing with a moon goddess that is supposed to be incredibly powerful, but also has no tangible presence in the narration. The mystical angels of the island feel intriguing, yet their grandeur is undercut by their complete impotence. They have no true or tangible power in the narrative outside causing some drama in a pageant that is functionally a ritual sacrifice of a minor every seven years. When this is revealed to yes, in fact, be a very bad thing, the angels are never challenged for their complicity in this, either.

I could go on for hours on this. I’m so deeply disappointed, and I hate, hate to give negative reviews on books when I know how many hours and how much work goes into them, but this one just didn’t work for me.

Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to finish this ARC prior to the release date. I’ll be reading the published version now that it’s out.

I hate giving bad reviews but this one just didn't do anything for me. First I thought it took place in a fantasy world but I was wrong. I also didn't like the romance, and a lot of it just seemed a bit out there. It was just not my kind of book.

Dance of the starlit sea has some beautiful descriptions but ultimately the pacing and plot and world building are unwieldy and awkward leading to my low rating.

A ballerina who is sent away to live with her aunt on a mysterious island after an incident finds herself immersed in the island's mysterious pageant... and a boy is who just happens to be an angel. Lila Rose Li wanted to be a ballerina... but that all went down the drain after she attacked her mother and choked her to the point where she was bleeding and now she has been sent to live with her aunt on Luna Island. There she discovers the islander's beloved tradition, the Angel of the Sea Pageant and Lila becomes obsessed with wanting to win after she meets a mysterious boy who happens to be an angel named Damien who tries to warn her off of it. The more she discovers about the island's lore and the residents of the island the more she finds herself drawn to the ocean and it's secrets. This book felt so odd to read, it felt so repetitive yet boring, Lila was unlikable and honestly I did not care for her at all, and then the romance just felt like a giant no to me. I initially went into this book with such high hopes and expectations but it so quickly crumbled unfortunately. The vibes were not there, the aesthetic was meh, and the actual plot line felt lacking. The writing just didn't feel all that polished and the characters felt lacking. I wish I could say I liked it more but I honestly just forced myself to finish this book and was just happen to have made it to the end.

Release Date: August 6,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink | Peachtree Teen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Tyra Banks voice: It is so bad that I want to give you zero, but that's not possible, so I give you a one.

This book comparing itself to Phantom of the Opera should be considered a criminal offence, especially since it was one of the only reasons I decided to request this ARC in the first place. Otherwise, I was lured in by what I believed to be a magical and whimsical story with Asian representation (the pretty cover didn’t hurt as well).

But what I got was a superfluous, vapid string of nothingness. It was so clear to me that the author cared more about aesthetics and incoherent purple prose than establishing an actual story or characters. 

Example: “Seafoam tumbles onto the shoe, claiming me gently in the way I’ve always craved. The ocean gathers me, carrying me over the surface like Cleopatra — and I, every ounce as lovely as her and Aphrodite combined. Bit by bit the water swallows me, gently nipping at my skin until I dissolve into an aquatic spirit. Only then do I understand the language of angelfish and squid, and I move just as languidly. The sirens gape at me with their jewelbright eyes and try to steal me as their own.” 

There were several extensive paragraphs of descriptions like this, for no other reason than to cater to the author’s attempt at embodying fairy/coquette-core. 

The FMC, Lila, spent a good majority of the book throwing a pity party for herself. It’s clear the author was trying to capture a picture of trauma inflicted by one’s parents and the pressure that is often put on daughters as a whole, but failed miserably. Especially since Lila kept bouncing between being depicted as seraphine while also constantly saying she was a mistake. 

Meanwhile, the MMC failed to have any sort of solid presence in the story whatsoever. Do we know anything critical or important about him as an individual or as a character? Nope. It’s like he’s just a moveable chess piece meant for Lila to project on and fill the emptiness inside of her. There’s no purpose for his existence otherwise within the plot. 

I wish Lila could use her little ballet magic and help me reverse the time I spent reading this book by pirouetting.

This, unfortunately, was a DNF for me. I just really was not vibing with the writing style and could not get myself invested in the character at all. The premise seemed really promising but just not for me.

I requested this because it had many elements to recommend it: romantasy themes, ballerinas, and, of course, an eye-catching cover! Unfortunately, the book itself failed to live up to expectations. I know a lot of books have recently been bemoaned as "nothing but vibes," and unfortunately, this seems to be another victim to the trend. World-building, characterization, steady plotting all seemed to fall to the way side with the focus remaining solely fixed on turning a pretty phrase and aesthetics. I also was frustrating immediately by the heavy "not like other girls" emphasis that showed up in the very start of the book. And then, other than the notably nice friend, every other female character was depicted in a negative light until she was "saved" by the kindness of the heroine. If I squint, I can maybe see the message the author was going for, but it was so lost in the depiction that I think it almost went full circle and turned the positive idea in theory into a negative portrayal on page. Unfortunately, this book was a real let-down and I'd likely not recommend it to readers.

The Dance of the Starlit sea was absoutely stunning. I loved every single moment of this book. The writing was beautiful, and I literally felt like I was inside the book. The world building was stunning, it was very descriptive and as a person whose imagination is very high I could really picture everything.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this story. I can't help but love a woman struggling with not feeling like she's good enough. And I always love a good Hades and Persephone retelling.

I also really loved the idea of dance being magic, and that her dancing is where her power came from. The world also sounds beautiful, I would love to see illustrations and really hope people make fanart for it.

I will admit though, sadly, I did not get super into the romance. Perhaps it's just my preference, but I struggled to see any love in the lead relationship, though I did love the sapphic side characters. There were also moments I was kind of confused as to what was going on, though the protagonist also had many instances where she didn't know what was going on, so that may be why.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc, but man… I am so sad I didn’t like this book, I couldn’t even finish it. While I loved the cover, premise and occasionally the descriptions of the beauty around, the lack of editing and clarity made the purple prose (which I’m normally tolerable with) insufferable. It felt like the only purpose. The looks overshadowed everything else for me, and this is coming from someone who loves the color pink and loves to dress up and all other “girly things”, but hey, maybe I’m just not girly enough. I loved the cuteness of it, but I needed more plot to plot iykyk. 🥲

Thank you to Netgalley, Peachtree Books, and Kiana Krystle for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, I'd like to start off with saying that, Kiana Krystle, your writing style is beautiful and you have a lot of potential to write a powerful and emotive story that impacts readers deeply. I liked the way you write. I liked how easily you could paint a picture in my imagination of what was happening around Lila in this story. You made my brain light up with very little effort on your part, and I believe that deserves to be commended.

It is important to note that I am approaching this review from the perspective of someone who really wants to see Kiana Krystle succeed. I can tell she has a lot she'd like to communicate with readers, and I can tell she's put her heart and soul into this book. I want her to succeed, which is why I am going to provide the best feedback I am able to. I liked what Krystle was trying to do narratively, but the execution didn't quite hit the mark here.

I believe Dance of the Starlit Sea would have benefitted immensely from another round of editing.

Kiana Krystle spent a lot of time painting imagery into our imaginations at the expense of developing characters we, as readers, should care about. It wasn't until I was around half-way through the book that I really put my thumb on what felt so familiar to me about the way this book communicated to its readers, and then it dawned on me: Dance of the Starlit Sea reads like fanfiction. This isn't a criticism at its core — personally, I love fanfiction. That being said... you know how, when you start reading a new fanfic, the writers generally don't provide you with the backstory for all of the characters, because it's assumed prior knowledge that you know important information from their original source material, including who they are, what motivates them, and the existing relationships they have with others in the narrative?

The best way I can describe my experience while reading Dance of the Starlit Sea was that it felt like I was reading a fanfiction for a fandom I have no prior knowledge about. I never learned what motivated Roisin to become Lila's friend. I don't know why Laina (Lila's aunt) kept up a relationship with her niece over the years when other family members did not. I don't know who Damien was outside of the "family black sheep". I wanted to know all of these things, but this was the source material, so there was no way I could ever learn more.

The other large proponent to this book that alienated me was its inaccessibility with dance terminology. Whenever Lila started to dance, I had no idea what was going on. Expert level language was frequently used, and no basic description found its way into the paragraph either. I don't know if Lila twirled, or dipped, or raised her arms above her head. Instead, I was left confused by paragraphs (and there were many) similar to this one:

I ignite the ocean with a piqué manège before leaping into a grand jeté, sending shooting stars as I fly. When I land, I fall into a series of chaînés turns before transitioning into more bourrée steps.

I have no clue what this means. I am so sorry, Kiana Krystle, but my brain could not compute this, and as a result, I found myself frequently skipping multiple paragraphs whenever Lina danced. I didn't want to, but it threw me out of the narrative so badly that I knew I had to if I wanted to finish this book.

Overall, there's a story here that could be enjoyable, but the execution is slightly off. I wish Kiana Krystle luck in her writing journey. I'll keep an eye on her career, as I hope she continues to write.

I had been excitedly awaiting Dance of the Starlit Sea for over a year now. I loved the TV show Lucifer and was excited to read a young adult book that featured angels, since angels are a rare trend in young adult fiction. I read the first chapter and decided to set this aside due to the writing. It read more like a poetic stream of consciousness where every single detail in every single paragraph had to be overly described (like Lila's aunt always laughing for no reason and Lila tapping her stiletto nails). I ended up reading reviews after the first chapter (to see if I wanted to continue reading in hopes the story got better), but the reviews made me decide not to finish this based on the content: Lila decides to strangle her mom after accidentally falling during a ballet recital, instead of going to juvie she is shipped off to a magical island with her aunt she doesn't know, classic mean girl tropes as Lila befriends another girl, Lila becomes the star of the town and pageant and falls for a beautiful angel who is actually working for the devil, and we can't forget about the abuse Lila inflicts on the love of her life. Plus, that same overly descriptive language is splayed throughout the story. Reading all of this left me disappointed since I had such high hopes for this book. Thank you for giving me the chance to read this.

First of all, thank you, Peachtree and NetGalley, for this ARC.

This was probably one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Unfortunately, I could not finish it. However, the writing is full of imagery; every little detail, from the setting to Lila's nails, is described to a T. The reader will feel that they are in a coastal cottage-core paradise. Although this felt a bit overwhelming, I felt like I lost the narrative with the number of descriptions. But if this aesthetic sounds like something you enjoy, this book will be your cup of tea.

I hope to revisit this at a later time.

Honesty, I had trouble finishing this book. I hate walking away from a story or movie l've started. I always want to finish it and hope it gets better. This one did not. There is some good descriptive prose in this book. But a lot, a lot of the writing is so repetitive. We have a ridiculously wishy washy pick-me ballerina girl who reads bipolar going through the SAME exact argument with herself over, and, over, and over again every time something goes mildly wrong. I wanted to enjoy this book. I really did. There are a lot of promising pieces to this book. I read a lot of YA novels and adult fiction and fantasy novel. I could see some teenager feeling seen, and represented, and validated through the characters. But adult me, is cringing hard over here. I wish I could give a better score.