Welcome to Roseheart Ballet Academy, where the best dancers have the biggest secrets…
I was granted eARC access to The Rhythm of My Soul by Elin Dyer by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the request approval! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
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About the Book
The Rhythm of My Soul
Roseheart Ballet Academy Book One
by Elin Dyer
Published 31 December 2021
Ineja Press
Genre: YA Dance Fiction
Page Count: 415
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
Welcome to Roseheart Ballet Academy, where the best dancers have the biggest secrets…
Taryn Foster has her eyes set on becoming the first aro-ace ballerina in the academy’s company of professional dancers, and all she needs to do is graduate. But she’s haunted by the ghost of her dead sister—and now she’s living for the two of them.
Teddy Walker has a serious illness. But he’s determined to hide how ill he is and continue dancing—even if it kills him.
Jaidev Ngo was arrested the last time he danced. Now, he’s having a new start at Roseheart Academy, but someone here knows about his past—and that person wants revenge.
The Rhythm of My Soul is book one in Elin Dyer’s new YA ballet series, where even the darkest secrets will be discovered. Please note this book contains eating disorder representation which some readers may find triggering.
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My Review
My Rating: 3 Stars
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I was granted eARC access to The Rhythm of My Soul by Elin Dyer by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the request approval! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
I’m going to start out by saying that I was hoping this would be a fast-paced teen drama full of beautiful dance and sassy teenage girls ala TV shows like Dance Academy. This book does have a lot of teen drama, it does highlight some very important issues kids around the world face like poverty and eating disorders, it kicks off with the classic dance story trope of an early end to a dance career thanks to serious injury or illness, and I absolutely love the aro-ace rep!
With all of that said, the right balance between teen drama and dance is not there. Too much death, near-death, and whining; not enough dancing or authentic personalities. Professional ballet training is high stakes and full of drama all on its own. Why is everyone either being murdered or accused of murder? Everyone! We already started with a career-ending medical emergency that also disrupts the partner dancer’s plans and future. That’s enough. Getting the remaining dancer through the training year would be enough. Especially since the other girls don’t seem to like her and convince her that she’s too fat for ballet (which, unfortunately, rings quite true for the academic ballet world.)
As for the dancing, too many little things from the way dances were described third person to the way POV characters thought about and used their own bodies in dance all felt like the author’s knowledge of the ballet world comes entirely from reading and watching ballet fiction.
I normally don’t comment on typos when reviewing ARCs, but “Ballantine” is not going to be caught by a spellchecker, nor will it be noticed by an editor who is not familiar with classical dance. The famous choreographer, whose style and influence are the core of many famous American ballet companies including the New York City Ballet, is Balanchine. This really didn’t help the sense that the author doesn’t come from the ballet world.
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