This is not something I would normally read but I was glad I took a chance on it. The story was engaging and emotional allowing the reader to connect to the characters with an ease I wasn't expecting given the Cold War backdrop. These of twins allowed the author to really dig into the east vs. west ideology in a palatable way as each sister finds their footing on opposing sides but it also gave a unique lens to push them apart when having such a strong bond to begin with.

This is a great read for someone looking for a historical fiction that isn't set during WW2 but still has that dramatic feel. I will be recommending it.

Thanks to Mariner Books for an advanced copy of Maya & Natasha by Elyse Durham.

This was such an interesting book and a debut too! Set in the 1950s Soviet Union, this story is about twin sisters raised to be ballerinas at the Vaganova Ballet Academy and their final year at the academy as they are about to set off on their careers and their competitive and complicated relationship. When one sister betrays another it alters their lives forever yet they are still connected.

I loved being immersed in the ballet academy and learning about the training and what life was like in 1959 Soviet Union. The sister's relationship was so complicated and I loved seeing how it changed (and they changed as adults). I was hooked from the first chapter and really liked the author's writing style. The middle of the book was a little slower than the beginning and end, but I didn't want to put this book down.

I definitely recommend Maya & Natasha!

Maya & Natasha by Elyse Durham begins at a post-WWII Soviet ballet school and follows twin ballerinas Maya and Natasha. As the sisters’ dreams for the future begin to diverge, their bond is tested and they set off a chain of events that will change both of their lives forever.

Elyse Durham’s writing is beautiful — no word is wasted and her sentences are hypnotic. They move like her dancers, and paint the world of Soviet ballet with both detail and care. Every setting comes alive, every era feels fresh and visceral.

Maya & Natasha is a stunning debut novel. It comes out on February 18, 2025 🩰

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC.

What a great debut! Set in the world of Cold War Soviet ballet, MAYA & NATASHA follows the novel's eponymous twin sisters and their competitive, complicated bond over the years. Both Maya and Natasha dream of leaving Russia to tour America with a prestigious ballet company, but when a new rule stipulates that family members cannot travel abroad together, everything changes. Which of the sisters will earn the coveted spot—and can their relationship survive?

I loved the quiet, character-driven nature of this story! It was so beautifully written. The historical context and events surrounding the narrative were also really well-developed, yet it never felt like those depictions overpowered the emotional aspects of the book and the characters' overall journeys. Elyse Durham does a great job of balancing all of those different elements throughout! I always enjoy stories revolving around the arts, and all of the ballet-related details were so fascinating—definitely another highlight for me, too. One thing that took me a little time to get used to is the narrative/POV style, since it jumps around a bit, following several different characters. I sometimes wished it were more focused on just Maya and Natasha, and went even deeper into their heads, but still enjoyed getting to see what other characters were thinking and feeling as well! Overall, I'd certainly recommend MAYA & NATASHA for fans of historical fiction (particularly stories set in the 1940s, 50s and 60s), books set in the performing arts world, and stories about sisterhood! I'm interested to see what Durham writes next. Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC.

What a well done debut novel! The research and history woven through the book was incredibly well done. The story of twin sisters, caught in the complicated world of Cold War Soviet ballet. The sisters become competitors, both vying for the chance to go to America and to leave Russia. The story is about betrayal, love and life during a challenging time. Told in alternating points of view, this book flowed seamlessly. The character growth was done wonderfully. The descriptions in this book were truly incredible - I truly felt as if I were watching a movie unfold. The historical aspect of this book was woven into the story in a way that only added to the book. This is an emotional story that will be with you long after you finish reading it. I look forward to future books by this author!

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

MAYA & NATASHA follows the titular twins as they finish their senior year at the Kirov Ballet. Each has the ambition to officially join the Kirov as a a ballerina. Unfortunately, that year the Kremlin decrees only one family member can travel abroad at any one time. This, paired with the fact that there are less spaces to fill at the Kirov, means only one sister has the chance for acceptance at the Kirov. Competition leads to betrayal, altering their lives to come.

From a distance, MAYA & NATASHA is a story about the effects wartime and abandonment have on future generations. Their mother, Elizaveta, was a ballerina who was eventually kicked out when she became too obviously pregnant. Despondent at the loss of her passion, she chooses death after giving birth during the Siege of Leningrad. Although Maya and Natasha have a relatively healthy upbringing, the country is in the full swing of Communism by the time they come of age in 1958. And while everything they do is for the pride of their country, that doesn't mean jealousy and competition go by the wayside.

Additionally, this is also a book about becoming your own person and either going with or trying to change fate. For most of their lives Maya and Natasha saw themselves as a a singular unit. This worked well when they were younger, but growing older means wanting more independence. It also means grappling with thoughts and feelings that cause guilt. There are lots of teenage emotions and selfishness that lead to rash decisions that change the course of their lives.

One twin ultimately travels the world with the Kirov Ballet. The other finds herself acting in the Soviet State-sponosored adaptation of War and Peace. Neither is in a place they thought they would be. And even touring the world is dampened by the constant presence of Russian handlers there to make sure no one defects. As they get older and learn more about how the world works, they wish things were different. They question their expendability in Soviet Russia and if their actions were worth it. More importantly, the wonder whether their love for each other can overcome their anger and resentment.

I can't comment on whether MAYA & NATASHA is somewhat of an allegory for War and Peace. However, their relationship very much oscillates between the two states of being. It is very difficult to achieve peace when feeling very much internally at war. The author does a great job incorporating historical fact (e.g., Cuban Missile Crisis, Balanchine, etc.) within this fictional story. This made it feel more real and helped mark the passage of time. I also liked feeling like a fly on the wall during ballet class time or in their dorms.

The narration is from a more distant point of view. As such, it offers more of an observational point of view of the twins. Because of this the reader may not feel as enmeshed with any thoughts or feelings experienced by the characters. I didn't mind this too much, but occasionally I wanted the story to feel a little more personal.

Overall, MAYA & NATASHA is a solid Soviet era historical fiction about twin ballerinas who try to change their fates. My heart went out to them and the tribulations they endure throughout the story. They feel boxed in by tragedy and their government, neither of which results in a healthy early adulthood. Pick this book up if you have a penchant for reading about ballerinas, which I wish had more feature time in novels!

I enjoyed this book but felt as if the pacing was slightly off. The premise was original which I always love and found myself connecting with the two girls in different ways. I think this book will reach a wide variety of readers, including those who enjoy general fiction, historical fiction, and books about sisters. I wish there had been a bit more background with the historical events of the time but still thought it was a heartrenching yet inspiring book and a great debut!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Mariner Books for my copy of Maya & Natasha by Elyse Durham in exchange for an honest review. It publishes February 18, 2025.
This is a modern Russian/Soviet classic. I didn’t want to put it down. I enjoyed reading from every character’s perspective, and I thought that the character development was very well done.
The mood of this book was bleak, much like its time frame. If you’re drawn to Russian literature, ballet, or Soviet era stories, you will like this one.

Thank you to Net Galley and Mariner Books for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
I really liked this book. It is the story of two twin ballet dancers, Maya and Natasha. It is told during the cold war in Soviet Russia. In 1958 they are both seniors at the Vaganova and looking forward to being chosen to dance with Kirov. Then a new rule comes into play that changes everything. This story is heartbreaking, with jealousy and lies. It is very well written and kept my attention right from the beginning. It was a quick read because I became so engrossed in the story. Highly recommend!

4.5 Stars

Watching (reading about) the growth of these fraternal twin sisters during the aftermath of WWII, seeing them work so hard at ballet to be the best, and hoping to find a little relief from the taboos of the times was fascinating.

I love reading about different times and cultures, so this book was perfect for me. I also love reading about ballet and have done so since I first read the book "Ballerina A Novel by Edward Stewart."While the book Maya and Natasha does not in any way resemble the highlighted book, it does bring the era into great focus.

The betrayal of one sister pretty much changes things for both of them, and the final betrayal was clever of the author.

An excellent look at Russia during that time period, the 1960s, and family.

*ARC supplied by the publisher HarperCollins, the author, and NetGalley.

Heads up on the narrative perspective, which is third person omniscient. I'm finding that I don't like that perspective, especially when the author explains to the reader more than the characters know about themselves. I also felt a lot of the character building was again, more the author telling than showing. However, the plot itself was compelling, so I'd recommend this book to anyone who is looking for sibling dynamics + historical fiction.

I had hoped this would be a good fit for me but it was very slow moving. Too slow for me. I did enjoy the ballet aspects.

Thank you to Mariner Press for this ARC I received through my book club! As a former dancer, this one really hit home for me. It was full of nostalgia for my years destroying my feet in pointe shoes and living in leotards. And there are lots of fun little easter eggs for those of us who speak the language.

Maya & Natasha follows orphaned twin sisters in Soviet Russia who grew up at the Vaganova Ballet school. It's a sweeping novel that tells the story of the all consuming nature of being an artist, betrayal, learning what it means to get what you thought you desired, and discovering what love truly means.

I loved how detailed Elyse Durham was when it came to the balletic terms and descriptions. She really did her research here and it showed. I felt like I was at the barre with the students or on the stage. There is a specific hunger that coming of age dancers have, and Elyse writes so viscerally about that experience. I could feel the desperation and naiveté of the characters at 17 - when you think you know everything and are invincible.

And as all dancers do, they grow up. Getting everything you want and living your dreams isn't always what you think it will be like. Elyse ripped out my heart many times during the story, knitted it together, and ripped it out again. Having this story set against the backdrop of the Soviet Union gave this another level of depth that makes it not just a story about ballerinas.

My main criticism of the book was the writing tense. I would have loved more insight into how the sisters were feeling throughout. I felt like I was a bird flying over everyone at times by getting everyone's passing thoughts as opposed to being inside the brain of our main characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed Maya & Natasha. If you like historical fiction, stories about the arts, family drama, sisterhood, and stories that span many years then you should absolutely read this book!

A compelling debut novel. This is the story of twin sisters, born in Russia. Daughters of a famed prima ballerina, who has an untimely death. Their mother‘s friend takes the girls in. They are raised to be ballerinas. They enter the Vaganova Ballet hoping to follow in their mother’s footsteps.
They both want to dance with Kirov and tour America. A new law is enforced by the Kremlin, not allowing family members to travel abroad at the same time for fear of deflection. The Kirov can only choose one sister. Who will they choose and who will remain in Russia?
Maya and Natasha have always been very close. Their relationship is tested as one sister betrays the other.
This is the heartbreaking story of sisters love and betrayal. It is a captivating novel with vivid descriptions of the Soviet Union and the United States relationship during the Cold War. I loved learning all about the history of ballet.
A heart wrenching story.
Thank you NetGalley and Mariner books for this advanced readers copy.

As Nazi tanks roll toward Leningrad in August 1941, an unmarried nineteen-year-old ballerina gives birth to twin girls in the soon-to-be besieged city. Bereft of hope, the dancer—once a rising star at the Kirov—slashes her wrists, but her babies survive, rescued by the devoted friend who arrives just too late to save their mother. The friend, too, is a dancer with the Kirov, and her tutelage and self-sacrifice ensure that the girls, Maya and Natasha, become students at the Vaganova Academy after the Siege of Leningrad is broken.

We meet the twins as they enter their senior year in 1958. At once inseparable and competitive, Maya and Natasha have developed quite different personalities, with Natasha the leader and future star, Maya her loyal follower. But as they turn seventeen, various factors pull them apart: boys; the changing climate of Khrushchev’s USSR; and the approaching end to their schooling, which even in a state-run economy doesn’t guarantee anyone a specific place in the world. But it’s when the state declares that, in response to recent defections by artists to the West, only one member of any given family can join the Kirov Ballet that Maya and Natasha must confront the reality that one sister’s success will come at the cost of the other’s. How each of them responds to that challenge drives the rest of this thoroughly engrossing novel. And although neither girl really recognizes it until near the end of the book, the choices each makes are driven at least in part by their determination to fulfill the goals their mother never had the chance to achieve.

I hope to chat with the author on the New Books Network (link below) in February 2025.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for this advance readers copy, in exchange for an honest review. Maya & Natasha chronicles the lives of its eponymous characters, two extremely talented ballet dancers growing up in Leningrad at the end of the 50s, at the height of the Cold War. They are both training for a future professional dancing career when they learn that only one of them is allowed to be hired by the most elite Russian ballet group. When one of the sisters makes a choice to take fate into her own hands, their lives irrevocably change and we follow them throughout the subsequent years of their lives, as they deal with the ramifications of their choices.

This was a very captivating, enjoyable debut novel. I loved the vivid descriptions and sensory details included by the author, that made me really feel like I was a silent observer in this cutthroat world; cutthroat in the sense of the deep dedication it requires to be a professional ballet dancer and also the pervasive, frightening reality of what it meant to live in Soviet Russia. The author did not sugarcoat the realities of the time and I could easily sympathize with the very real fears of the characters, as they navigated an extremely tense environment.

I cared about the characters in the book and felt that they were well fleshed out. By the halfway point in the book, once we get past the life altering rift between the sisters, the book just flowed so well for me until the end— it was so captivating and enjoyable to read. There were several times where the story was so convincing that I had to question what was factual and what events the author made up— the authors note at the end provides full context and information but, it all felt very real to me. The book was clearly well researched and I felt that the historical elements of the book were well balanced with the characterizations and emotional aspects of the story. Truly a wonderful debut, I look forward to reading what this author puts out next.

Overall, I would recommend this book to historical fiction and women’s fiction fans. Readers will not be disappointed!

Be ready to enter the fascinating world of ballet but watch your step because you are in the frightening setting of totalitarian Soviet Union during the Cold War era. This amazing debut held my interest on so many levels. On the surface, it tells an intriguing coming of age story from the perspectives of twin sisters that are both enrolled in the famous Vaganova Ballet Academy. Each sister individually faces heartache, betrayal, and redemption. The plot is expertly set with satisfying twists and turns.

The story also unveils the crucial world events of the era, such as Kennedy’s Cuban missile crisis as well as the significant ballet stars of the 1950s, most notably George Balanchine. These events and historic personalities are seamlessly woven into the story. I felt totally immersed in the politics, culture, and artistic innovations of the world in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Congratulations to author Elyse Durham for a wonderfully crafted novel. Her knowledge of ballet, Cold War politics, and family relationships are solid. She is not heavy handed with the technical information but well balanced throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an advance copy of this novel.

Twins Maya and Natasha are born as the Germans seize Leningrad in 1941. and their mother, a rising star in Kirov Ballet, immediately commits suicide. Rescued by a friend, they are raised in Soviet times to become students at the premier Vaganova Ballet Academy. As their final year is coming to a close it is made clear that only one sister will be accepted in the Kirov's company, a much sought after position of status in the USSR. When tragedy strikes one twin and their opportunities appear to switch, leaving one sister to tour the world and the other to recover from grave injury only to never dance again. As the Cold War affects their lives and careers, one sister ponders the responsibility of an accident that might have been planned while the other struggles to find meaning in the life she has made. Reunited years later, the tables are turned and soon both are left to ponder their life choices. Well paced and told with aplomb, the story examines themes of East vs. West, authoritarianism, as well as "haves" and "have-nots" in a unique way as historical fiction.

Maya & Natasha tells the story of orphaned twins, raised by their godmother and the Vaganova Ballet Academy during the Soviet regime. Natasha has always been the leader, dreaming of bigger things and feeling a pull towards her great destiny. Maya would follow Natasha anywhere, but feels herself being left behind and tries to fill the void with her dancing. The sisters enter into their final year at the academy to learn that the Kirov, the best ballet company in the country, will only accept one of them for fear of defection. This is an exciting story of family, ambition, and betrayal rooted in the history of the Soviet Union.

This book started out a little bit slow, but I really got into it as the story got going. The story itself spans decades and continents, but it does a great job of focusing on the characters at the heart of it all. All of the characters were flawed, but you couldn't help but root for them. I could tell that Durham did a lot of research into what life was like in the Soviet Union during this time and she did a great job of giving life to the setting and the historic figures in the story. I think this will be a great book for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and those who enjoy historical fiction.

MAYA & NATASHA centers on Russian twin sisters who are both in training at the Vaganova, the school for the
world famous Kirov Ballet. They are the best of friends as children, but as they near the end of training, Maya fears that Natasha may defect when the ballet tours, and does something diabolical to sabotage her sister’s dream of becoming a soloist. Thus begins a rift that is irreparable. Their lives diverge , and their fates seem to always be on opposite trajectories— when one is happy, the other is miserable and vice versa. The two women navigate personal and professional obstacles separately, but the other twin is forever present in their minds.
Debut author Elyse Durham does an excellent job of bringing the reader into the world of professional ballet—the commitment required, the inevitable jealousy and envy, as well as the daily grind of it all. The book also immerses the reader into the thick of The Cold War, and how tension between the US and Russia were reflected in all aspects of life, including movies and ballet. The book mixes fictional characters with actual historical figures and events, and makes for a very compelling read.