I have to admit that this book is in my top list of
beautiful covers. It's eerily beautiful to see the lone
ballerina in that pose surrounded by fog and red petals. Her
tutu is stunning beyond compare. Although, it has bright
colors, it brings dark foreboding. Plus, this cover speaks
what the plot is all about.
DANCE OF SHADOWS is all about 15 year old, Vanessa Adler
attending the prestigious ballet school, New York Ballet
Academy. Although she is a natural-born ballerina, she's not
really into dancing, she attended the school to investigate
what happened to her missing sister, Margaret, who happened
to be a ballerina in the said school, years before Vanessa.
But Vanessa feels a strong pull to ballet because everytime
she dances, she loses herself and the world fades into
oblivion thus it's a given that she landed the lead role in
Firebird. But then the girls started to get missing again.
Soon, Vanessa isn't just the investigator, she has been
entangled in the dark secrets of the school, secrets that
are far from her reality.
This book had a very promising plot indeed. It was genius to
combine something as elegant as ballet with mystery and
supernatural. The notion that dancing=magic is really cool
and that there is a right dancer for a dance, can transcend
dimensions and is capable of unleashing forces is beyond
awesome. Plus the author made the dance dark, intriguing and
sinister. But sadly, the execution didn't live up to the
reader's expectations. The first chapters were good, but as
the book progresses; the pacing was so slow on unimportant
parts and too fast on vital ones plus the characters
frustrated me.
I found the main character Vanessa likeable enough but too
frustrating. She may be selfless, good and friendly but
she's naïve and stupidly stubborn. As for me, I really like
strong characters, those that can stand up on their own or
maybe just those who realize things at least. But who knows,
there's still room for Vanessa's character to grow in the
sequel.
As for the other characters, I wish we were given more of
their backstories, and not just tell the reader who the
character is. I guess one could never root for a character
who's just a face.
The romance, although there were three love interests, it's
pretty obvious that Vanessa likes Zep, or Zeppelin (weird
name). It's insta-love actually and although there's a hint
for a love-triangle, it doesn't really feel like it, when
Justin --the guy who has the only common sense in school
acts as a jealous jerk
Given those flaws, DANCE OF SHADOWS has some good points
too. I
love the mystery entwined with the reality aspect. The
twists throughout the story (disregarding the said flaws)
kept me on edge and to continue reading until the last page.
The fast wrap-up in the story shed some light on the
mysteries surrounding the school. It brought the darkness of
the story to light and made me experience what Vanessa
experiences.
I believe that given more practice, the author could
definitely write her future books with more depth, style and
passion. Plus she really has this good idea, good plot that
could turn into a best-seller with proper care. I would
still like to read of her future books and this series ( I
do love ballet and wish this plot all its best)
Vanessa Adler isn't so sure she really belongs at the School of American Ballet. But dance runs in her family. It's been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. Her grandmother and mother were prima ballerinas, and her older sister Margaret was, too. That is, until Margaret mysteriously disappeared from school three years ago. Vanessa is heir to the family's gift and the only person who can fulfill her sister's destiny. She has no choice. But she never could have guessed how dangerous the school is. The infamous choreographer, Josef, isn't just ruthless with his pupils, he guards a sinister secret, one in which the school's dancers-prized for their beauty, grace, and discipline-become pawns in a world of dark, deadly demons.
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