This post is a part of Kelly Lacey's Love Books Tours book tour for Danielle Nowell's latest novel The Dating Dance.
Synopsis:
When Sarah Shuster meets Theodore Caddel, she's certain she's found the perfect man, although after what happened with Jake Leifhour, she's hesitant to get involved in a relationship. Sarah has a good job as a dance teacher and a steady life in Grenvale. As their relationship blossoms, Sarah is presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: a dream job in New York City. The problem? It's over 2,000 miles away from Grenvale, and Theodore. Sarah is torn between her relationship with Theodore and her desire for career success. She doesn't want to leave Theodore but also knows turning down the job would be a huge mistake. As she grapples with this decision, Sarah starts to wonder what truly matters to her and what she's willing to sacrifice for her own happiness. Will Sarah choose the guy or her career? Or is there a way to have both? Follow Sarah's journey as she navigates the highs and lows of her relationship, professional ambition and search for fulfilment.
Review:
This novel is a sweet, slow-moving story about a growing romance and how young adults navigate real life situations into their dreams for a relationship, a career, and being happy.
To be completely honest, I did not love this book. I found some of the writing to be a bit redundant, the pacing was much slower than I would like, and the story wasn't as compelling as I believe it could be. In short, I think this book needed more showing and much less telling, and isn't that the first thing all writer coaches tell their writers?
Additionally, some of the dance parts of the novel did not ring true for me. While I am not a dance teacher, I was a dance mom for over twenty years and know that dance teachers are at the studio a whole lot more than Sarah was--especially for dance shows and concerts and recitals. And to my knowledge, no dancer says "break a leg" backstage, ever. If I'm wrong on that, well, that's on me. But my girls danced in around ten different studios and schools in six states between them, and that's what I learned as their mom.
If you're looking for a sweet and slow-moving and clean romance, this book will probably be a good choice for you.
Thank you to Kelly at Love Books Tours for a review copy of the novel. All opinions in my review are mine alone. I am grateful to the author for letting me read her book to review, and I'm sorry I did not love it more.
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