The Deception Dance


Young Adult - Paranormal
308 Pages
Reviewed on 10/23/2016
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite

The Deception Dance by Rita Stradling is a fun page turner that leaves you wanting more. Raven’s life is set on a strange course from the beginning. An incident when she was a child involving a homeless boy, ravens, and an attack foreshadow future events. Raven spent a year planning the perfect European adventure with her big sister, Linnie. Things don’t get off to a good start when her sister brings along her hard to deal with roommate, whose idea of a good time is Italian men and drinking. Raven has one goal; to explore Rome. Should be easy, right? In the overload of attentive foreign men she’s trying to avoid, she meets Andras, a stunning man whose green eyes pull her into a trance, and Nicholas who whisks them away to his family estate in Sweden. The more she tries to understand these strangers and their affection, the more she realizes everyone is hiding a secret that will change her life.

The Deception Dance is a great read! Raven’s mind is full of wonderful imagery in the way she views the world. From the beginning, Raven is a delight. “Thick gray fog drapes the graveyard. Crosses, stones and statues poke out of the mist, like the jumbled teeth of a witch’s smile.” The alluring strangers, Nicholas and his family, and Andras are equally charming and deceptive. I spent over half of the book trying to figure out who Raven should trust. Rita Stradling wove moments together that can be interpreted as both. By the end of the book, surprising allies make themselves known. I was pleasantly surprised by the twist at the end. The Deception Dance is creative, twisty, and delightfully deceitful. I can’t wait for the next books to see how Raven’s story ends!