Dancing With His Heart

by Katherine Warwick

Playboy and philanthropist, Alex offers first class sponsorship to Lauren and her dance partner. Given their tumultuous past, Lauren is suspicious. Without resources, the single mother of a handicapped child is forced to take Alex's offer. His plan is to prove that he's changed, and win her heart. But trust is not easily won even with the sizzling sparks the two of them ignite on and off the dance floor, and they both face more trouble when a dark figure from their past shows up with devious intentions for them both.

258 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2006

Reviews

[katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playboy and Philanthropist Alex, offers Lauren and her partner sponsorship for their ball room dancing. An offer of a life time - To be trained by the best instructor, dressed in divine sparkly attire, and to be financially stable in life.
Lauren being a single mum to a child with autism finds this a dream come true, to be able to give her child a better start in life, coaching and learning that she needs to develop herself. She hesitantly accepts. Lauren is hesitant given Alex and her tumultuous past Lauren is cautious and suspicious of his ulterior motives.

But wanting the best for her daughter in life Lauren accepts his offer and seals the sponsorship.

In time Alex and Lauren can’t deny the electricity and attraction between each other, but Alex must show Lauren that he has changed in order to win her heart and her love. Even if he has to sweep her off her feet...

The past has come back to Taunt them both; with devious intentions that causes dramas between them both.

My Review ;)

Sigh... I so enjoy a romantic read, this story was filled with heartache, heartfelt moments and moments where you had to wipe that lonely tear from falling. Moments where you sighed, giggled and also wandered. Why? An enjoyable read, from beginning to end, I just couldn’t put it down.
It dealt with the life of a single mother dealing with her loss in life, and the heartache of bringing a child into the world alone with autism.

Life wasn’t meant to be easy for anyone, but Lauren often wondered why she was dealt this card - Her daily dealings with life, her daughter and her passion. Somehow no matter what, she dealt with it all, and moved on with life, to love and enjoy her precious daughter in which the way god gave her and also find time to enjoy her passion in life - to dance.

I liked the way Katherine wove details about Autism into this read, giving the insight to just a little of the out comings of dealing with a child with a disability. But also entwining that there can be happiness as well as moments where you wander and ponder. I also enjoyed the information into the side of ballroom dancing, this I found different I as I have never danced, but she made it sounds magical and romantic.

The plot was fluent and straight forward, weaving Laurens love for dance, her love for her daughter and a passion that she wasn’t so willing to succumb to.

The main characters meshed well, their love was sizzling and hot, I could almost see steam coming off Alex at certain times, his lust, and love for Lauren was that pronounced. He was a gentleman, right till the end, showing her he could love her and Bekah and all that came with. Willing to wait just to be with her and show her how much he loved her. ** Who said that chivalry is dead ** ??

Lauren a caring and loving character, found it hard to let Alex in, mistrust due to past dealings, in time she realized he had her best interest at heart. The love was sensual, warming and made you feel all gooey inside.. The descriptions were intoxicating - the scents and emotions well portrayed. Overall, a wonderful read, filled with dance, love and family and possibilities for a happy future no matter the outcome you were dealt with.

I have enjoyed all of this authors works and she never dissapoints, her passion to write is shown in her work and from my personal point of view I enjoy every word she puts on paper.

[Tevya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been romance reader, and my favorite stories are
those that involve a family dynamic and renewal of past relationships. Add in the fact that I love all forms of dance, and I knew that Dancing With His Heart would be right up my alley. Lauren is a struggling single mother of an autistic daughter, a ballroom dancer with a new partner teaching dance classes to make ends meet. Alex is a "friend" form the past, wealthy and arrogant, who offers to sponsor Lauren and her partner Chad. Lauren's first instinct is refusal, as she and Alex had a turbulent high school relationship - he hated her, or so she thought. She held no love for him. So why does he want to sponsor her now? Lauren can't turn away his help when he offers her the one thing she can't say no to - the means to give her autistic daughter the schooling Lauren has wanted for her. This is the in Alex needs, and he knows it.

Dancing With His Heart offers the reader a great combination of parenthood, friendship, drama, and good old fashioned love. Alex is hot, passionate, and easy to fall for. Lauren is easy to relate to, her struggles as a single mother are realistic and endearing. I was surprised and awed at the glimpse into life with an autistic child. I thoroughly enjoyed the dance sequences; the steaminess of watching Lauren and Chad dance through Alex's steady gaze. Dancing With His Heart is a comfortable romantic read. It's easy to start, fast to suck you in, and leaves you feeling warm and cozy inside. It's like slipping into pajamas and fuzzy slippers. It's a perfect beach, vacation, or rainy day read.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really identified with Lauren, my son is on The Spectrum. My youngest has Aspergers and I often feel like no one really understands how that feels. So, I really appreciated getting to read a character who felt real and honest to me. I have always loved romance novels, even as a teen I read Harlequin Historicals, but the female leads in most romances are just too perfect. Lauren is not perfect but she is amazing and I liked that. Alex was a really interesting guy. I loved that he never got over Lauren and that he was willing to do anything to be with her. I really appreciate a guy who is steadfast. Ask my husband, he can attest to that! I think that being unwavering in your feelings is pretty much the best thing in a man. I mean, being rich could be useful and being hot is great and all but a guy who'll stick by you no matter what? Who doesn't take no for an answer and never gives up on the romantic idea of what could be? I don't know about you, but I'm all for it. Alex doesn't take the easy way out and just move on, he works his way into Lauren's heart and her life. He's willing to take on the responsibility of a child with special needs and allows a precious little girl to steal his heart. That is sexy. I really appreciated this story in that it is relatively clean so I didn't have to worry about my seven year old finding it or it having an embarrassing cover if I was reading it in public. All in all, this is a very classy read from a classy lady but it'll still heat up your summer. This is an adult book but there are no explicit scenes- just a lot of heart and the heat of anticipation.

[Christy And Danielle]

I was honestly suprised with this novel. It is a romance novel but its not all mushy. There is a wonderful story with the romance.

Lauren, a single mother of a five year old child with autism, struggles to give her daughter everything she needs. Lauren teaches dance and is also a professional dancer. No not a pole dancer...a ballroom dancer!

Alex, an extremely rich extremely handsome man, offers to sponsor Lauren and her partner. He throws them an offer they simply can not refuse even though Lauren wanted to.

Lauren and Alex are not new aquaitances however, she has known him since junior high. She can't figure out why he would want to sponsor her since she was always under the impression that they hated each other. What she didn't realize was that even though he pulled her pigtails and called her cruel names, he secretly loved her.

Alex shows interest in Rebekah, Lauren's daughter, and at first she thinks that it's just pity. He eventually proves that he really cares about Rebekah and Lauren opens up to him. She finds that she is falling for him and falling fast but she can't admit it to him. Hell, she barely admitted it to herself.

Lauren and Alex also have to deal with someone else from their past. Someone that Lauren isn't comfortable around at all. She hasn't seen him in a long t ime but she still couldn't get over "that night". He just raises alarm in her mind no matter how hard she tries to forget or be friendly.


- Christy

[Kerry-Ann (A Bookish Redhead) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dancing with his Heart is a book I'm unsure about. I got my ending and I really liked the characters although to be honest I thought Alex was a teeny bit stalkerish and I also liked Lauren. I felt sorry for her a few times when she so desperately just wanted to hold her daughter the way a mother dreams about.

It is an enjoyable read and I'm glad I took the time to read it as it's been on my TBR list for a few years. I think I'm just not used to this style of writing...

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definetly my favorite of Katherine's books, cause I'm in it! Unfortunately, I don't get the part of the love interest. I'll have to talk her into writing one where I get the man. It of course has the romance, but it also deals with a single mom, struggling to raise a daughter with autism.

[http://www.ballroomdancenovels.com/]