Amanda Linsmeier
Keylight Books
27 January 2026
336
eBook - EPUB
Romantasy
ARC via Edelweiss
Corliss Bell would do anything to bring her older sister, Aven, back to life. She’d give up her dreams of being a professional ballerina. She’d resign herself to never leaving the small seaside town of The Pins. Hell, she’d even make a deal with a demon. After all, demons are masters of death.
When a town mystic tells Corliss there’s a demon living nearby who may be the key in returning Aven to life, she’s emboldened by the idea of getting her beloved sister back. Corliss sneaks into the demon’s dilapidated mansion to beg for his help. But instead of finding him, she discovers a pair of enchanted red ballet slippers and steals them. Under the strange, obsessive spell of the stolen shoes, Corliss is hailed as a prodigy and welcomed onto the stage of the prestigious Red Clover dance hall to rapturous applause. However, Corliss starts having unsettling nightmares and hearing voices. And she’s fairly certain someone—or something—is watching her.
The demon comes to reclaim what is his but finds Corliss and the slippers hopelessly intertwined. He imprisons her in his mansion, forcing her to dance for him every evening as punishment for stealing. Far from a helpless captive, Corliss begins working out a plan to bring Aven back to life, as soon as she can convince the demon—Orrin—to help her. But first, she has to prove that she’s not just some common thief. As she slowly realizes she may not hate Orrin nearly as much as she pretends to, she finds herself diving deeper into his strange, dark world.
I had some difficulties reading A Dance with Death as when I added the book to my ereader the text became an illegible mess, so I had to read on the PC, and even then words bled into each other in places without spaces between, making it hard to follow. I do note, though, that I was reading an ARC, so I am sure all such issues will be fixed before the book releases.
Technical issues aside, I enjoyed the story, which draws on several classic tales for its inspiration. Corliss and Orrin were both compelling characters, and I found the progression of their relationship believable, so I was happy to get behind them as a couple. The pacing of the story, too, was generally good throughout. This is a book that hit all its tropes well, and while perhaps the progression of the action was easily guessed at, it still managed to present something fresh in the delivery. If you are a fan of romantasy it is worth a read. I am giving it 3.5 stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
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