Today, I'm thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the THE DANCE OF THE DOLLS by Lucy Ashe Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. This book danced into my TBR, but really hit the mark! So KEEP READING to check out
my review plus a special guest post, make sure to enter the giveaway, and then visit the other sites participating for more bookish fun!
Title: THE DANCE OF THE DOLLSAuthor: Lucy Ashe
Pub. Date: September 5, 2023
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 352
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/THE-DANCE-OF-THE-DOLLS
A novel about obsessive love
featuring two ballet dancers—identical twin sisters Olivia and Clara
Marionetta—with a terrifying climax set in the world of ballet in pre-war
London.
The Dance of the Dolls tells the story of identical twin ballerinas rehearsing for Coppélia at
the recently opened Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Superficially, even their
differences are complementary: Olivia aspires to be the perfect ballerina
while Clara is rebellious and independent. Clara takes up a
relationship with the bohemian and passionate Nathan, a pianist at the theater.
Meanwhile, Olivia is unaware that she has cast a spell on another
frequent visitor to Sadler’s Wells: Samuel, a bashful apprentice ballet
shoemaker who steals into the building as often as he can to watch her
dance. But as the sisters rehearse, danger lurks. The story of Coppélia and
the dancing doll threatens to become a dark and sinister reality. Olivia
becomes jealous of Nathan’s adoration of Clara, while Clara discovers that
being adored can feel suffocating. Samuel dreams of being recognized by Olivia
and wonders how far he would go to achieve his goal, while Nathan, a
musical child prodigy, struggles to adapt to adulthood and begins to blur the
lines between reality and his dark fantasy world . . .
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OMG 😲
This was not the story I thought I was getting into, but it kept me turning pages just the same!
For some reason, my brain said Historical Fiction taking place around the beginning of a war was a chapter I've read before and enjoyed. This took place slight pre war, but wasn't so much about the environment in the community as it was about the darker sides of human nature, and what we can truly achieve under pressure.
The twin dancers may have looked the same, but were most certainly their own persons. Olivia was more dedicated to ballet, and had an interest in Nathan, but he wasn't hers to have, though she did have an admirer. Clara loved ballet, though not to the point of it being life, and had Nathan, but was truly over whatever might have been there. They both needed a new direction in life, and that was their choice to make, until it wasn't. Until someone decided they needn't have the choice any more because THEY knew better. Until having one of them was more about owning than companionship. Until the darker side of humanity reared its ugly head, stealing any control that was assumed, and placing it in the hands of others.
I admit the twist that came, I guessed.... IN GENERAL...but the specifics were certainly not easy to spot, nor the final outcome. Did it fit the story? Absolutely...because it was both edge-of-your-seat and memorable. You'll be holding your breath straight through to the final page when all is finally revealed in a satisfying final act.
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GUEST POST with Author Lucy Ashe
'A day in my writing life'
For the past eighteen months, I have lived in two cities – London at an all-boys’ boarding school in term time; New York City with my husband in the holidays. Life at a boarding school is intense, early starts and very late finishes, as well as teaching on Saturdays and supervising activities on Sundays. Writing for me, therefore, has taken place in intense bursts during my school holidays. Until this summer! I have moved to New York City and am loving this opportunity to carve out a new routine in a new home.
The first words I write each day are last night’s dreams, a sleepy scribble in my dream journal before my night time explorations fade from memory. I write at home in the morning - I am most productive first thing, as long as I have a large coffee at my side. I take a break to do some exercise mid-morning, mostly running around Central Park, or I go to a ballet class. Exercise is an essential part of my day – I can’t function without it: a symptom of many years of ballet training I suppose.
I like to work away from home in the afternoons, to keep me focused. Libraries are my favourite (no need to buy expensive coffee and everyone is quiet, mostly). The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is a wonderful place to work, especially for a historical fiction writer researching ballet and theatre. They have every reference book I need! I do sometimes treat myself to trips to my favourite coffee shops, especially when I find the isolation of the writing life starting to get to me.
I rarely work in the evenings. I’ll go for a walk, or cook dinner with my husband, or meet friends in the city. Or, I’ll sit down with a novel at 6pm and not look up until food or sleep remind me that real life exists outside the pages of the book.
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About the author...
LUCY ASHE is the author of CLARA & OLIVIA (Magpie,
Oneworld publications).
She trained at the Royal Ballet School for eight years, first as a Junior
Associate and then at White Lodge. She has a diploma in dance teaching with the
British Ballet Organisation.
She studied English Literature at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, while continuing
to dance and perform. She then took a PGCE teaching qualification and became an
English teacher.
Her poetry and short stories have been published in a number of literary
journals and she was shortlisted for the 2020 Impress Prize for New Writers.
She also reviews theatre, in particular ballet, writing for the website
Playstosee.com.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub
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Giveaway Details:
1 winner
will receive a finished copy of THE DANCE OF THE DOLLS, US Only.
Ends September
12th, midnight EST.
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Special thanks to Rockstar Book Tours for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the publisher for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on this horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. Be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more...
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
Week Two:
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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