The Ballerinas

by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

[Quirky Cat]

There is little I love more than finding a debut novel to binge on. My latest find is The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale. This novel happens to hit my craving for both debut novels and thrillers. Talk about a win/win!

Delphine once had a shot at making ballet her whole life. She walked away from a spot at the Paris Opera Ballet – and her two best friends – in exchange for a different life. Now, over a decade later, she is back and hoping to pick up where she left off.

Unfortunately, life has moved on while she was gone. More than that, the secrets Delphine thought were safely tucked away are starting to leak out, as the darkest ones tend to do. How will Delphine handle all of these unpleasant turns of events?

“We are all stuck in our own stories. And it is so easy to see someone through only one lens: the role they play in yours.”

The Ballerinas is being pitched as a cross between Dare Me, Black Swan, and Luckiest Girl Alive. So naturally, I went into it with pretty high expectations! And I don't think anyone would blame me for that, either. Also, I love finding new debut authors to support, so this was a fun combination of things for me.

I'll admit that while I didn't love The Ballerinas as much as I hoped, I still really enjoyed it. It's a dark and twisted tale focused on the world of ballet, and it isn't afraid to show us how bad it can get at times.

However, many of these elements felt familiar to me. Like I've read the book before. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it made the read a little more casual than it otherwise would have been. Thankfully, I really liked Rachel Kapelke-Dale's writing style, so that carried me onward without complaint.

Thanks to StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks