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The Last Dance
Lucy Hart is setting out on the first adventure of her life on the verge of turning 30, and the overly responsible Postmistress of Colonias, New York is planning to meet a man in Atlantic City. Only known to her from their three year correspondence, she is hoping to find her life begin with this virtual stranger. Blackie Laduke is taking a vacation from a life overflowing with adventure, escaping the heat of New York City, along with matrimonial heat coming his way, roguish Blackie is intrigued when Lucy mistakes him for her intended companion. At first, he enjoys shocking the prim Lucy, but he soon finds himself wanting to be a man worthy of her interest. When these two very different worlds collide, can a life together begin after the last dance?
310 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2003
8 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Nan Ryan
44 books71 followersNancy Henderson is the middle daughter of a Texas rancher and postmaster. She's been married for many years to Joe Ryan, a television executive. Hisoccupation has taken them from border to border and coast to coast. Fortunately, writing is something that can be done anywhere - and Nan shouldknow. The Ryans have lived in Washington, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and their own home state of Texas. Nan says it was fun to move around the country and honestly believes that it has helped her writing. The library and the Internet offer a great deal of information on any given place, but there is nothing quite likeactually living in a locale where a book is set.
She began her writing career in 1981. She flirted with writing mysteries, but never finished any. Then, as fate would have it, she saw an article in Newsweek magazine entitled "From Bedroom to Boardroom." It was an interesting story on the women who were writing romance novels. Nan was intrigued. She had never read a romance. She bought a couple, read them, and knew she'd found her calling. She sat down at the Smith Corona typewriter and began her own romance. The first one never left her house. It is burieddeep in a trunk and Nan says it will never be shown to anyone. Her second book sold and she's been writing since. Twenty-two romance novels later, shestill enjoys writing and realizes she's been blessed to have found what she loves to do.
The winner of numerous awards, Nan Ryan says one of the nicest things ever written about her was printed in the St. Petersburg Times. Correspondent AnnV. Hull wrote: "Romance novelist Nan Ryan could step right into the pages of one of her paperbacks. Tall and slender, with smokey eyes and pearly skin,Nan Ryan looks like movie star Jessica Lange's older sister. Ryan writes the most imaginative and bold love scenes, some of which would surely shock herformer teachers at Abilene Christian University."
She began her writing career in 1981. She flirted with writing mysteries, but never finished any. Then, as fate would have it, she saw an article in Newsweek magazine entitled "From Bedroom to Boardroom." It was an interesting story on the women who were writing romance novels. Nan was intrigued. She had never read a romance. She bought a couple, read them, and knew she'd found her calling. She sat down at the Smith Corona typewriter and began her own romance. The first one never left her house. It is burieddeep in a trunk and Nan says it will never be shown to anyone. Her second book sold and she's been writing since. Twenty-two romance novels later, shestill enjoys writing and realizes she's been blessed to have found what she loves to do.
The winner of numerous awards, Nan Ryan says one of the nicest things ever written about her was printed in the St. Petersburg Times. Correspondent AnnV. Hull wrote: "Romance novelist Nan Ryan could step right into the pages of one of her paperbacks. Tall and slender, with smokey eyes and pearly skin,Nan Ryan looks like movie star Jessica Lange's older sister. Ryan writes the most imaginative and bold love scenes, some of which would surely shock herformer teachers at Abilene Christian University."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 10, 2011
It isn't often that I will read a book without knowing anything about it beforehand. But I noticed my old Ami (and GR) buddy, LuvGirl, had given it a 5-star rating; and, knowing how fiercely protective she is of her stars, curiosity got the better of me and I ordered it.
The first 20 pages or so and I was thinking 'nope..not my thing'. The heroine, Lucy Hart, is an uptight, moralistic, 29-year-old prude. Not once in her entire life has she even thought about stepping outside of the box, and was mortified by those that did. My gosh, what would people think? A spinster being my least favorite type of heroine and then discovering the period was turn-of-the-century (huh? like driving a Model-T and dancing the Charleston?), The Last Dance was about to hit the lonely trail to the land of the "dnf". But then something caught my eye...or someone, I should say...the fast-talking, heart-stopping, sex-on-a-stick, tall, dark and handsome ne'er-do-well hero who over-indulges in alcohol, fist fights and sex, Robert "Blackie" LaDuke. Ladies, we are back on track!
Lucy is embarking on her first trip ever. As postmistress of the little town where she has lived her whole life, Lucy has been corresponding for 3 years with a kindly, unassuming gentleman postmaster from another town. Both of them shy and reclusive by nature, Lucy & Theodore are throwing caution to the wind and make plans to meet and become acquainted over a two-week vacation in Atlantic City. They will meet Sunday night at 8:30pm in the lobby of the Atlantic Grand Hotel - Lucy will be holding a gardenia in her left hand and Theodore will be wearing a gardenia in his lapel. Foolproof! After being made to wait several minutes past the appointed meeting time, Lucy is quite miffed when she finally spots Theodore (or who she believes to be Theodore) by the tell-tale gardenia he is wearing.
Lucy waited on pins and needles for Theodore to make the first move.
But nothing happened.
He looked right through her.
Lucy was left with no choice. She screwed up her courage, waved until she finally caught his
eye and called out, "Here I am. Over here."
She thrust the ivory gardenia up in the air for him to see. His midnight dark eyes lighted and he grinned appealingly, nodded and came directly to her.
"We agreed to meet at 8:30 sharp," she said accusingly, her nerves taut, voice almost shrill. "You are late!"
"Am I?" Continuing to smile easily, he gently took her elbow and ushered her across the crowded lobby to the beachside double doors. "Then please say you'll accept my most humble apologies, Miss...Miss..."
"No, no. Not miss. Don't you remember? You're to call me Lucy."
"All right, Lucy. And you can call me Blackie."
"Blackie?" She stopped abruptly, frowned at him. "Why on earth would I want to call you Blackie?"
He shrugged broad shoulders. "Most people do."
"Well not I." Lucy stated as if it were out of the question. "I would never consider calling you Blackie."
"Then call me anything but late for dinner," he teased, and brashly winked at her.
Lucy was surprised and totally taken aback. She would never have suspected Theodore of being the kind of gentleman who winked at ladies.
She made a face. "I shall call you Theodore, of course."
"Of course." He nodded agreeably.
He suggested a walk and guided her down the steep hotel steps. At the bottom step he stumbled lightly, fell against her. His face was an inch from Lucy's for a split second and it was then she smelled the tell-tale scent of liquor on his breath. She was shocked and horrified.
"I knew it!" she said, pushing on his broad chest. "You have been imbibing in alcoholic beverages!
Have you not?"
He grinned. "I've been drinking whiskey if that's what you mean."
"This is unforgivable," she said, bristling. "You have no idea how disappointed I am"
"Don't blame you. Shame on me," he said. "I most certainly should have waited for you. Let's go have a drink together."
"Have a...well, I never!" Her fair face flushed with color.
"Then it's time you did."
And so began the story of the best "opposites attract" relationship ever. Although their worlds were so totally different, they fit together perfectly. They brought out only the best in each other, which is certainly not the norm for a hero & heroine. Lucy was the best surprise as she evolved from a lonely girl who had never done anything more than simply exist - others lived while she observed, as she put it - into a woman happily in love, who thrilled to every new experience Blackie introduced her to. She also became aware of her own sexuality, and when Blackie wouldn't make love to her because she was a "good girl" (nothing like the sleazy women he usually was with), Lucy didn't agree with his decision nor did she accept it...so she seduced him!
Nan Ryan did an excellent job of bringing 1899 Atlantic City alive. The sights, the sounds, the people...they were always there in colorful detail...moving in and around Blackie and Lucy as they fell in love. They seemed so real! The secondary characters - 3 senior citizens who lived at the hotel - seemed real as well. Each had a colorful story of their own and were a joy to visit. There is so much depth to this story as well as to every character in the book that when I finished reading it, I just sat there and cried for a good 5 minutes. That is NOT something I normally do. (Though I might have been pacificed somewhat with an epilogue.)
Although I'm out of the personal recommending business for now, in general I would recommend The Last Dance to someone who might want to try a romance set in a different period...someone who won't be adverse to shedding a few tears along the way...someone who, like me, loves an "aww... that is so sweet" HEA.
5-star keeper
The first 20 pages or so and I was thinking 'nope..not my thing'. The heroine, Lucy Hart, is an uptight, moralistic, 29-year-old prude. Not once in her entire life has she even thought about stepping outside of the box, and was mortified by those that did. My gosh, what would people think? A spinster being my least favorite type of heroine and then discovering the period was turn-of-the-century (huh? like driving a Model-T and dancing the Charleston?), The Last Dance was about to hit the lonely trail to the land of the "dnf". But then something caught my eye...or someone, I should say...the fast-talking, heart-stopping, sex-on-a-stick, tall, dark and handsome ne'er-do-well hero who over-indulges in alcohol, fist fights and sex, Robert "Blackie" LaDuke. Ladies, we are back on track!
Lucy is embarking on her first trip ever. As postmistress of the little town where she has lived her whole life, Lucy has been corresponding for 3 years with a kindly, unassuming gentleman postmaster from another town. Both of them shy and reclusive by nature, Lucy & Theodore are throwing caution to the wind and make plans to meet and become acquainted over a two-week vacation in Atlantic City. They will meet Sunday night at 8:30pm in the lobby of the Atlantic Grand Hotel - Lucy will be holding a gardenia in her left hand and Theodore will be wearing a gardenia in his lapel. Foolproof! After being made to wait several minutes past the appointed meeting time, Lucy is quite miffed when she finally spots Theodore (or who she believes to be Theodore) by the tell-tale gardenia he is wearing.
Lucy waited on pins and needles for Theodore to make the first move.
But nothing happened.
He looked right through her.
Lucy was left with no choice. She screwed up her courage, waved until she finally caught his
eye and called out, "Here I am. Over here."
She thrust the ivory gardenia up in the air for him to see. His midnight dark eyes lighted and he grinned appealingly, nodded and came directly to her.
"We agreed to meet at 8:30 sharp," she said accusingly, her nerves taut, voice almost shrill. "You are late!"
"Am I?" Continuing to smile easily, he gently took her elbow and ushered her across the crowded lobby to the beachside double doors. "Then please say you'll accept my most humble apologies, Miss...Miss..."
"No, no. Not miss. Don't you remember? You're to call me Lucy."
"All right, Lucy. And you can call me Blackie."
"Blackie?" She stopped abruptly, frowned at him. "Why on earth would I want to call you Blackie?"
He shrugged broad shoulders. "Most people do."
"Well not I." Lucy stated as if it were out of the question. "I would never consider calling you Blackie."
"Then call me anything but late for dinner," he teased, and brashly winked at her.
Lucy was surprised and totally taken aback. She would never have suspected Theodore of being the kind of gentleman who winked at ladies.
She made a face. "I shall call you Theodore, of course."
"Of course." He nodded agreeably.
He suggested a walk and guided her down the steep hotel steps. At the bottom step he stumbled lightly, fell against her. His face was an inch from Lucy's for a split second and it was then she smelled the tell-tale scent of liquor on his breath. She was shocked and horrified.
"I knew it!" she said, pushing on his broad chest. "You have been imbibing in alcoholic beverages!
Have you not?"
He grinned. "I've been drinking whiskey if that's what you mean."
"This is unforgivable," she said, bristling. "You have no idea how disappointed I am"
"Don't blame you. Shame on me," he said. "I most certainly should have waited for you. Let's go have a drink together."
"Have a...well, I never!" Her fair face flushed with color.
"Then it's time you did."
And so began the story of the best "opposites attract" relationship ever. Although their worlds were so totally different, they fit together perfectly. They brought out only the best in each other, which is certainly not the norm for a hero & heroine. Lucy was the best surprise as she evolved from a lonely girl who had never done anything more than simply exist - others lived while she observed, as she put it - into a woman happily in love, who thrilled to every new experience Blackie introduced her to. She also became aware of her own sexuality, and when Blackie wouldn't make love to her because she was a "good girl" (nothing like the sleazy women he usually was with), Lucy didn't agree with his decision nor did she accept it...so she seduced him!
Nan Ryan did an excellent job of bringing 1899 Atlantic City alive. The sights, the sounds, the people...they were always there in colorful detail...moving in and around Blackie and Lucy as they fell in love. They seemed so real! The secondary characters - 3 senior citizens who lived at the hotel - seemed real as well. Each had a colorful story of their own and were a joy to visit. There is so much depth to this story as well as to every character in the book that when I finished reading it, I just sat there and cried for a good 5 minutes. That is NOT something I normally do. (Though I might have been pacificed somewhat with an epilogue.)
Although I'm out of the personal recommending business for now, in general I would recommend The Last Dance to someone who might want to try a romance set in a different period...someone who won't be adverse to shedding a few tears along the way...someone who, like me, loves an "aww... that is so sweet" HEA.
5-star keeper
May 18, 2018
2.5 stars.
Don't know how to rate this book. It is unevenly paced, dragging on and on where it shouldn't and with a rushed and badly structured end tacked on. There was a lot packed in that could have created an interesting atmosphere but all the elements of the story were treated in an external manner, a series of things to be stated. All that was interesting instead of being developed and integrated with the rest of the story made a mere cameo appearance and then disappeared to be replaced by another such. There were some interesting moments and the hero, had he been developed, would have made for a gripping read but as it is he never leaps out of his sketchy frame. The end result is unsatisfactory. The book gets an extra half star bringing the total to 2.5 because it was free of your usual bicker fest (although the heroine took a bit long to abandon her MO of silly retorts) but the denouement needed much more work than it got.
Don't know how to rate this book. It is unevenly paced, dragging on and on where it shouldn't and with a rushed and badly structured end tacked on. There was a lot packed in that could have created an interesting atmosphere but all the elements of the story were treated in an external manner, a series of things to be stated. All that was interesting instead of being developed and integrated with the rest of the story made a mere cameo appearance and then disappeared to be replaced by another such. There were some interesting moments and the hero, had he been developed, would have made for a gripping read but as it is he never leaps out of his sketchy frame. The end result is unsatisfactory. The book gets an extra half star bringing the total to 2.5 because it was free of your usual bicker fest (although the heroine took a bit long to abandon her MO of silly retorts) but the denouement needed much more work than it got.
June 7, 2025
New Start
Lucy spent her life in a small town .Never Married took care of her sick mother.She wants a change going on vacation for two weeks.I recommend this book.Well written good author.
Lucy spent her life in a small town .Never Married took care of her sick mother.She wants a change going on vacation for two weeks.I recommend this book.Well written good author.
December 18, 2025
比想象中的好看，这个冷门作者让我惊喜。男女主人物塑造非常生动，对话和肢体互动描写语言没有千禧年的风格，唯一美中不足的是对两人和配角的感情肉欲戏描写过多
December 14, 2014
Quickly becoming a fan of Nan Ryan.
April 20, 2017
Really liked this book!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews