Dance of Shadows

I liked the premise a lot, the character of Vanessa, and being in the dance world. However, I felt like there were some pacing issues, things skimmed over, and others that were elaborated too much. But the beginning kept me engaged, and after a somewhat slow middle, the ending griped me again until the last page. I will for sure read the next book when it comes out even if I don't grab on release day. The ballet in this one seemed realistic as far as the setting, terms used, and the school. There is a paranormal aspect for Vanessa and select others, but as far as the paranormal goes, it is set up well and isn't too much of a stretch. Although Vanessa said more than once while she likes dance, she is mostly at this elite school for her sister. I find this to be a bit of a stretch because you couldn't be as good as she is without a pretty intense love for ballet at the end of the day, but I get where it is coming from. I wasn't much a fan of the romance Zep never really sat right with me, and I think that Vanessa should have paid more attention to the feelings of unease or that something wasn't quite right with him. But I get the appeal, he is older, more mature, good looking, a good dancer, and he showed interest in her. I was more rooting for the underdog, Justin. Not that it was really a love triangle, he was just there, and I liked him more than I ever did Zep. The ending wrapped up things okay, but there are still lots of other questions that need to be answered in the sequel. Bottom Line: Good start and ending, with a slow middle and some issues.show more

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and Netgalley.) 15-year-old Vanessa is starting at NYBA (New York Ballet Academy), and her mother is going nuts because Vanessa's older sister Margaret disappeared from there 3 years ago, and they haven't heard from her since. Vanessa is determined to do well, ballet is what she loves, and she intends to make it her life, but sometimes when she dances really well, walls blur and things look odd, and she doesn't know what this means. When Vanessa is then given the lead in the December production of 'The Firebird', she is overwhelmed; the position was supposed to go to a senior, not a freshman, and even more worryingly; Margaret was also cast for the lead in the same production 3 years ago. Other things are going on at NYBA though, several girls have gone missing, other than Margaret, and now one of Vanessa's new friends - Elly has also disappeared. Why do girls keep disappearing? Does this have something to do with 'The Firebird'? And is Vanessa destined to follow in her sister Margaret's footsteps? This book started off really slowly, at 25% of the way in it felt like it was really dragging, and it didn't really pick up until the 60% mark. Vanessa obviously loved ballet, and wanted to be a dancer more than anything, even enough to go to the school that her sister had gone missing from. Her secret that dancing sometimes made things seem unreal was a little odd, and I did wonder why it hadn't stopped her from dancing altogether. She just seemed to think that if she ignored it, it would go away, which is a valid plan of action I suppose. I found the fact that one of the girls - Elly, had left under mysterious circumstances wasn't given enough attention, as it seemed that for a while the girls were happy to just assume that she had gone home. I kind-of expected the realisation that she hadn't gone home to come sooner, but this actually took a while. As I said, the pace in this book was really slow in the beginning, and I had difficulty with it right up to the 60% mark, where things started to happen, and the pace picked up. It was around this point that the mysteries in this book became more interesting, and I began to really want to know what was going on, and who Vanessa could and couldn't trust. And of course, no book would be complete without a blinking love triangle would it? Vanessa pursues a relationship with Zep (the male lead in the production), whilst another boy Justin seems to be stalking her. There seems to be reason's for Vanessa to mistrust both of them, although her infatuation with Zep does seem a bit OTT for the amount of attention he actually pays her. I personally did not trust Zep at all, but then Justin was a bit odd as well if you ask me. I had kind-of guessed what was going on overall, but I didn't guess the details, and there were some aspects that I hadn't guessed at all. The last 12% of the book was very gripping, and definitely the best part. Some things were tied up nicely, but there was still enough to keep me interested in the second instalment. At the beginning of this book I was thinking that this was going to be a disappointment, but I'm so glad that I persevered with this, because I ended up really enjoying it. Overall; This started slowly, but built up to a great finish. 8 out of 10.show more