Title:   The Ballerinas
Author:   Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Genre:   Fiction, mystery/thriller
Rating:  3.0 out of 5

Fourteen years ago, Delphine abandoned her prestigious soloist spot at the Paris Opera Ballet for a new life in St. Petersburg––taking with her a secret that could upend the lives of her best friends, fellow dancers Lindsay and Margaux. Now 36 years old, Delphine has returned to her former home and to the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House, to choreograph the ballet that will kickstart the next phase of her career––and, she hopes, finally make things right with her former friends. But Delphine quickly discovers that things have changed while she’s been away…and some secrets can’t stay buried forever.

This was a hard no for me. I finished reading it—I love reading about ballet life—but I found all the characters unlikable, selfish, and vain. These women are just hateful, and they make only selfish choices. And every single man is portrayed as abusive or a user or a cheater (or all three). I’m sorry. That may well be true for some men—and some women—but you cannot paint every member of a group with the same brush and expect it to be believable.

Rachel Kapelke-Dale lives in Paris. The Ballerinas is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

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