From the moment I saw her, I knew we were destined to be together. Both on and off the dance floor. I was second-place World Latin ballroom champion. I just needed the right partner. And with her passion, her immense talent, and her beautiful, sweet soul, I knew Rory was the one. But she was also a ghost of someone I’d lost back in Russia, and missed dearly. We were two halves in desperate need of completion. Before we could rise to the top, we had to heal each other.
SASHA is a re-telling of the FEVER:A Ballroom Romance trilogy, but told from Sasha’s unique perspective. The SASHA subseries is a duet, and concludes with SASHA, Book Two. You do not have to read FEVER to read SASHA.
After spending many years as a criminal appeals attorney in New York, Tonya returned to the West to focus on writing. She currently lives in her native Arizona with a small menagerie of rescue pets.
While working as a lawyer, Tonya developed a passion for ballroom dancing. For several years she wrote a dance blog, Swan Lake Samba Girl, which was lauded by James Wolcott in his Vanity Fair blog, and Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal.
Tonya’s first novel, Swallow, a dramedy about a lawyer with the psychosomatic disorder, Globus Hystericus, won several awards including gold medals in the Independent Publisher and Living Now Book Awards.
She's also written a romance trilogy, Fever, and a duet, Sasha, both set in the world of professional ballroom dancing. She's currently working on her next novel in the Infectious Rhythm ballroom series, as well as a mystery series inspired by her rescue pets. She recently started a blog, Witty Kitty's Book Blog, reviewing books featuring animals.
When not writing, Tonya loves taking road trips with her dog, Sofia, devouring Mexican food, curling up with her cats and a good novel, and watching ballroom competitions.
I received a copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This was an enjoyable read. I remember reading the Fever trilogy, and I really liked how the story was written. Now, re-reading the book from Sasha's perspective was enjoyable. I really liked his character. I got to see a different side of him. He was still cocky, but he also had a sweet side to him. Rory is a great character. I found her character more likeable than Sasha's at times. I think this book makes me understand who Sasha as a person, and that was nice to see. I do wish there was more of an ending. I cannot wait to read Book Two to see what happens. Overall, a great read.
Sasha was a very enjoyable read. Just as much as it's parallel story Fever. Reading the story from Sasha's point of view I saw a much different side of him. He was much more cocky and sure of himself that I first thought but he also had a very tender side of him as well. I found him just a likeable however, he did lose a bit of his sex appeal. Which is not always a bad thing as it's nice to see a more emotional side of a character. I loved the 3 books in the Fever series and I couldn't find any obvious holes in the story that you often get with a companion novel as this. It's well written and certainly captures your attention. Personally I prefer the story from Rory's point of view and that's why I've only given this 4 stars as opposed to the 5 that I've given it from Rory's side. Overall, this is such an inviting story that gets you caught up in much more than just dance. 4 stars! *Thank you Tonya Plank for providing me with a copy of this book.*
I normally don't read same book just told from different POV, but I'm glad I made exception. All the time during reading, I have this constant feeling I was reading completely different story. Even if I wad doubting the characters or story, I can't hold it against the author, because she did something amazing. She is so passionate about dancing that she actually manage to put this passion in her characters and trough them - I just felt it in every word. It made me google the competition, the costumes and different dances, I even watched some videos (and I'm pretty sure, rumba is my favourite now). And that is why I love this series so much. Not because is perfect, but because I felt what characters felt. I was laughing, worrying, crying. I was dancing whit them and loved it, even if I got two left legs in real life. But it doesn't matter. I just enjoyed it and I need more!
Great, quick enjoyable romance read with a beat as fast as the dancing. The character Sasha comes to life on the pages with the dancing and romance. I've always wanted to take ballroom dancing and reading this book inspired me to take the next step to dance more and research ballroom dancing classes. It's obvious the author has experience dancing and writing. This book is written from Sasha the male character but I understand it is a re-telling of a Trilogy: FEVER: A Ballroom Romance trilogy from his point of view. Now I am hooked and on tot he trilogy. Take your turn dancing with this book, Recommend to anyone who likes romance and dancing.
As a fan of FEVER in Plank's INFECTIOUS RHYTHM series (read my Goodreads reviews), I’m thrilled to have seen and experienced Rory, and the dance world from Sasha's point of view in SASHA. Sasha's love and concern for his missing sister, Tatiana, and the depth of his love and compassion for Rory, especially as she deals with an eating disorder, inspires an abiding respect for his character that adds depth to Plank’s IR series.
And, I really enjoyed reading the lovemaking scenes from Sasha’s perspective. So romantic. And, hot!
A purely male POV, from a man who values perfection. Sasha tells his story his way, what he feels with the dancers with whom he's paired with, and what happens when he spots the woman with whom he knows he can make great and dance great with.
If like me you haven't read fever, which is Rory's side of the story, reading this version is an eye opener as Sasha tells you what he sees, it shows his passion with dance, his relationship with Xenia and with Arabella, then with Rory as he tries to aviod breaking her like he has done with previous partners. How they move from dancers to lovers, his search for his sister and studio partners.
There were instances in this book where i felt that Sasha was being too harsh, or too sensitive in regards to his Russian heritage and took it out on Rory, or allowed it to influence his decisions an work. I admired his dedication to searching for his sister and his belief that Rory is the one for him, both professionally and personally.
It was interesting to see the situation with Cheryl, Luna and his other dancers as well as his notice of Rory's eating problems and her fears. A well written book, and i'm interested enough to look at the second half.
I received an ARC from Reading Alley for my honest opinion.
For fans of Ms. Plank's Fever trilogy, Sasha is a brilliant re-telling from Sasha's point of view. While you absolutely don't need to read Fever first, it will definitely enhance the nuances of the side-characters in Sasha. Rory's story was full of angst as it's the tale of a young woman with serious self-confidence issues. In Sasha, we see his confidence and how he truly loves Rory from the very beginning. A connection made by chance and solidified by dance and desire. The details of his search for his missing sister and the failures of his partnerships are revealed in ways that add dimension not only to Sasha's character but also to his relationship with Rory. His constant struggles with his anger and fears, especially in how he relates with Rory, were beautiful to read.
Interestingly, more of the Infectious Rhythm studio is revealed through Sasha's interactions with students and staff. In Fever, Kendra, Pauline, Rajiv, Pepe and others were highlighted. In Sasha, Cheryl, Luna, Alessia (the owner), and Sadie are more centrally involved. The side-plots from Fever are greatly expanded upon in Sasha.
This is a truly wonderful story. The author really goes in depth with her characters. Buy the end of this first story, I feel like I know these people personally. Learning what makes these characters tick really helps to understand what is happening in the story. The ending is such a dramatic cliffhanger, that I can hardly wait for book two. This is a great story and I highly recommend it.
This book was great! I love reading books with the points of view from multiple caracters. I'very lost count, but I'm sure I've read the first three Infectious Rhythm books at least five times. I loved finding out more about Sasha's caracter not just his his appearance, not that I'm complaining about that.
"Sasha" is an excellent read, and one that will entice readers to read more of Ms. Plank's books and eagerly await the next installment of Sasha and Rory's story.
I received this book in exchange for my honest review. I loved it and couldn't put it down. Great characters and story line. Two dancers that need to heal each other. Will they be able to be partners and win the competition?
A good companion to the main Fever trilogy that tells the first half of the story from Sasha’s perspective and gives more information on his background and motivations. We find out more about the studio staff and some of the students who were antagonistic to Rory in a way that humanizes and fleshes them out a little more. I enjoyed seeing Rory’s friend group from an outsider’s perspective as Sasha’s gratitude towards them for the support and concern they showed Rory made clear how important they were to her and how much Sasha wanted a strong support system for her.
SASHA is the first of two novels, retelling Tonya Plank’s sexy, steamy FEVER Trilogy from the male character’s POV. I thoroughly enjoyed the FEVER Trilogy … set in the exciting world of ballroom dance competitions. FEVER is a compelling tale, as we follow Rory through a very challenging time in her life. She is stuck in a passionless relationship and an unfulfilling job, but comes to life when she rediscovers her love for dance. Under Sasha’s guidance, she soars to new heights and they save each other in the process. I was looking forward to getting inside Sasha’s head, but this book was so much more! Ms. Plank allows us to experience what makes this remarkable man tick … his childhood and the events that contributed to his drive to become a champion. He is a huge star in the world of dance, yet has insecurities similar to Rory’s in FEVER. There is also a riveting subplot … a mystery involving a member of Sasha’s family that is explored as well. I enjoyed getting to know Sasha and look forward to the next book!