Dans Et Benimle

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Sevinç Seyla Tezcan (Translator)

Kaç, kaç, kaçabildiğin kadar hızlı kaç!

Yakın zamanda eşini kaybetmenin acısıyla darmadağın olan ve çok sevdiği ebelik mesleğini bile yapamaz hale gelen genç dul Tess Hartsong, Runaway Dağı’nda eski ve küçük bir kulübeye çekilir. Tennessee’nin yüksek kesimlerinde, ormanın içinde yer alan bu gözlerden uzak yerde acısını dindirmeyi ve biraz olsun teselli bulmayı ummaktadır. Fakat huzur ve teselli yerine karşısında insanlardan kaçan gizemli bir sokak sanatçısı, masallardaki peri kızlarına benzeyen sırlarla dolu bir kadın, masum bir bebek, meraklı ergenler, modern yaşamı reddeden aileler ve kasabaya dışarıdan gelenlere şüpheyle yaklaşan insanlar bulur; özellikle de onun gibi dikbaşlı, güzel ve zeki olanlara...

Yetenekli, duygusuz ve soğuk bir adam olan ünlü sokak sanatçısı Ian North da kasabaya bir şeylerden kaçmak için gelmiştir. Ama Tess’in aksine o bunu tek başına yapmaya kararlıdır… Tabii kader ağlarını örüp bunu imkânsız hale getirene dek.

Kalbinin acısından kaçan bir kadın, kendinden kaçan bir adam… Bu iki sıra dışı insan, hayal bile edemeyecekleri bir geleceğe doğru sürüklendikleri acı tatlı olaylar yaşarken aşkın gücünü bir kez daha gözler önüne seriyor.

Aşk romanlarıyla gönüllere taht kuran New York Times çoksatan yazarı Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ten kadın olmaya, söz dinlemeyen kalplere ve aşkın yaraları sarma gücüne dair yüreğinizi ısıtacak, sıra dışı bir roman…


“Kalp kırıklığına ve umuda dair, duygusal açıdan zenginleştiren, nefesinizi kesecek kadar güzel bir hikâye… Tadı damağınızda kalacak bir mizah anlayışı ile müthiş bir cazibenin dantel gibi özgürce ve katmanlar halinde işlendiği capcanlı bir okuma deneyimi.”
Booklist

“Phillips’in bu bal gibi tatlı, kıvılcımlar saçan hikâyesindeki Ian ve Tess karakterleri âdeta birbirleri için yaratılmış.”
Library Journal

“Phillips’in imzası haline gelen karakter kombinasyonlarına, çekime ve duygusal üsluba karşı koymak imkânsız.”
Chicago Tribune

“İnsanı derinden etkileyen bir roman. Bu heyecanlı ve romantik hikâyenin okurların kalbini ele geçireceğine şüphe yok.”
Publishers Weekly

“Kimse çıtayı Susan Elizabeth Phillips seviyesinin üstüne çıkaramaz.”
Jayne Ann Krentz

“Zekice, komik ve iç geçirmenize neden olacak kadar ateşli.”
People

“Phillips, sizi asla hayal kırıklığına uğratmayacak yıldız yazarlardan.”
Library Journal

“Susan, modern romantik kitapların tartışmasız kraliçesidir.”
Kristin Hannah, Bülbül’ün uluslararası çoksatan yazarı

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Adult

432 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 2020

About the author

SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has been called the “Queen of Romantic Comedy and is the creator of the sports romance, beginning with her 1989 bestseller, FANCY PANTS. An internationally acclaimed author, her books have been published in over 30 languages. She’s the only four-time recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Favorite Book of the Year Award, and a recipient of their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Susan's newest book, SIMPLY THE BEST, is coming in hardcover, ebook and audiobook in February 2024. SIMPLY THE BEST is book #10 in the highly acclaimed CHICAGO STARS football series. Susan is also known for the Wynette, Texas book series and many stand-alone women's fiction/romance novels.

In addition to being a New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and USA Today bestseller, she is a hiker, lazy gardener, horrible singer, passable cook, passionate reader, wife, mother of two grown sons, and grandmother.

You can visit Susan on Facebook, Instagram or on her website.

https://www.facebook.com/SusanElizabe...

https://www.instagram.com/SEPauthor/

http://susanelizabethphillips.com/

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 3 out of 5]

No! Nooooo! What the heck! I needed to read something sweet, smart, sassy, entertaining like usual SEP style.

I naturally adored Chicago Stars series! They are special books to reread when you feel depressed, stressful, needing something to cure your soul and warm your heart.
So as soon as I saw my favorite feel good books queen released a new book, I wore my dusty dance shoes to celebrate this special occasion but as soon as I open the book.... yes choo choo sounds of disappointment train was the first warning to inform me this was not the book I wished to read.

Problems:

Romance is overshadowed by too much drama! This book is about the grief, sadness, second chances but I have to admit it has way too much dark, depressing and suffocating tone that we have never read from her. It gave me so much negative vibes and instead of clearing my mind with a promising read, I got more agitated and exhausted.

I couldn’t connect with both protagonists. They were so troubled and I think both of them have to spend so much time with their shrinks to function normally. They’re not in a right mood to start a healthy relationship.

Too much unnecessary angst, drama, repetitive inner and outer arguments exhaust the hell of me!

Of course SEP is a great author and but even her well crafted writing skills couldn’t save the story for me. After finishing it, I felt sad! Mostly I’m energized, cheery person who tries to write encouraging reviews but unfortunately this book created a big heavy black above my head which follows me everywhere I walk.

I am still rounding up 2.5 stars to 3 because I’m die hard fan of the author and I already read more than 10 books of hers. But this is not my cup of Chardonnay.

I wish I would reread Natural born charmer, instead of choosing to read this one😫🥺😣

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[Corina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dance Away With Me was wonderfully different. It still had the author’s signature style, but it also was more emotional, with some heart-breaking moments, and delivered a surprisingly complex plot.

The story reminded me in a small way about all the books I recently read that have been set in the Appalachian mountains. It’s set in a small mountain community, with many courageous and colorful characters.

And it had a wonderfully gruff hero which I adore. With his blunt way, dry humor, and grumpy nature, he was easy to fall in love with. The chemistry between him and the heroine felt right and genuine to me. They both had some emotional package that needed to be unpacked first, but I liked how they pushed each others button from the very beginning.

I also loved the many friendships that developed, and the characters that had their own stories, and intersected with Tess’s throughout the novel. And the way Tess was compelled to help and in the end found herself was heart-warming and a part of the story I enjoyed the most.

Overall the book had depth, and focused on some deeper issues with eloquent skill. I was surprised that the novel wasn’t as fluffy, sexy and light-hearted as the author’s usual books, but I actually enjoyed it more because of it.





___________________________________

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn! I wanted to LOVE this book. I love SEP - she is one of my favourite authors ... ever! I have read and re-read and listened and re-listened to many of her books over the years. But, this one fell a bit flat for me. While reading it, I was enjoying it but I kept comparing it to the brilliance of some of her other books (It Had to Be You, Dream a Little Dream, Nobody's Baby But Mine ... and more). I have rated 99% of her books 5 stars - one book I did not enjoy at all - gave it 2 stars and another book got a 4 star from me. So the pressure was on.

I am hovering here over the three and four star buttons = give us that fecking "half star" for our reviews, Goodreads ...
"three" = I liked it (which I did).
"four" = I really liked it (which I kinda did too) but I didn't love it!

********************************
Added day after doing review ...

I woke up thinking about his book ... I am going to downgrade it to 3. I liked it so, let's be honest about it then. Remember that book WE all read some years ago and something shocking happened and a lot of us swore we would never read the author again - well, I wouldn't go that far about SEP. I will read her again but this book was too far removed from her usual witty work, the work that made me love her, for me to rate it in the same way as I would her books that I ABSOLUTELY LIKED/LOVED. I know authors have to branch out and try new things but, to me, this book did not really encapsulate ANY of subtleties/humour/joy of her older books so, therefore, I just cannot hand out a solid four stars for it. This is my personal opinion ... I know that loads of my friends will absolutely love it.

I could say more and nitpick more but I am not going to ...
**********************************


Granted the last few books I read were duds so I had high, high hopes for this one... maybe my expectations were way too high.

As soon as I finished one of her other books in the past, I literally could have re-started it again that same day. Not this one - I honestly am not sure if it is one I will ever re-read! That does not bode well for a great book review from me! The book kept me interested and I did stay glued to it and finished it in 2 days but where was the humour? Where was the sassy lead female character I am used to? Where was the hero that I usually fall in love with? I know it was a sombre subject matter at times (which is unlike SEP). And, honestly, she maybe should have a spoiler or a "trigger warning" at the beginning of the book or in the book synopsis. I am now wondering did I read it too quickly and should I have savoured it a bit more and taken my time ... even the townspeople didn't have the usual snarky grit that she usually portrays. I just don't know. It is probably me... being picky!

Ian

"Don't mind him. He's being a prick."

Tess

Wren was cute (... "cute" - jeez, if that is the best I can come up with, things are looking bad ...)

"Draw something for me."

Visual descriptions were great, her portrayal of life in the Tennessee mountains came through. Small town life was portrayed (but I was left wanting a bit more) (I came from a small village myself and yes, everyone seems to know everyone's business). I did like Tess and Ian but felt their character development could have been a bit more intense ... we were in Runaway Mountain and I wanted to 'run away' and go to Heartache Mountain (I know, I know - get over it, Mo)!

The hills and mountains that looked as though they'd been drizzled in watercolours ...

I could give this five stars and pretend I loved it (so as not to offend a favourite author (as I know she is sitting there waiting to read my review, with bated breath))... but I always try to be honest in my reviews, even though I hate doing so in this case.

I did get a sweet epilogue and you know how much I love my epilogues.

[A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection.

[Mirjana **DTR - Down to Read** · Rating 2 out of 5]

***2 Stars***

WARNING: Rant review ahead.

First off, let me start off by saying that this book is WAY TOO DAMN LONG. You ever have one of those dreams where you're running towards something, and the faster and harder you run, the further and further away your destination gets? Yeah, that's this book. It's the book that doesn't end. It goes on and on my friend...

Second, the first 70(ish) pages of this book were terrific. I was sucked in from the beginning and invested in the story. I was whacked with an emotional punch right from the first chapter and the author kept the feels going for the first act of the book. I was glued to the pages. That's where any stars come from (that’s the only part of this book that I liked and enjoyed reading)...

...because the rest of the book gets negative 486 stars for the steaming pile of crap that it turned into.

After a heartbreakingly pivotal moment in this book, it proceeded to turn into total trash. I raged with how the MCs behaved, the decisions they made, and the pure selfishness that the heroine exhibited. I crumpled corners of my paperback from holding on so tight because my hands were fisted in anger. It's hard to enjoy a romance when you aren't rooting for the MCs.

And frankly, now that I'm done reading, I'm contemplating setting the book on fire to get some sort of satisfaction from having spent my time reading it.

Let's start with the non-spoiler thoughts:

** Ian is one dimensional and lacks any real depth. I don't think the author has any clue about street artists. He felt like a character based off of a Wikipedia search sprinkled with your typical romance hero tortured backstory.

** Tess is a meddling and sanctimonious bitch. She was all up in people's business telling them what to do, what was right, etc. She knew what was best. She judged the shit out of people's circumstances, decisions, lifestyles, etc. Yet she was absolutely selfish in her decisions and behavior and found no fault with it. She was also constantly putting herself down when it came to her body image. And yet again, we have another book where the hero is trying to boost a heroine's self-esteem. Enough already with this.

** I felt zero chemistry between Tess and Ian. While I did enjoy their ribs and banter, they felt more like friends constantly giving each other shit and occasionally having sex than a romantic couple that had strong feelings for each other. I've been more emotionally invested picking out notebooks and pens than I was in their relationship.

** This book is preachy as hell. Smoking is bad! Practice safe sex! Don't ignore depression! Therapists and medication are okay! Why did I need to read dozens and dozens and dozens of pages about Tess preaching about condoms, and educating teenagers, and how parents should be open to answering questions, and how schools should teach sex education and not just abstinence, and on and on and on and on and on. I picked up a romance, not a Sex Ed pamphlet.

** Obviously we know from the blurb that Tess is still grieving the loss of her husband. That loss happened two years ago. It's no one's job to say how long a person should/can grieve. We all grieve differently and for different lengths of time, it's a personal and individual process. Tess may have been two years out from the initial loss, but she was still wandering. Trying to figure out how to have a life where Trav wasn't around anymore. He was the love of her life, she expected to spend the whole of it with him. Laughing, having adventures, starting a family. My heart broke for the future Tess felt she lost.

For half this book we're given glimpses into what kind of a life they had, what their relationship was like, the love they shared, all the great memories...BUT, as soon as Tess started lusting after Ian and developing some feelings for him....OH, OH, OH....HERE COME ALL OF TRAV'S FAULTS, here come the things that irked her and the areas where he lacked. And of course, his biggest one being that he couldn't satisfy her sexually. I don’t know why the author decided she needed to start putting down and shitting on the dead husband in order to make it okay for Tess to move on?! Has anyone seen my eyes? They seem to have rolled right out of my head...

**The inhabitants of this small Tennessee town were painted as ignorant, back road hicks. Except for the one family with the politician patriarch...obviously. They're sophisticated white folk. And oh, wait. The town did have one token black family. Imani was the politician's daughter's token black BFF. She even called herself that! Oh and Gabby...who in a whispered sentence we're told is on the spectrum. Listen, don't half ass this shit. It was lazy. If you want to paint the picture of a small, almost all white town where a black family sticks out and inhabitants that don't want to understand neurodivergence and treat it as a whispered bad word, then commit. Show that. Don't give me the crap in this book that feels like you're checking something off of a list to show inclusivity.

Now for the spoiler(ish) part: Click at your own risk.

Right at the beginning we're introduced to Bianca, Ian's pregnant friend (though Tess believes in the beginning that she's his wife). Bianca is a former model and free-spirit that makes you smile. I loved her. She's full of joy, and wonder, and immediately Tess is drawn to her. They become fast friends.

Bianca goes into premature labor, and Tess being a former midwife, steps in to deliver. But the birth goes very bad shortly after Bianca delivers her daughter. She makes Tess promise that she'll take care of her daughter, which she reluctantly promises. Bianca dies in a pool of blood in a darkened bedroom. The scene is gut wrenching.

Even though she was reluctant to accept the responsibiity of caring for a child, Tess very quickly becomes attached to Wren (Tess is the one who names the baby).

Ian has put his name as the father on the birth certificate, but he tells Tess that he's not the father. Bianca saved him from the streets, and from himself, but they were only friends. He also starts telling her about all of Bianca's bad decisions, flighty relationships, poor life choices, etc. That's okay. It's not like Bianca is around to explain or defend herself. Let's crap all over the dead woman.

Moving on.

The cabin where Tess lives is basically in shambles and falling apart, so Ian recommends she stay with him where it's better for both her and the baby. She agrees. As days go by, Tess continues to grow more attached to Wren. Ian goes to find Wren's father because she should be with her family now that her mother is dead. Ian finds out that Wren's father is out of the country but he talks to the father's parents (Wren's grandparents) and of course they want to meet their possible granddaughter. They say they'll submit to a paternity test just to make sure. Diane and Jeff are good people. I liked them straight away.

Tess is super attached and can't imagine giving Wren to anyone. SHE'S HERS! When the grandparents come to get Wren, Tess runs away with the child. Ian finds her quickly, and brings them both back home. The grandparents, while loving and understanding how hard this must be for Tess, make an argument that they think Wren deserves a family and not to be raised by a single mother. The grandmother explains what her childhood was like being raised by a frazzled single mother and she doesn't want that for Wren.

But Tess is hearing none of it.

"Look at her. She's thriving. Can't you see? I know her in a way nobody else does. I know what her cries mean - whether she's hungry, or sleepy, or mad at the world. I know how she likes to be held and - "

"Tess. This isn't fair to Diane and Jeff."

"I don't care about Diane and Jeff!"

Jeff's head came up, and Diane looked wounded.

Tess softened. "I don't mean that. It's obvious you're good people, and Wren couldn't have better grandparents. But you're grandparents! She's mine! You can see her anytime you want, but she's mine. You can be the grandparents you've always wanted to be. I'll send her to you for the holidays. For summer vacations. I'll sign anything you want to protect your rights. But she belongs with me."

"Oh, Tess. We can see how hard this is for you. But Wren is ours."

Tess's lips thinned into a snarl. "Why? Because your son knocked up her mother?"

These people were nice and kind and compassionate..and in great health, I might add. They were only in their 60's, not some couple with one foot in the grave!

I understand Tess's feelings, but her actions and words enraged me. How dare she? She felt the same way about the baby's father potentially wanting to take Wren. How could the child's father possibly take care of her better than Tess? She automatically assumes that NO ONE will be better for Wren than her. NO ONE!

I won't go on to spoil anything about what happens in this situation, but obviously Wren stays with Tess in the end.

And for the rest of the book, Wren is HER child, HER daughter, HER baby. She's the mother, and calls herself Mommy.

Bianca is rarely ever mentioned for the rest of the book. A fart in the wind. There and potent one moment, and gone in the next. I mean, Bianca's dead...and it's totally okay to talk shit about a dead woman since she can't defend herself (eyeroll)...soooooo you know...why add any unnecessary mention of THE MOTHER OF THIS CHILD in this overly long book when the author can fill the pages with other unnecessary stuff.

There's so much more I could rant about (SO MUCH MORE), but I'm pretty sure I'll be reaching my Goodreads review word count limit, and there's absolutely one more thing I have to mention.

The epilogue is told from Wren's point of view years down the line. It was kind of cute. I thought, okay...maybe my final moments with this book will cool some of the rage inside of me, and it'll redeem itself a little bit.

And then I read this passage and started looking around the room for matches...

"Another thing that's getting annoying...You know how Mom and Dad like to talk to me about Bianca, my birth mother, so I don't forget her? They're always saying how much she wanted me, and how artistic she was, and all that kind of stuff, blah blah blah. But I'm not stupid, and I can sort of tell she might have been kind of a loser, too. Maybe you could find out more about that next time you're here. Still, I definitely hope I look like her someday!"

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Bianca's a loser...but a pretty one! THAT'S THE FINAL MESSAGE THE AUTHOR IS SENDING ABOUT HOW THIS CHILD THINKS ABOUT HER BIOLOGICAL MOTHER? THAT'S THE MESSAGE TESS AND IAN HAVE BEEN GIVING THIS CHILD?



In conclusion...




BOOK CONTENT WARNING: This book has an on page death scene, remembered death of another person, and a secondary character recovering physically and emotionally from a miscarriage.



***ARC received in exchange for an honest review***

[Romantically Inclined Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book didn't read like the sassy, energetic romances that I've come to expect from SEP. It was slow and sad and a little unnerving at times. The heroine was... different. A little annoying, exasperating, and troubled, but expectedly so. The hero was... the same. Believe it or not. I felt like one or the other needed to be grounded for this relationship to really function effectively and, even by the end of the book, I didn't feel that the two of them were in any sort of condition to be in a relationship with one another without some serious therapy.

The heroine preached the importance of therapy and getting help, but didn't appear to have sought any herself. She was a busybody (yes, she was in the right most of the time, but damn girl... pick one battle to fight and stick with it, rather than trying to be the moral compass for an entire town).

In the end, I was pretty disappointed. It was a deeper, darker read than I'm used to with SEP, so if you're looking for something similar to the Chicago Stars or her more light-hearted reads with powerful heroines and dickish heroes, you're probably going to be let down by this.

Still, if angst and anger and sadness and two characters who can hardly survive on their own but somehow are going to function together are your thing then you might light it. At least the writing was good.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I generally have some strong love for SEP, and this was enjoyable by normal book reading standards for this genre - I read it over the course of just 24 hours! But it's not necessarily this author's best (which is a high standard!). If you have read other SEP books then you will know that this book will feature A) a 'quirky' (in some small way) female MC that is usually kind of poor and almost everyone likes her except for a couple of people who REALLY don't like her and B) a male MC that will be 'gruff' and also really wealthy. This book is no different in that regard, it check marks both of those boxes. However, what this book *IS* missing is C) SEP's signature light-hearted/combative banter. Well, it's there, but it just doesn't hit as strongly as it has in other books. The closest it got for me was when all the people kept showing up at her door unannounced. Also, the epiphany at the end felt a little forced.

This review is kind of terrible because it makes the book sound bad, and it's not. It's just not as 'fun' as her other books. I would recommend reading a different book by this author if you have never read anything by her before. (May I suggest my personal favorites: Dream a Little Dream and Natural Born Charmer?) And if you have read this author before, then maybe lower expectations a smidge, but you'll probably still enjoy this too.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS



I finished this book late last night, so my thoughts are still a little jumbled. What I will say is that this author never fails to impress me. And I must also add that this book was not at all what I expected from her. In fact, throughout the first half of the book, I was sorely disappointed. It was heart wrenching and painful to read, but worst of all, the characters were doing nothing for me. Hardly a redeeming quality among the lot of them.

But as the book evolved, so did the characters. And by some miracle, the story started to get to me. It was sort of like staring at one of those 3-D paintings call autostereograms, that you have to stare at a while to see the hidden picture beneath. And once it pops out at you, you can't unsee it.



One of the things that struck me about this book, was the author's complete departure from her earlier writing style. In particular, the lack of humor. There were a few minor attempts at throwing it in, but there wasn't enough to quash the unsettling vibe that permeated throughout the book. Now towards the end, that started to change. Which was where I feel the book was brought back into focus. Had she not accomplished this with pure SEP sparkle, I might not have felt the same about it all in the end.

Was it possible if, instead of feeling too little, he felt too much?

If you've not read any of SEP's other books, this review is going to sound confusing and vague. But for those of you who know her books well, I think it will make more sense.
I wasn't entirely sure how to rate the book at first, considering how I'd felt in the beginning. But then, like I said, once it all made sense to me, I couldn't un-love it.

Would I read it again... absolutely. And the more time I spend thinking about it, the more I love it. I know this book is going to inspire mixed reviews from faithful SEP fans, simply because of it's departure from the grid... but what I say to that is look deeper, it's all there, you just have to let the picture come to you.

[Berit☀️✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s complicated. SEP usually writes light warm hearted stories and this book was not that. This book was complex, emotional and beautiful. Tess has escaped her busy life and settled in a small town where she spends her days working in a coffee shop and her nights dancing in the rain. When her path first crosses with Ian an unfriendly arrogant Artis Tess has no idea how much he will change her life. This story is a romance but more than that it is a story of these 2 characters finding their way out of grief. Tess was a smart strong female Who stood up for what she believed. Ian was a good guy, with a big heart, wrapped up in a lot of emotional armor. I loved watching the relationship between these two develop. There’s so much more to the story that I am not going to mention because I don’t want to spoil it for you. This was a compelling emotional read that hit me right in the heart. Nicole Poole narrates the audio and does a remarkable job of bringing the perfect voice to this stunning story.

This book in emojis 🌿 ⛈ 🤰🏻 ☕️ 🎨

*** Big thank you to William Morrow and Harper Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

[Wendy'sThoughts · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Understanding What You Need Stars
* * * * Spoiler Free
When I started reading romance, I discovered SEP. To this day, I will never forget the joy and want I had when reading her. She opened my eyes to how a romance novel could capture and take me away from the day-to-day while still presenting real-life traumas and challenges. I was lucky to be able to binge-read almost all of her books due to an amazing dollar bookstore, sadly no longer around.

Her writing held my hand during very difficult health and career times. Her Chicago Stars and Wynette, Texas series, plus all the others published meant the world to me. So any time SEP graced us with a new book, I scooped it up.

Dance Away with Me is something very different than the Chicago or Wynette series. If you are looking for light-hearted, funny, blatantly sexy stories like those, this is not it. That is not to say it is less than...NOT AT ALL. That is to say, just don't go into this with that mindset.

This is a study of life, how it shapes people, talents, economics, traumas, and strength impact us all. We are with two main characters who are going through self-discovery that has been thrust on them. They have chosen a small town in the Tennessee mountains to do it. It is there they are confronted with Life's Challenges disguised as their own actions.

SEP is a wordsmith, a master in crafting and drawing emotions. She creates full-fledged characters whether they are secondary or main. This book gave us many and through their arcs, much was expressed. It is the talent she has to educate and entertain her readers. This is consistent with all of her works.

For those hardcore romance readers, this is a slow burn. I am will to share that. Anything else is not going to come from me, for I went into this blind, and I highly suggest you do as well.

~~~~~ Before Reading ~~~~~

Oh, How SEP Has Given Me Joy...
Binge Reading of All Of Them...

The Chicago Stars Series...
The Wynette, Texas, Series...
And All The Wonders Written In Between...

Always Smart, Strong Women...
Men Who May Need an Attitude Adjustment...
But When Push Came To Shove...
Both Worked Through and Made It Happen...

When Susan Elizabeth Phillips...
Puts Out A New Book...
She Can Totally Be Sure...
She Can...

Dance Away with Me-June 9, 2020
My Sweet Friends, Mo, Ⓐlleskelle - teamSøren♗ ⊲I like big b00ks⊳ and ♥Sharon♥ seemed to be loving it, so I owe it all to them, hahahahahaha

Dance Away with Me
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways

[Antonella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of SEP's books are my comfort read and I love to reread them.
If you haven't definitely check her books out!!

This is definitely a book where romance doesn't play the central part. Sure, it is a part of this book, but not in the way I expected. Also, their connection is not believable. This small town is filled with pregnant women! There is a lot of condoms talk. Tess, the leading lady, is some kind of savior giving the kids the TED talks about safe sex. When she is not doing that she is playing doctor or dancing in the rain.
Well, playing doctor is not hard she is midwife/nurse and dancing is a theme of this book- so yeah understandable!!

I don't want to give spoilers about other things that happen because discovering them is a fun part of this book. Plus, my reviews are not book reports...

Only know that there is a lot of grief/dealing with a loss so if that is not something you want to read about..stay away..


I am not sure how to rate this book!!??!!
I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it...
I am sure I will not read it again...

2,5 stars

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dance Away With Me by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

There’s a reason this author is continually on The NY Times bestseller lists. It includes phenomenal writing, multi-dimensional characters and a story to invest your emotions and time in reading.
This story includes a street artist learning to let go of his anger, a widow learning to live with her grief and learning to live and love again. And a small town learning to encompass change.
Overly dramatic? I will admit to shedding some tears in a couple of the emotional scenes.

A story of family, renewal, and accepting change.
I loved it. It is darker than the usual by this author.

I won an early copy of this book from the publisher through a reader conference.
4.5 rounded up.

[Maria Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA SÉ POR QUÉ AÚN NO HE ENCONTRADO A MI MEDIA NARANJA!

Te va a sorprender esto que te digo, pero ahí va: tengo 10 kilos de más.
Vamos, que según los expertos me sobran; como a quién le sobran garbanzos en el cocido y no sabe si la receta quedará mejor si se los quita o no. (Aquí es cuando tía Conchi defiende a grito pelao la receta original y tío Pepe se esconde tras el periódico, no vaya a ser que le toque opinar)

Osea, que drama, lo que se dice drama, lo hay.
No por los kilos, sino por quien tiene la razón.

Al igual que en BAILA CONMIGO.
Me refiero al drama.
Vamos, que en Runaway Mountain, el pueblecito donde Tess Hartsong decide ir a vivir para tratar de superar su dolor, no es un pueblo muy dado a dar una calurosa bienvenida a los forasteros, más bien al contrario, pues desconfían de estos. Y si a la ecuación le sumamos unos adolescentes con las hormonas en plena efervescencia, un bebe  indefenso y a un artista con más aristas que un diamante, pues tenemos montado el drama del siglo.

Y si además te digo que a nuestra protagonista le sobran unos diez kilos, quizá, si lo lees, sepas porque aún no he encontrado a mi media naranja.

[Ⓐlleskelle - That ranting lady ッ · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a few things I’ve come to expect when I crack open a SEP book.
A gruff hero, a spirited heroine, humor and enough conflict to build some angst—usually brought by the hero acting like a total jerk, all of it packaged in a heartwarming romance.

Dance Away With Me offers all of the above and more, however it was positively different from what I’m used to from this author. For instance, I didn’t expect the story to hit me in the feels and make me cry ugly tears 15% in. It's a definite somber take, some could even describe one particular scene gruesome, especially coming from SEP. It’s downright tragic, but trust Susan Elizabeth Phillips to balance heartbreak with heartfelt and heartwarming feels. She does it brilliantly.

(I can’t help but feel some readers would need a content warning, so I’ll drop a spoiler at the end of this review, be aware that this is also a huge spoiler for the rest of the story.)

I’m sure some reviews will let you in about what links the character together, but my advice is that you’re better off discovering this for yourself. It's a real challenge not to tell about it in this review, considering how such a MAJOR factor it plays in the book. Please forgive me for this vague review but I don't want to spoil the book!

Let me tell you a little bit more about the characters then!

You like your heroes toeing the line of assholes? You’ll be in fine company with Ian North. It took me a good quart of the book to determine if he was worth redeeming, fortunately he does. The jerk. Still, I was now counting on some major growth of character from him, hoping for a nice good grovel even—which he kinda delivers. His level of irascibility was intense, he sure owned his role of tortured hero!

“You don't strike me as a callous heartbreaker. You're fairly decent. when you're not being a jerk.”

Tess made the book for me. She’s a lot to take in, presented as a broken woman, a widow, I wasn’t expecting her to be the image of fierceness and resilience. She has the distinct trademark personality all SEP heroines share: temper, snark, stubborness and a little bit of crazy. Tess Hartsong was fanciful alright!

“-Do you have any personality—other than the dark and mysterious part?
-I have lots of personality.
-Aloof? Foreboding?”

Along the way, Tess uplifting snark helping, SEP guides us into more familiar territory, humor and banter break through, the grouchy hero reveals cracks in his armor and all pieces of this incredible puzzle SEP has laid out for us start to come together. The somber feels from the beginning recedes only to let room for the most excruciating slow burn between Tess and Ian.
Or should I say Tess, Ian... and the rest of the town.

I love a small town setting so I wasn’t disappointed by all the side characters popping in here and there but I would have loved to see more development in the romance between Tess and Ian. ALONE. It needs acknowledging that this wasn’t a lovestory about two characters. The whole town is in on it!
The many intrusions from side characters played a good part in the almost intolerable tension growing between Tess and Ian, so when they finally get TOGETHER… the sense of gratification and the feeling of urgency that comes alive on the pages is reward enough.

I adored seeing the teens dropping by the house for their sex-ed talks with Tess, Ian in the background trying not to laugh. I loved how Tess, retired midwife was such a disturbance in this secluded small town, especially at her job at the Broken Chimney, serving coffees, ice cream, pies, refusing to sell cigarettes but advocating for condoms on the counter to the folklore of people of Tempest, Tennessee.


I absolutely loved Dance Away With Me, Susan Elizabeth Phillips offers here what every romance reader want: Laughter, tears and love... only a little backward. ;)

“Tess Hartsong was a woman who offered her heart too freely. The worst thing she could do would be to give it away to a man who couldn't treasure it.
He intended to make sure that didn't happen.”

Content Warning : grief, death, childbirth death.
I received an advance review copy from the publisher.
More reviews and book talk at :

You can find me here too ☞

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge SEP fan and it has been a while since she last released a book. And the publisher does a great job indicating that this one is different from her norm. So I had trepidation in starting it (not least because I've been unable to follow Nora Roberts in her latest tone shift to romantic-thrillers). I'm relieved to see that, while different, I still enjoyed the story a lot.

Tess is struggling with grief and has fled to the small town in Tennessee to try to build something new. She's still wrapped in her grief, but she's trying to move on. Kind of. I don't understand that kind of grief, but found Tess interesting and her struggle felt very present and multi-layered and I was engaged in her finding her way to something new. I liked her, or at least, I had reasonable hope that she'd become someone to like if she could process her anger and hurt.

Ian was much less of a win. He's grumpy and a bit mean and entirely self-focused. He has enough humanity to not be a complete monster so at least there's that. But the whole self-involved artist "finding himself" or, worse, "finding his muse" and not wanting to establish emotional connections with others is a negative motivation* that was worn thin the first time he expressed it in so many words.

And then SEP ramps the emotional devastation to another level and that left me a little breathless. It was heartrending and my heart just went out to both Ian and Tess. And the miracle is that I stayed interested even at the depths this had gone into because SEP handles both the events and the fallout very well and seeing them both grow through the challenge was fascinating.

Still, the community irked me more than a little along the way. There were some interesting personalities, sure. But the whole bible-thumpin' ignant idgits theme got beat hard and SEP leans into having all the biggest idiots opposed to Tess and everybody reasonable agreeing with her. Because of course they would, nobody ever disagrees with the good people unless they're evil or stupid (or both). That's how the world works, right? Sigh.

Anyway, there were a few times I wanted to shake Tess out of her own stupidity, too. Her unreasoning jaunts into maudlin self-protection frustrated me, but at least that's where we start seeing Mr. Emotional Isolation start to crack a bit. Which is to say that the character moments that establish their emotional arc were sometimes frustrating, sometimes rewarding, but always engaging and kept me interested to the end.

I know it sounds like I had a hard time and didn't like the story. But that's not really the case. There was always enough movement towards healthy growth to keep my hopes up and I never felt alienated from the main characters. And I very much wanted them to become a team and to acknowledge the bonds that held them together. I even didn't hate the eventual art epiphany with Ian at the end and that was always going to be a hard sell.

So this is a solid-ish four stars. And I hope SEP can continue writing and releasing, even if this becomes her new norm.

A note about Steamy: There was some explicit sex, but I frankly lost track. Not that it was so much or anything. It wasn't. It was barely the middle of my steam tolerance, but it also played a huge role in Tess's fragility and it's where Ian shone in his very best light. So I liked seeing them work out their intimacy issues together as it was the first time they started behaving like they could be good for each other.

* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.

[♥Sharon♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished listening to this book and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! ❤️❤️

The narrator did an amazing job with it. 🥰

********************

"As you can see, I am in the tree house....."

WOW! I just finished this one and I have to say it was not what I was expecting. I loved it though.

I’m keeping my review vague as I think the best way to go into this one is blind. Truly. Keep an open mind and heart. ❤

Dance Away with Me took me on the latest creative journey of Susan Elizabeth Phillips. She has written so many wonderful stories that I have read and loved and read again. This book was different from those. And frankly I wasn’t sure I would end up loving it.

It was a rollercoaster ride where I found myself loving the beginning as I got to know Tess Hartsong and Ian North. Tess was a strong independent woman who was determine to start her life over again. Ian was the caregiver. He may have been a bastard at times but he took care of those he loved or those who needed taken care of. It was something that had been missing in his life.

Then I reached the middle. A lot happens. The reader had a lot to sift through. My feelings and emotions were all over the place. I would read a chapter or two and have to set the book down. I had to process things. And I am glad I did.

It was the last 30% that sealed the 5 stars. Life between Tess, Ian and Wren was messy and it probably always will be. Emotional boundaries would be tested. Both Tess and Ian had to figure out what they wanted and what they needed. It wouldn’t be as simple as just loving each other.

I loved watching them find their way. Things may not have been perfect and I'm okay with that because real life never is.

And I loved the epilogue. It was perfection!!

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those rare evenings when I read a book in one sitting (okay lounging, since I was in my comfy bed).

Generally I avoid (like Covid-19) romances with kids/babies. Why you say? Because as a Mom of two boys, reading was a big way to unplug from the Mom job. As an empty nester, kids remind me that I’m over the hill, or I’ve been there-done that.

But SEP sucked me in, twisted the heart strings ever so gently and I fell in love with the storyline (which was a big departure from her other books). It was complicated, realistic (for the most part), and filled with a cavalcade of small town characters.

It was also an entertaining, charming and slightly infuriating (men— that’s all I’ll say) read.

Ladies and gentlemen - Ms Susan Elizabeth Phillips has done it again!!

[Anne OK · Rating 4 out of 5]

FULL REVIEW POSTED - 6/16/2020

After a lengthy hiatus, Susan Elizabeth Phillips has returned with a solid and well-written standalone novel that has caused a stir among her many fans. It has no connection to any of her other books and introduces readers to Ian and Tess, who aren't cookie cutter characters. They aren't warm and fuzzy, nor are they lively and humorous. But they're entertaining and certainly both bring a well-thought-out message to the pages.

No, I’ll admit that it didn’t read like some of my favorites from SEP’s light-hearted and uproariously funny books – but sometimes that’s a good thing. I don’t want the same ole/same ole – and I love seeing a seasoned author show a different side while offering readers something fresh and vibrant and meaningful, as well. SEP is one of those amazingly talented authors who is able to bring her talents to the pages no matter the setting or message.

The small town setting of Tempest, Tennessee comes to life on the pages with priceless descriptions. The town’s name made me pause and wonder if our clever author might have shared a tango or two with Shakespeare in preparation for this latest release?

Different – yes. Not as playful or full of frolicking sprites or the uproarious and hilarious missteps of past books. And these characters, Ian and Tess, weren’t quite as alluring as Phoebe and Dan (who started my love affair with SEP’s stories), Gracie and Bobby Tom (awful name, but oh how it fit his character), Francesca and Dallie (their long road to HEA and two of my top favs), Blue and Dean (both of whom I adored and laughed and cried with) and then there’s Molly, Kevin, Daphne and Benny and a summer at a magical place called Wind Lake (my most favorite of all – and the one that stole THIS HEART OF MINE!). I might have wished that Daphne and Benny would make an appearance once or twice to do a little happy dancing to add a little of their extra-special comfort and wisdom in Tempest. I think little Wren would have been especially appreciative!

Anyhoo -- if the music is good, you dance – and dance I did through each and every page.

Would I have liked to have experienced a little more depth in building the romantic involvement between the Ian and Tess – of course! I always want more!! Mostly their interaction remained a sparring match and then fleeing from the scene. And then in a wink, they are in love even when it feels a little rushed and dare I say cold and calculated? There were certainly a lot of building blocks to explore on the rocky road to this unlikely match-up that didn’t seem to make the cut.

The cover was one item I wished had gotten more attention. Although nice – that was it, just nice. But I wished for a more reflective view of Ian’s art – I feel like that would have been the ultimate addition to this book’s release. His painting was such an important factor in this story and the cover just doesn’t capture or reflect the depth of its purpose – or anything related to Tess’s personality -- especially as these characters are written on the pages within.

I held my breath all the way through the book hoping SEP would give readers an Epilogue that would leave them with sparkling feel-goods and charmed and dazzled by the sweetest of happily-ever-afters -- and she didn’t disappoint!

Dancing with the feet is one thing, but dancing with the heart is another.

[DeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 complex stars

I know this author for some of the light-hearted but clever romances that I’ve read in the past. This one feels different than her usual style, more drama and complexity, but I still enjoyed this read. This is a stand-alone tale, not part of her earlier series of books.

Our main character Tess Hartsong is living in a secluded cabin in Tennessee, trying to recover from heartbreak and sorrow. She doesn’t realize that a tortured painter and his pregnant wife have moved into the restored schoolhouse just above her in the valley. The painter doesn’t take kindly to her blasting her music to dance away her troubles.

Tess is trying to give up her former profession of a midwife, but there aren’t many medical services available nearby and people find her once they know she has nursing skills. Soon she is clashing with the adults in town over providing sex ed materials when the adults all want to preach abstinence.

Things get really complicated when a delivery doesn’t go well, and Tess struggles to find her place in this town. Can she finally find peace and happiness, or does she need to move on and find another place to soothe her heart?

Thank you to William Morrow and Goodreads for my winning contest copy of this book!

[Debbie Oliphant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story and I cannot believe I am now discovering this author.

Tess is starting over after suffering a tragic loss. She wants to settle in and plant roots in the small town. She becomes friendly with the residents who are kooky and eccentric. Her solitary life becomes disrupted upon meeting a neighbor who is expecting, and her life will never be the same. I'm so tempted to share more but the development of the characters and the plot is so worth the read and I don't want to spoil the story.

Experience this gem which will suck you in quickly and then you'll find yourself at the 85% mark of your e-reader and feel a sense of disappointment as the story is almost over. Enjoy!!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Elizabeth Phillips's new release came at just the right time. Her books are a sure thing when it comes to adult romance lovers, and this one was no exception. Dance Away with Me features Phillips' classic leading lady, strong and resilient, and adds complex backstories and the rural, medical backdrop reminiscent of Robyn Carr's Virgin River. Bonus: My favorite pretend relationship trope is included ... well kinda. You'll just have to read it.

Overall, it's a bit heavier than her usual, but it still satisfies. Check it out.

My favorite quote:
"I hate hearing that word used against women. If she's a slut that means he is too."

[Alba Turunen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Estrellitas. ¡Qué libro más bonito nos ha escrito SEP! Es a la vez tan tierno y tan distinto a sus otras obras, que me ha encantado descubrir esta nueva faceta. Aquí no tenemos machirulos o protagonistas femeninas que caen en el mas absoluto ridículo para darle comicidad al libro. Simplemente es distinto.

"Baila conmigo" ocurre en el pueblecito de montaña en Tennessee, que acaba convirtiendose en el refugio o segunda oportunidad de nuestros protagonistas, cada uno y a su manera, intentando huir de los demonios de su pasado.

Ian North es un rebelde. Desde joven se rebeló contra su poderoso y brutal padre simplemente con sus pintadas y graffitis. Ahora es un artista rico y de renombre, con un importante bloqueo artístico. Quizás una temporada con la embarazadísima Bianca pueda ayudar a recuperar parte de su arte.

Tess Hartsong es una comadrona viuda (cómo me ha recordado a "Virgin River"). Hace poco que su marido murió, y necesita una segunda oportunidad en otro sitio, donde nadie la conozca y pueda vivir de nuevo. Al poco de llegar a ése pueblo lleno de paletos, Tess conocerá a Bianca y su pareja, un artista famoso, a quien no parece haberle caído en gracia.

En seguida, el guión dará un vuelco cuando Tess se vea obligada a cuidar de un indefenso bebé y contra las lenguas malhabladas de la población, su hostilidad, su cerrazón mental... y el acercamiento que está sintiendo sin querer, hacia Ian North.

Aunque Ian no lo esperaba, Tess en seguida se convierte en ésa persona que necesita para sacar lo mejor de él. Y él es un hombre hosco y solitario que no está preparado para una vida familiar o simplemente para amar. En cuanto a Tess, quiso mucho a su marido, y es cierto que no querría volver a enamorarse, pero ése bebé pone su mundo patas arriba y en seguida se da cuenta de que ama a ésa pequeña criatura y es lo que necesita para salir de ése pozo de negrura.

En realidad, me ha encantado éste libro, pero no quiero contar mucho más porque SEP me ha dejado ojiplática según iba descubriendo nuevas cosas. Es diferente a otros libros que ha escrito anteriormente. En ellos normalmente tenías una protagonista femenina a la que la faltaba cierta madurez o independecia para florecer y dar lo mejor de sí mismas, pero aquí Tess Hartsong ya es una mujer madura e independiente, sólo está herida, y necesita algo que sane su vida.

Si acaso, el personaje de Ian ha sido más complicado. Los primeros capitulos es un auténtico capullo y te preguntas cómo SEP va a crear un romance de estos dos. Pero lo ha hecho. No es de los más bonitos ni memorables y puede que hasta no entiendas muy bien cuando se enamoran, pero los capítulos finales han merecido la pena.

Me alegro muchísimo de haber leído éste libro y de que SEP nos haya traído algo distinto. Siempre puedes temer que por la edad chochee algo, pero no, sigue siendo tan increíble y moderna como siempre, y como lectora me alegro de haber leído este libro tan bonito. Espero que siga escribiendo tan bien como siempre y traiga muchos mas libros maravillosos.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like a Man Who Steps Up, this might be a book for you. It takes awhile but Ian North eventually falls in line. Tess Hartsong is emotionally brittle. Her husband died young and, two years later, she is still working through her grief (because grief really, really sucks.) But she decides that a rural area is going to be the place to heal. Also healing? 2 am dance parties. But her neighbor isn't into that. At least the male half isn't. But he ends up as a single father and Tess steps in. Well, "steps" might be a soft word for it. She is sort of barreling her way through life, undirected and decides to take on an orphan as well as teaching all of the teens in an abstinence only town all about prophylactics.
I have to admit, I was hoping for another Natural Born Charmer or Breathing Room. Both start with female characters on a journey (okay, it's a common plot device,) and we get to see them move through the book. And it took me several days to figure out why this book didn't quite hit that button for me and I finally figured out that the amount of resolution nowhere nears the amount of angst. Tess is so bottled up for most of the book, then sort of nuts, but then, poof!, she's all good. In both of the other books I mentioned, we get to see more healing and getting to see that depth of character is part of what makes those books so good. Also missing in this book? Relationship development. At least between Tess and Ian. It all felt so surface and SEP is usually so good at creating the kind of relationship that I sigh over.

[Nicoletta Micillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sicuramente non sarà tra i miei preferiti di quest'autrice ma comunque molto bello da leggere. Tess mi ha conquistato con la sua irriverenza, il suo sarcasmo e il suo cuore d'oro.

[TinaNoir · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was honestly a mess.

I was enjoying the first, oh 25-30% of it. A lot.

I liked Tess the heroine was who a widow who had bought a cabin in a small town in Tennessee to get over her grief. She is also a trained nurse/midwife and her nursing skills come into play A LOT.

I liked Ian, the gruff, moody mural/street/wunderkind artist. I actually liked how she wrote about his tortured artiness. It felt overwrought in some places, but it did work overall. And I just liked this vision she created in my head of his big teamster/lumberjack of a man who is all angsty about his art.

And up to that 25% point I liked some of the other personalities she began to build with the supporting characters.

But then about midway through the book takes a turn.

The characters that it was building to be interesting become cartoonish. I get the impression the author was going for small-town quirky and we were supposed to become charmed by all the different personalities, but instead it becomes bad cliche of 'quirky small town' the people don't act logically or make sense, instead they inhabit 'characters' so you have your old-timer, the town bitch, the gossip, the rich important guy who is an asshole, etc. etc. And don't even get me started on the teenagers.

And then there was the entirely contrived development between Tess and Ian where they have to get married in order to keep a baby Tess delivered whose mother died during birth that she has gotten so attached to and wanted to keep it away for her grandparents . Just Ugh.

It doesn't help that the chemistry that had been nicely building between Tess and Ian goes right out he window with the rest of the plotting and characters. And the story becomes an odd, jumbled thing.

I honestly contemplated DNF'ing this book. I got episodes of tonal dissonance. In some places I felt the book wanted to be fall closer on the women's fic scale dealing with more internal issues of Tess, her grief and her healing. And then in other places, I felt it wanted to be a small town humorous quirky romance with our intrepid Tess who gets the town talking about her and her brooding hero. The two pieces did not meld together well at all.

And a final note, I didn't feel like I heard SEP's "voice" in this that much. And I am not talking about 'oh this isn't like her Chicago Stars' series, what a bummer. No, I am not wedded to her continually repeating the vibe of that series. I liked her earlier works quite a bit and recently did a re-read of both Hot Shot and Fancy Pants and both those books are different in tone from her CS series, but they sound like her. In this one, I honestly felt like I was reading a Robyn Carr book. Weird.

Anyway, I did not love this and the two stars are on the strength of the first 30% of the book.

[StMargarets · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really woman's fiction with romantic elements thrown in. It's a slow-moving, small-town tale of two strangers (to each other and the town) who are thrown together because of traumatic experience mother dies in childbirth the midwife heroine is attending and they end up caring for a premature infant together.

Other things you should know: heroine is an obstetrics nurse and a widow. Her husband died of a virulent pneumonia after ten days of illness. She is grieving and her worldview is grim.

The hero is a street artist and trust fund baby who thinks art should be angry and political. Why he's in this Tennessee small town is never really clear.

There are other plot threads about the general store, a local politician and his unhappy wife, and the effects of abstinence-only sex ed on the teenagers in town.

Triggers: death depicted on the page. Traumatic pregnancies. Custody issues. Grandparent's rights.

It's a heavy story with an HEA that really didn't offset all the trauma before it. But I love this author's writing, so four stars even those this will not be a re-read for me.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking to reading this book since I’ve been a fan of SEP’s previous novels. However, I really had no idea what this book was going to be about. It turns out that I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I’ve come to expect a level of writing from SEP after many years of reading her books as well as some fun dialogue and interesting characters. However, I felt like this book was written by a totally different person. Not only did I not like the characters, but it lacked everything that I love about SEP’s writing.

This book is a Women’s Fiction novel, but it does have a touch of romance in it. I don’t know. I don’t think Tess or Ian lived up to any of SEP’s past characters. In fact, I found that Tess’s character needed a lot more development. She lacked some of the sparkle that her other heroines have and as a result, I just didn’t connect with her character at all. It’s such a shame because I had such high expectations, but in the end, I struggled with finishing this book.

I’m not sure if I’ll be reading more of SEP’s Women’s Fiction novels, but I’m hoping that if she does more, there will be a little more sparkle and life to the characters the next time around.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading First Star I See Tonight and Heroes Are My Weakness I was expecting another zany, hilarious adventure as only Susan Elizabeth Phillips can write. But this felt tired and outdated, with bland characters that I had trouble connecting with. The spirited young progressive who ensures condoms are available to youths in the sleepy conservative town, the tortured artist (whose street name continually reminded me of a strain of flu virus), the flighty but beautiful model... it was just cliche after tired cliche. It is a darker tale than I was expecting with very little of SEP's trademark humor. Overall, I was very disappointed with this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Ingie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 STARS - Demanding, some tough parts, but finally good enough

🧸🧸🧸🧸

A new Susan Elizabeth Phillips novel to read don’t happens that often and her admirers expectations are probably huge. I must admit I was a bit disappointed halfway trough. But as some GR friends already said and written; Dance Away with Me gets better and better ... and when you reach the beautiful end you just smile a brilliant big happy smile.

These main characters Tess Hartsong and Ian North and their grand story (and romance) was kind of struggling, slow and pretty hard to really get that right wonderful feeling for. Luckily it turned out good. The new for me audiobook narrator Nicole Poole did a okay job as well.

Read June 15, 2020

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... Just three more unread SEP romances to read (ordered all three as paperbacks for some sunny lazy summer days in a comfy deck chair). Then? Afterwards? — 😳🥺😢 — Maybe I need to start it all over again and reread because Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s books (especially when narrated by Anna Fields) are always touching, heartwarming and the very best kind of good romance reading for me.

[Bibiana In Bookland · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,25⭐️