Ariel: Dancing on TV

Castle Dancers #1

by Ailish Sinclair

The night before Ariel, a sixteen-year-old girl with a deformed hand, starts at the most prestigious dance school in Scotland, her mother tries to kill her.

Torn from a life where she never fitted in, Ariel quickly becomes the focus of a reality TV show. In the castle school, she forms deep friendships and meets Alexander, the best looking boy she’s ever seen. Together, they unravel the mysteries of the castle's shadows and confront the demons of Ariel's past.

Can she rise above a lifetime of pain and embrace the possibilities of fame and love that beckon to her?

‘ Dancing on TV’ is a mesmerising tale of resilience and the pursuit of a brighter future against all odds.

Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2025

About the author

Ailish Sinclair trained as a dancer and taught dance for many years. She now lives beside a loch with her husband and two children where she writes, dances (yes still, medical conditions allowing) and eats a lot of chocolate.

BOOKS:

Her historical novels combine little-known dark events with love stories. There are witches, bears, kidnappers and Romans to be found in them.

She has written two contemporary series, the spicy Dancer’s Journey and the coming-of-age Castle Dancers.

Reviews

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given how it starts - with the attempted murder of our main character by her own mother no less - you would be forgiven in thinking Ariel would turn out to be a tragic story, full of loss, pain and wicked mothers. And while there are some of those elements in there, ultimately Ailish Sinclair’s newest work is a heartwarming celebration of love, friendship, and the powerful healing properties of dance competitions.

[Jenni Bearden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started out liking this, and then it got incredibly boring for a while. I mostly liked the end, but there was a lot of slogging in between that made it feel longer than it was. It was a really interesting premise and I really liked some of the characters. Very unusual. just based on the concept and characters I ended up giving it three stars, I just wish the plot had been fleshed out much better.