Author: Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Thriller
Source: St.Martin’s Press ( Netgalley )

Goodreads: Dare Me meets Black Swan and Luckiest Girl Alive in a captivating, voice-driven debut novel about a trio of ballerinas who meet as students at the Paris Opera Ballet School.

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.

Moving between the trio’s adolescent years and the present day, The Ballerinas explores the complexities of female friendship, the dark drive towards physical perfection in the name of artistic expression, the double-edged sword of ambition and passion, and the sublimated rage that so many women hold inside––all culminating in a twist you won’t see coming, with magnetic characters you won’t soon forget.

Ope’s Opinion: I love the cover on this book – it is beautiful! My daughter danced for fifteen years, so I was very interested in the behind the scenes of the ballet world. This book is in the thriller genre – I didn’t really see it fitting in that category. I see this as a women’s fiction – it was more about the friendship of her and her fellow ballerina’s.

These three friends didn’t feel like friends to me. They were not very supportive of each other. I like strong women who lift each other up – I don’t think they did this. I felt like too many issues were trying to be dealt with in this book.