Tag: ballet

Book Review: Girls of Dark Divine, by E. V. Woods

Title: Girls of Dark Divine   
Author: E. V. Woods         
Genre: Fantasy, YA    
Rating: 4 out of 5 

In the legendary ballet theatre of New Kora, the girls on stage enchant the audience each night with their grace and divine beauty. Before Emberlyn became the show’s star, it was her dream to become one of the ballerinas… until she learned the price of their living nightmare.

A curse has bound the girls to the show’s mastermind, Malcolm, so they must obey his every command. They are controlled by the magic’s invisible strings that has the power to wield their limbs like marionette dolls. Only the commands don’t stop when the curtain comes down, and the girls live a life of fear from Malcolm’s wickedness and the twisted truth that each dancer is destined to turn to dust when the curse finally consumes her.

When the troupe is invited to perform in the glitzy city of Parlizia, Emberlyn knows this could be her best chance to save them all. She meets an elusive boy made of shadows with a magical connection to the girls. Together, they work to unravel the haunting truth about their creation and fight for their survival. But the cost of freedom might be too high, and as she dances closer to the edge of darkness she realizes she might break the curse… or break her own heart forever.

I do love ballet, so when you combine it with fantasy, I definitely wanted to read this! Ember was a great character, and from the very first of the book, it was easy to be fascinated by her POV and her world. I liked all the Marionettes, and their friendship was what drew me into the story—and kept me reading, eager to find out if they were going to escape their dark curse.

E. V. Woods is from the U.K. Girls of Dark Divine is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House Children/Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Nocturne, by Alyssa Wees  

Image belongs to Ballantine/Del Rey.

Title:  Nocturne
Author: Alyssa Wees    
Genre: Fantasy, YA    
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Growing up in Chicago’s Little Sicily in the years following the Great War, Grace Dragotta has always wanted to be a ballerina, ever since she first peered through the windows of the Near North Ballet Company. So when Grace is orphaned, she chooses the ballet as her home, imagining herself forever ensconced in a transcendent world of light and beauty so different from her poor, immigrant upbringing.

Years later, with the Great Depression in full swing, Grace has become the company’s new prima ballerina—though achieving her long-held dream is not the triumph she once envisioned. Time and familiarity have tarnished that shining vision, and her new position means the loss of her best friend in the world. Then she attracts the attention of the enigmatic Master La Rosa as her personal patron, and realizes the world is not as small or constricted as she had come to fear.

Who is her mysterious patron, and what does he want from her? As Grace begins to unlock the Master’s secrets, she discovers that there is beauty in darkness as well as light, finds that true friendship cannot be broken by time or distance, and realizes there may be another way entirely to achieve the transcendence she has always sought.

This wasn’t consistent read for me. What I mean by that:  solid writing and descriptions, and I love the ballet parts. But….Grace and the other characters felt very one-dimensional and cliched, like the author tried to cobble them—and the story—together from a handful of other stories and myths, but didn’t make them unique enough to be believable. Grace was more of a puppet than anything else, barely taking any of her own initiative to do anything. As a whole, this just didn’t work for me, despite the dreamy ballet sequences.

Alyssa Wees lines in the Chicago area. Nocturne is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Ballantine/Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Brightest Star in Paris, by Diana Biller

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   The Brightest Star in Paris
Author:   Diana Biller
Genre:   Romance
Rating:  5 out of 5

Amelie St. James, prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet and the people’s saint, has spent seven years pretending. In the devastating aftermath of the Siege of Paris, she made a decision to protect her sister: she became the bland, sweet, pious “St. Amie” the ballet needed to restore its scandalous reputation. But when her first love reappears, and the ghosts of her past come back to haunt her, all her hard-fought safety is threatened.

 Dr. Benedict Moore has never forgotten the girl who helped him embrace life again after he almost lost his. Now, he’s back in Paris after twelve years for a conference. His goals are to recruit promising new scientists, and, maybe, to see Amelie again. When he discovers she’s in trouble, he’s desperate to help her—after all, he owes her. 

When she finally agrees to let him help, they disguise their time together with a fake courtship. But reigniting old feelings is dangerous, especially when their lives are an ocean apart. Will they be able to make it out with their hearts intact?

I ended up loving this read! I didn’t realize this was linked to The Widow of Rose House until about halfway through the novel, but that made me enjoy it even more. I loved the characters the most, although the ballet descriptions were wonderful, too.

Amelia is such a nuanced character, and I loved her voice and personality. I can’t imagine having to live with the façade she put up for the world in her efforts to keep herself and her sister safe. And Ben is lovable, and kind and I liked him a lot. His family is wonderful, and they made the whole book so much fun.

Diana Biller lives in Los Angeles. The Brightest Star in Paris is her newest novel.

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

Book Review and Blog Tour: Bright Burning Stars, by A.K. Small

Image belongs to Algonquin.

Title:  Bright Burning Stars
Author:  A.K. Small
Genre:  YA
Rating:  4 out of 5

Best friends Marine Duval and Kate Sanders have trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School since childhood, where they’ve formed an inseparable bond forged by respective family tragedies and a fierce love for dance. When the body of a student is found in the dorms just before the start of their final year, Marine and Kate begin to ask themselves what they would do to win the ultimate prize: to be the one girl selected to join the Opera’s prestigious corps de ballet. Would they die? Cheat? Seduce the most talented boy in the school, dubbed the Demigod, hoping his magic would make them shine, too? Neither girl is sure.

But then Kate gets closer to the Demigod, even as Marine has begun to capture his heart. And as selection day draws near, the competition—for the prize, for the Demigod—becomes fiercer, and Marine and Kate realize they have everything to lose, including each other. (less)

This was a bit hard for me to read. The writing is excellent, and the characters were great, but reading about the dark side of the ballet world was a little depressing, frankly. I believe it’s a realistic portrayal, sadly, because I can’t image what these girls put themselves through:  the abuse their body image takes and the physical and emotional demands they put on themselves.

Marine’s issues were scary, but at least she eventually realized it. Kate’s issues…her sometimes completely unfounded obsession with guys was just sad. She definitely has some delusions and mental health issues, in addition to her drug problem. It was sad that she didn’t realize that, though.

A.K. Small was born in Paris. Bright Burning Stars is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Algonquin in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Sparrow, by Mary Cecilia Jackson

sparrow
Image belongs to Tor Teen.

Title:  Sparrow
Author: Mary Cecilia Jackson
Genre:  YA
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

Sparrow—Savannah Darcy Rose—thought she would be safe after her mother died. She thought she could finally stop hiding. She’s a gifted ballerina with a tight-knit circle of friends, she’s starring in a new production, and her future looks bright.

Then she meets Tristan:  handsome, wealthy, the most popular boy in school. Sparrow is in love, but Tristan isn’t quite as perfect as he seems, and soon Sparrow finds herself keeping secrets from everyone. She’s not the kind of girl who tells, but after a brutal assault, she must learn how to open up to those around her.

This wasn’t an easy book to read. You could see the disaster looming…but you were helpless to divert it. Sparrow’s backstory is horrifying, and the emotional scars she bears lead to physical scars in her present. I loved her strength and determination—and the strong friendships made the novel shine.

Mary Cecilia Jackson loves being a Southerner and reading. Sparrow is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Brave Enough, by Kati Gardner

brave enough
Image belongs to Flux Books.

Title:   Brave Enough
Author:   Kati Gardner
Genre:   YA
Rating:   4.5 out of 5

Cason Martin is the youngest dancer at the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory. She’s driven and determined, and she’s never really even considered if she wanted to dance. She never had a choice:  her mother is the demanding artistic director at the conservatory and will not accept Cason being anything less than the best.

On the day of Cason’s injury, that ceases to matter, as an injury she’s been hiding turns out to be cancer. Now she finds herself in a children’s cancer ward, fighting to live and to come to terms with her new normal. Davis Channing knows how that feels. He survived cancer, and then beat drug addiction, although he lives with the temptation to use again every day. Volunteering at the cancer ward is his way to give back.

Cason and Davis’s friendship is tenuous, but what they both need, until his ex-girlfriend appears in his life, eager to lure him down old roads again, while the unthinkable happens to Cason. Turning their backs on each other is easiest, but is it what they really need?

Let me first say that I’ve never read The Fault in Our Stars, so I can’t make any comparisons to that novel (and I have no intention of reading it, because almost never will I choose to read a book that I know will make me cry. #sorrynotsorry). I found Brave Enough to be one of the most touching and inspiring books I’ve read this year. I felt for Cason on a deep level, and truly experienced her grief and other emotions along with her. Davis’s struggle was so well-done and brought an addict’s struggle to gut-wrenching life. Highly recommend!

Katie Gardner is a childhood cancer survivor, amputee, and a recovering actor. Brave Enough is her debut novel.

(Galley provided by North Star Editions/Flux in exchange for an honest review.)