2.5⭐️ Thank you Del Rey and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited about A Dance of Lies, which was a combination of the beautiful cover, intriguing blurb, and promise of a disability rep. The disability rep delivered as promised, but overall my experience was not quite what I hoped for.

The setting in which the story takes place had the structure to make for a beautiful backdrop, but for some reason the writing style used by the author just did not work for me. I usually pride myself on my ability to picture characters, events, etc. in my mind, but I just could not do it here. The words used did infer an ethereal quality, but at times seemed too complicated for the effect to come to full fruition. I especially struggled to picture the dance sequences, which was disappointing given that I was excited to read those and they did have symbolical significance. I think I could see what the author intended--I believe it was mentioned somewhere that inspiration was drawn from Eastern Europe, and I was actually traveling in that part of the world while reading this, which did help slightly with setting the vibe.

The characters were just ok for me. The fmc seemed unable to make any of her own decisions and her situation struck me as very unrealistic from the beginning. It is clear that the author did her best to create this disability representation, which I did appreciate for those who felt seen through Vasalie. However, so much of the story focused on her inability to perform like she used to physically...but her entire job is to perform physically. And not just simple tasks, but complicated and exhausting dance sequences. I cannot speak from experience, but maybe I'm being too harsh? The two brothers were too caricature-y and I did not feel a real connection with any of the love interests. I found the story to have entirely too much of Vasalie's inner thoughts and not enough dialogue to drive the story. There were instances that also seemed too convenient for issues that had yet to be revealed to other characters (without giving away spoilers).

Ultimately, this story is good for the disability rep and the unique setting, but otherwise did not quite deliver like I had hoped.

DNF @ 20%

Unfortunately it was a struggle to even make it as far as I did. We are supposed to believe that Vasalie (who I could not stop calling Vaseline in my head) who was released from a dungeon after 2 years and becomes chronically ill, is dancing at an elite level after a matter of weeks? Even if I didn’t have a chronic illness, I think I would have a hard time believing that. I think the author could have convinced us but, the problem here is that there is a lot of telling and no showing. The reader is told that Vasalie becomes friends with someone without showing more than one interaction between the characters. And in the meantime Vasalie has no identifiable personality and the prose very overwritten.

These issues could very well resolve as the story goes on, but I don’t have the patience to find out. What I did appreciate here was the beautiful setting. It is vivid and interesting and unique.

4 stars

There were parts of this that really hit hard for me. Especially at first, the rep of not being able to dance the way she used to really resonated with me. Now I'm not sure the culinary work around really would be successful, but it was interesting and held my attention. The court was a drama fest, in a good way for me. I do wish we had a bit more anger and revenge from our main character, especially with what she went through, but it certainly ends with me needing to read on to see how everything gets resolved.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy to form opinions from.

I absolutely adored this book! Very compelling storyline, and while I initially resented the weakness of the FMC, she gained my respect by the end. The world building was as intricate as it was magical, and I was hooked until the very end! Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Del Rey, and Brittney Arena for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun and refreshing read! I got completely pulled into the story from the start, and one of the main reasons was Vasalie. I absolutely loved her as the FMC—she felt real and grounded, and her journey was both touching and empowering. Her struggles with coming to terms with her limitations really hit home for me. It was refreshing to see a character who had to work through her physical limitations. Watching her grow and find ways to compensate for her limitations was honestly one of my favorite parts of the story. The MMC was also a standout. Right from the beginning, he seemed to be a thoughtful and caring person. And throughout the book it gets proven time and time again. I don’t really have much to say that could use improvement- but if I had to pick something, I’d say the pacing could’ve used a little tightening in places. I feel like the end was chaotic and had a lot going on and I would’ve loved for there to be a bit more detail there. As for the ending—some of the big reveals were a little predictable, but honestly, I didn’t mind. The way everything played out was still super satisfying, and there were definitely a few details that still caught me off guard and surprised me! I absolutely recommend adding this one to your TBR, I couldn’t put it down and stayed up until 4am to finish it haha!

As a newer fantasy reader I was so excited to get approved for this one. The cover is stunning and the premise sounded premising. Unfortunately the first half of the book was really slow. It took me a while to get through and honestly I was a little confused at many points because I was only reading a few pages at a time. However, things picked up in part two so much and I could not put the book down.

I love Vasalie! The way she adapted her dancing to accommodate her illness was so creative and captivated her audience. I was expecting this to be a romance but was pleasantly surprised with all the politics and spying.

Vasalie had a few different love interests which threw me a bit, I was rooting for one and then was like wait what?! On this note it was also impossible to know who she could trust at some points as well in general. I feel it's best to go in blind on this one so you can also experience who is trustworthy. The slow burn tension between Vasalie and the MMC (kept nameless on purpose) was incredible!

The twists and turns the book took was incredibly fun, I did not predict the ending which was really nice. I'm hoping this is a series because I have questions I need answered.

Thank you so much NetGalley for this ARC.

Vasalie was a court dancer, until she was framed for murder two years ago. Now, the king frees her on one condition: she must attend the Gathering of Crowns and spy for him.

I enjoyed this first entry into a new series! The story definitely focuses more on the policitical intrigue and espionage than the romance, but it was still a really good mix of both. It does follow the standard romantasy "plot", but while some things were easy to predict I was still thoroughly entertained!

Thank you to Random House Publishing for an e-arc, all opinions are my own.

Vasalie Moran is a dancer in King Illian’s court, the king’s Jewel, until she was framed for the murder of a courtier two years ago. The king frees her from prison and offers her a deal - she must attend the Gathering of Crowns and spy for him, in exchange for her freedom and exoneration.

Despite knowing what’s at stake for her, Vasalie begins to question who she can really trust and whether everything she knows is a lie. As Illian’s tasks become more dangerous and the stakes increase, Vasalie must decide what (and who) she’s willing to exchange for her freedom.

I enjoyed this and will probably pick up future books in the series! The story focused more on the court politics and espionage, so felt a little slower in the middle (due to the lack of action/fighting). But the tension between all of the different characters was great and I liked the MCs - Anton was my favorite and reminded of Miyazaki’s Howl 😍

One criticism is that the disability rep reminded me a bit of Fourth Wing - I think we’re told about how Vasalie’s disability affected her ability to dance but, didn’t really see that. It felt like she was always practicing and able to push through most of her pain and stiffness without breaks, despite the book taking place over a relatively short period of time.

Would definitely recommend for fans of ACOTAR and books with a focus on political intrigue 🎭

I loved this book. Despite following typical romantasy patterns, it felt fresh and I loved the world. Vasalie personality and the disability representation were so engaging. All other characters were fantastic as well, even the minor ones. And the suspense? Next level.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

a dance of lies was one of my highly anticipated romantasy debuts for 2025, and it is a great addition to the romantasy genre! of course, it had all of my favorite tropes so it’s not that hard to please me in that case.

even though a dance of lies had many of my favorite tropes, many things were obvious to me after reading this genre so often for so many years, but i loved the way the author revealed them.

i also appreciated the disability representation through our fmc vasalie.

i’m excited to read the next book after the last 25% of the book ending up as a whirlwind of events!

i can’t wait to see my fairyloot edition — i’m sure it’s gorgina

➸ 5 stars

“I am broken”
“You are art”

𓈀 𓄹𓂃 thank you to netgalley, random house publishing / del rey and of course, brittney arena, for the advanced readers copy!!

🪞 dancer turned spy
✨ dangerous courts
🔹 disability representation
🪞 glass technology
✨ banter & romantic tension
🔹 rival kings

guys… THIS BOOK WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!! the dancing, the spying, the suspense… i was HOOKED and truly could not put this book down!!! i loved vasalie’s story so much and her development throughout this book was chefs kiss!!

never would i have thought i’d be so down bad for a mmc who’s nickname for the fmc is a fish and i have no idea why but HERE WE ARE!!!! i loved the slow burn romance subplot and I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS SO MUCH!!!! they literally had me grinning from ear to ear… the ending?! jaw on the FLOOR and im so excited for the sequel, i need it now!!!! that little trope at the end hurt in the BEST way possible and im so excited to see how this plays out!

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-ARC.

Vasalie is an enchanting main character who I constantly cheered on. Her past is heartbreaking, yet she is so much more than her trauma. At first, I feared that Vasalie would let her pain overcome her motivation, but Brigitte, her assigned attendant, delivers a beautiful speech about hope. I won't say any spoiler, but I teared up.

I could relate to Vasalie's passion. She adores dance and respects other within her profession. It broke my heart that her degraded health conflicted with her art. So when she began to think outside the box and work with her limitations rather than against them, I was overjoyed. Losing the ability to do what you love can be devastating. Although I had to quit my passion because of mental health (not physical), I understood the cruelty of Vasalie's loss.

Brittney Arena crafts a world where deception is survival and every choice has consequences. With a strong heroine, unexpected twists, and a story that keeps you guessing, this book is perfect for fans of political fantasy and forbidden love.

Vasalie is wrongly imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit. After two years in a dungeon, malnourished, broken, and forgotten, she's dragged before the king and offered a brutal choice: spy for him or die. Though her body is no longer what it once was, she’s forced into a role where performance becomes survival. As she navigates a court full of secrets and betrayal, she must outwit the king, reclaim her strength, and fight to control her fate and all while hiding her pain.

What I really enjoyed:
- politcal scheming
- twists, betrayel and secrets
- slow burn tension
- survivor heroine

What didn't work for me:
- slow start, it took me a while to get into it
- it also felt a little anti-climatic
- the love triangle

I was really excited to read this book, unfortunately it wasn’t quite the right book for me, but I appreciated what it set out to do.

Overall, this was a solid first book in a new romantasy series. It gave me Throne of Glass vibes with the main character, Vasalie, forced to work for an unscrupulous king to gain her freedom while also hiding from her past. The world building was good, with Brittany using vivid language to make the costumes and setting easy to imagine in your mind’s eye. I also loved how Brittany included dance into the story, it was a very unique touch. What did not work for me was that too much happened in this book. Too many characters were introduced, too many royal plots and prophecies for all of it to be fully developed. I would have preferred they be spread out over several books. I also didn’t love the fact that Vasalie cycled through several love interests in this book, making her ultimate choice less believable, IMO. But that aside, I thought the ending was solid and am curious to see how the rest of the series progresses

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Whew, where to even start with this one?

First of all, I really liked the arc of Vasalie learning that her body not functioning exactly as it did before her imprisonment did not diminish her as a person or mean she was any less strong. Very important messaging.

That being said, Vasalie as a narrator was not very interesting to me. Her voice was flat and I just couldn’t understand some of the decisions/actions she was taking.

In terms of other characters, Anton was by far the most interesting at the start, and then he immediately fell into the trope of misunderstood good guy in the second half and lost some of his complexity. All the other characters were very one-dimensional. Vasalie had another love interest for a second and I’m still not entirely sure why he was there in the first place. All her friends were flat (and all men??? Why does she not have girl friends????). And don’t get me started on the antagonists that felt like cartoon villains who were somehow one thousand steps ahead of everyone else.

I’m also not entirely sure what the conflict is in this world. There are some political issues going on between the countries, but the stakes feel really low on that side of the story, which really takes me out of a fantasy novel.

Overall, I can see people enjoying this, and there were some elements that pulled me back into the story, but in the end, I just wasn’t interested in any of the characters or the world enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for a review copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

I was soo exited for this! I mean the cover is stunning, I really wish fantasy books had more color. And a dancer turned spy? So exiting! Unfortunately this did not hit the mark for me.

Firstly, it is described as a fantasy romance but I felt it lacking in both departments. There was so little magic in this and the little that was didn’t appear until the very end. The romance(s) were messy and I didn’t feel any chemistry or passion at all between the characters. It didn’t really feel anything for the mmc either… when I finally found out who it was. He was putting up a facade by trying to be this careless, flirty type that’s high on himself but it wasn’t cute or funny. Especially when the fmc did not play along in some kind of way. I guess it did get a little bit better towards the end but if this wasn’t an arc I would have stopped reading long before that happened unfortunately.

The pacing was also very slow and not to my taste. I usually prefer a bit more action/fighting but I did like the concept of a dancer turned spy/assassin. I feel like the author could have made her do so much more exiting stuff though but instead there were a lot of dancing and descriptions of architecture and other stuff I didn’t really care about. Also why did she eat so little when she danced so much? I don’t get how she didn’t collapse more. She conveniently managed to do everything she was supposed to even though she is sick? It’s great with representation but I feel like it was a bit unrealistic because sometimes we can’t do what we want because our body says no. And maybe that would have made some scenes more exiting if the reader was afraid she’d get caught more.

The things I did like were the world building for one. It was a little bit hard to keep up with every royal as they didn’t have the same amount of screen time but what I did understand/remembered I quite enjoyed. And the scheming and politics of it all were kinda exiting when it finally came into the light. The secret tunnels and what was done with them were also really cool and unique. I now get the beautiful cover! I also liked some of the characters. And plus point for a cute pet tiger. The last 50 pages or so when things finally went down I was glued to the page. So much was happening and it was super exiting for once!

I think if you don’t mind a slow paced book with a lot of dancing and descriptions of costumes and beautiful architecture you might like this one. But be aware that there is little magic and little romance in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is the feeling I imagine how people feel when reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas and if you are looking for that high I could not recommend this more, you will love this. In this book you will find deception and romance but also deceptive romance, so a recipe for a BANGER. I love female mc and her development throughout the book. 10/10 would recommend.

A Dance of Lies was a dazzling read. An easy five stars from me. I keep having to fight the urge to reread, which is to say that I can’t wait for the sequel.

The world is elegant and picturesque. Every place in the Miridran was described vividly (East is the winner, of course!) and also reflected the personalities of the kings who ruled the specific area. The beauty of the West was described with excess, distracting from its exorbitance (at the cost of others). As for the East, just like mosaics that is used to beautify the kingdom, the closer we got to it, the more beautiful it became. And I was absolutely floored by the way the author wrote dancing as a way of storytelling. This has to be the most passionate narrative of the dancing that I’ve read. I also loved that the author wrote the scene where Vasalie spoke about wanting to honour Razam (a kingdom that, from what I gathered, is a fictionalised India) but didn’t want to tell the stories that only the people of Razam have the right to tell, setting the boundaries for inspiration.

The characters are brilliantly written. I loved Vasalie’s sense of agency and her creativity. As someone who has been dealing with chronic pain for years, I appreciate how it was written in the book. Vasalie’s pain was not glossed over, nor was it written to be a hindrance to her goals and ambitions. The story placed emphasis on her journey of learning her new body: to love it, to know the limits of what she can do and to slowly, constantly and carefully redefine the said limits. I didn’t see her use of special effects to distract the audience as a compensation. It was her embracing herself, enriching the gaps in her physical ability with creativity. Some of the choices she made were at first a little frustrating, but later, considering her backstory and the fact that she was in a relationship that physically and mentally impacted her, it made sense to me that she did everything she could to escape Illian while also still hesitating to defy him. As for Anton, I almost started to dislike him at one point. Key word: almost. He turned out to be humorous, smart, charming, tactful and set the bar really high, an impressive feat considering that his awful brother buried it underground.

There is no shortage of plot twists in the book. Even the ones I predicted were written in such a way that I was still left speechless. The prose was engaging and fast-paced. I pictured a tragic ending, but what happened was sadder than what I imagined.The cliffhanger did everything it was meant to do. Did I mention that I would LOVE to read the sequel like right now? It’s going to be a very long wait.

If a fantasy book featuring a disabled dancer caught in a world with kingdoms at the brink of war is up your alley, you should give this a try.

A Dance of Lies was such a charming and engaging read. Vasalie, is a dancer recently released from prison for a crime she did not commit. She is offered a chance to be absolved of her crimes by becoming a dancer-spy for an upcoming celebration that brings together multiple esteemed leaders. Vasalie must decide if she wants to help the man who framed her for her crimes or join his brother with his own motive.

One of the key highlights about Vasalie’s character is how two years of imprisonment has caused her to develop chronic pain that affects her ability to dance. While Vasalie is a great dancer, with her illness, she must think of clever ways to hide her pain and still perform at the same level as the other dancers without pain.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I think there is something so unique about a main character who isn’t royalty or a warrior, but a dancer. You might think that dancing is not a typical skill of someone who can change history, but Vasalie doesn’t just dance, she is clever and a great actor. She is strong yet loves wholeheartedly even though her past romances have not been successful. I can’t wait to see where her story goes.