Dance of Shadows Review

Title: Dance of Shadows
Author: Yelena Black
Release: February 2013 by Bloomsbury
Synopsis:

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 .

This dark and haunting dance had me captivated from the start. All the twists kept my mind racing - I wanted to know what was going to happen next, and if Vanessa was going to figure it out in time.

Vanessa is on a mission, to find out what happened to her sister Margaret. Margaret was a great dancer and landed the role of lead ballerina in her prestigious dance school's ballet...then she disappeared. Vanessa's family was told that Margaret couldn't handle the pressure and ran away. Vanessa works hard and gets into the same dance school. She is hoping being in the same place/same town as her sister that maybe she can find her. Freshman Vanessa lands the same role her sister did...and as the pressure starts mounting, things for her begin to unravel and she starts piecing together what happened to Margaret as well as all the other missing girls that came before her.

Dance of Shadows is full of dark and mysterious magic - at times it reminded me of The Black Swan, but it's a very unique story line. Without going to much into detail; the concept is something we've heard about in other paranormal books - but, I have not heard about or read a book that is specifically about this type of dance. I'm glad someone actually wrote a more detailed story about this - it has always been something that intrigued me.

I adored this story but at times the dancing terminology confused me - if you're a dancer or know more about dancing than I do... you are going to love it. I loved how this one ended - very final, but left a lot open. I can't wait to see what happens next.