Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black ( Mini Review )

Dance of Shadows (Dance of Shadows #1)

by Yelena Black

Hardcover, 447 pages

Published February 12th 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

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 reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames . . .

Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed . . .

  
While I did enjoy some parts of this story.. overall I felt like I had to force myself to keep reading, alot. It felt almost never ending. Not a great sign for someone who likes big books. I feel like it was trying to hard to be mysterious.. I like to be kept guessing, but it was just too much in this one. It also threw in the supernatural element way too late in the story. It really needed to be worked up to more in my opinion. It was dark, and hauntingly beautiful at times, But simply fell flat and left me wanting to just close it and walk away.

I will say that I really did love the dancing scenes. Yelena Black had a way of writing descriptively in  a way that had me completely immersed. Moments like those kept me reading. 

I am interested in seeing what this author does next. I liked her writing style too much too say I wouldn't try another of her books. This story as a whole though, for me, was overshadowed by the beautiful dancing scenes, and destroyed with too many sudden twists. 



Rating: 2/5 stars