Title and cover top tier. Feminine Art of Revenge is such a great name for the genre of female rage.

I think it’s a hard line for female revenge books to give us enough of the story with the man who wronged them without it going on too much because the sort of main part of the story is the after. In the case of this book it’s about the 35% mark and I definitely understood what a terrible guy he was and how the fmc got swept up. And then the real story begins.

The feminine art of revenge at its core centre’s around ballet and the ballet story of Giselle told at the beginning of the book.

I truly loved the relationship between the fmc (Sylvie) and her great aunt who was this fabulous lady and influence for Sylvie whose relationship was really crucial for her while at Ballet school and then in her journals.

I don’t know how to explain how this book felt less for the thrills of revenge but more life lessons for women knowing their worth and not seeking all affirmation in men. Felt like I wanted to keep her aunts journals for myself to re-read when you need to find your sparkle again.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc. I will definitely check out more from the author!

"Revenge is a feminine art."

Celine brings to life the romantic ballet Giselle, which tells the story of a young girl who falls in love with a deceptive nobleman, and eventually dies of a broken heart.

This is the first book I've read in a while that's out of my regular genres, but I loved every second of it. The Feminine Art of Revenge is a story of a ballet dancer who falls in love with the wrong man and proceeds to get revenge with the advice of her late aunts diaries; showing us all that the best way to revenge is being eloquent and graceful.

I will admit, for the first 30% I wasn't sure this book would be my cup of tea as the beginning felt very fast in terms of the relationship developing, but after continuing, it slowly clicked that was the whole point. Sylvie seems to have an obsessive personality, hence her falling in love so quickly, and why she obsessed over getting revenge on the man who lied and cheated.

The ending felt bittersweet to me, and that landed perfectly. Revenge isn't something that ends up being fulfilling most of the time, but instead somewhat sad.