A dance of lies is a swoon-worthy romantasy by debut author Brittney Arena, and I was with this story all the way!

The story follows Vasalie, a court dancer in King Ilian’s palace, and the story starts her release from confinement after she is thrown in prison after being falsely accused for killing a court official. I had forgotten a large chunk of the blurb by the time I started on this, so I immediately had my eyes pealed for the male lead, though it became quickly evident that it was definitely no Ilian, thank goodness, because what a jerk! Still, with both Copelan and Anton, the romance is not quite so obvious!

I did like that, in making a deal with King Ilian that involved being sent to another kingdom to dance, Vasalie’s goal in agreeing was not to help some sick family member or something else self-sacrificing, as is sometimes the case with these stories, but the goal was self-serving: to leave the king’s side and his kingdom itself. I really appreciated that, and thought it gave the character more of a backbone, but her fight may have ended there. The world that’s been built in this story obviously more of a patriarchal society, and favors a theme of suppression and helplessness, so most of the time, Vasalie does not have power. A lot of the time, she is being judged and analyzed, and men looked on to determine her worth. She does not get to be the judger or the analyzer. Even when her dance partner is introduced, Copelan, she has to prove herself worthy to him, and he gets to test her worth. You get the picture. In this sense, just not a strong female lead.

But romances/guilty pleasures don’t need to have them, really, they just need sexy scenes and old fashioned drama. Just thought I would throw it out there for people with harder lines.

I thought the world was interesting, though could have been fleshed out more. And the dialogue was superb! There were times I actually giggled; Vasalie had some unexpected quips.

And the cover, of course, is fantastic. I could just imagine what special editions would look like for it.

Overall enjoyable read and I will definitely stay tuned to see what this author releases next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved the writing of this book, I think the prose was beautiful and I loved the characters and especially our FMC. Her growth throughout this book was amazing to read, the representation was important and the plot was intriguing and kept you on your toes. My only gripe with this is the fact that there are more one love interest and that's just not something I personally enjoy, even though I know it's sort of a staple in the fantasy genre. I do hope that we'll start moving away from that though. Overall, a very fun and unique read and I'd definitely recommend you pick this up! (3.75 stars)

4.5* Review - Spoilers Mentioned, But Vague

First of all, thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this eARC early! I had a wonderful time with this book.

For a debut novel, this hits almost every single point of what I personally love in a good fantasy romance.

Not only is the main character, performer Vasalie Moran, a complex and interesting woman, but she is placed within a plot that contains bountiful intrigue and tension that works for her- a perfectly fitting focal character for the story she's in. I was a fan of the respectful way her disabilities were portrayed, and the refreshing atmosphere that this character brought to the both the fantasy and romance genres as a whole.

The mysteries surrounding this novel unravel in a spellbinding way, leading to a climax that had me gripping the edges of my phone in anticipation of every next sentence. A scene towards the latter end of the book even had me in tears, which will always immediately raise a book's standards in my eyes.

All that keeps this from a full 5* rating for me is a personal gripe- the pacing at the start of the novel drags somewhat, but I understand the necessity for the build-up considering the payoff at the end. (It's well worth it! Everything connects together incredibly!)

This was a thorough delight to read and I'll be eagerly getting my hands on a physical copy when the book releases later this year.

This was a stunningly written book that I just couldn’t put down. I read the book in a matter of hours and even when I absolutely had to put the book down I was thinking about it. The story itself was very evocative, the author had me following her every word.

I felt so much for the characters, my heart broke when theirs did, I rejoiced when they did and I was angry when they were.
The relationship between Vasalie and Anton was beautifully executed and the author really showed a lot of depth to the characters that allowed me to fall in love with both them and their blossoming relationship. My heart was then ripped from my chest right at the end.

The story was not only beautiful and emotional but also tragic. Especially with the way the book ended. I was left craving more.

The author has all the marks of an amazing author and I cant wait to see what she writes next. The book was well thought out and the premise original. There were points where I was confused but overall I loved this story.
Thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read the arc of this book.

⭐️ 2

This is extremely overwritten and I usually love purple prose. Everything is too poetic or overly described and there were certain times where I believe words were simply misused in attempts to make the writing flowery. I eventually was fatigued just trying to make my way through a scene because importance was being placed everywhere, all the time, on these details that were superfluous. The repetition was irritating as well. We didn't need a constant reminder about Vasalie's situation or how she was the king's jewel once. I would've preferred some actual characterization. The characters were boring. All of them. When they are boring, I find it hard to care about anything they do. And when they weren't boring, they were cliché in the way you'd expect from any other romantasy novel. Also, the dialog never felt natural to me. Their cadence is off. It's odd but perhaps purposeful? Maybe it was supposed to be otherworldly? Either way it came across clunky. Which really sucks because I wanted to like this book so badly! This needed another edit in which a lot was rewritten or simplified because the bones of the story are interesting. The cover is beautiful! I like the name Vasalie, that's pretty. I really enjoy the premise of a disabled dancer who is forced to become a spy. But...it all falls flat. I don't believe I'd read another in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of Vasalie Moran, once the favoured dancer of a king, she has spent the last two years imprisoned for a crime she did not commit. One day she is given the opportunity to earn her freedom, all she has to do is spy for the man who framed her, at the prestigious meeting of monarchs. After so long in captivity though, Vasalie’s health has suffered, and she has to decide whether the reward is worth the cost, for both herself and for the future of all the kingdoms.

This is one of the best romantasy novels that I have read in a while. The characters were perfectly flawed and I was immediately captured by their depth. The world building was beautiful, showcasing a tale of fractured kingdoms and distinct rivalries. The associated politics was artfully woven throughout the story, adding a layer of complexity that did not overwhelm the plot.

I loved the main character, Vasalie. She wasn’t the perfect heroine so often portrayed in fantasy novels. She had trauma, a debilitating health condition, and didn’t always make the right choice. Her relationships with the male characters left me at the edge of my seat. I enjoyed their dialogue and discovering who she had the deepest connection with. Overall the writing in this book was phenomenal and gripping, I truly could not put it down!

I will definitely be rereading this book again in the future, a 5 out of 5 romantasy for me and 4-stars overall!

Unfortunately this book is going to be a DNF for me. Thank you to NetGallery and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for graciously giving me the chance to read this arc.

I believe it’s important for me to state I stopped around 55% into the book. I do believe for the first few pages of Vasalie getting a second chance from prison and then going from there was a strong start. However for me the story didn’t deliver as it went on. For me personally I don’t enjoy a multiple love interest plot line usually. From the book’s description I didn’t realize that was the direction the author was taking though. But the way it was done in this book felt messy to me. I like to know who to root for and expected from the beginning Illian would have a comeback and be this really awesomely done villain turned love interest. But then his brother and the dancer man also ended up involved and I was very thrown off by it. I almost expected this to become a “why choose” book. For representation purposes I will give the book credit that there was diversity and there was disability representation through Vasalie. I didn’t get attached to any of the characters and this lost motivation. I don’t dislike the author’s writing style but at times it just seems like there is too much everywhere but the characters and plot development. I’m disappointed it didn’t work out for me but the cover is stunning and I do hope some people connect with this due to the representation given.

I have whiplash by the amount of prospective love interests are teased.

Vasalie lost the body she had earned, crafted through years of dancing, after being wrongly imprisoned by her saviour, King Illian. He knew she was innocent, yet he did nothing despite her being the King’s Jewel - his favourite, his chosen.
She is released on the grounds she join the entertainment on the Isle of Anell during the Crowns’ Gathering as his informant. This leads her to meeting the Master of Revels, kind under his gruff exterior, and King Anton, Illian’s greedy, wasteful, and far too proud youngest brother.

First of all, I loved how resilient Vaselie is. She is imaginative and thinks outside the box. She is also out for herself, her protection, her future - her character journey was heartwarming and heartbreaking.

<b>“But scars are powerful things, because they show your resilience. So rise from your ashes, my dear. Do not crumble alongside them.”
</b>
Not to mention, the City of Glass was vivid and beautiful.

What did frustrate me was how easily every other character naively trusted Vaselie.
Similarly, the world building was great in terms of clothing, buildings, descriptions; yet the myths that seem to belie their existence felt underdeveloped for the importance it had.

That ending. Woah. I saw certain things coming and was surprised by a few. What a great set up for another book and I know romantasy fans will EAT IT UP.
Although I know some people will hate a particular troupe.

I have to shout out the dialogue and character interactions!

<b>“Sire, after eight years in your employ, nothing offends me.”
He sends me a coy grin. “See? Dead inside.”
“That would be your fault, Majesty,” Basile retorts.
“Indeed. However, my astounding supply of charisma resurrects you on the daily. Does it not?”
“If by charisma you mean chaos, then yes, I am revived daily.”</b>

Arc gifted by Del Rey.

3.75 ⭐️

Thank you to Del Rey & Netgalley for the eARC!

Such a nice debut! I thought the story was really unique, and I really enjoyed how it was based around dance. I loved the representation that this book had, and I really liked Vasalie's character & getting to see her growth throughout the book.

I thought the pacing was a bit off but I still really enjoyed the book and characters, and definitely am looking forward to reading more of the author's future work!

This book is so important. Right from the get go with the beautiful author’s note detailing her experience with chronic illness and disability to the trigger warnings listed in print in the book I knew that THIS was going to shatter the glass ceiling (appropriate given the stained glass on the cover ;) )

Vasalie is a much needed FMC in a genre that is oversaturated with the loud, Mary Sue, perfect haired, tiny waisted, big breasted sword wielding FMCs. Vasalie is disabled from being imprisoned for 2 years and her strength derives from her resilience, her compassion and moral compass, and her intelligence and silver tongue. A Dance of Lies has a strong focus on Vasalie's personal journey for freedom and autonomy that comes together in a political, court intrigue, twisty, "who's the love interest?" type story and while it's categorized adult, it's perfectly appropriate for YA readers as well--in fact I highly encourage YA readers to also pick this one up!

INSANE ending!!!! Diabolical!!!!

When I read the summary for A Dance of Lies, I knew immediately that I needed to read it. It was nice to read about a main character who has to come to terms with her new disability/illness and doesn't let it consume her, but rather she learns to work around it without giving up her passion (dance). I will say that it was a slow start to the book. While I loved how descriptive the author was of the surroundings and characters, the main plot took awhile to get into. It took a little bit longer than I wished to connect to the characters and really get into the story (probably halfway through). However, when I did, I was loving the characters and the direction the story was going. The MMCs smart mouth made me laugh and lightened the book. The ending cliffhanger was fantastic and wonderfully set up for the next book! I'm hoping in the next there will be more individual character/relationship development and more excitement to really keep you enthralled in the story.
Thank you to NetGalley for an e-Arc of A Dance of Lies in exchange for my honest review.

A Dance of Lies book review

"Your jewels are not enough. Your power is not enough. You are rich in diamonds but poor in spirit. You are lacking." Another tight breath, and then, "He does not envy you. I do not want you. You are but dust in the wind, here and gone again."

Rating: 5⭐️

Wow, where to start! I must admit that at first I’ve been attracted by the absolutely stunning cover and by the fact that the fmc was a dancer, however I didn’t think i would love this story so much!

A Dance of Lies centers around the main character, Vasalie, a former dancer and Jewel of one of the three brother-kings of Miridran who has been falsely accused and imprisoned in poor conditions for over two years. Unfortunately, the time spent in jail and the mistreatment she faced left her body severely damaged and malnourished. Thus, when a second chance arises for her, she must endure the pain and dance once again in order to win her freedom.

First off, i loved how our main character dealt with her pain, her character growth was amazing as she went from being ashamed of her “weakened” body to proudly admitting how difficult it was for her to perform while bearing the pain.
Throughout the book, Vasalie has to thread through many difficult situations, that leave her feeling anxious and conflicted and I must say I deeply felt her dilemma as it was thoughtfully and realistically conveyed!

There is also quite a vast cast of secondary characters and I really appreciated the bond Vas formed with them and how they came to help her and understand her peculiar situation.
I must say that a particular character totally stole the show and that was Anton! I don’t want to spoil his role or anything but he was by far one of the most charismatic male characters i’ve read about in a while, his humor was chef’s kiss!

Furthermore, i particularly appreciated how the story wasn’t predictable! It left me guessing who would be the love interest, if a certain character would be a villain, how the story would end, if some characters knew what the reader already knows etc.
I wasn’t expecting that ending at all, even though i was hoping for *something* to happen and it is just SO promising for book 2!
I’m just incredibly sad that I’ll have to wait for a while🥲

I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of The winner’s curse (for the political intrigues), The Pleated Prisoner (former savior becomes captor) and Acotar (for the banter, misunderstood characters, resilient heroine)

Thank you SO much to Del Rey, the author Brittney Arena and netgalley for a free e-arc of this enchanting story, all opinions are my own!


** A Dance of Lies comes out on June 10th!

A friend recommended me to request this book and then to prioritise it on my tbr list and I'm so glad I listened!

The beginning did seem a little slow and wasn't pulling me in right away, but then I ended up reading the majority of the book in two sittings!

I feel like this book honestly did keep surprising me because I thought the romance was leaning a certain way, while I favoured another character, and so I was prepared to be disappointed. But it ended up so good, there was so much chemistry with this certain character and I loved their personality. I won't say any more so as not to spoil it but I was really happy with the development.

There were a few little twists that I didn't see coming, much like Vas I knew I could see the puzzle pieces but not how they fit together.

Right from the beginning of the book, I also hated Illian and didn't think it was possible to hate him more. How wrong was I.... And then her father was worse in my opinion.

I love the author's letter at the beginning, it felt so personal and I could see the love she put into Vasalie, showing she might not be strong physically but that she has incredible strength of mind. She is so quick thinking and creative. I do like a badass FMC who can fight etc, but Vasalie was so much more relatable and I just loved her.

The ending!! Again, can't say too much because of spoilers, but I feel like there's a twist with a certain character that is often played out with the protagonist of the story and so that was interesting to read. I can't wait to read the next book!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

A beautifully woven story of a girl who just wants to be free. This story had so much heartbreak. It's a story of commradarie, betrayal and love. I found Brittney did an excellent job of weaving world building, character development and constant 'on the edge of your chair' feeling. I didn't want to miss a word out of fear I'd miss something. This is a 5 star read for me, I haven't felt this drawn into a story in a long time and I cannot wait for book 2.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

A charecter driven fantasy with political intrigue and a disabled fmc with lush and vivid writing this book is a must read!

This book follows our fmc Vasalie, a framed murderer, as she is forced by her captor to danve and spy for him. The book is definitely more charecter driven, it shows Vasalies desperation and rage and how far she would go to attain her freedom and the moral delilema that come with it. Her struggle to find her footing in her new disabled life felt real and emotional. I wasn't too invested in the romance but nevertheless a great story!

3.5 ⭐️

I appreciated the disability representation in regards to the FMC, but it was a bit too character-driven and not enough plot-driven for my personal taste. It started off quite Throne Of Glass-esque but did eventually find its footing. It ramped up in intensity for the last 20-30% and the payoff was worth the slow build.

Overall, a solid debut from Brittney Arena and I could see this leading to a series run.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book and the cover and can happily say that I was positively suprised when the book was even better than I expected.

The book starts with our FMC being framed for murder and having to infiltrate and spy for the king who framed her in order to regain her freedom. In addition to this, the FMC has to face her now permanently injured body and hidden past, that brings new layers and more depth to this immersive read.

As our FMC navigates court politics and betrayal, she has to also deal with her chronic pain and confront her trauma and doing so, rediscover her relisience and strength along the way.

While the book was somewhat slow build and maybe little overly detailed in the beginning, the FMC’s emotional growth makes it worth it and the emotional storytelling makes this a immersive and compelling story.

The romance in this book was slowburn and low-spice and was strong on the emotional side. There was also a lot of suspense, drama, betrayal and maybe even some love triangle.

All and all, this book was a wonderful read and I highly recommend it if you like character driven plots with lots of twists and turns, political scheaming and some good old espionage.

This is a beautiful story and an absolute joy to read. The story follows Vasalie who after being imprisoned for two years cannot dance as she used to, except to save her life she must... With a little espionage on the side.

It is full of lush descriptions of her dances that are as political as the Web of lies she is entangled in. Her chronic pain and trauma are explored so well and with such sensitivity it knocked the breath out of me. This book was everything I didn't know I needed and I am going to become absolutely insufferable when I get a physical copy because everyone has to read this.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC, I loved it!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey for an e-Arc of Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time with this one. The plot took a while to gain momentum, only picking up around the 40-50% mark, by which point it felt a bit too late. Some of twists were predictable, and the length of the book caused the story to drag at times, with inconsistent pacing and a lot of unnecessary repetition.

The last 15-20% of the book definitely makes up a lot for the beginning and it’s super fast paced and enjoyable which is why I’m giving this 3.5 stars. I only wished that the entire book would’ve been like the last part.

At first I really liked our FMC, Vasalie, but as the story progressed, her repetitive inner monologue started to pull me out of the story, and her character became underwhelming but then it picked up once more by the end. While I understand she went through something very traumatic that left lifelong effects, I wish we would’ve seen a bit more growth from her on this one. Her character is also the type where every male character is immediately taken with her and she somehow has chemistry with them all.

On a positive note, I appreciated that Vasalie’s illness wasn’t magically cured, and she had to come to terms living with it. As someone with a disability, I value seeing more realistic representations like this in books.

As for the other characters, I wasn’t invested in Illian at all. His motivations didn’t work for me, and I couldn’t stand him.

Anton, however, was a breath of fresh air. He was funny, kind, and protective without crossing into toxic territory. I think he was just what Vasalie needed.

I’m unsure if I will continue with book 2, but definitely recommend giving this one a try.

This was twisty and turn-y, with espionage and political scheming. I loved the mystery of why she's been framed for murder and why she's being forced to become the king's spy and not knowing who to really trust. The author really had me feeling all of the feels for our FMC, as she grappled with coming to terms with the new normal for her body, the emotional trauma from her past, and actions she's forced into against those who have been kind to her in the king's name. There is a love triangle of sorts that had me guessing who she was going to be with up until near the end. And THE ENDING. I got answers and now have more questions. I need book 2! Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC!