Dance of Shadows (Dance of Shadows, #1)

Feb 28, 2013 Sam rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-or-galley, best-covers, fantasy-or-paranormal, romance, thriller, other, paranormal

1.5 stars

Sinister, seductive, thrilling – a few of the adjectives used to market this debut novel, and all of them disappointingly inaccurate. Dance of Shadows, unfortunately, is not the best defender of company-packaged books.

The start of this new trilogy focuses on Vanessa Alder, a ballerina and student at the New York Ballet Academy. It focuses on the mystery surrounding this elite ballet school, one that involves missing students and their enigmatic choreographer, Joseph Zhalkovsky. It tries...more 1.5 stars

Sinister, seductive, thrilling – a few of the adjectives used to market this debut novel, and all of them disappointingly inaccurate. Dance of Shadows, unfortunately, is not the best defender of company-packaged books.

The start of this new trilogy focuses on Vanessa Alder, a ballerina and student at the New York Ballet Academy. It focuses on the mystery surrounding this elite ballet school, one that involves missing students and their enigmatic choreographer, Joseph Zhalkovsky. It tries to be dark and irregular, and fails miserably. I wish I could say that such a stunning cover was, for once, deserved, but that is far from the truth. What should have been a deliciously creepy and mesmerising tale of dance is little more than an overly-clichéd and formulaic paranormal novel. Most disappointingly, it is predictable, and shockingly so. There is a lot of obviousness that is not acknowledged during the course of this story, making the build-up to the final secret a futile one.

The characters do little to save the floundering, transparent plot. Vanessa’s first day at NYBA is met with a bizarre dorm room huddle in which she meets her new friends. This scene is horribly contrived, as if the author decided Vanessa needed four best friends and she needed them now. It is impossible to fully connect with friendship initiated in such a way. We have TJ, Steffie, Elly and Blaine, three indistinguishable girls and one stereotypical gay friend. These cardboard characters are not the most engaging group, or even particularly realistic, with the conversations held between them being borderline ridiculous. The vast majority of the dialogue in this book is poorly constructed - a writing flaw that is not easy to overlook.

Appreciating the main character is a challenge. Accepting her ignorance is an even bigger challenge. Vanessa is not outrageously unlikeable, but she is impossibly good at skirting around the evident, to the point where it becomes frustrating. Her passion for dance, although unintentional, is her most admirable quality, but there is little else to like about her. Enter Zeb, the elegant male lead and love interest, and connecting with Vanessa becomes near unmanageable. Unless there is a solid explanation for that ‘inexplicable attraction’, I have the most difficult time appreciating the main character’s choices in such a romance (as was the case here). Zeb is not any more appealing or non-standard than the other characters, fitting every mysterious and/or dangerous love interest cliché.

While not enough compensate for the flaws of this book, there are aspects that are well done in comparison to the rest. The final chapters are aptly exciting and wonderfully atmospheric, reaching the standard and style I expected earlier on. This is, coincidentally, where the paranormal aspect is fully unleashed, and it provides the perfect stepping stone for the sequel. The only other redeeming quality of this book is Justin, a character who is refreshingly blunt and genuine, and the only one to say things in a way a real teenager might. His interest in Vanessa is slightly exasperating, but, ignoring that, he is one of the better male characters in this book.

The second instalment is not one that I am prepared to read, or even remotely curious about, but I hope for the sake of this series that it resembles something closer to the finale of Dance of Shadows, and with far better characters.

(This review also appears on my blog)

(less)

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Nov 07, 2012 Blythe marked it as to-read-soon

Shelves: 2012-plans, hooray-for-masochism, judge-a-book-by-the-cover, netgalley-edelweiss-arc

"...from the creators of Lauren Kate’s Fallen."

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Jan 19, 2013 Kara rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: annoying-protagonist, arc, cover-love, demons, for-review, huge-pile-of-crap, net-galley, new-york, paranormal, so-much-potential-wasted, young-adult, dance

What the fuck did I just read? No really. What was that? It started out great, then the pacing went awry, the writing got terrible, and I started rolling my eyes. A lot. I read books with stupid characters all the time. I read books with ridiculous metaphors and amateurish writing. But I haven't read anything this bad in a long time. It's weird because this book didn't start out all this bad for me. But, like a snowball rolling downhill, it gained speed, and eventually bowled me over with its...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Ashleigh Paige rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-whole-new-level-of-boring, arc, creepy-and-i-love-it, don-t-need-my-clairvoyance-for-this, e-arc-via-netgalley, such-a-disappointment, the-shameful-shelf-of-get-rid-of-it, uh-oh-someone-has-the-idiot-ball, wow-what-a-douchecanoe

See more of my reviews sooner on The YA Kitten! I received my ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Books about dance are awesome. Books about demons are even more awesome. How could Dance of Shadows, a book about ballet and demons (the literal ones; ballet comes with plenty of figurative demons) and how the two intersect, go wrong? A lot of ways, actually.

Dancing comes with a lot of pressure. Eating right, mastering dances that can often be complicated, not making a fool out of yourself during r...more See more of my reviews sooner on The YA Kitten! I received my ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Books about dance are awesome. Books about demons are even more awesome. How could Dance of Shadows, a book about ballet and demons (the literal ones; ballet comes with plenty of figurative demons) and how the two intersect, go wrong? A lot of ways, actually.

Dancing comes with a lot of pressure. Eating right, mastering dances that can often be complicated, not making a fool out of yourself during rehearsal or during the show, being reminded how short your career can be and that one wrong step can stop it before it ever begins,... I'm no ballet dancer, but I've read enough books involving dancing to know there are many demons dancers battle. The book's decision to make those figurative demons literal was part of what drew me to the novel in the first place, and this element is what sticks with me the most.

This appears to be the only strong suit Dance of Shadows has. Vanessa is too bland for me to understand why she's so extraordinary even when it's explicitly stated. The statement simply doesn't ring true. The motivation that brings her to NYBA--finding her sister-- almost immediately falls by the wayside and she makes little to no effort to try and find her. Progress is made only when it ties in with other girl's disappearances. Vanessa is also rather dim. The person who has long, private training sessions with the evil mastermind? They're probably in on the evil plot. That doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, but she walks right into that trap.

I don't care for either of her love interests and overall, the cast falls flat. Some characters are given backstories, but they never truly play into who these characters are and why they do what they do. A plot point in which Blaine, the stereotypical gay male dancer of the book, says he feels the same odd thing Vanessa does when she dances is dropped completely and it is regarded as if he never said anything for the rest of the novel.

Mid-read, I likened reading this book to being slapped in the face with a neon pink fish that screams "HEY! THIS IS SUSPICIOUS! BE SUSPICIOUS OF IT!" constantly while the characters remain clueless. Paired with slow pacing that waits until the very end to advance the supernatural elements, Dance of Shadows gets frustrating very quickly. It almost seems like a spoiler to say there are demons because they come into the novel so late, but it doesn't count as a spoiler when the novel's initial publication announcement mentions demons.

Worse than that, I saw all the twists coming. Cover-ups? Called it. How said cover-ups are done? Same. To be honest, the cover-ups are horribly done; all it took to unravel it for one person was a single phone call home. No one ever thought to try that in twenty years? There are more called twists I am too frustrated to name. One of the notes I have written down for this book close to the end is "I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING AT ALL. /sarcasm" and I would have been kinder had so much of my time, patience, and faith not been wasted.

Dance of Shadows begins a trilogy and it's unlikely I'll be around for book two despite a strongly written finale and a tantalizing set-up for book two. One more bad book from a book packager (The InkHouse, in this case; it gave us Fallen by Lauren Kate) like this and I'm done with them for good. I've given that part of the industry many chances and I have almost constantly been failed. (But before anyone gets confused, that has no influence on my rating/enjoyment of this book. This is simply how it happens every time.)(less)

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Feb 06, 2013 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Masochisten xD

Shelves: _aㅣya, _bㅣdemons, _timeㅣin-the-present, _plㅣpublisher, _plㅣwon, _tㅣparanormal, _tㅣmystery, _s3, 2013ㅣreads, _fㅣphysical-copy, _rㅣ2_3-meh-nothing-special, _sㅣ2ㅣbooks-to-go, _sㅣmaybe, _tㅣromance, almost-fell-asleep, awkward-writing-style, cliched, could-have-been-so-much-better, damn-those-love-triangles, great-idea-bad-execution, hormone-overdose, i-totally-saw-that-coming, instant-love, interesting-concepts, it-sounded-so-good, only-beautiful-on-the-outside, plot-holes, secrets-everywhere, stop-being-so-annoying, _stㅣreviewed, cheesy, you-are-such-a-jerk, _povㅣ3rd-person, spectacular-settings

»Wir sind eine Schule der Träume. Hier werdet ihr euch in Feen, in Prinzen, in Schwäne verwandeln – in weiße und schwarze –, in böse Königinnen und in Dämonen.«

INHALT
Die New Yorker Ballettakademie verheißt die Erfüllung aller Träume. Für die tanzbegeisterte Vanessa ist sie allerdings noch mehr als das: Sie tritt in die Fußstapfen ihrer begabten Schwester Margaret, die spurlos verschwunden ist. Vanessa hat das unbestimmte Gefühl, niemals an Margarets Talent heranreichen zu können. Dabei hat sie e...more

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Jul 21, 2012 fяσzєη marked it as to-read

Shelves: covergasm, pretty-dress-on-the-cover

That cover is fucking gorgeous.

But um..

"From the creators of Lauren Kate's Fallen."

I don't understand. o_o

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Apr 10, 2013 Melanie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: awesome-covers, oh-so-meh, take-your-insta-love-and-get-lost, why-did-i-even-read-this

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads
That cover O__O I simply fell in love with this amazing cover that captured my heart the second I saw it. Not really pleased with what I got in the end as I had high hopes in liking the book despite the low average rating.

A book of a sinister ballet school and mysterious disappearances of dancers, Vanessa is accepted into the school of Ballet, not only for dancing purposes, but also in search for her missing sister, Margaret. Then Vanessa meets Zep, dark and...more See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads
That cover O__O I simply fell in love with this amazing cover that captured my heart the second I saw it. Not really pleased with what I got in the end as I had high hopes in liking the book despite the low average rating.

A book of a sinister ballet school and mysterious disappearances of dancers, Vanessa is accepted into the school of Ballet, not only for dancing purposes, but also in search for her missing sister, Margaret. Then Vanessa meets Zep, dark and enigmatic, he seems to be keeping something from her. But what?

I despised the majority of the book, about four fifths of it until the end. Where it was so fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. However, for the rest, I found it pretty boring and repetitive, not moving at all. In less than 5 pages upon meeting, Vanessa makes friends with 4 other people. It states around page 15 that she already called them her 'friends'. Not really authentic enough for moi.

Vanessa is a head strong girl, also very sensitive and a caring little sister. Being head strong isn't terribly good, as for some of the time I just wanted to slap her face for not listening to Justin as some situations were beyond obvious.To sum up, she is really stupid. Zep, as I mentioned before is extremely cryptic and it was infuriating to see that Vanessa couldn't sense that at all. I loved Justin, he seemed like the only person who knew what they were doing and was relatable. (Even though I found it weird that he was stalking Vanessa.)

The plot was well set out and unravelled. Never would I have wondered about specific people to be involved in such horrible out comes.

Dance of Shadows may catch you in the eye with its spectacular cover, but found change those taste buds after reading this novel. Insta love, insta friendship and in a way a book adaptation of Black Swan, the movie, it was alright. In the end, I sorta swayed my opinions as the end startled me. I recommend this book to lovers of ballet stories and someone in need for a cryptic, sinister novel.(less)

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Mar 28, 2013 Jord¥n rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, cover-love, paranormal

What an amazing idea( even though it wasn't the author's own idea -_- ), but the romance and stereotype characters ruined the book for me. Hopefully the next book focuses more on Vanessa finding her sister and the demon than the romance. Highly doubt it though.

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Feb 10, 2013 Alicia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-debut, mehh, why-the-hype

"The right steps with the right dancer can wreck havoc."

Vanessa’s sister disappeared from the New York Dance Academy, but she’s not the first one. 11 girls have gone before her, and all in the same way. They were told to master an odd dance– La Dance du Feu– before they went missing. Something is wrong, terribly wrong within the 4 ashen walls of the dance theatre and Vanessa must find out, or the world will spin away into the hands of a sinister force as she dances. Mark my words, the disappeari...more "The right steps with the right dancer can wreck havoc."

Vanessa’s sister disappeared from the New York Dance Academy, but she’s not the first one. 11 girls have gone before her, and all in the same way. They were told to master an odd dance– La Dance du Feu– before they went missing. Something is wrong, terribly wrong within the 4 ashen walls of the dance theatre and Vanessa must find out, or the world will spin away into the hands of a sinister force as she dances. Mark my words, the disappearing girls will keep you spooked out… and still guessing.

Yelena Black is really good with her world-building, from the studios, to the ballet, to the ancient folklore and dark magic, I held my breath the whole time because I was so afraid that shadowy hands will grab me from the book! The element of fear and suspense transcends every page, not to mention how the intoxicating ballet atmosphere feels like the best cake treat for a kid, if only I can try those steps and pirouette my way cross country!

However, as I dug deeper into Dance of Shadows, I realized there was nothing amazing or particularly outstanding. It didn't convince me how so many missing girls from the same institution could go unnoticed by the public, and it was sad to see how the high school drama watered down the gripping mystery I was ready for. I read this book very very carefully, not skipping a single punctuation because I couldn't bear to miss any details that points to a possibly mind-blowing revelation. And... There was none.

Throughout the whole story, the characters continually disturbed me. I like how Vanessa is a girl with a mind of her own, but her stubbornness and lack of judgement is infuriating. It’s those moments when you know exactly what’s wrong with what the character is doing but she won’t do anything about it. The clues are screaming into her ears, the abnormal behaviours can be explained if she stops to reason, yet she pushes away the person trying to help her and confide all her secrets to the big bad guy. Don’t even get me started on the love triangle. Both boys were equally douche and I had no idea, absolutely NO IDEA how that mushy little relationship could be love!! *RAGES*

If not for the final paranormal twist and beautiful ballet, this wouldn't even be a 2-star book. You know, people always tell you "Don't judge a book by its cover!", but I never learn.
--
More reviews on Summer Next Top Story (less)

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Feb 09, 2013 Nara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, magic, reviewed, netgalley, for-review

Full review can be found here

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for sending me an advance copy of Dance of Shadows through NetGalley. In no way did this affect my opinion of the book.

When I first read the blurb of Dance of Shadows, my first thought was:
Zep. Justin. Josef. WTF. A LOVE SQUARE. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. (Also, what kind of name is Zep?)
Now having read the book, all I can say is 1. Thank God it wasn't a love square (although it was still a love triangle -_-)...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Benna added it

This was one of the largest amounts of time I have ever wasted in my life...not that it took me very long to read. The characters were boring and under developed apart from one, who was not even a protagonist, merely a foreshadowed character who was not given the chance to develop but squashed like a fly. Dance of Shadows was like reading a messed up fanfic of Twilight-I know what you're thinking; Can Twilight get even more twisted and messed up than it is already? Well, as it turn out-yes it ca...more This was one of the largest amounts of time I have ever wasted in my life...not that it took me very long to read. The characters were boring and under developed apart from one, who was not even a protagonist, merely a foreshadowed character who was not given the chance to develop but squashed like a fly. Dance of Shadows was like reading a messed up fanfic of Twilight-I know what you're thinking; Can Twilight get even more twisted and messed up than it is already? Well, as it turn out-yes it can. However, I was glad I read it because it gave me a new perspective towards Twilight...as less disturbing. Don't misunderstand me now-I love the Twilight movies except I can never understand why most DVD stores and rental sights categorise them under Fantasy/Drama/Romance if I owned a DVD store Twilight and subsequent movies would all be under comedy!

But I digress, to return to the book of which I first began to speak: Dance of Shadows. Don't read it you will be wasting your life even more than you do when you are on Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr. Lacking in plot, characterisation, use of vocabulary, imagery, symbolism and pretty much every other literary device, including grammar and punctuation AND EVEN sentence structure. Admittedly I read an uncorrected proof, so I desperately hope that they (being the author and editors) rewrote the entire novel (does it deserve the term novel I wonder?) and then burnt it and rewrote it again. Usually when I read books about which I am doubtful, I am pleasantly surprised, which I love, OR the novel has potential. For example when James Patterson stuck his name on the cover of 'Witch and Wizard' by Gabrielle Charbonnet (please excuse me if I misquoted either of those authors names-my memory fails me after two weeks of solid exams) I truly believed that the novel had potential, it felt restrained, and I was disappointed. So moral of the story; don't waste your time, money and intelligence reading Dance of Shadows. Instead read something stimulating, with characters so deep you can't feel the bottom and a plot so brilliant you never see what is coming. (less)

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Feb 07, 2013 Jaiden rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-copy, crushes, e-books, for-review, favorites, idk-genre, 5-stars

Originally posted at: Girls on YA Books

~Review:
First...is this book really 447 pages?? Well, I guess that's one way to start off a positive review...This book flew by so fast I had no clue!! I completely submerged in this book not paying attention to the pages (or i this case, percentage finished). I just kept reading until I was done or needed to fangirl or vent on goodreads through status. Second...look at that fantabulous cover!! I don't care what anyone says or thinks...this cover has blown...more Originally posted at: Girls on YA Books

~Review:
First...is this book really 447 pages?? Well, I guess that's one way to start off a positive review...This book flew by so fast I had no clue!! I completely submerged in this book not paying attention to the pages (or i this case, percentage finished). I just kept reading until I was done or needed to fangirl or vent on goodreads through status. Second...look at that fantabulous cover!! I don't care what anyone says or thinks...this cover has blown my mind. Its absolutely stunning and fits the story so wonderfully. I mean...I want to BE that cover just so I can be that pretty haha xD

Now, when I started this book I was really really excited! This is one I have had my eye on forever. When I got it on Netgalley I did a little jig ;D Then I started reading and BA-BAM!!! I was hit with the love-bug again haha So here I am enjoying this amazing book when I go to Goodreads and...and see negative reviews. *Mind blown* Seriously. I couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that ANYONE would dislike this book. I mean it was SOOOO good! I fell hard for this book. I was literally lost in its pages and it was agony to stop reading it and do what I was supposed to do.

I will admit that I did start to find Vanessa annoying towards the end. I was screaming at the book for her to grow some sense and freaking listen to what she was being told. Seriously...she pissed me off at times but from the beginning and all other times I really enjoyed her character. She was strong and determined, loyal. I liked her. I especially loved the side characters. I think they were extremely well developed. The story was clean. No profanity or any real steaminess. There is romance intermixed with this delicious mystery but nothing seriously sexy and where I do like things to heat up from time to mind I found it refreshing and it wasn't something that needed to be missed. The story and mystery filled everything up!

(People are crazy on Goodreads people. Do NOT listen to what they say..listen to me ;D hahaha If you like a good mystery, some creep factor, humor, and a unique story line then listen to me and give this book a chance. I found the writing well done despite what people have said. The story, again, was extremely enthralling and interesting. The whole concept was so unique. I was glued to Dance of Shadows' pages. A beautiful and wonderful debut. I am looking forward to book two. There is so much I am hoping for from it.

I loved this book to pieces. I seriously don't think I can stress the greatness of this book any further. After I finished I was determining whether or not to start another book but I decided against it because I wanted to think about everything I had just read all night long. I wanted to absorb it all. Dance of Shadows is a gorgeous, dangerous and hauntingly beautiful piece of work. I am so in love with (content must be kept secret for it could be vital to all the mystery) now. The end made me sure of my love for him. All my doubts were swept away. I highly and I mean HIGHLY recommend you give it a try no matter what others are thinking. Read the bad reviews. Proceed with caution but TRY IT!!! Please. *begs* ;P

~Rating:
Now, I couldn't determine between a 4.5 and 5 after finishing this book and starting this review. Vanessa pissing me off in those few chapters would be the .5 deduction. I knew though whether it was 4.5 or 5 this book was a NEED book. But, while writing this review I got all these sparks back and all the genius and beauty it was came back and I finally made my decision (which is completely deserved).

5 of 5 wonderful stars!!!!!!! <3(less)

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Jan 25, 2013 Nikki (Fiction Freak) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had incredibly, incredibly high expectations for this, which may have something to do with the absolutely gorgeous cover, so I wasn't very surprised when it just fell flat of them, but I was a bit disappointed.

What disappointed me was how completely...shallow Vanessa was. And not in that personality sense. We never got to learn much about Vanessa really, and what we did learn irritated me. From what we see, she misses her sister, she thinks she knows it all, she's naive, and she's stubborn, an...more I had incredibly, incredibly high expectations for this, which may have something to do with the absolutely gorgeous cover, so I wasn't very surprised when it just fell flat of them, but I was a bit disappointed.

What disappointed me was how completely...shallow Vanessa was. And not in that personality sense. We never got to learn much about Vanessa really, and what we did learn irritated me. From what we see, she misses her sister, she thinks she knows it all, she's naive, and she's stubborn, and not a good sense. But apart from that I didn't really get much from Vanessa and her character seemed to be there only to move the plot forward. In other words, her character just seemed...well, fake and the same honestly goes for the other characters as well. Their personalities only pushed on the plot and honestly, were very stereotypical.

The romance was also a bit annoying. Vanessa seemed to fall for Zep right when she saw him and (SPOILER) seemed to fall for Justin (a.k.a. Josh, but in the eARC it was Justin, so I'll call him that for now) only when Zep was gone, even after bitching at Justin for so long. It was annoying and I really just wanted to say "Really?" She was so desperate and pining for Zep and I just wanted to smack her for being so weak.

The only redeeming things were the plot and world-building, in all honesty.

The plot was a perfect pacing where it didn't go too fast for this type of supernatural, but it wasn't exceedingly slow. There were many twists I was shocked by, though I admit there were also a lot I had predicted beforehand, but it was still intriguing to see how things played out with this demonic dancing.
I think that the premise of this is completely original. Since when have you heard of a dance that can destroy you? Never. At least, not that I've heard of! I loved the idea of it, I loved the sinister feeling the school gave off, and I loved each abnormal thing mentioned in the book!

Dance of Shadows, while it does have it's weak points, was dark and stunning and will steal your breath just as ballet would. The sinister atmosphere, mysterious disappearings, and more will keep rapture you and you'll find this book hard to put down! (less)

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Nov 14, 2012 Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs-i-own, mundie-moms-reviews, 2013-release, 2012-100-book-challenge, 2013-debut-author

4.5 stars

Dark and intriguing, Dance of Shadows weaves together mystery and suspense with the beauty and danger of this story's elegant ballet. Graced with an appealing storyline, and the mystery behind this story's main character Vanessa, sister's disappearance, this was a book I was hooked with from the moment I started reading it. Yelena Black's third person writing was well crafted, and flowed well never once making it confusing on who was talking and what was going on. I enjoyed being comple...more 4.5 stars

Dark and intriguing, Dance of Shadows weaves together mystery and suspense with the beauty and danger of this story's elegant ballet. Graced with an appealing storyline, and the mystery behind this story's main character Vanessa, sister's disappearance, this was a book I was hooked with from the moment I started reading it. Yelena Black's third person writing was well crafted, and flowed well never once making it confusing on who was talking and what was going on. I enjoyed being completely wrapped up with all that was going on. I loved the setting and the cast of characters I met.

Vanessa herself is a character I enjoyed getting to know. She's a character who grew and changed through out the story, and surprised me in some ways with how she went from being naive about some of the things going on at the dance's boarding school to being a strong character who wants to get to the bottom of all that's happening. The two guys who have her torn were both well written, and I'll admit I was just as torn as she was, and went from wanting her to pick the one to strongly disliking him at the same time the mystery surrounding him was revealed. I loved who she ended up choosing and I'm dying to know what will transpire between them next.

Not being one who knows a lot about ballet, I felt Yelena did a wonderful job at making me feel like I was able to comprehend what she was talking about, and all that was going on in regards to the ballet. I loved how the mystery and the suspense was woven into the ballet. It was detailed, and richly written, so much so that I had no problems picturing the dances, and moves that were being performed and practiced. I enjoyed the cast of characters I met. They were lively, mysterious and so easy to like.

I loved the twists and secrets some of them harbored, and I loved the well written love triangle that this story had. It went against the norm and I felt like Vanessa's feeling between the two guys were justified and relatable, given all that is going on with both of them. I can't wait to read more about the romance that I'm hoping develops between Vanessa and the one she choose (I'm leaving out their names so that I don't spoil anything) in the sequel. This is a deliciously dark, wonderful read and one I'd recommend picking up when it's out in February. (less)

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May 19, 2013 Sharons Bücherparadies rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Meine Meinung:

Da mich der Klappentext sehr ansprach, und ich mir hierzu auch schon mehrere Rezensionen durchgelesen hatte, die allerdings sehr durchwachsen waren, entschied ich mich schon nach relativ kurzer Zeit für dieses tolle Buch und habe es in keinster Weise bereut!

Nachdem Vanessas Schwester Margaret an der New Yorker Ballettakademie eines Tages spurlos verschwunden war, beschließt sie nach einigen Jahren selbst in Margarets Fußstapfen zu treten um ebenfalls eine erfolgreiche und tallentie...more

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May 04, 2013 Llana rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: land-of-predictable, flop, snoozeville, subtlety-of-an-elephat, stereotypes

The cover.Lets just take a moment to admire it.Done?
Good.
Now it's time for what's inside the book which is less pretty.

The idea of this book is pretty awesome.It really is.But...then came those stereotypes and that annoying thing called lack of plot.And then insistence Barbie people(White of course) are all shallow and self-absorbed and even worse like to make out with their boyfriends.In public.I know sooo bad especially since the MC has a crush on said boyfriend.
But we'll deal with that later....more

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Apr 20, 2013 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: angst-a-plenty, best-covers-ever, boarding-schools, booooring, death, debut-authors, demons-and-possesion, ehh-it-was-okay, mystery, mythology, newyorkcity, not-a-fan, overrated, not-what-i-expected, theatre-stage-actors, touch-of-magic-supernatural, young-adult-reads

Well. This one was, um... something. Let's just say it took a loooong time to not go very far. If it weren't for the prolouge, you'd have absolutely no idea what direction the book was going in. Missing ballerinas... sold into slavery? Complicated murder plot? Something paranormal?

Nope. Just your average (view spoiler).

Seriously. It took over 300 pages to start EXPLAINING THINGS. I mean, if you're going to do a book about (view spoiler)...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Cornelia Zass rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ein bleiches Mädchen, mit roten Haaren, Ballettschuhen und einem Rosenblütenkleid - dies ist das Cover des Buches “Dance of Shadows - Tanz der Dämonen”.
Heute, am 5. Februar 2013, erscheint es mit 380 Seiten im Bloomoon-Verlag.
Geschrieben hat es die amerikanische Autorin Yelena Black, welche nicht nur das Schreiben, sondern auch den Tanz liebt.
Ich danke, von Herzen, dem Verlag, für dieses besondere Rezensionsexemplar.

Die New Yorker Ballettakademie - eine der Eliteschulen!

Nur die besten Tänzerinn...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Annette Gisby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, supernatural, mystery, romance, m-f

A new student at New York Ballet Academy, Vanessa Adler is following in the footsteps of her older sister who disappeared over three years ago and hasn't been seen since. All of Vanessa's new friends are excited to be starting at the school and although Vanessa tries to feel the same way, her thoughts are overshadowed by worry over what may have happened to her sister.

During her investigations, Vanessa and her friends discover that there have been a spate of disappearances from the school dating...more A new student at New York Ballet Academy, Vanessa Adler is following in the footsteps of her older sister who disappeared over three years ago and hasn't been seen since. All of Vanessa's new friends are excited to be starting at the school and although Vanessa tries to feel the same way, her thoughts are overshadowed by worry over what may have happened to her sister.

During her investigations, Vanessa and her friends discover that there have been a spate of disappearances from the school dating back twenty years, most of them lead ballerinas who had just been cast in The Firebird. A few weeks into term, her friend Elly drops out and disappears, and Vanessa is offered the lead role in Firebird, engendering jealousy from some of the older students.

What little girl hasn't dreamt of becoming a ballerina at some stage? I used to watch ballet on television as a little girl and imagined being the one up on stage, but I'd never had a ballet lesson in my life. Ms. Black has brought the ballet school to life on the page, with the students' worries over who gets picked for each role, their aching feet and backs and all the attendant pains and blisters for dancing for hours every day.

Vanessa was an interesting character and you really got into her head, as most of the book is from her point of view. I was very pleased to see the inclusion of a gay male character, Blaine, who was one of Vanessa's new friends, as just another friend and student rather than making a big deal out of it. His orientation just came across as a natural part of him, the same way that T.J. had frizzy hair or that Elly loved pink.

I think the book worked very well at detailing life at a prestigious ballet school, but the paranormal parts left me feeling a bit flat. They seemed added on towards the end, even though you knew there was something paranormal involved because of the genre of the book. I'm not sure what could be done to improve that part though.
It's a good book, but I felt it could have been better.
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Mar 17, 2013 Paula Phillips rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ever read a book that was so amazing that you found that you couldn't put it down and you just had to keep reading it to discover what happens and what is going on ? For me Dance of Shadows was one of those stories as it held not only the elements of reality with the main character and her friends being at a ballet school - the NYBRS ( The New York Royal Ballet Society) which we see feature in movies like Centre Stage 1 and 2 and Save the Last Dance 2, but it also mixed the aspect of mythology a...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Silent Writer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Zeppelin like the band Led Zeppelin? Gray like Christian from 50 Shades of Gray? Zep is a nosebleed. Justin is drool. What's with all this sweat?! It's Black Swan gone wrong. It's a case of copy and paste. What is her name (looks at book) Vanessa is like Nick from The Great Gatsby (only because she doesn't belong or move the plot) and Bella Swan from Twilight and Nora Grey from Hush, Hush and every female lead gone wrong. Vanessa is like congestion and constipation. Wait, oh no Yelena didn't! I...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Majanka rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, paranormal-romance, reviews-february-2013

Read my full review: http://www.iheartreading.net/book/boo...

I rated this book a 2-star total, and I think that’s being mild. I have no idea why anyone even decided to publish this crap. There are tons and tons of potential manuscripts out there that are ten times as well-written as this book, that have characters with actual depth and a storyline that makes sense. Dance of Shadows has neither of those, and yet it was picked up. The book doesn’t even look edited. It has major flaws screaming fro...more Read my full review: http://www.iheartreading.net/book/boo...

I rated this book a 2-star total, and I think that’s being mild. I have no idea why anyone even decided to publish this crap. There are tons and tons of potential manuscripts out there that are ten times as well-written as this book, that have characters with actual depth and a storyline that makes sense. Dance of Shadows has neither of those, and yet it was picked up. The book doesn’t even look edited. It has major flaws screaming from the pages. The writing is mediocre, but unfortunately that’s only one of the many things wrong with this book. I can’t get over the fact someone chose to publish this, in its current form, riddled with awkward, run-on sentences and flat characters who make Bella Swan look three-dimensional. Needless to say I’m not impressed. At all.

Let’s start with the premise, and probably the only thing remotely good about this book. Vanessa, the MC, is an excellent ballet dancer but she’s not passionate about dancing, not like her sister Margaret was. Margaret went to a prestigious ballet academy in New York city and vanished soon after, while she was working on a dance named The Firebird. Vanessa is determined to find her sister and traces in Margaret’s footsteps. She joins the academy, meets some new friends and is blissfully unaware of the danger lurking behind every corner of the academy. Which actually shows a lot of ignorance on her part, but whatever. The first chapter basically gives away the entire plot, and that’s a shame, because when all else fails, the plot is the only thing that can keep a reader go on reading. Well, in the first chapter we see how Chloé, a ballerina, dances herself to ashes, lured in by some dark power. That grabbed my attention, but I was hoping there would, of course, be more meat to the plot. What is the use of having a plot, and a rather intriguing premise, if you’re going to give it all away in the first chapter? Right, no purpose, like most of the stuff in this book.

Vanessa, our main character, is the worst main character I’ve ever read about. She has no personality. No really, even a cardboard figure has somewhat of a personality compared to her. Vanessa is dumb, ignorant and annoying, but there’s no consistency there. Her personality, if any, is so small and insignificant I couldn’t grasp it. There was no way to predict what she’s do because all her emotions were random. Her romantic feelings for a guy named Zeppelin Gray were plain ridiculous. I had to wonder if the author has the slightest idea of how teenagers think. Because I’ve seen some ridiculous love affairs in YA, but this tops everything. Vanessa thinks Zep is good-looking, and she keeps on eyeing him like a creepy spy. No harm done there though, it’s not forbidden to look at someone. However, he looks back at her, they make a connection and poof. Let’s not forget that while all this happens, Zep is actually together with a ballerina named Anna. But he sees Vanessa and she sees him, and well, he breaks off with Anna for no good reason and leaves cryptic notes for Vanessa. They meet up on a date, I’m not even sure if they kiss because it was all that bland and boring, and poof, they’re together. Not to mention that afterwards he keeps on disappearing, acts totally guilty and borderline insane, and has even less personality than Vanessa. I’m serious, if you asked me to name one personality trait of Zep, I couldn’t do it. Because he has no personality. He’s as undeveloped as it can get, and I can’t believe the main relationship of this book would be between two personality-less characters, have no depth whatsoever and make absolutely no sense. How the heck can Zep love her or even care for her? They went on one date and as far as I know they did absolutely nothing that insists on romantic feelings. Why the heck would she trust Zep? He broke off with his last girlfriend on a whim and then he keeps on disappearing. And is Vanessa really so stupid, ignorant and naive not to think for one second he may have something to do with what’s going on in the academy? My main question when reading this book was WTF. Seriously, every page was another WTF-ery. I’m proud I made it to the end of this horror, but it was a waste of time and this book a waste of paper.

Let’s talk about the supportive cast next. Vanessa meets a ton of uninteresting, boring side characters that have names but no faces or personalities the moment she walks through the doors of the ballet school. One of them, Elly, vanishes by the end of the first week. It was so obvious to me what happened to Elly that I wanted to slap Vanessa and her so-called friends for not figuring out sooner. Maybe if the author hadn’t given away the entire plot in the first chapter, I would’ve had a bit more trouble figuring it out as well. Anyway, Vanessa and the doofus squad never find out what happened to Elly, and it’s never properly explained as well, and after a while everyone starts acting like it never happened. The side characters are so uninspired and bland I forgot nearly all their names, and I’m glad I did. They don’t make much of an impression.

Then there’s Justin, the only one who seems to have a clue of what’s going on, which instantly makes him the most interesting person in the entire book. But alas, instead of turning him into a possible good friend / mentor / maybe even love interest, he falls flat again and takes on the role of creepy stalker turning up uninvited anywhere. Yuck. And whereas Vanessa hates him at first, she falls for him the moment Zep is out of the picture. Talk about shallow. There’s no indication whether Justin likes her though, and I’m kind of hoping he doesn’t and she’s the laughing stock of the century. However, Justin would be about fifty times as interesting and reliable as Zep, so I’d get why she’d choose him instead, except not while she’s still proclaiming her undying love for aforementioned Zep.

Let’s get back to Margaret, because after all, she’s the main reason why Vanessa came to the academy since she cares nothing about ballet. Now I get some people are talented, but ballet takes a lot of effort and discipline, no matter how talented you are, two qualities Vanessa lacks but obviously doesn’t need because she’s oh so freaking talented. Mary Sue syndrome, anyone? Even the most talented ballet dancers need tons and tons of practice. I can imagine that for ballet dancers this book must be quite insulting, because it’s practically a parody of what ballet is truly like. Anyway, the Margaret mystery remains unsolved even by the end of this book. We have a faint clue, but no definite answers. Make room for the sequel, that means. However, it was the only interesting thing about this entire book and that it’s not solved annoyed me endlessly. What a boring, dull way to drag out a plot and turn what should’ve been one book into a series.

Next up is the paranormal element. So Vanessa’s teachers dabble into the occult, and they need dancers with extreme skills to fulfill some kind of ritual. If it fails, the dancers turn into ashes. Well, I’m willing to buy that plot. But why has no one, EVER, noticed the disappearance of dozens of dancers from the academy? I doubt all ballet academies have such high disappearance rates that it’s common. People don’t just vanish. Of course, one or two disappearances over the course of a few years I could’ve lived with. But dozens? Maybe even hundreds? Ugh. Someone is about to look into that and see a connection, and I doubt the only one interested in solving this mystery would be a bunch of high school kids.

The book is repetitive as well. I felt like we were in the same rehearsal over and over again. There was no story progression, no plot moving forward, and nothing happened for large periods of time. The pacing was off as well. Sometimes the author rushed through scenes that needed more time to be fleshed out, like the beginning romance between Zep and Vanessa, and then she dragged on scenes that were uselesss or unnecessary. She also focused way too much on details that didn’t help us picture the scene, and left out possible descriptions that could’ve helped. For example, instead of describing Vanessa’s new room, she starts talking about Steffie (roommate) and her earrings, which is totally unnecessary. The descriptions that were there were flat and showed no real picture. It felt like the book had been written in a rush, without any real care for the characters or setting. But this isn’t just the writer’s fault. Editors should’ve caught the hollow, empty descriptions and the inconsistencies thrown all across this book. It had potential, but fell flat in every single way.

Lastly I’ll mention the writing. It wasn’t redeeming. The dialogue was immature, sometimes even downright ridiculous. Teenagers don’t talk that way. Secondly, the writing itself used generic words. It was flat and uninspired, like most of this book. I understand this is a debut novel, but I would’ve expected a greater quality writing. Regardless, if all else would’ve been great, I would’ve been able to look past the sloppy writing job, but as it stands now, with everything else being a disaster, I can’t ignore the bad writing on top of that.

I don’t recommend this book to anyone. The only other time I felt so passionate about not reading something was with The Vampire Diaries books. The thing that annoys me most with Dance of Shadows however is that it had potential. The premise was intriguing. That’s the only good thing about this book though, and it’s not enough for me to even remotely like it. I gave the book two stars for the premise and effort, but that was me being generous. Don’t waste your money on this book. And if you do, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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Feb 11, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: disappointing, terrible-books, what-the-fuck-is-this-shit, romance, young-adult, paranormal

Original review posted on The Book Smugglers

WARNING: this review contains spoilers as well as the occasional CAPS LOCK OF FURY AND FRUSTRATION. You have been warned!

Here, let me start by spoiling this review for you by cutting to the chase: Dance of Shadows is spectacularly bad.

It does actually have a promising premise that mixes the strenuous world of Ballet and a supernatural mystery involving disappearing prima ballerinas as well as demons. Oh premise, you could have been so much fun had you...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Lihini marked it as to-read

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON HTTP://WWW.TEENBOOKALOVER.BLOGSPOT.COM
Yelena Black
dance of shadows
Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you're close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner's heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts . . .
Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputatio...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-bridget

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Hauntingly beautiful story with a mystery that will keep you guessing through the whole book.

Opening Sentence: In the harsh glare of the lights, Chloe’s shadow stretched across the stage.

The Review:

Vanessa Adler is a freshman starting at the most elite ballet school in the country, The New York Ballet Academy. Her sister Margret attended the same school but she disappeared 3 years ago and was never heard from again. Vanessa enjoys dancing b...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Frishawn Rasheed rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-read, don-t-believe-the-hype, net-galley

This was a book that seemed really scattered for the first 80% (sorry...read on Kindle) of this read.

The elements of which I speak are:

1. The mystery surrounding Vanessa's older sister Margaret. You have to wonder why her mother let her go to the school that her sister disappeared from? There are some serious plausibility questions surrounding this plot line choice.

2. The mystery surrounding the disappearance several other girls at the school. There is just the "they dropped out" excuse. A litt...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Tsana Dolichva rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black is a YA novel featuring the (imaginary) New York Ballet Academy and a demon.

Vanessa's sister Margaret, three years older than her, went to aforementioned dance academy and, shortly before she was supposed to play the lead in the school's production of The Firebird, she disappeared. The school told her parents she had run away or that she might be dead. Vanessa doesn't believe Margaret would have run away, though, nor does she believe she's dead. A ballerina like...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mystery, romance, danger and a taste of the supernatural behind the scenes at the world’s most elite ballet academy…

I was attracted to this book by two things. First, the fact that the central theme is the ballet – having spent my early years up to the age of 18 in leotards and ballet slippers it’s a world I was eager to revisit. Second was the cover, which promised mystery and drama.
On both counts, I wasn’t disappointed. Yelena Black does an excellent job of drawing you into the world of the b...more Mystery, romance, danger and a taste of the supernatural behind the scenes at the world’s most elite ballet academy…

I was attracted to this book by two things. First, the fact that the central theme is the ballet – having spent my early years up to the age of 18 in leotards and ballet slippers it’s a world I was eager to revisit. Second was the cover, which promised mystery and drama.
On both counts, I wasn’t disappointed. Yelena Black does an excellent job of drawing you into the world of the ballet, with the action set in and around the New York Ballet Academy (NYBA) at Lincoln Center. She includes a lot of little details – sewing ribbons on shoes, the crunch of rosin underfoot, the daily strains of classes and rehearsal – but at the same time she doesn’t bombard you with too many technical terms, so the balance feels right. And the story certainly had mystery and drama in bucketloads.
Vanessa Adler has gained herself a place at the ‘world’s most elite’ ballet school, but she hasn’t come there to dance – she came to find her sister Margaret, who also attended the school and mysteriously disappeared. But when she’s cast in the lead role of The Firebird, a notoriously difficult dance, she realises she has a rare talent that she is compelled to pursue – and her development as a dancer and her quest to solve the mystery of her sister become inextricably entwined. Vanessa is a likeable character in that she is beautiful and talented without really being aware of it, strong-willed and intelligent, and seems, at first at least, to value her friends and to focus on finding her sister above her own achievements. (As an aside, what is it with redheaded lead characters at the moment?! Defiance, Pantomime, Neptune’s Tears...)
There are some pretty creepy things going on behind the scenes at NYBA and the whole atmosphere is broody and intense. It did remind me of Black Swan in the sense that there are half-glimpses of sinister undercurrents in a seemingly innocent setting that lead to the growing paranoia of the protagonist, though in this case the source of unease is supernatural rather than psychological in nature. I would even go so far as to say that it verges on the melodramatic at times.
As a counterbalance to all this are Vanessa’s instant best friends – TJ, Blaine, Steffie and Elly – who provide the light relief and a sense of normality with their witty banter. There’s also a little love triangle going on at the centre of this book, between Vanessa and Zep (tall, dark, handsome, lead dancer with body and moves to die for – the moody, mysterious type), and Justin (blonde, muscly, handsome, irritatingly eager to keep Vanessa out of trouble). Be warned – there are some pretty steamy dance scenes between Vanessa and her leading men! I must admit that the romantic moments between Vanessa and Zep provided some cheesy lines that had me cringing, though as the characters develop and their motivations become clearer I felt able to forgive these. I will just say that there’s a certain amount of cheesiness and melodrama that, in the spirit of the theatrical setting, you just have to embrace and if you do you will enjoy the ride. The mystery continues to unfold right until the end and not all questions are answered, so I guess we can expect an encore from Vanessa and friends. I’m intrigued to find out what happens in the second act.
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Oct 13, 2012 Suzanne rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-slj

Maybe 1.5, at times. Okay, yes, the cover is GORGEOUS, but . . . .

I kept thinking that the inspiration for this novel had to be the movie BLACK SWAN, maybe with a dash of ROSEMARY’S BABY? Just didn’t work. Maybe people mad for ballet PNR will squeal with delight, but that doesn’t seem like a big demographic.

Vanessa is a freshman, but she is going to be on her own at the New York Ballet Academy to study and perform. Luckily, some of her dorm-mates are straight out of GLEE, instant best friends of...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Maya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, ya

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. I think it's got a great premise, and most of the time the author did a really good job of making everything fit together. There were a couple of things that annoyed me, such as amateurish writing, and a couple of things that could have been altered to produce a slightly more polished story. Fortunately, these things did not generally ruin my enjoyment of Dance of Shadows, although I did feel a teensy bit unsatisfied at the end of the novel.

The ending felt qui...more

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