A Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena
Series: A Dance of Lies #1
Published by Del Rey on June 10, 2025
Genres: Romantasy
Pages: 448
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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A debut fantasy romance filled with hope after heartbreak, secrets, and betrayal, as a dancer-turned-spy must decide how far she will go to secure her freedom

My protector is gone, revealed to be a monster. But I remind myself that I am not a damsel. I’m no princess bound within a tower.
I am a shadow.

Vasalie Moran was once a dancer in King Illian’s court, until he framed her for murder. Barely surviving her two years in the dungeons, she’s suddenly called to face her king. He offers her a deal: become his spy at the six-week royal Gathering and he’ll grant her freedom.

As Illian’s orders grow bloody and dangerous, forcing her to harm and betray those around her, Vasalie discovers that the monster she serves may be aligned with a bigger monster—one far closer to home. With her world threatened, Vasalie enlists the help of Illian’s brother and greatest adversary, the infamous King of the East.

As the rivalry between brothers escalates, with Vasalie caught in the middle, the horrifying truth of her past comes to light. If she wants to survive, she must decide who to trust, who to fight for, and how much of her soul she’s willing to damn in the process.

Read if you like:

• Romantasy
• Slow burn romance
• Enemies to lovers
• Disability representation
• Love triangles

My thoughts:

A Dance of Lies was a highly anticipated read of mine and I’m happy to say that it completely exceeded my expectations. Brittney Arena’s debut novel is a wonderful blend of romance, fantasy, suspense, and intrigue.

The diverse and well-developed cast of characters is a Dance of Lies’ biggest strength but none more so than Vasalie, no matter how weak she tells herself she is. She is such an intriguing character with a wealth of strength hidden inside. Her past is full of horrors and she doesn’t always realize how they have forced her to grow. She’s well-developed and well-rounded but there is certainly room for growth in book two.

A lot of Vasalie’s strength comes from her unwillingness to quit, no matter what challenge faces her. The disability representation drew me to A Dance of Lies and it was everything I had hoped it would be. The author’s note explains that Brittney Arena has personal experience with chronic pain and it shows in how she writes about Vasalie’s experience with it. Her pain is present in everything she does but she perseveres. Not only does she persevere, she excels.

Something else that makes A Dance of Lies stand out is the fact that Vasalie isn’t a warrior, setting out to destroy or overthrow a king or empire. She’s a dancer who has been forced to use her skill (rusty though it is) to infiltrate a gathering of kingdoms and spy for her king. I won’t lie, I was curious how this was going to translate to the written word. I was pleasantly surprised by Brittney Arena’s ability to write in a way that Vasalie’s dancing seemed to flow off the page, directly into my mind. Without being overly wordy, everything, from the setting to the minutiae of Vasalie’s dances, is described so that you can imagine it clearly.

The story itself is as solid as the writing, though the pacing is a little slow. There is a lot of world-building and a lot of espionage. While engaging, it does make for very little movement of the plot. Things moved along consistently but it did seem to be in smaller increments. True action didn’t take place until much closer to the end.

As for other slow things about A Dance of Lies, we can certainly include the romance. this is truly a slow burn romance. There is also a bit of a love triangle (square?) though it does seem to resolve itself by the end. I’m not sure if it will stay that way in book two though.

Overall, I clearly have a lot of thoughts and feelings about A Dance of Lies, all of them positive. If you’ve been questioning whether or not you should read this one, consider this your sign to pick it up.

TL;DR

A Dance of Lies, Brittney Arena’s debut novel, is a gorgeously written romantasy with a plethora of unique elements. While a bit of a slower read, the story grips you from beginning to end. The writing, the characters, the romance, it’s all damn near perfect. If you’re a romantasy fan, A Dance of Lies needs to be on your TBR.

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