i enjoyed the ballet aspect of this book, reminiscent of my days as a modern dancer. The story was pretty superficial, lots of unpleasant, immature adults and teenagers and a soap opera type of plot. Overall it was a disappointing read to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Shadow Girls appealed to my love for books about the ballet, but I got the added bonus of a mystery which was well balanced as the story alternates between past and present to explain what happened to a promising young dancer leading to her accident - and why the adults and other dancers in her life could be complicit.

Taking place in a classical dance academy trying to add some edginess to attract big recruiters, we have crazy moms, talented (and jealous) dancers, and cringy instructors. That’s already a pretty entertaining recipe but when you throw in Anna, the best dancer in the academy and one whose career may be ended due to an injury she refuses to talk about, consider yourself about to be completely married to Shadow Girls until you’re finished.

Whether you like mysteries or ballet or both, this is a more complex type of story that will be worth the read. The subject matter and writing style make it accessible for new adult readers as well, but equally appealing to those a little less new.

The Shadow Girls is marketed as a thriller/psychological suspense.

We follow Naomi, Anna, and their mothers as they prepare for the biggest ballet performance of their young careers. Anna and Naomi attend a prestigious ballet school but live very different lives. Anna comes from wealth and a mother who holds clout in the ballet space because she was once a famous dancer. Naomi’s mother is an overnight nurse who doesn’t have much interest in Naomi’s ballet pursuits. Secrets and sabotage begin to unfold and we are shown the inner workings and dealings of the ballet academy.

Laurin’s writing style gears more towards a YA audience. The entire mystery seemed fairly trivial and was difficult to feel invested in. The characters were flat and none were likable. Anna was supposed to be this soft and meek girl but came off as boring and passive aggressive. Naomi is just a giant, hateful brat. Both mothers are deplorable and a bit ridiculous. Georgina was the only character that had any kind of depth.

Ultimately, the mystery was not important enough to care about. The drama was shallow and not very dramatic. The big reveal was less than eventful and it seemed like no one in the book was capable of any big feelings or reactions. They were either vengeful or dull. The constant time jumping got a little hard to follow as well as the POVs. The police officer’s POV didn’t feel necessary or add to the plot at all. It all got kind of jumbled from the 50% point to 85% through. The last quarter of the novel was more interesting but the ending scenes were

The author clearly put forth a lot of research into the ballet world which I can appreciate as someone who knows nothing of ballet. I always like to finish a novel knowing something(s) I did not have knowledge of before beginning it and that was definitely the case here.

I’ll recommend The Shadow Girls to a YA audience or anyone invested in the ballet/dancing sphere.

Thank you NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Nina Laurin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5

Yet again, another example and victim of great premise, not-so-great execution.

Aaaaaaaah, why does this keep happening? It's so sad!

We have spooky and dark drama in the ballet world! That could have been so exciting and fun. You really could do so much with that and this just did not.

This was very short (so I did zoom through it, yay), very slow, with flat characters and barely any action. All of these characters need to chill.

I could see a very young YA audience enjoying this, but as an adult (and not even that old of one) I found this super flat. It was really hard to stay focused on it because not enough was happening to keep my action until the next moment of "action." I can tell that an effort was definitely made to give this drama and action and intrigue, but it all felt too internal. You need to show me more, especially when your book is supposed to be a thriller. Thrill me!

I really do hate how hit or miss thrillers can be. I wish they were all amazing.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I will start this off by saying I know nothing about ballet but OMG, this book was amazing!! It had my attention so fast! The characters, the story, the descriptions, the emotions, it was amazing.

You could imagine yourself inside the story, seeing everything from behind the curtain. The depth of the characters was spectacular.

Nina did an amazing and beautiful job to wrap the reader in, let the reader behind the scenes, show the reader the grittyness behind the seemingly perfect world of ballet school.

The ending, what a cliffhanger but also is the ending this beautiful book needed!

This gripping psychological thriller about trauma, obsession, and the blurred lines between reality and paranoia. The pacing of this book was a bit uneven, but the twists made for a compelling read

Thank you!!

Ballerina drama to the max. So much twist and turns I kept crashing out. Such a great read. Thank you for letting me read.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

The story of two girls, Anna and Naomi, who rank first and second respectively in their ballet school, and the lengths their mothers will go to have them succeed when they graduate. The action spikes when Anna breaks her foot and cannot compete in the end of year showcase which will significantly impact her ability to immediately go professional. The book flashes back to the end of summer and outlines the events that brought them there and ultimately unravels the mystery of how the accident happens.

As a lover of the movie Center Stage, I had high hopes for this novel. Unfortunately it had none of the soapy character drama that makes Center Stage a cult classic. The story doesn’t flesh out the characters as well as it should have in the earlier part of the book which initially makes it hard to care about them. After about the 40% point I got much more interested in the story. I did find some of the ballet scenes dense and hard to get through as I am not in super familiar with that world. Not being able to see it play out on a screen pitfall for a casual observer which is rarely a problem when I am reading. 3 stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

3.5 stars. I think that this was a well written book, but it was not the story for me. I just could not connect with the characters.

This psychological thriller follows ballet students and their instructors through a series of dramas slow to unfold.
This novel has the feel of a long episode of Gossip Girl. A group of struggling, high strung, ambitious teens and their adult counterparts dealing with the fall out of their power schemes.
At times the emotional reaction to events in the book felt very surface level.
I'd recommend this book to more of a YA audience. 1 ⭐