DNF @ 20% Thank you to Netgalley and DelRey for the eArc! Just couldn’t get in to this one. I’m sure others will love it but I was getting confused by the character motivations… and all the flour.

This book had a very slow start & it honestly did take me a while to get into it but I am super glad I pushed through the beginning bc the back half of this story was really entertaining & had me hooked!

I found Vasalie to be pretty naive at times & wished she would see the twists coming as I did but I did still enjoy her character & appreciated her growth by the end. I know she is going to be an absolute badass in the second book given how she ended things here.

I’m also a huge Anton fan bc honestly how could you not be? He was the perfect amount of cocky/confident & silly/sweet. I definitely need to see more as their relationship develops!

The cast of side characters were really fun & I enjoyed how each of their roles revealed themselves as the plot progressed.

Overall, I wish the pacing in the first half had been quicker & more interesting but I definitely had a good time & have even higher expectations for the sequel!

Thank you to Del Rey, Penguin Random House, & Netgalley for the eARC!

A Dance of Lies is Brittany Arena’s debut novel about strength, lust, dance, power, and so much more. Following Vasalie, we open immediately in a dungeon where Vas is given a chance to escape the prison cell and become a dancer once more, but at a huge cost.

This novel was thrilling and I truly did not want it to end. The last few chapters had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t get my eyes to read faster to see what was going to happen next. The lore behind this is so intriguing and something I can’t wait to dive more into in later books. Invention and mythology goes hand in hand in this and it’s so interesting to see how it is interwoven.

The romance was to die for, I became so obsessed with a certain someone and the bantering was so natural and funny. I truly loved it and have a new fictional boyfriend.

Vas is such a strong character and is such a testament to the strength those with chronic illnesses have. You could see her struggles, but her determination to survive and help those she loves was so prominent. I know Britt took from her own experiences and you can tell how much this story means to not only her, but to readers everywhere.

This is truly a stunning debut novel that I push everyone to go read. I cannot wait to see what all ensues (especially after that heartbreaking ending)!


Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, and publishers for providing me with an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

"But I remind myself that I am not a damsel. I’m no princess bound within a tower."

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the e-ARC of what has officially become my new favourite read of the year.
(You're telling me this is a debut novel??)

A Dance of Lies is the kind of story that immediately makes you want to press it into a friend’s hands and say, Trust me, read this." (Which is exactly what I'll be doing)

It’s got everything I love: slow-burn romance, intriguing court politics, revenge, betrayal, a fierce FMC who is no damsel. Vasalie is one of the most compelling protagonists I’ve read in a while. Her pain doesn’t define her, but instead shapes her and the chronic illness rep was so thoughtfully woven into her arc. It felt raw and real in a way I rarely see in fantasy.

And the romance? Peak perfection. I won't spoil anything, but when you meet him, you'll know.

The world is vivid, the tension is THERE, and the writing is genuinely beautiful. (I found myself saving soo many quotes.)
There is yearning, rage and quiet little heartbreaks. By the end, I was emotionally wrecked and DESPERATE for the sequel.

If you love fantasy that’s character-driven with intriguing court politicals, a delicious slowburn romance, and a story you just don't want to end, then this is for you.

I’m obsessed. 5 stars.

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for providing me with an eArc of this book.

I'm conflicted about this one.
The descriptions - the dances, the costumes, the decors - were beautiful. I also really enjoyed the mythology in the world building.

The political intrigue was well done, and I found myself wanting to know more about each court.

I didn't always agree with Vas' choices, but I enjoyed how her character grows when she finally stands up for what's right, and I was glad for her redemption arc.
I loved the secondary characters, except for Copelan who I found bland. I felt like his existence's only purpose was to create a love triangle, and I found this love triangle not only pointless but also not credible.

I was really into the story but at some point it took a turn in a way I unfortunately didn't enjoy. This book is the definition of "it gets worse before it gets better" (I mean I do hope it'll get better) and that is definitely not my thing. I just didn't like what happened in the last quarter of the book, but I do think that this is a me problem and that a lot of people would love the intense twists we witness up til the end.

I do have to hand it to Brittney Arena : she wrote a book that ends in such a way you just can't help to want more. Because even though I didn't liked what happened, I just needs to know how it will all end so I will definitely be reading the sequel when it come out !

A Dance of Lies is Brittney Arena's debut romantasy following a disabled dancer, Vasalie, sent as a spy to a gathering of the Crowns. She must follow King Illian's orders as his spy or risk losing her freedom and being returned to the dungeons that altered her forever.

I struggled to rate this book for several reasons. I did enjoy the multiple romantic interests (initially - if you read this you'll see why that changes). Usually, in a romantasy the love interest is quickly identified. However, in this story you can see Vasalie experience new feelings for more than one character and I was not sure which one would become the real love interest. I also loved seeing the disability/chronic illness representation in this book. Vasalie is not physically or magically strong, but her strong will powers her on.

Overall, the second half of this book really carried the story. For the first half, I was often disinterested in the story and had a hard time convincing myself to pick this up. The second half of the book picks up pacing significantly and had me STRESSED (that's a compliment). I do feel that it is worth reading this book for the absolute insane series of events and ultimate ending that it delivered.

A video review will be posted on my TikTok @alireadsanywhere before it's release on June 10th!

A Dance of Lies follows Vasalie, a dancer turned spy that is finally after years of imprisonment for a crime she didn’t commit getting a chance at freedom. She will need to channel her stealth at a royal gathering and while not exactly sure what she is looking for Vasalie finds herself wrapped up into a world filled with secrets and deception.

Considering this is a debut fantasy it was highly successful in my opinion. Not only do we get a fabulous romantasy plot with complicated borderline morally grey characters but we also got a vividly painted world, court politics and intrigue, betrayals, scheming, and great disability/chronic illness representation. As someone who suffers from daily pain with having Lupus and RA this books MC Vasalie really resonated with me. One quote in particular really stood out to me and made me feel the most seen I have ever have with a books FMC—"So l make myself another promise: I will find a way to live with it. Because I am grateful that my heart still beats, grateful that this body, however pained, has not crumbled beneath the weight of all that has been done to it". I truly can’t say enough how much seeing this character depicted really impacted me and I thank the author for this endlessly. Along with our great FMC we are gifted truly all around amazing characters which extends to the side characters as well. The setting as stated is beautifully depicted and felt vividly immersive. We are also gifted a bit of a love interest triangle which had me throughly entertained with an amazing slow burn that isn’t overly spicy but more tension filled which I adored. I will say that the plot does play out a bit slower however the ending will without a doubt have you begging for more immediately. If you’re looking for a new debut romantasy that has twists, spies, broody morally grey characters, and enemies to lovers tension for days then you have to check out this book.

A Dance of Lies comes out June 10th, 2025.
Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This felt very much like a debut. I was excited about the chronic illness rep but it really wasn't as impactful as I hoped it would be. But I did like that the plot wasn't entirely paint by numbers and I will probably pick up the second one to see if the writing improves.

“𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣” “𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙩”

We were gratefully gifted this arc 🫶🏼
This book is a political fantasy, interwoven with elements of mystery, espionage and tension that had us super intrigued to read it from the moment we got our hands on this book. This debut novel follows a dancer-turned-spy who struggles to secure her freedom. It’s full of court intrigue, moments that had us gasping and the slowest of slow burns - which completely suited the story.

Although there was minimal world building, the actual courts and alliances did take us a minute to get our heads around.

We unfortunately struggled to connect with the FMC - wishing she developed her personality a bit more. She has a lot of potential and we just wanted to get to know her more.

And then in walks the MMC 😍
He was seductive, he was witty and his banter was on point.

We had mixed opinions on the pacing, but overall we are excited to see how the author develops the characters and story. Considering this is a debut novel we are thoroughly impressed! 🫶🏼

𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓼:
Found family
Sibling rivalry
Slow burn
Betrayal
Chronic pain/disability rep
Political/court intrigue

I don’t know how to feel about this book. The concept of the story was really good, but I struggled to connect to the characters, and they just didn’t grab my attention. For me, this book was very overwritten, and things were just overdescribed. I typically love books with political intrigue, spies, and betrayal, but this missed the mark for me.

I’m so incredibly proud of Brittney and the work she’s put into this book! I am so privileged to have gotten to read an early copy. As far as debut novels go, this was a strong one. I felt a little underwhelmed with the beginning of the book. I felt really thrusted into the main plot without much background, and I felt like many words were being used to not say much? I love a flowery language, but sometimes the metaphors really took away from the substance.

This was a really quick read for me though! I feel like this book is going to really land with certain readers, and isn’t that always the goal?

Thank you again for this opportunity!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!!
I really enjoyed this book we follow Vasalie she's a dance and the king lillian Jewel king Illian has falsely accused Vasalie of murder and she's has been in a cell for two years when the Illian calls for her to become his spy.
We have to mmc love interest Copelan who's annoying as hell!! Wasn't a fan of him at all and Illian brother king Anton who I loved from the start!!
Overall this was such a fun and enjoyable book to read!!

AAAAHHH!! I absolutely loved this book. The story pulled me in right away with interesting morally grey characters, an unforgettable romance & a brilliantly cruel villain (hated him to my core BUT we love to see a straight up manipulative evil villain!!). The political intrigue kept things tense & exciting. That ending left me reeling. I need the next book immediately!!😭 absolutely five stars all round, such a brilliant debut.

What can I say about this book? It was wonderful!

It is hard to believe this is Brittney Arena’s debut novel, it is well written and very well thought out.

A damsel in distress who isn’t a damsel but a shadow. A king who was meant to protect her but instead betrayed her in the worst possible way. Kingdoms aligned in a delicate balance, and one false move could start a war.

Vasalie is absolutely incredible – After fleeing an abusive father, she ends up dancing for King Illian and becomes his ‘jewel’. Only then he betrays her, and frames her for a murder she didn’t commit, throwing her into a cell for two years. It is here that she develops the chronic illness/disability that is a thread throughout the entire book. As someone who has a myriad of health issues, her portrayal of exhaustion and pain was familiar, as was her need to drive herself forward anyway.

Despite being locked away in a cell for two years, Vasalie is still King Illian’s choice as a spy for the upcoming Royal Gathering, and he sends her there under the guise of a dancer for the entertainment. What follows is a heady mix of performance, political scheming with a splash of romance, and I loved it.

Vasalie is an inspiration, and her gradually embracing her new limitations is authentic and emotional. The world building is immaculate, and I can’t wait to learn more about the different countries. All the supporting characters are so well written, especially Illian and Anton. Illian is devious and twisted and will leave you full of loathing, whereas Anton is powerful but funny, clever and soft, and will leave you wanting more!

I am already desperate for the next book after the cliffhanger at the end of this one – so we warned! You will want more.

“You are art”.

5⭐️ and .5🌶️

🖤Romantasy
🖤Disability Representation
🖤Love Triangle/SQUARE?!
🖤Heartbreak, betrayal
🖤Court Politics with shocking and fun plot twists
🖤Dancer FMC, creative and badass

This book initially hooked me from the start, reading the foreword. Let me preface this with stating that I had requested this book only knowing a small amount about the story; I knew there was disability representation and that it would be a Romantasy. And as someone that is disabled I knew I was sold on the read. But after reading the foreword and learning that the author herself struggles with the same conditions that I do, and decided to write them into her story- I was equal parts incredibly emotional and excited.
The FMC struggles with a condition referred to as POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardiac Syndrome) including other common and comorbid health issues as well, like EDS (Ehlers-Dahnlos Syndrome).
I felt the author did a beautiful job representing the struggle and pain it is to have a condition like this condition. Some days are better than others. But we just don’t know which days those are. And sometimes our bodies will fail us. And sometimes they will surprise us. And I felt the author portrayed that beautifully in the story.
I pride myself on spoiler-free reviews so without going into more detail, I will say I loved this story. I can’t wait for more details on the next in the series because the cliffhanger-ish ending has me twisted into knots. But regardless, what an incredible, magical, inspiring, and fun read.
*I added half a chili pepper to this rating- there is no sex in this book HOWEVER there is HEAVY kissing and touching, on more than one occasion.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Del Rey and Random House Publishing for the advanced readers copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an EARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!!

I loved this book!! I will admit it was a slow start, but at about the 30% mark I was hooked. Our female main character not only has to thwart several men interested in her, but also work as a spy for a crown who has her blackmailed. With each page new details unfurl, and I was eagerly anticipating what was going to happen next. One thing I specifically enjoyed is that the different territories/kingdoms were not confusing to follow. I was so happy when our FMC had her redemption arc and everyone who wronged her got what was coming to them. Can’t wait for book two!

3.5 stars rounded up

A Dance of Lies is a beautifully written fantasy novel centering Vasalie, the king's Jewel and dancer, who he'd framed for murder and imprisoned, and her chance to earn her freedom through spying and intrigue at a royal gathering.

The two elements of the story that I had expected the least from, Vasalie's disabilities and the dancing/performance aspect, were actually extremely well done and were a constant through line throughout the story. I had thought those would be easy aspects to drop as the political intrigue and drama picked up, but Vasalie was consistently impacted by her physical limitations and the descriptions of the dances were actually some of my favorite parts and I was able to visualize it all really vividly, which surprised me.

That said, overall, the political intrigue and plotting didn't always work for me. There were definitely pieces that I enjoyed and I couldn't stop reading, a lot of the moving pieces sometimes felt a little convoluted. It isn't necessarily that the pieces didn't make sense (for the most part, I saw it all coming) but there were several reveals towards the end that I found frustrating (specifically regarding Vasalie's past). But I will say that I did love the ending and cannot wait for the sequel to find out what happens next. I liked Vasalie well enough and am excited to see her have a chance to grow but I loved Anton and some of his court enough that I will definitely follow them wherever this leads.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC!

If you want a book that embodies glittering courts and lavish palaces in beautiful writing, look no further. I was immediately wowed by how lush Brittney's writing was, especially the beginning chapters. And the premise of this former dancer now burdened with chronic pain being sent to spy as a dancer at this gaudy event all the royals attend in a giant seaside palace? It hooked me easily. I had so much fun exploring the sea glass castle as she snuck around, performed for nobles and accidentally found people she really liked that she might have to betray. And this one was interesting because I actually couldn't immediately tell who the love interest was going to be, but gosh once we got more into it, I was so team... him! He has such a sense of humor and false bravado that half my tabs are probably his snarky lines, and he distantly reminded me a bit or Rhysand in his behavior. And as for spice, there isn't anything explicit but lust is a very common theme you'll find. Brittney described the book as sensual and I loved how she did it. As for the political intrigue, I actually found it a smidge predictable which surprised me? I also struggled just a bit with the ending feeling... out of place almost compared to the rest of the book? Perhaps that is a me problem but I won't say more to avoid spoilers. But the villains, oh Illian was so delightfully complex, especially with his obsession for Vasalie! Overall I really enjoyed reading this book, it had me trying to get through my housework quicker so I could get some more pages in, but at the same time was just missing a little something to tip me over into obsessed territory personally, but I can see where many of you will devour this one!

Thank you to Del Ray and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

3.75 stars

A Dance of Lies kept my attention the entire time. I adored the setting, and the story kept me on my toes, constantly wanting to know more. The concept of the main character, Vasalie being a dancer was exciting for me to read about, as I have never encountered a fantasy novel that revolved around a dancer. Seeing Vasalie overcome so much and come to understand herself and her disability and still find the passion to dance and perform was a great character arc, and I overall really enjoyed being in her point of view. The disability rep included in this book is so important and it was amazing to see how Vasalie carried herself and pushed herself despite her limitations.

I was very intrigued by the politics included in this book, and I felt the tension between the different sides throughout the book. Brittany Arena was able to create a complex political web despite this being on the shorter side, and I think that deserves recognition. As much as the politics entertained me, I do feel like the magic system was slightly underdeveloped and I would love to see it expand in the sequel.

This book is not very heavy handed with the romance, which I appreciated. However, the romance that we did get in this book was great, and I found myself rooting for both of the characters so much. It was quite the slow burn, so if you are a reader who enjoys that I would really recommend picking this book up! Despite enjoying the romance we did get, for me it was overshadowed by the "villain" and his treatment of Vasalie, so I felt like I did not get as invested as I wanted to be, but I can see myself becoming even more attached in the sequel.

I thought the writing in this book was amazing, especially for a debut novel. It was original and descriptive enough to which I could see the story playing out in my head without being overwhelming or too much, which is refreshing to find in a fantasy novel. The ending is quite a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to see where Brittany Arena takes this story!

Overall, I enjoyed A Dance of Lies. If you are looking for a slow burn, political, and unique fantasy novel I would really recommend picking this up!

For Romantasy lovers who are always chasing the high that they got from ACOTAR -- A Dance Of Lies is an un-put=down-able story about a dancer who becomes a spy and meets our MMC that gives Rhysand vibes when he said "you, too, Fox Boy," and Rhys Under The Mountain, helping Feyre and the most handsome High Lord when he would do anything protect his court. And I'm not even going to tell you his name because we meet a few gentlemen through Vasalie who I thought were potential MMCs. But when you meet him, you'll know.

The world-building is stunning and the plot is so intricate that you will find yourself turning page after page and staying up late into the night to finish this beautiful and gut-wrenching story.