Dance With Me by Livia J Elliot
Blurb:
A haunting and poignant fairy tale for adult readers, blending delicate imagery with psychological depth.
In a world of beauty, a ceramic-made ballerina awakens atop her music box. She must dance for her elven owners, and so her ballet goes on and on. They praise her elegance, her poise and balance, until one day she falls and her ceramic fractures—but the ballerina dances again, ignoring her ever-increasing fissures. The music plays, captivating and demanding... but should she dance? Even when what she once loved becomes a trap?
A clever, dark, psychological fairy tale for adult readers.
Review:
I’ll be honest up front – I very rarely dive into anything apart from my niche of genres (SFF, horror, C/M/T, comics/graphic novels, etc.). But when Livia generously offered up a chance to read her upcoming novella, I simply couldn’t say no; especially with high praise floating around the community about her works, and her recently successful dark fantasy novella The Genesis of Change. And I’m just sooo glad that I finally went ahead and did what I did, because this tale was much better than I had anticipated. I’d sincerely like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Livia for giving me this wonderful opportunity to ARC read yet another of her fantastic works!
What’s it about?
I truly do not need to elaborate what this story is all about as the premise does more than justice to it. You simply have to read it for yourselves to deeply understand all the various emotions that are masterfully displayed by the author’s beautiful writing. I’ll leave you here with a few lines that showcase the FMC Lyra’s thoughts and emotions…
The ballet is my purpose and joy, and I drift with the tune.
… dancing is essential to my existence; it is me.
Whatever happens, I will dance.
Dare to live.
The good
Good? Everything in this tale was great!
First off, the writing was simply brilliant. Wonderful prose throughout, and the story just flows along so smoothly. The first person POV was so well done too.
The characters were very well penned, and Lyra’s character work and development as the story goes along was top notch.
The story itself was quite simple, yet portrayed a very strong (and much needed) message.
The display of emotions that not only the FMC goes through but also you as a reader do so alongside her is worthy of an applause in itself!
The “not so” good
This section needn’t even exist…
Highlights
“Life is an amalgam of people’s stories, each struggling to accomplish something, to thrive or simply survive.”
“Love transcends the hardships of life and endures past them. Even we, statuettes, are not immutable.”
“Every dance scratches us. Every twirl and every song in our music box leaves a mark on us. But I see them as ornate tokens of everything we endured. Not to be ashamed of, but proud of.”
Other info.
Absolutely LOVED the B/W illustrations present. And not to forget the equally lovely title/headers before each chapter as well.
The author’s notes (exclusive to this newer edition) at the end is a touch of class, with the message that it portrays about emotional abuse, depression and trauma, toxicity, etc. much needed to be conveyed in the current times – Depression lurks near all of us. Seek help if you need it, and whatever you do, stay safe.
Final thoughts
This is a BEAUTIFUL story by all means. One that pulls at your heartstrings, and manages to hit home with a strong message pertaining to this very day and age that we currently find ourselves in.
I cannot even put into words how wonderful the writing is! The prose just flows along so elegantly throughout. The characters were brought to life excellently. The character work of Lyra, the thoughts and emotions that she feels and experiences in her journey, is masterfully crafted, and Livia makes sure that you as a reader journey along with her every step of the way. Honestly, I was surprised at the fact that it not only turned out to be much better than expected, but also that it ended up having the kind of impact that it did in the end. This is a MUST READ, and I certainly RECOMMEND that you do so!
