Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

A couple of things I want to note: I was really, really sucked into this world and I was beyond excited to get a copy of the eARC.

I’ve always been curious of the world of dance, and the ballet world is something I’m really in awe of. The discipline and the dedication that the dancers have is awe inspiring. I do think that they’re in a lot of pressure to do well and that leads to strained psychological health.

Reading this book is such an experience. The author paints a picture of the worlds that Sasha has been immersed in, and I thought that the world building (both of them), was really, really great. However, I did find myself confused in a few parts because I’m not as well versed in books with this much dark themes 🙈

Don’t get me wrong, I like the book and I do think it’s a real page turner, but my reluctance to the amount of darkness prevents me from enjoying it more and connecting deeper with the characters.

I recommend this to readers who prefer to read and unleash their desires for dark themed books, but not for the faint hearted 🙈

#TheBookwormPrincess👸🏻

DNF at 58%

Many thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC. This book was published on May 6 2020 and is now available for purchase.

The Chalice and the Crown is about Sasha, a rising ballet star drawn into a magical world when she sleeps. In this world, she is a thrall, a slave who has no memories and exists only to serve her mistress. As she is drawn further into this world, her body and mind back in her world rapidly decline. As she breaks her mindless thrall state, she also seeks a way back to her real life. This story is dark and contains violent and upsetting content. Kassandra Flamouri includes a content warning right at the beginning, which I greatly appreciated, as will many other readers.

I had a very hard time getting into this book at first. The narrative felt disjointed and confusing. We never see how Sasha first comes to enter the other world and we are only told about her sufferings before being bought instead of actually seeing them. Large periods of time are skipped over during her decline in reality, and I felt it would have been better to see this to truly understand what Sasha loses in all this. Part of the confusion comes from Sasha herself being confused. She loses her memories after being made into a thrall and they only come back in snippets. I understand what Flamouri was trying to do here; the reader is supposed to be experiencing the same confusion Sasha feels. However, I think understanding the events taking place ultimately makes for a better reading experience.

The book started to pick up for me around the 30% mark. Sasha breaks out of the thrall state, regains her memories, and becomes more aware of what's going on around her. Flamouri has created a fascinating and unique world. I was interested to see more of it and explore the magic system further. I also appreciated the focus on relationships between women. All of Sasha’s most meaningful relationships, at least until the point I stopped at, are with women. She is raised by her grandmother and Emily, an employee turned family, after the death of her mother. In the fantasy world, she has Sadra, who is trying to free her from slavery and befriends her in the process, and Dove, a fellow thrall who has also broken out of the mindless state. I love books that involve female friendships and I’m glad that it seems to be an upward trend recently.

I ultimately stopped reading due to a scene around the halfway point of violent animal death. To be fair, animal death is in the content warning at the beginning. By the time I reached the scene, I had completely forgotten about that. However, it is a topic that I’m very sensitive to and, for me, there is a big difference between regular animal death and violent animal death. With regular animal death, I might cry a lot but I can ultimately make it through. With violent animal death, it upsets me so much that I have difficulty continuing on with the book, especially if it’s an animal I have come to care about a lot over the course of the story. That’s exactly what happened here.

Overall, this is by no means a bad book and I recommend checking it out if you’re interested in dark, psychological fantasy. I may eventually come back to it when I feel I’m in a better state of mind to read it because I am interested to know how the story ends. I’m just not emotionally capable of handling the content right now.

The Chalice and the Crown is probably the best book I’ve read all year. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started reading, but this exceeded every expectation. I’m not sure if anyone else thought of this, but it actually reminded me a little of the fantasy version of the Matrix, one of my favorite movies.
The stark contrast between Sasha’s world and her dream world is almost tangible. I don’t want to go into too much detail about the dream world, because I loved learning about it slowly.
However, this book was truly amazing and heartbreaking. Sasha is an amazing character, strong and determined, and every single character in the book is fully fleshed out and three-dimensional. Every character seemed incredibly real, and I felt like I knew them well no matter how little they were actually in the book.
Family is a strong theme in the book, and I really appreciated all of Sasha’s interactions with Baba Nadia and Emily.
And of course, I was so intrigued by Sasha’s descent into “madness,” like her mother before her. The switch between what Sasha perceived as the real world and what she perceived as the dream world was amazing, as well
I loved everything about this book and the ending absolutely made me cry. I highly, highly recommend this to everyone who loves fantasy. It’s unlike anything you’ll ever read.

It took a great while for me to get into this book. That mostly had to do with the pace being not exactly slow, but ... It is so dense with worldbuilding and such that while I read about a fifth of the book in one go, once I put it down because dinner happened, I had a hard time coming back to it. I also didn't like Sasha that much. She came across as very privileged and sheltered, and snobby about that, although I do realize she had to work hard to get at that point in her dancing career. She never seemed to have given a single thought to the life of the other dancers f.i.

After about a third in, the story picked up though. Sasha started to care, and while she went through a lot, the story went to practically one world of the two, which made the storytelling less dense and better rounded out. The magic in this book, and the way it works, the hierarchical system, it was worked out so well that it almost seemed real.

It is very hard to put my thoughts on this book together. Confusing. Gripping. Tension. Those are a few attributes that come to my mind.

The story follows young girl aspiring to become a famous ballet dancer as she prepares for her first performance as a prima ballerina in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. However, she keeps getting haunted by those recurring dreams. They start following her even when she is not sleeping. In the beginning, you think she suffers some mental health problems, it really looks like that, but then the reality shifts. The dream becomes reality and reality becomes a dream. You as a reader don´t know what is true and our narrator is very unreliable in this respect.

The writing was beautiful. It made you feel all the confusion our main character was experiencing as well as all the struggle. The book is full of beautiful relationships, in family, among friends, romantic, all of them. The story takes you in and doesn´t let you go until you finish. The main character is nicely fleshed out, all of her feelings, thoughts, action, is very well thought out. And the romantic relationship was so cute, even though it is not a big focus of the book. I really enjoyed my time with this book.

I didn’t know what to expect but I enjoyed reading this book. It covered all sorts of darker themes that can be borderline triggering. The story was extremely creative . The plot was great and the characters were vibrant.

Sasha is a ballerina like her mother and grandmother before her. From the very beginning of her memories, Sasha remembers only her grandmother raising her. After nightmares begin to plague her, she starts to recognize frightening similarities between her mother who went mad and herself. Soon, she starts wondering what is her actual reality. When she closes her eyes she wakes up in another body, in another world. This other reality is frightening and dangerous. After only a short amount of time, it is almost impossible for her to know what is going on in each of her realities without feeling confused or angry. Sasha has a lot to go through before she can return to her original life, or decide to stay and fight for what is right in her other reality where thralls are used as slaves for their power and die young without knowing freedom.
This was an interesting read and I look forward to seeing what the author does in the future.

Sasha Nikolayeva is a young talented and determined ballet protégé. As she prepares for the role of Odette, a performance that is to change her life and future, her family history of madness and neurological disturbances catch up to her until her mind and body deteriorate to the point where she risks losing not only her career but also her life.

Waking up in the land of her repeated nightmares, Sasha finds herself a thrall, a being less than slave, a pet to be used for her life force for the comfort and entertainment of the citizens of the enchanting City of Roses. Whilst forced to endure the harsh cruelty and indignity of her subjection, Sasha also finds friendship, comfort and love in the very city which threatens to snuff out her body and her soul.

Fighting for her freedom, she much choose between the two worlds she is caught in, between the life and family waiting for her at home and the rebels and cause that have unexpectedly become dear to her.

A truly great read. The storyline is captivating and enthralling from beginning to end. Sasha is a well written protagonist and the writing style allows the reader to become engrossed in her mind and emotions. Her confusion and turmoil is projected in a way that is gripping and palpable throughout. The tension of her situation is laden and desperate that it pulls the reader into its oppressive darkness.

The Chalice and the Crown is about a Russian teenage girl Sasha, a gifted ballerina who begins to lose touch with reality, perhaps due to a genetic condition only exacerbated by the trauma of losing a loved one. I'd say in concept this is a blend between the films Black Swan and Sucker Punch, but not nearly as exciting or impactful. Overall, I'd consider this magical realism with the focus on mental health, and perhaps existential philosophy considering the shift in story.

Her symptoms are very akin to schizophrenia co-morbid with a narcoleptic sleep disorder similar to hypnagogic hallucinations (my informal diagnosis), though in the story it's all speculative since her doctors were unable to adequately diagnose her condition.

First she is plagued by horrific and hyper-realistic nightmares, next are the waking hallucinations, then she begins to lose time, and finally her mind becomes so broken that she becomes unresponsive and highly unaware of her waking "reality", eventually leading to institutionalization. She begins to drift between her waking and dreamlike states where the later becomes her new "reality" in which she has a whole other identity and life. As not to give too much away, in this story Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake is used as a metaphor for freedom, and slavery is a main theme. Freedom of the body, of the soul, of the heart.

Unfortunately, the ballet metaphor eventually bored me and I began skimming fairly early on in the book. While the premise sounds interesting, I found the execution confusing and had a difficult time connecting with the story or the characters. The ending was uncomfortable while holding a sense of inquisitive wonder that left me with questions, mostly wondering which reality was the true reality, or if there is ever really one true reality. Despite my inability to connect, I still felt a profound sense of loss.

While I didn't enjoy this story very much overall, it isn't bad in the technical sense and others may enjoy it immensely.

ESP:
Solo diré WOW, estoy encantada con la historia planteada en este libro. Los personajes, la descripción, de los problemas mentales, la asociación con el ballet, el hecho de llegar a un mundo donde tus peores miedos te persiguen.

Todo lo que te hace sentir este libro es indescriptible, ademas muestra a la protagonista siguiendo los pasos de su madre, cosa con la que nos podemos identificar muchos de nosotros.

Amé a todos los personajes y aunque me faltó un poco de world building, me fascinó la historia.

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ENG:
I will just say WOW, I am delighted with the story raised in this book. The characters, the description, of the mental problems, the association with the ballet, the fact of reaching a world where your worst fears haunt you.

Everything that makes you feel this book is indescribable, it also shows the protagonist following in the footsteps of her mother, something that many of us can identify with.

I loved all the characters and although I lacked a bit of world building, the story fascinated me.

Sasha is a dancer who lost her mother at a young age and is raised by her grandmother Nadia. All of her life Sasha has heard of how her mother Lara lost her mind and eventually her life. Now, Sasha fears the same illness her mother has and wakes up as a slave in the City of Roses. Through her encounters with villains and an underground organization called the "Bird's Path", Sasha learns more about what happened to her and what may have happened to her mother.

This YA book started off confusing at first which goes along well with the main character Sasha's confusion in her life but evolves into a terrific fantasy novel that kept me engaged until the very end. If you find yourself starting this book and wanting to stop, don't stop! Push through and you will be rewarded with a story of a girl that needs to decide between two worlds and the family she knows and the family she comes to know. The characters are developed well.

Overall Kassandra Flamouri has brought us a novel that was a quick, engaging read! Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an opportunity to read this book. My review was not influenced by receiving this free digital copy.

First things first. This cover is STUNNING.

Now that that is out of the way, I want to share that this was a wonderfully written novel. I have been in a bit of a reading slump, but this book was able to capture my attention and really suck me into this beautifully created fictional world. This book has a darkness that permeates, but that's part of what I loved about it. It felt real and raw, even with the more fantastical basis.

It presents mental struggles in a way that people can relate and connect to. At the same time, we get to see such strong female characters, and I absolutely adored that. We need more characters that are flawed and struggle but are still brave and strong while being vulnerable. Humans are all of those things and more.

This book really delves into how humans cope, what we can really consider real or not-real when certain things feel so real to us, and human connection.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story put a nice twist on madness and magic. It is a fairly dark fantasy with the main character, Sasha following in the footsteps of her mother with ballet and then a quick descent into what looks like madness/illness. But it turns out that not is all as is it seems, or is it? Sasha's dreams/visions turn into another life as a thrall in a kingdom that uses them for Light sources.

It was a really interesting book and though it was dark at times, I really wanted Sasha to be okay. I liked how it was all wrapped up (very sweet ending) and that it is a standalone.

A fabulous, imaginative tale, twisting together the threads of two entirely different worlds.
A fresh and vibrant new fantasy, with a brilliant plotline and fantastic characters.
This book literally took me to a whole new world and held me there throughout.
I absolutely loved this and find myself desperately hoping for more of the same

The Chalice and the Crown is a dark, nitty gritty novel that explores some pretty timely themes about things such as racism, classism, bigotry, abuse, and can at times be triggering, due to the darkness of the content.

This book reminded me a lot of the movie Black Swan (although it differs in many ways of course) as its a dark story centered around a ballerina.

This story is about a girl named Sasha who is a ballerina who suffers from nightmares. The nightmares become increasingly real and soon she is pulled into the magical world of her nightmares. I really liked this idea of 'madness' as a result of magic from another world. It was a very interesting and compelling premise. This made for a glitteringly dark and fascinating take on the world of ballet and the life of a dancer.

Between the nightmares, madness, and explicit themes sprinkled throughout this novel, there was a pretty oppressive feeing present while I was reading this book.

This story may not be for everyone, as it is very dark and features some very heavy content, so go into the story knowing that this is not a light, easy read.

This book was a haunting story that kept me guessing throughout much of it as I was reading. This was definitely a dark fantasy, and luckily, I am a fan of dark fantasies!

I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of ballet (with a twist take on the world of ballet) and likes delving into dark, haunting stories.

From the very start of The Chalice and the Crown Sasha's passion in her ballet is beautiful to read. She is a bit of a stroppy teenager to begin with, but given that this is a young adult book I think most readers will be able to relate to her rather than dislike her.

Sasha begins on Earth in our "timeline" but quickly falls ill with doctors unable to explain what is happening, other than suggesting the issue is in her brain. During the unwell episodes she dreams of another place where everyone speaks a different language and have different magical skills. the more sick she becomes on earth, the more she visits this new place.

In this 'new world' she is a slave who cannot speak and has no memories until she slowly 'Awakens'.

The writing of this book is gripping, there were a few bits I had to go back and re-read to better understand, but it does all pull together at the end of the story and it has set up for a fantastic part 2 book with a potential uprising.

Oh man, this was a great book and I really want to read more books like this in the future. I look forward to reading more books from the author in the future.

The Chalice and the Crown tells the story of Sasha, a ballet dancer who suffers from awful nightmares that drag her into a world of violence and magic, and makes her slowly lose contact with reality.

Wow, that was incredible. I have no words.

It’s been a while since a read a book that left me in shock and sobbing. This story was so well written, so beautiful and raw and freaking interesting from page one. I couldn’t stop reading, it was THAT addictive. I love every character with my heart. What Sasha goes through, and the way her story is written, just dragged me into that world too. I definitely feel like even the villains are absolutely necessary for the actual background of the story.

So many scenes broke my heart, so many made me smile and so many made me sob like a baby, and even though I was expecting another ending to it, I wouldn’t change what happened. And the plot twists? WOW I was all the time trying to figure out what was happening and the meaning of certain scenes and characters, and still it all surprised me.

Am I sad that Sasha and Sadra didn’t end up together? Definitely. Am I happy with the final ships anyway? Hell yes.

Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Is psychological fantasy a thing? Because I think this might be a contender. I really enjoyed this dark take that tip toed en pointe along the lie between a fantasy nightmare realm and not being able to trust your own mind. Clever, atmospheric and intense.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book!

This was not really what I was expecting and I'm honestly happier that it wasn't! The novel handled dark themes well without it being over whelming. There were a few things that I wish would have been delved into more in depth (i.e. the Pall, the Apostate, etc). I thought the whole idea behind the book was very interesting and would absolutely recommend!